[327!275hp!Convt!]

I’m going to try to keep this question as short as possible.

Maybe I can get a good answer from someone without typing out the long version of my story/question.

There are 3 different grades of say Dupont Automotive Paint.

How do I know for sure the guy behind the counter isn’t just giving me the cheap Nason grade paint (& charging me for Chromabase) instead of giving me either the ChromaPremier or Chromabase ?

I bought a pint of Chromabase the other day.

All the other cans of paint material that came with it were labeled Nason. It got me to wondering…?

[stamatisg1977]

I think some paint manufacturers send empty cans with any brand label on them so when they mix for a customer they have something to put it in for you. IMO, they may have just ran out of chromabase labeled cans

[68IslTeal]

well when i get paint from my paint shop they always bring out the can of the paint i ask for then go add pigment/mix it then bring it to the register and i see the manufacturers label along with the label they added with the newly mixed paint code, etc... just like they do at lowes/home deport basically. And they have been doing it that way for years around here at the 3-4 stores I have used.

I don't think I would of accepted the paint if the can was w/o label on it if me. I rely on those labels to help me mix the paint for shooting. Different paint co's recommend different mixing ratios and I am not a pro so I rely on their label.

[AutoRodTechnologies]

I'd look into pro-spray base.

[Sauron67MM]

Did you ask them why? I have accounts with 4 different jobbers and have no problems. If there are any ambiguities, I ask. Not all companies put mixing ratios on their labels, that's what a TDS is for. Glasurit is just one.

[327!275hp!Convt!]

Originally Posted by Sauron67MM

Did you ask them why? I have accounts with 4 different jobbers and have no problems. If there are any ambiguities, I ask. Not all companies put mixing ratios on their labels, that's what a TDS is for. Glasurit is just one.

The place was small & dead. I got busy talking to him (the jobber) and the young woman behind the counter (he was busy printing off the detailed instructions of mixing & all for me).
He put a label on the paint can he mixed-up for me, which stated it was Chromabase. The instructions he printed off (I read when I got home). They were ALL referring to ChromaBase materials to be used with the ChromaBase base coat & clear coat: terms like "basemaker 7160S" at a low temperature.
I didn't have any of the products on the instructions list. All of mine where Nason products (with I understand is the bottom of the line in DuPont automotive paint). Even my can of clear was pre-labeled Nason, not Chromabase clear.

I'm not saying the guy ripped me off.

I'm just wondering how to properly protect myself in the future. The guy behind the counter is mixing up the color for me in a blank tin can. As far as I know, he could put any "label" on the tin can he wants.

I'm not sure how Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) information is supposed to help ID the correct brand going in the can.

[Sauron67MM]

All the cans are without labels. Labels come in separate packages. They look up the formula, pull the tints off the bank and mix the product. On the label or behind it, depending on the company, will be the tints and measures of the paint. I have not used Dupont in years so I can't rattle off their info. Look it up for yourself on-line. TDS is Technical Data Sheet. I stated that because a previous poster said the ratios are on the can, which does not apply to all paints. What did you buy for urethane grade reducer, Nason? Urethane grade reducer is a multi use product, maybe that's what he assumed you were doing. Many jobbers assume the guy purchasing paint knows his plan and don't ask every customer if they need to be walked through the process. I always use a company's best reducer, even in the lower line bases. Like PPG DT 870 in Omni and not Omni reducer. And I avoid those as much as possible anyway, I like good bases.

[68IslTeal]

"All the cans are without labels. Labels come in separate packages. "

I guess it depends on your local paint store. No shop around here operates like that, and I have used paints from the various manufacturers, ppg, dupont, standox, sikkens, etc... Yes they print off a mix label but I mentioned that earlier.

[Sauron67MM]

Originally Posted by 68IslTeal

"All the cans are without labels. Labels come in separate packages. "

I guess it depends on your local paint store. No shop around here operates like that, and I have used paints from the various manufacturers, ppg, dupont, standox, sikkens, etc... Yes they print off a mix label but I mentioned that earlier.

Perhaps you have never stocked paint cans or mixed paint on a system in a bodyshop. When a shop or jobber orders boxes of cans of various sizes they come without labels. The lids come in sleeves, and the blank labels come in packages. The cans don't come pre-labeled. Glasurit and PPG jobbers, at least here, do not have mix ratios on the labels. Steve said they may have run out of Chromabase labels. If they did the Nason label substituted should have been marked as such.

[68IslTeal]

Yeah I dunno like they say location is everything. I been thru 2 of the 3 local paint supply stores into their storeroom and their paints all have labels on them already. As for how things work in a body shop I dunno. I anytime I have had a ride in a body shop its been a friends shop and used my own mat's.

Perhaps we are talking apples and oranges... i know a buddy who doesn't get his paint supplies from a local store but via his sikkens paint rep. He only goes local when he HAS to. I dunno doesn't matter really, point I was making is to many variables to think its standardized across the industry, and if I was getting paint personally I would get it from a paint store since I am NOT a shop/jobber and if you do that here you will get paint like I described it.

[Sauron67MM]

Originally Posted by 68IslTeal

i know a buddy who doesn't get his paint supplies from a local store but via his sikkens paint rep. He only goes local when he HAS to.

I guess this screen is limiting clarity but no matter, as long as people get their product. My Sikkens rep delivers my paint from their distribution center, if you can call it that. They don't deal with fly by nighters, only shops. The PPG and Glasurit stores deliver too, but they sell to backyarders as well as shops. Same with Dupont, which I don't use anymore. I have 2 PPG jobbers. Some jobbers will even deliver to a hobbiest but people don't ask.

[327!275hp!Convt!]

I think I know what I’m going to do when I buy my gallon of paint for the body of my car (it’s a convertible, so, one gallon should be enough). I have the print out from the shop where I bought my one pint of Marina Blue for the dash. It gives the “factory numbers” for all the other cans of materials that go with ChromaPremier like the “activator – 12305S.”
I’ll just write down their official product code for each item I want, like the number above. I’ll hand them the list & tell the guy behind the counter I want ChromaPremier with the following product codes. I think that will make me feel more confident that I am having ChromaPremier mixed into the blank can & not one of the lesser grade (quality) paints.

By the way, I am extremely happy with the way my dash came out after stripping to bare metal & painting.

[Sauron67MM]

Originally Posted by 327!275hp!Convt!

I think that will make me feel more confident that I am having ChromaPremier mixed into the blank can & not one of the lesser grade (quality) paints.

The tints for Nason and Chromapremier are different. So you are suggesting he is looking up both formulas, printing out a ChromaPremier label but instead mixing Nason and putting that in the can. Wow, you better find another jobber.

[327!275hp!Convt!]

Originally Posted by Sauron67MM

The tints for Nason and Chromapremier are different. So you are suggesting he is looking up both formulas, printing out a ChromaPremier label but instead mixing Nason and putting that in the can. Wow, you better find another jobber.

No!

As I stated in a previous post: "I'm not saying the guy ripped me off."

I HAVE been ripped off (for sure) by automotive guys in the past. That's why I get my guard up about things I cannot verify.

I don't know the guy behind the counter from Adam.

I USED TO hang out with "friends" years ago that were all doing a lot of recreational drugs & living the life of a "free spirit." We would rip one another off at the drop of a hat (given the change.) I think that's another reason I'm not as trusting as a lot of other people would be. I'm just using the "street smarts" instilled in me from childhood.