All about colour and its layers

How many car body colours are there in the world? A few thousand, a few dozen or maybe a few hundred thousand? There are certainly no statistics on this because the number is endless. There are a huge number of colours on the market and their number is constantly growing with the presentation of new models. Let's also remember that nowadays anyone can create their own individual car colour. So how do you find ‘the right’ colour for paint repairs and how do you know how many layers to apply to a given element for a perfect result?

Formulation programmes are helpful in colour reproduction, where there is a basic colour (the so-called mother) and variants differing slightly in shade or grain thickness. This may be due to painting in different factories, different equipment parameters or a change of supplier.

Companies producing car paints have colour documentation, so-called colour boxes, sorted by car brand and colour (chromatically). The first type of template has markings labelled with the OEM code and car brand. This makes it very easy to check whether the colour we are interested in matches the colour on the car body – a problem can only arise if we do not know the OEM number. In this case, the second type of documentation – chromatic – will help us.

Now that we know how to make life easier with colours at the colourist level, let's focus on the application of three-coat colours. In English, this type of paint is called undercoat, which is unfortunately translated as primer. Due to this similarity with fillers or insulators, many people have preconceptions about this type of paint. Let us explain that undercoat refers to the background colour, which is necessary to achieve the right colour. In short, the first layer of a three-layer paint job is the background, followed by the actual colour, which is finished with a clear coat.

Another important aspect when it comes to colour is shading. First of all, it is important to remember that the scope of painting in such a repair should be increased in order to distribute all layers of colour evenly. This will give the effect of optical blending with the old surface. Here, the product that will prove indispensable is shading resin. It ensures that the varnish layer is applied evenly. Unfortunately, with pearlescent or other difficult colours, the painting area increases significantly to achieve the perfect effect, which translates into higher repair costs.

Speaking of the last layer, i.e. clear varnishes and colour additives, it is essential to remember to apply them correctly. Above all, it is important to spread the paint properly and apply it to the recommended thickness. This stage of renovation can be the most difficult but also the most important, so it is worth familiarising yourself with the specifications of the colour you are recreating.

Several basic factors affect the final colour effect. One of them is the temperature, so it is worth checking it from time to time and keeping in mind that the drying temperatures given sometimes refer to the element, not to the environment. Other factors that are important for this type of work, but which hardly anyone pays attention to, are keeping the paint area clean and tidy and using lighting with the right warmth to ensure that the painted part can be easily seen.