Custom Paint Ratios and Tips for Our Pigments

Looking for clear guidance on how to use our pigments? At Paint With Pearl / Kustom Pearls, we are not only dedicated to providing high quality products, but also in empowering you with the knowledge to use them to their full potential. This guide is designed to give you the information you need to get started and provide some of the basic mixing ratios for our various products, including our metal flakes, ghost pearls, candy pearls, thermochromic pigments and glow in the dark pigments.

Metal Flakes

Our Metal Flakes are designed to create a high impact, custom finish that will give your projects a unique look. Here is a guide on the starting point for the ratios you can use when mixing our products:

Light Sparkle: Use 1 heaping tablespoon of metal flake per sprayable quart of base clear or per pound of clear powder coat.
Heavy Sparkle: For a more intense look, use 2 heaping tablespoons of metal flake per sprayable quart of base clear or per pound of clear powder coat.
Layering: Plan on 2-4 coats for a smooth and even finish.
Important Notes: Adding too much flake to your mix can bog down the base and make it more difficult to spray.

Ghost Pearls

Our Ghost Pearls are uniquely designed to enhance any project with a subtle, iridescent finish. When using our ghost pearls, keep the following ratios in mind:

Standard Ratio: One level teaspoon of our ghost pearl is enough to treat 1 sprayable quart of clear base.
Coverage: One 25 gram bag will treat 1 gallon of sprayable clear base or from 1 to 4 pounds of clear powder.
Mixing Tips: When using ghost pearls, do not over mix the product into your base, as that will overwhelm the base coat color. Instead, do more coats of your color to get the effect that you desire.

Kandy Pearls

Our Candy Pearls can be used to create either a translucent candy look, or a solid metallic paint job. Here are some simple guidelines for mixing our candy pearls:

Translucent Finish: Mix 1 25 gram bag into 2 sprayable quarts of clear for a translucent look.
Opaque Metallic: Use 1 25 gram bag into 1 sprayable quart of clear for a solid, more opaque metallic finish.
Powder Coating: To use with powder coating, start with half a bag per pound of clear powder. Add more as needed, but make sure to test a small sample to confirm it will not bog down the mix.

Thermochromic Temperature Change Pigments

Our Thermochromic Temperature Change Pigments allow you to create a unique and interactive color shifting effect. Here are a few tips to help you get the best results when using them:

Starting Ratio: Use 1 25 gram bag of pigment per sprayable quart of base clear.
Mixing: Mix the 25 gram bag into a pint of reducer, and allow it to sit for 24 hours before adding the other pint of clear.
Best Uses: These products work best when used with an oil or solvent based clear coat.
Application Note: They may have some difficulty when used with water based clear coats.
UV Protection: Always apply with a good UV resistant clear coat to protect from fading.

Chameleon Pearls

Our Chameleon Pearls pigments are designed to create an impressive color shifting effect that will give your custom paint jobs a unique and dynamic look. When using our chameleon pigments, keep the following in mind:

Mixing Ratio: Use 1 25 gram bag per sprayable quart of base clear.
Layering Techniques: When using, make sure to start with a base color, to enhance the colors that you are looking to create.
Base Coats: Black base coats are often recommended, but explore other colors to see what results you can achieve.

Glow In The Dark Pigments

Our Glow In The Dark Pigments are perfect for creating custom finishes that come to life when the lights are turned off. For best results, keep these guidelines in mind when applying them:

Mixing Ratio: Mix 1, 25 gram bag into a pint of clear to create a sprayable pint of paint.
Coverage: For a more intense, long lasting glow you can use more pigment in a smaller area.
Agitation: Because these pigments are heavier, you need to make sure you are constantly agitating the paint while spraying or it will begin to settle and clog. You can also add marbles into a siphon feed paint gun to help keep the paint mixed.

Why Choose Paint With Pearl/Kustom Pearls?

At Paint With Pearl, we appreciate all of our customers who take the time to send us pictures and feedback on all of our products. Our Candy Pearls, Metal Flakes, True Chameleon pigments, Thermochromics, Glow In The Darks and all other paint pigments are truly custom paints and can be used in almost any application. There are so many options with our products! Photos, Videos and testimonials are a great way to show off the capabilities of our additives. If you find the opportunity, send us some great pics and a small testimonial about what you did with our products and we will send you a gift card for the website. We love to show off the work that our wonderful customers are doing. Contact us and send us your work!

All of our products work with car paint and are key to a great custom paint job. Our full line can be used as epoxy pigment on tables and in resin applications. Pearl paint pigments and Candy Paint pigments are very versatile and easy to use in any clear paint application. Give them a try!

Try this in epoxy resin, polishes, sealers or other coatings for a great custom effect!

Not only are all of our additives completely compatible with vehicle wrap, we were the first to supply the coatings companies with pigments. If you have any reservations about whether our products work in vehicle coatings, you should know that we were the pioneers who introduced Plasti Dip Pearls to the world.

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