Candy Apple Undercoat

[Harold Brewer]

I am getting ready to spray my Ringmaster and plan on using Brodak Candy Apple Red.  I know that the paint is very translucent with final appearance being affected by the choice of undercoat color.  I am thinking that
white would be the best choice.  What do y'all recommend?

Thankx - Brew

[Alan Resinger]

My first comment would be not to paint with candy colors, but if you insist.  The undersurface needs to be perfect.  No flaws in any way.  Second candy colors look best when either a gold or silver undercoat is used.  Hence the need for a perfect surface.  Gold or silver will show every flaw you have,  The other problem with the candy colors is that they fade horribly.  Within just a short time, exposure to sunlight will cause the problem.  Your spiffy colors will look terrible in a matter of months.  When the candy dopes first came out I looked seriously at using some for trim, but quickly decided against them.  They are a major headache.  Good luck if you decide to continue on with them.

[Serge_Krauss]

I agree with Alan. The fading is extreme, and I know of two other very good builders who have had their trim disappear over time. My candy-apple red P-Force returned to a golden hue (undercoat color) in places over limited time in the sun. I have bought some "fadeproof" ink to mix with clear/thinner to replace the Brodak candy color. I have not used it and thus can't verify it's utility and resistance to the sun.

If you are using candy red, you should use gold underneath. We did OK initially with that Brodak combination (before the fading), but approaching perfection requires a skilled touch on a sprayer for the red coat. For blues, you'd need to use the Brodak B-25 silver for the undercoat. I believe that white underneath is probably a good way to get a pink result. When I was a kid, I tried mixing the aluminum colored "silver" with blue and red. The blue combination was pleasant for a base color, but not really what you want for a metallic color. Red and aluminum made for a pink/violet color that didn't please me then.

Below:

1) P-Force in Candy Colors - not much sun yet. The Yak is in Brodak "B-25 Silver"
2) Top surface of Horizontal tail after crash/disassembly. Part from the fuselage under the wing is not as faded, but lighter than applied. Elevator is very faded.
3) 50+ year Old Whipsaw. Trim is what I got in the 1960's by MIXING insignia blue with "silver" (aluminum).

- SK

[Randy Powell]

If you want to use candy colors, use House of Kolor Kandy Concentrates. They don't fade in the sun and work very well.

The base you use depends on what effect you want. There's a chart on the House of Kolor site that shows different bases and topcoats that give you a wide variety of effects. If you want the traditional candy apple red, use a gold flake base and candy apple red overcoat. The deeper the flake base, the deeper the red you get. They also have a ton of different bases to get different effects. There's an "ice" base the when shot with a candy overcoat gives you a frozen surface effect, and so on.

[John Leidle]

  If you shoot Red over Gold it will be orange if you shoot Red over Silver it will be red.

[Randy Powell]

Not with Candy Apple Red. Pretty much any hot rod painter knows, shoot gold flake then candy red and you get candy apple red.

[Avaiojet]

Harold,

I just saw your Thread request. Sorry I'm late. Better late than never?

There is an R/C field in south Florida that has an adjoining water area which is used by the model boat guys. There was a CL circle also, but I'm told they eliminated it.

This was a while back, anyway, there was a guy with a boat model that had red candy paint on it along with a few other colors. Yes, it looked nice, really nice!

We had a quick conversation, because I told him I used to do custom show car graphics similar to the look on his boat. Had to get that in, forgive me. 

Ready for this. He said ALL the candy colors were sprayed from an aerosol can. He said he got the aerosol cans on line.

Soooooooo, if you google a bit, my guess is you'll see aerosol cans available with candy colors in them.

Candy's are only translucent colors anyway designed to be sprayed over an existing color, generally over silver metal flake, but not limited to that.

Good luck.

[Randy Powell]

This is a picture of a plane I built awhile back. It was painted 2 colors of silver and bronze then I shot candy apple red candy tint and candy cobalt blue candy tint. As you will note, I ended up with blue and orange. It's what you generally get when you shoot over silver. You can shoot more coats and get a darker orange, but if you want red, you shoot over gold. Even over the bronze, I got candy yellow.

Pete Peterson shoots candy lime green over clear over balsa and gets transparent yellow. Takes some experimentation but you can usually get what you want. You can sometimes use a heavy silver flake and shoot a LOT of candy red over it and get a sort of deep orangey red. But it takes a lot of coats.

[Avaiojet]

 Randy, I don't know how you got that orange? Still a really great looking model. 

Couple of things.

Candy colors are only tints. They are designed to be sprayed over something, ANY color, not just gold or silver.

I've sprayed candy colors over black. Whatever the customer wants. Generally they see another car, take a few photos then tell you to do your magic.

It's not magic.

It's a process and spraying candy colors over "large" areas is quite difficult, you really have to pay attention to apply this stuff uniformly.

Model airplanes, model boats and guitars are a snap because the areas are small.

When I first started learning and spraying candys, it was the guitar manufactures that had all the answers. "Good" Will Hinton would know something about candy tint on guitars.

Sure, gold base, why not. Knock yourself out!

Silver was used and popular for many years before gold was introduced and sprayed as a base, silver base was previlent.

All depends on the look you want to achieve.

Go on line and "Read all about it!" There has to be plenty there, U-Tube is full of experts.

[Dennis Toth]

Once the candy color is sprayed and given time to gas off is there a clear coat (Diamond Clear?) with UVA protection in it that will keep the candy from fading?

Best,       DennisT

[Avaiojet]

Once the candy color is sprayed and given time to gas off is there a clear coat (Diamond Clear?) with UVA protection in it that will keep the candy from fading?

Best,       DennisT

Dennis,

I have never applied candy without a top coat of clear. Possibly the product has changed but I doubt it. I could be wrong.

The clear is the depth in gloss plus protection.

[Avaiojet]

I did some gigging on line.

Ooooooooo My Gosh!! Ya gotta see this!! 

http://www.alsacorp.com/products/killercans/candy/candy.htm

[Randy Powell]

Of course candy is only a tint. I said that earlier. Check out House of Kolor. They show about 30 different bases you can use from multiple types of silver and gold to white, black and a number of color that, as a base under candy, can give all kinds of effects. Mark Scarborough used a number of candies over an orange base that turned out unbelievable.

The question was how to you get candy apple red and I answered that. I got the orange (and if I had a different picture that showed it, there is also red and pink) by shooting candy apple red, lightly, over sliver. The red and pink is over bronze. the blue, violet and lavender candies are over three different shades of gunmetal metallic grey.

[JIM Nordin]

In my hydrograhics  buissness I use mostly HOK  UC 35. Has a lot of UV inhibitor in it its the only clear I'll use and give a 5 year warranty on certain paint jobs I do

[Harold Brewer]

Thanks for all of the feedback.  When at some contests in the past, I had always wondered why some of the
planes, sitting in the sun, were covered by large towels; probably for the reasons above (Fading !).  I had already bought some of the Brodak Candy Apply paint.  I think that I am going ahead and paint the Ringmaster fuselage with it and paint the wings Brodak 'B-25 Silver' and hope for the best.  Again, thanks for the input.

Brew

 

[JIM Nordin]

I painted this Shelby back in 2010 candy apple red ober silver it looks as good today as the day I painted it I'm sure iy sat in the sun ar show more than any plane its also a Dailey driver .

You use a quality clear you have minimal fadeing
JIM AKA
Red tail Custom

[Serge_Krauss]

  If you shoot Red over Gold it will be orange if you shoot Red over Silver it will be red.

I trust that this has been cleared up, if my photos of a red airplane from candy red over gold wasn't convincing.

'Sorry, couldn't help that.

SK

[Avaiojet]

Jim,

Thanks for that photo, brings back memories.

Looks like a real nice ride.  

Great to know a fellow modeler in the trade. I'd like to see more of that talented work.

How long have you been at it?