Kandies 101: History, Tips & Tricks

[jwrass]

Kandies 101: History, Tips & Tricks

Kandies (Candy) The Chemical makeup of these finishes are toners/dyes and clear which give the colors their distinctive translucent/transparent look. Kandies are sprayed over a reflective base coat traditionally Metallic Gold or Silver. As the Kandy craze grew in the late 50 and early 60s in Southern California painters became more creative with their base coats. While many custom painters where using Silver and Gold bases. A custom painter by the name of Larry Watson took the road less traveled and used a Copper Metallic base which set Kandy Apple Red off the charts with it’s warm hue. Watson became the man for all things Kandy.

Bases will change the feel of Kandy top coats; the five most common base coats are as follows:

Gold: A warm feel.

Silver: A Cool feel.

Copper: A Very Warm and rich feel………. My personal favorite.

White Pearl: A Warm and Cool feel depending on the hue of the Pearl.

Black Pearl: A Warm and Cool feel depending on the hue of the Pearl.

Kandies are by far one of the most difficult finishes to apply due to its transparent nature, if the paint is not applied in a uniform fashion the finish will have light and dark spots and tiger striping…. So how do we get an even finish? Follow along:

A) Slightly over reduce your Kandy color by about 10%.

B) Walking the Dog….. When we paint 1:1 we walk the length of the vehicle or object with no interruption while making each pass…. Same with a Model, spray the length of the body without interruption to avoid unevenness in the Kandy finish.

C) Applying medium wet coats with a 50% overlap, you want to bring the color on slow. With Kandies the Trick is to bring the color on slow…..Never apply full wet coats with Kandies.

D) Tip & Trick……After 3 to 4 coats of Kandy cut the Kandy mix 50% with clear, Maintain the same reduction and application procedures

E) Apply two coats of the cut Kandy mixture, this mixture will aid in an even and uniform finish.

F) Apply two full wet coats of clear over the Kandy for protection of the finish.

A typical Kandy job on a 1:1 is 5 to 7 coats which can lead to a fair amount of material thickness, if you are going to paint a Kandy finish you may want to consider deeper scribe lines at the panel definitions.

Contrary to the belief of more is better…. You know the saying “I put 20 coats of paint on and it looks Yada Yada” Not so with Kandies as they have what’s called a ceiling color, once you reach the ceiling color (5 to 7 coats) you stop applying color…. If you continue to add color after you reach the ceiling point you lose DOI Distinctness of image. Meaning: You start to lose the reflectivity of the base coat which in turn makes the color look dull and muddy.

Kandies can be applied over any base coat and are not limited to the traditional five. Experiment have fun with it….. The only limit is your imagination!

Peace….. Jimmy “RASS”

[racerbrown]

well thet takes the mystery out of it.
i've very little experience doing these and never had much luck probably due to too much color.
thanks for heading me in the right direction.
duane

[Chris]

Thanks for the Tips, I have had some excellent results using House of Kolor Kandies, Kustom automotive paints, but like you say using all the steps is key, primer, base coat (Orion Gold on this}, the Kandie coats (Inca Gold}, then Interclear coats w/ Kandies and then Clear Coat, This was one of my first attempts with this paint and it came out nice. For those who dont know, it is available in as small as 2oz. unmixed bottles from coastairbrush.com, they ship everywhere, and they also offer a "Tech Dept" these guys are sharp not only with paint but with virtually every kind of airbrush, I have called them many times for advise. Your Paint tips have helped me on some items I have had a bit of conflict with Thanks !!! Chris

[jwrass]

Chris,

Great looking paint! Well done.....

I have been a long time Coast Airbrush Customer..... Great Service and products.

I'm glad I could be of help!

Jimmy "RASS"

[Chris]

Here's a Tip, if you go to Coast Airbrush, leave the credit card at home, take as much cash as you can spare, because a person can get out of control in that Place!!! LOL!!! Jimmy did you ever go to any of the Christmas parties there? INSANE!!!! Chris

[Chris]

This is also HOK Cobalt Blue over a HOK Gunmetal Sliver base coat.. I know not exactly correct but when I took the freshly paint body to the NNL West years back, people went nuts over the result!! Good Stuff and not as hard or expensive to use as some may think! A 2 oz bottle will do aprox. 3 paint jobs depending.. Chris
 Ps. I recently sold this to a member to complete...

[Patrick]

That body is how we met Bro!!! I'll never forget it!

Gato

[jwrass]

Chris,

Very nice work..... I have been to many Airbrush Action Getaways and know the whole gang from Coast!

I have not been to a Christmas Party however I was part of a impromptu Panel Jam in the Tiki lounge and it turned into a party well into the night.

I used to get there a couple times a year when my Daughter lived in Manhattan Beach. She flew F-16s out of Edwards.

I swear every time I visited I would have a shipping bill of about $30-$50.... needless to say I dropped a few nickels there.

That place is insane..... A candy store for big boys and girls

"RASS"

[alterrenner]

A bunch of painters, partying and drinking in a Tiki lounge! I bet at least one person was asked to leave!
I've been to a lot of model shows, and have seen some beautiful kandi paint jobs, but now I can throw around the term "distinction of image", instead of just saying "nice paint job".
Thank you...

--Frank