Aerosol Paint

Hi,

Can anyone give me advice on where to get the best aerosol paint? I need a can of mars red but not sure where to get the best match possible.

Has anyone tried the halfords ones and are they any good??

Cheers

Hi - some paint places will make aerosols for you. One near me matched the paint exactly by coming out to the car park with a book of colour chips. Cost was ?10 for a big aerosol. Paint was better quality than you get from Halfords, etc, too - Max Mayer cellulose.
Cheers,
Mark

i got some paint mixed from Halfords to do the big bumpers on my mk2. they gave me the wrong colour to start with and i had to do it all over again!! despite being done in the right colour now (apparently!) i wouldnt say that the match is very good. Luckily its not too noticable cuz im not doing them again!!  

i thought that the nozzel on the halfrauds can was a very poor design as soon as the can got low (about 1/4 left) it spat every where.

Try and find a big motor factors place that mixes paint (normally the places that sell car panels, etc as well). Some of these will sell the aerosols. It's the same cellulose that they sell by the litre for 'proper' application by spray gun. The stuff I've had has always been top notch and colour matched to the car by the motor factors. The place I use are agents for Max Mayer paints so maybe do a Google search for their agents in your area (?) They also do 'touch-up' pots - again colour matched exactly to your car

Mr_GTI said

i thought that the nozzel on the halfrauds can was a very poor design as soon as the can got low (about 1/4 left) it spat every where.

i found this to be most definately true  ops:

I agree, the nozzle on the Halfords own brand paint is pretty poor.

Most halfords stores though will also mix paint for you using the holts minimix system which gives an excellent colour match, and the nozzle on those spray cans is excellent.  

The cost is ?8.99 for 300ml spray can, which is fairly expensive compared to other paints available, but I've found the spray from these cans to be one of the best I've used, very consistant and you get quite a good finish generally.

Mike.

the holts mixed paint was what iused im sure - the nozzle was adjustable but i couldnt work out how to do it    
they mixed me the wrong colour first and when i got the right colour ithink the match was poor

My local bodyshop gave me the name of their supplier and i got mine chipped and mixed there Excellent match . I'd try to find a good sprayer local to you and ask them .

dubgrrl said

the holts mixed paint was what iused im sure - the nozzle was adjustable but i couldnt work out how to do it    
they mixed me the wrong colour first and when i got the right colour ithink the match was poor

I used to work with the minimix system (infact I used to work for Halfords) and I don't think the nozzle is adjustable on those to my knowledge.  The nozzle that's supplied with the cans is a 'fan spray' type nozzle. The colour match is normally very good, but you really need to give them the colour code, not just a name.

If you give them the colour name, there will probably be anywhere from 5 to 20 or more different formulas for the same name, but if you can give them the colour code, then they stand a better chance of getting the right match for you.  Most halfords employees unfortunitely tend to just mix the first one they get to with that name, insted of informing the customer of this fact.  

Do bear in mind though that the paint on your car will have had 20 years of fading and wear, and the colour they will mix you will be the origenal colour so the chances of them matching 100% are very slim.

Mike

Maniac said

If you give them the colour name, there will probably be anywhere from 5 to 20 or more different formulas for the same name, but if you can give them the colour code, then they stand a better chance of getting the right match for you.  Most halfords employees unfortunitely tend to just mix the first one they get to with that name, insted of informing the customer of this fact.  

Mike

to start with i gave them the code and the name of the paint and just took what they gave me….as it turned out there were two codes the same or very similar and it was the name that differenciated between the two - and yup, theyd just given me the first one - satin grey met instead of silver grey met (golf mk2) . the first one was too light and now ive done them in the proper colour theyre too dark. i think because ive done them and its my car i probably notice it more than other people do - i suppose i couldnt expect it to be as good as someone professional doing it.