• Custom paints are blended just for the customer.old car image by pearlguy from Fotolia.com
  
  Custom paints are blended from pigments, lacquers and other materials for a one-of-a-kind paint job. The painters do not select premixed paints to do the job; they mix the elements to get the exact color and effect they want. The techniques lend texture, light effects or color depth to the objects they paint.
  
  

Solids

• Mixers begin with a pigment and mix it with clear binders and other chemicals to make a color exactly the shade they wish. Because it is solid, they may use only a coat or two of this color to achieve the effect desired. This may seem like a simple way to get custom color, but the paint mixer must know how to mix solids so they will adhere to primers on the object and finish coats on top.
  
  

Pearl

• Peal or "pearlescent" custom paint is a translucent paint. The pigment is very finely ground and the effect when mixed with lacquers or binders is soft and luminescent, catching light in a way that makes it look like pearl. Mixers start with small amounts of pigment and add soft tints to the pearl paint to give it a shimmer of color.
  
  

Metallic

• Shreds of ground metal, often aluminum, are mixed into the base of paint to give it a metallic finish. These paints are customized with various size shreds or flakes. They can be made from a variety of metals or different grades of metal. The custom painter can do this finish in gold, silver or copper if the budget allows.
  
  

Candy

• Candy colors of custom paint are achieved using a toner mixed with any kind of paint, --- solid, pearl or metallic --- to achieve highly glossy, deep but not opaque colors. Painters must apply many coats to get the look they want.