Blending GTS blue?

[Bugman Jeff]

I just bought my first Viper, a Blue/White1997 GTS It needs a bit of paint repair, enough that I'll have to respray parts of it. I'm a fairly accomplished painter and I'll be doing the work myself. I know metallics and pearls often don't blend well. My question is will the GTS Blue blend well enough to spot in, or will I have to paint the whole side of the car up to the stripe to get it looking good? Thanks for the help.

 

[QUICKSRT10/SRT8]

I would just paint the individual body panel u need painted and that's it

 

[bluesrt]

gts blue is workable color- but it also depends on the name brand color you choose for a good match,and i dont know what one is best, but i do know that you can just paint the panel in that color and get a perfect match,cuz iv seen it in action

 

[Ron]

AkzoNobel was the original paint manufacturer and Sikkens is the retail brand of the same paint. I had my side sills redone with two other brands of GTS Blue and they weren't even close. Convinced body shop to use Sikkens on the 3rd try and it was dead on.

 

[BDZ1984]

very hard color to match.....

 

[bluesrt]

very hard color to match.....

its not if you find the correct name brand- it will match perfect, like i said i dont know wich brand though

 

[Bugman Jeff]

Thanks for the info. One more question, is it originally a three stage base-pearl-clear paint, or it standard two stage base-clear?

 

[Dom426h]

No matter how exact of a match the paint is, Even if it comes from the SAME can, It will not match unless you get lucky or have some skill that i am not personaly aware of.

The main problem is the angle of how the metalic lies. Look at GTS blue from one angle, then take a few steps to the left or right and see the paint get lighter or darker depending on the angle of the light source and how it is reflecting off of the metalic in the paint to your eyes.
Also, the depth of the metalic(how thick/how many coats), and the base coat can both change the final finish.

blurb from wiki:
Historically, it was difficult to achieve an invisible repair if the paint was damaged because it is critical at which angle the flakes in the paint lie. Modern techniques have more or less eliminated this problem.

(im curious about that last part... define modern techniques...)

 

[Dom426h]

A call to the Viper Wizard could be benefical before touching your paint. He has a relationship with a bodyshop that works on Vipers. I remember him telling me that they have come across THREE different mix formulas to match GTS blue. I forget the details like what brand paint they use...

I almost didnt believe him untill i was at a Viper meet with my GTS Blue parked right next to another and saw with my own two eyes that his original paint was slightly darker than mine. Very subtle difference, but i could see it.

I guess it's possible that the original materials/chemicals changed slightly from batch to batch.... i dont know

 

[bluesrt]

No matter how exact of a match the paint is, Even if it comes from the SAME can, It will not match unless you get lucky or have some skill that i am not personaly aware of.

The main problem is the angle of how the metalic lies. Look at GTS blue from one angle, then take a few steps to the left or right and see the paint get lighter or darker depending on the angle of the light source and how it is reflecting off of the metalic in the paint to your eyes.
Also, the depth of the metalic(how thick/how many coats), and the base coat can both change the final finish.

blurb from wiki:
Historically, it was difficult to achieve an invisible repair if the paint was damaged because it is critical at which angle the flakes in the paint lie. Modern techniques have more or less eliminated this problem.

(im curious about that last part... define modern techniques...)

this is very true-

 

[bluesrt]

Thanks for the info. One more question, is it originally a three stage base-pearl-clear paint, or it standard two stage base-clear?

i had a guy do mine and it came out perfect, could not tell,maybe got lucky,but pm me if you want and you can call him

 

[dansauto]

PPG DBC when mixed right matches perfect. Its the guy mixing the paint that makes all the differance.

 

[GTSPOWERED]

I have had my side sills and front end resprayed by the best body man in my parts and it has came out great it just takes someone that knows what they are doing.

 

[gutterworks129]

Same here, I had sills and lower front painted. Looked great.

 

[heliguy25]

While you're at it paint over the stripes. Love to see a solid blue viper

 

[Dom426h]

ummmm,






No

 

[heliguy25]

No stripes>stripes

 

[Bugman Jeff]

Ha! The stripes are why I bought it(well, not the only reason, but they were a factor )

 

[heliguy25]

Ha! The stripes are why I bought it(well, not the only reason, but they were a factor )

this car was on ebay right?

 

[BlknBlu]

If you are a body man, make sure you use the same color Primer too as the rest of the car.

Bruce

 

[Bugman Jeff]

this car was on ebay right?

Indeed it is. I've thoroughly checked it out, the frame and suspension are straight and most of the damage is cosmetic. The door needs to be replaced, but the sill is workable. The hood hinge is bent on the pass side, and the fiberglass work wasn't done all that well, but as a body guy, I can get it sorted out. The title is being cleared as we speak(the loan is paid off, just waiting for the paperwork to go through). The oil leak was every single valve cover screw being loose. It's not perfect but it doesn't need to be, it's still a Viper. For what it finally cost, it's an easy fix for me to do, and a cheap(ish) way to get into my dream car

 

[heliguy25]

Sweet deal! Nothing wrong with a project!

 

[Matt M PA]

Blending a panel with metallic isn't the easiest task. However, it can be done with the early GTS blue. The secret is indeed to use Sikkens. As it was explained to me, the metallic flake is (or at the time was) unique to that brand.

 

[Bugman Jeff]

Thanks for all the info, Sikkens it is.