I just got a TCM '06 xB 2 weeks ago and I am going to be be doing a two tone paint job on it. I want to paint it a dark blue from the body line at the top of door/fender area on up. I'm thinking of either a House of Kolor Kandy or a House of Kolor Pearl. What do you guys think would look better, the pearl or the Kandy? If I go with the Kandy, it would be UK-4 over BC-5, or in the Kandy the PBC-37. What you think?

 

I got a few quotes from local body shops and the lowest quote I got was around $3,000!!! Does that sound right to anyone? I couldn't believe it. I would go with black on top, and keep TCM on bottom. I think it would really tie in with my black rims. Too much money though. I'm going to start sketching vinyl ideas instead.
I think either one of you choices would look killer. Sorry to be of no help.

 

3 grand sounds like a deal.

unfortunately, the only way to judge those colors would be in person. i have a feeling that the pearl would look better, and i would even go so far as to recommend something less flashy like one of the black pearls...deep lilac

 

Yeah, they look different in person. A computer screen cant show the effect of the pearl or candy finish. That was the only thing I was worried about too..was the flashyness of it. I dont want my ride to look like too immature, but I still want something that will stand out. My family owns an auto body shop, so my options are unlimited as far as finishes go.

 

family owns a body shop huh? well sheet yeah brutha do it up!

if i had resources like that, I'd do a lot more than a 2-tone I still think terribleted's fade is the baddest thing i've seen.

 

The colors you choose are ok, but perhaps a bit bright. I am familiar with those color chips. My xB is UK12 and UK08 over BC-02



Very bright indeed, but I wanted it that way. I think the TCM would look better with a darker slightly more subdued blue perhaps along the lines of UK4 over BC01. For a driver and also for the look of the top color next to the stock TCM I would recommend away from the kandy all together. I would find a regular basecoat along those lines and use it. The reasons are many. 1. Cost...kandys are pricy. 2. Ease of application...kandys are harder to spray and less forgiving if there are any mistakes. 3. Kandy has no where near the repairability of regular base clear (in fact if the kandy area is damaged it is likely that all of it may have to be resprayed in order to get a good color match). 4. Overspray...kandies are wet a long way from the gun and require 2 coats of sealer, 2-4 coats of basecoat, 4-7 coats of kandy (sticky), and 2-4 coats of clear also (sticky), where as with a basecoat you could simply spray 3-5 coats of base over the oem finish and then 3 clear (the only sticky part), minimizing overspray on the 3/4 pf the car you aren't painting. 5. The metallic you have chosen any BC base is very large, much larger thatn the TCM metallics, oem type basecoats the metallics will be much closer in size and won't overpower the TCM ...altho you should check out HOK's FBC to help on this if you insist on Kandy on top My xB is a 50/50 mix of BC and FBC for an in between metallic (the BC is very large...not boat like yet but pretty big). The PBC would be closer metallic glint wise that the BC.

Have fun whatever you decide

 

$3000 to do a top only or bottom only 2 tone is likely in the middle of the range of reasonable cost for quality work. To do it right you need to totally dissassemble the car ( all doors, gate, and nose removed and apart). I think I could make it happen for just a little bit less than that ( and a good bit less if the owner wanted to partially dissassemble the car before it came to me), but not alot less.

 

.../blushes.

 

You are probably right...Im just getting carried away. My father owns the shop and has sprayed HOK often, he express many of the same concerns as you. Mostly the whole daily driver bit and cost of stone chip repairs and so on.

Probably going with a simple 2 or 3 stage urethane would be the best/easiest way to go.

 

3 stage anything generally has the same repairability issues as the kandies, look closely at regular 2 stage base/clear colors There are some awesome late model colors that get very close to many kandies and 3 stages. Look at 2004-2005 Ford Sonic blue and Patriot blue for some blues along the lines on the HOK you showed as a for instance. as always just like the HOK color chips you really must view all paint chips from angles in the full sun to really see the colors effect (oh yeah and then sufffer the temporary blindness that follows doing this

 

Would like to see that photoshopped SNJ_XB!

Looks awesome Ted! i have been tempeted to go Sunset Pearl all over!!!

 

The chosen colors look quite similar, so i would go with the pearl
since it looks so nice when shined up.