Darkening paint

[zoidberg]

I'm looking to purchase some Epifanes Mono-Urethane Yacht Paint, which normally is available in 30 standard colours. The shade of red ( RAL 3003 ) I want is darker than the nearest standard colour ( RAL 3116 ).

Any thoughts on buying the Standard stuff and adding a darkening agent?

 

[Metalicmike]

Shouldn't be a problem my friend ChatGPT is sure to help.

 

[scozzy]

"Darkening agent" sounds a bit ominous..do you mean adding black? Or any of the many tints available? The real issue either way is consistently of colour throughout application (stir thoroughly and often!) any future touch ups if someone is a little enthusiastic rafting up...

 

[LittleSister]

Any thoughts on buying the Standard stuff and adding a darkening agent?

Or perhaps buying the standard stuff and wearing dark glasses?



(I'll get my (under?) coat!)

 

[Neeves]

It dependfs how much you are adding but unless you increase the resin content as well then the tinted paint will not be as strong as the original (less resin holding it together).

If you are thinking of carbon black it is a devil to wet out.

Jonathan

 

[thinwater]

"Darkening agent" sounds a bit ominous..do you mean adding black?...

 

[thinwater]

There is no reason you can't blend paints of the same type. You could add a touch of black of the same product line. But in fact, you can add a little of most any urethane one-part enamel and it will be fine. I've done this many times. Most likely you have some leftover black enamel of some type?

 

[snowbird30ds]

Have you tried turning the lights off while painting?

 

[William_H]

I asume OP wants a deeper red not really blacker. Pigment for GRP that I have seen claims to be ok for all types of resin. Or try a pain shop who may be willing to add more pigment to make it a deeper red. ol;'will

 

[Daydream believer]

Red suffers from UV. So is there a darker shade of red than you require. Use that & with luck the UV over time may make it lighter. Effectively this is approaching the problem from the other end.
If you have ever watched a paint supplier mix paint, you will see that they add all sorts of colours to get the one you want. These sometimes are nothing like those that you expect.
Rather than adding black,(suggested above) you may try contacting the tech dept because it could be that the actual colour required is not black at all, but some colour just off to the side of the colour spectrum. Have a look on line at one of those colour programs with lots of squares of colours & see what is the next one to red It may be that something like that will blend better.
For example- Brown-
Then look at the chart for Epifanes & see if there is something similar.

 

[Neeves]

Just get a Pantone shade chart - all the colours are there and all paint suppliers know exactly how to mix to get the shade you want, from the chart.

I think Pantone shades are simple numbers (paint companies then give the shades fancy names - just to differentiate from their competitors).

Its no longer rocket science to make the shade, the difference is the resin systems

Jonathan

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Just get a Pantone shade chart - all the colours are there and all paint suppliers know exactly how to mix to get the shade you want, from the chart.

I think Pantone shades are simple numbers (paint companies then give the shades fancy names - just to differentiate from their competitors).

Its no longer rocket science to make the shade, the difference is the resin systems

Jonathan

+1. Pantone is the colour-matching system used widely by professionals. There are more exact systems available (LAB, CIE), but unless you're into precise matching of an existing colour, you don't need them. To find a suitable colour and get it replicated, Pantone is your friend in this case. But be careful - there are free downloads of Pantone charts, but unless you have a calibrated monitor and printer, you won't see the colour as it will come out, and neither monitor nor printer will match every actual pigment colour because of problems with the colour gamut available to RGB or CMYK devices. You really need a printed Pantone colour book and these don't come cheap - the official Pantone book is £188.40, and that is justified as every colour is a spot colour meaning multiple runs through the printer. You may be able to borrow one!

Colour matching is not an exact science, and the common colour systems (RGB, CMYK) can't match all colours exactly - each has colours that the other can't represent. Emissive and reflective colours are different, and so it goes!

 

[Stemar]

If you have ever watched a paint supplier mix paint, you will see that they add all sorts of colours to get the one you want. These sometimes are nothing like those that you expect.

Years ago, I had to paint the walls of a house. The owner wanted pink, but the only locally available paint was PINK - a violent, migraine-inducing hue. We toned it down to a much nicer tone by adding a small amount of green paint, on the basis that mixing red & green paint gives a brown colour

 

[SvenH]

If you want to self mix, i'd suggest keeping the recipe. That is easier to measure with paint rather than pigment.
But I would never ever again want a red of any kind on my boat as indeed it suffers badly from uv.

 

[penberth3]

I'm looking to purchase some Epifanes Mono-Urethane Yacht Paint, which normally is available in 30 standard colours. The shade of red ( RAL 3003 ) I want is darker than the nearest standard colour ( RAL 3116 ).

Any thoughts on buying the Standard stuff and adding a darkening agent?

If you really want RAL3003, find a supplier that can give you RAL3003. Why is the brand important?

 

[KevinV]

As above, computer screens are terrible for choosing colours. International were very good with me, sending me actual swatches of paint on their correct primers (only the 2 pairs of colours I was choosing between). I'm sure Epifanes will offer the same service if that's your paint of choice.
Speaking of primer, I've darkened a green successfully by using dark grey primer instead of the specified light gray.
Mixing yourself is really hard to get right and, with marine paint especially, expensive to get wrong.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

As above, computer screens are terrible for choosing colours. International were very good with me, sending me actual swatches of paint on their correct primers (only the 2 pairs of colours I was choosing between). I'm sure Epifanes will offer the same service if that's your paint of choice.
Speaking of primer, I've darkened a green successfully by using dark grey primer instead of the specified light gray.
Mixing yourself is really hard to get right and, with marine paint especially, expensive to get wrong.

Also, mixing it yourself is pretty much unrepeatable.