Silver paint suggestions?

[CyborgGT]

I actually quite like my Desert Silver Metallic. It's got a slight tan to it and looks really cool under street/parking lot lights at night; Mercedes has a color of the same name, but it looks much more tan.

[GhostAccord]

x2 on the striping issues, IMO they are 99.9% user error. On that blue trunk it looks like the guy was in a big rush, his strokes are shorter than the item being painted and overlap spacing is all over the place. The grey one again looks like a rush job with improper coverage due to travel speed, air pressure or improper mixture. But I guess it could be that 1% that is product issue.

When painting metallic it is best to see some examples of the shops work. Ask for references and check out some of their older paint jobs to see how they are holding up.

Silver is a hard one to keep close. Where it is only the jams and under hood areas that are not being painted it's not as noticeable. That being said you don't want to stray too far from the original mixture.

Not a huge fan of silver, of any production models painted silver it would have to be the 2000 Acura NSX in Silver Stone - NH630M

This code was used on the 00-07 NSX, S2000 and Insight.... Not as nice looking on the Insight...lol

[Crankshaft]

Plus, painting is a learned art. That said, these are Tiger Stripes from how he held the spray gun when spraying a metallic paint job.

There has been articles and stories how to avoid this for years. Candies, Pearls and Metallics are some of the toughest things too spray. Dependant on stroke, overlap, spray pattern, and proper air pressure.

The above are quoted from the same site where the blue hotrod picture came from and re-enforces what some of us here pointed out. Its always easier toblame the material than to admit the painter was not up to task i guess, just as fyi NEVER use body filler with red hardner if you are planning on using white paint as you will have major bleed thru(yellow spots).
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...r-stripes.html

[deevergote]

I LOVE that Kaiser Silver (looks perfect on the NSX, too.) I wonder if that would be too noticeable a difference compared to the original color (I wouldn't be painting the doorjambs, trunk, or engine bay... exterior spray only.)
Here's my car. I should've included this in the original post! (adding it now for future reference.)




The Desert Silver Metallic reminds me of Seattle Silver... almost beige in certain light (actually, Seattle Silver ALWAYS looks beige to me!) It looks good on the RSX, but I think it might look weird on a Miata (and if it's as beige as it appears, it would definitely clash with the jambs/trunk/bay.)

GhostAccord is right that I don't want to stray too far from the original color. I'm not a huge fan of silver either. It was far from my first choice, but mileage, price, and overall condition of this car was too good to pass up! Very minor front end damage from a small accident brought an otherwise pristine car down to a price I could afford.
Ironically, the only other car I test drove was also silver! That one was repainted by Maaco after a MAJOR rear-quarter accident. The driver's side rear quarter was basically all bondo, and there was evidence of rust emerging from beneath it. The guy wanted $4000 for it, too.

[AccordWarrior]

x2 on the striping issues, IMO they are 99.9% user error. On that blue trunk it looks like the guy was in a big rush, his strokes are shorter than the item being painted and overlap spacing is all over the place. The grey one again looks like a rush job with improper coverage due to travel speed, air pressure or improper mixture. But I guess it could be that 1% that is product issue.

The shame is the gray one is OEM paint, and OEM painting systems.

My Tacoma has some light striping itself and it's OEM paint.

[SSMAccord]

Sebring Silver Metallic might also be a nice choice. It is very clean and has a very nice flop in value.

[DCB7]

I'm considering Iridium Silver for mine. Looks closer to what you have.

I watched 'battle of the Silver arrows' or 'War of the arrows' or something with the children and a new Lewis Hamilton fan was born

[deevergote]

Not silver, I know... but this color is interesting me lately. If I did it, it would be exterior only. Think it would look weird with silver jambs, bay, trunk, etc?

[Jarrett]

Yes, I do. I've been seriously contemplating this same color, too. I would like to paint my CL which is currently Anthracite gray metallic. It, like all Honda paint of the time period, has massively failing clear coat so will need to be repainted. I think this color would look great on the CL.

[deevergote]

It's a very "now" color, much like the rootbeer brown was a few years ago, and the burnt orange a few years before that (though unlike the orange, I think this color will age MUCH better!) It lends itself very well to cars with soft curves, like a CL, tC, or Miata.
It would probably look weird on a CB7, sadly.

[Jarrett]

Thought it looked pretty good on this RSX.

[deevergote]

I agree, it does! Still a fairly round, modern design.

Though for some reason, I'm picturing an old 70s Corolla in that color, and I like what I'm seeing in my head. Cement Gray ALL THE THINGS!

[oneoffaccord]

Silver is not silver. Silver is very hard to paint. It will be blotchy if not sprayed right. It will show sand marks if the prep work isn't done correctly. It can be a shade off if the temperature is different. I ended up painting my ex gf rsx lexus silver, which was a few shades darker than the oem acura color. Why not add a blue pearl to factory color. Just remember if you decide to paint it a different silver(darker or brighter) and not do the door jambs it will be off. And that might be a eyesore and bother you .

[CyborgGT]

Why is it you're not painting the jambs? Doesn't seem like it'd be that much more work. I wouldn't care whether the average person wouldn't notice without me mentioning it, I'd notice and it would bother me every time I got in the car.

[deevergote]

I'll be having it done professionally, so I'll likely ask about the jambs. I just figured it would cost significantly more. Perhaps not. As you said, shouldn't be much more work.