Exploring Color Options for Your Project
At Black Magic, we are proud to partner with PPG to utilize their Deltron paint system, which we have found to be the most versatile, reliable, and high-quality automotive paint system on the market. Our facility is equipped with a full mixing bank, enabling us to formulate nearly limitless color options for your custom project. Automotive paint is often referred to as “wet paint” due to its liquid form when applied.
A World of Color Choices
Due to the vast array of options available, it’s nearly impossible to list every color we can create. If you're local, we invite you to visit our shop, where you can browse through our color samples. Alternatively, our website, Flickr, and Instagram profiles showcase a variety of bikes we've painted, giving you a visual reference for the kinds of colors and effects we can achieve. Providing us with links to your preferred color range or examples of bikes or cars in the color you're interested in will help narrow down your options.
Please note: PPG automotive paint colors are not the same as home paint or color codes you may find at a local hardware store.
Traditional Solid Colors
Solid colors are still a popular choice for many custom designs. These colors are timeless, vibrant, and offer a clean, classic look. Some refer to these solid colors as “flat.” since they do not have pearl of metallic elements to them.
Standard Color Range: Many of the traditional late model automotive paint colors include black, white, red, blue, green, yellow, and silver. There is also a wide spectrum of colors we can mix outside of what is normally shown on late model cars including bright colors, pastels, fluorescent/neon, and earth tones.
Fluorescent/Neon: Although we are able to spray true fluorescent and neon colors, there are prone to fading over time more than traditional base coat/metallic colors. We suggest a close base coat alternative that is not as bright and loud, but is very close in the overall look and will remain the same color longer.
Pantone Colors: Pantone references are common in the design world (especially for custom kits and graphic design), but they rarely translate to automotive paint. While we can create a custom match based on a physical sample, the final result may differ slightly due to the inherent differences between printed colors and painted finishes.
Metallic Colors
Metallic automotive paint contains tiny metal flakes, typically aluminum, which reflect light and give the paint a sparkling or shimmering effect. This adds depth and dimension, making metallic finishes a popular choice. Most late model cars feature a metallic color.
Common Metallic Colors: Some of the most popular metallic colors include silver, gold, metallic black, metallic red, British Racing Green metallic, and metallic blue. These colors add a touch of extra dimension compared to solid colors.
Pearl Colors/Pearl Layers
Pearl finishes take the metallic concept a step further by adding a translucent layer of mica or other fine materials to the paint as an additional layer. This creates a unique, pearlescent effect that shows a little more depth and sparkle depending on the color and concentration.
Pearl Color Options: Pearl coats allow for choice of a particular color of pearl. For example, a pearl white paint might have hints of light blue, purple, gold, rainbow, or pink depending on the pearl used.
Customization: In addition to the choice of color, pearls can be customized by adjusting the concentration and size of metal flakes, resulting in subtle differences in sparkle and shine. A thicker concertation will show more sparkle and color of the pearl itself, whereas a thinner concentration allows more of the base color to show through.
Automotive Color Codes
Using PPG’s Deltron mixing bank, we can match virtually any late-model car color code. For example, matching the color from a 2018 Toyota Tacoma or 2021 Audi S4. Since there are so many automotive color options out there, many of them need to be specially mixed and may require additional cost for the material.
Basecoat Colors Available in both solid and pearl/metallics, many automotive paint codes are basecoats. These generally go on as a single layer to achieve the color.
Tri Coat Colors (3CT): Many late model automotive colors are a Tri Coat, which is generally a specific base color with another specific layer of pearl applied over the top to achieve the desired look and depth. Because of the multiple steps and additional material, using Tri Coat colors generally is more expensive than a base coat.
Custom Color Mixing
The beauty of custom automotive paint lies in its ability to create unique, one-of-a-kind colors. By mixing different pigments, metallics, pearls, and additives, we can craft virtually any color to suit your specifications. For custom color mixing, we often work by eye, testing the mix with spray outs to achieve the desired result. This process may add additional cost, as it requires more time and materials.
Some examples of custom color mixing include:
Creating a unique shade of any color
Matching a physical item brought/shipped to our shop (e.g., a jersey, component, personal sample)
Recreating an existing color for projects such as vintage restorations, fork replacement, repairs.
Color-Shifting and Chameleon Paint
Color-shifting automotive paint, also known as "chameleon" paint, is one of the most striking options available. The iridescent pigments in this paint change color depending on the angle of light and the viewer's perspective, creating a dynamic, transformative effect.
Dynamic Transformation: Chameleon paint can shift between multiple colors, such as green to purple, blue to red, or gold to bronze and more.
Color Options: We typically use either Didspade Supershift Pearls or PPG Harlequin for this look.
Candy Paint
Candy (or Kandy) paint is another option for solid and pearl/metallic, and metal flake colors. This finish gives the car a translucent, vibrant color with a deep, glossy appearance. Commonly used on low riders, hot rods, motorcycles, and classic cars. Candy paint is created by layering transparent pigment over a metallic or solid base coat, typically silver, black, or white. It also can be applied directly over carbon fiber weave to show a rich deep color with the texture of the weave. Typically, candy colors cannot be replicated with basecoat paints.
Vivid & Rich Appearance: The effect of candy paint is deep, almost like liquid glass, providing a high-shine and intense color. Popular colors for candy paint include candy apple red, candy blue, candy gold, candy orange, candy purple, and candy green.
Metal Flake
Metal flake, often referred to as “Bass Boat” paint is a metallic option that is similar to pearl layers, but instead of very small particles, metal flake uses large flakes of glitter or holographic particles, resulting in a loud sparkling effect. Metal flake is typically applied as an additional layer over a base coat. Like pearl layers, it can be sprayed in different combinations to either highlighting the flake and flake colors themselves, or to reveal the layer of color they are applied over. These looks are also common on low riders, hot rods, motorcycles, and classic cars.
Clear Coats: Gloss, Matte, and Semi-Gloss Finishes
With very few exceptions, all of our automotive finishes have a final clear coat over the top of the colors/effects. Like most automobiles, gloss is our most commonly used clear coat, but there are several options. We can also combine gloss and matte for a contrasting look. An example of this would be a glossy base color on a frame with the graphics in a matte finish.
Gloss Finish: A high-gloss finish provides a shiny, reflective surface that emphasizes color depth and vibrancy. This is the traditional finish for cars, offering a smooth and shiny appearance that looks polished and sleek. We polish all our gloss finishes to be void of imperfections for a very glossy, high quality, show level finish that exceeds nearly all factory paint jobs. Gloss clear coat can be polished and is generally the easiest to keep clean. Gloss clear coats can also be repaired and blended in small sections without having to refinish the entire frame/surface.
Matte Finish: A matte finish, sometimes also referred to as “flat” provides a smooth, non-reflective surface, velvety appearance that doesn’t reflect light the way glossy finishes do. This creates a more muted, subtle look. While matte clear coat can be used on any colors, we suggest avoiding using it on lighter colors because the surface is more porous and can hold dirt/oils that bicycles get exposed to and be harder to keep clean. The lighter colors can also stain from this over time if not frequently and properly cleaned. Regardless of color, matte finishes require a higher level of special care. More information on matte finish care can be found here.
Semi-Gloss Finish: Somewhere between matte and gloss, semi-gloss (also referred to as “satin”) offers a subtle shine with a smooth, soft feel. It gives the finish a slightly reflective look without the full intensity of gloss. We generally suggest picking a gloss or matte finish over a satin, but if desired, Satin can be used.