Messed up a blend on a metallic silver Civic yesterday

I was working on a 2018 Civic hatchback in that lunar silver metallic color. Everything was going fine until I laid down the clear coat and it came out looking like a patchy mess with weird tiger stripes. I think my gun pressure was too low or I wasn't keeping a consistent distance, but it dried all uneven and I knew I had to sand it back down and reshoot it. That added like 3 hours to my day and I ate the labor because I felt bad charging the customer for my mistake. Idk if anyone else has had trouble with metallic silver but it seems to show every little flaw compared to a solid color. Has anyone found a good trick for keeping metallics even when you're not in a perfect booth setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

green.jessica4d agoTop Commenter

Oh man, that's rough! A buddy of mine had almost the exact same thing happen on a metallic blue Tacoma and he swore the silver metallics are cursed in normal garage lighting. He started doing a quick test spray on a scrap panel first to dial in his pressure and distance before touching the car, and it saved him from a few more heartbreaks.

kevin_adams1d ago

Yeah @green.jessica, that test spray trick is a lifesaver for sure.

-1