Recently after watching a short YouTube video about mixing different colors of powder coating together, I decided to do a little experimenting of my own. 

I am aware that mixing colors typically just gives the result a speckled finish…and to do so in an effort to achieve a color match is lunacy. But that does not mean that you cannot create some neat looking finishes by using the speckled look to deceive the eyes into seeing the mixed result as something new or interesting. I would like to add that if you are going to use it on a finished piece it would be best to stick with the same chemistry resin.

I thought you might be interested in my outcome for a couple of these mixtures. 

I attempted to create a color that would be kind of vintage in appearance like a root beer brown something you might see on a vintage Indian motorcycle or the like. I had some red, orange, yellow and a small amount of black polyester powder coating, using a small amount was able to mix up a rather cool looking relic brown. The closer you analyze the more the speckled look becomes apparent, from a couple of feet away your eyes are deceived into seeing the sprayed and baked result as a whole rather than thousands of tiny color specks. 

My next experiment involved the attempt at a mustard yellow…more in the style of a Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard or Grey Poupon (Interesting side note, this overpriced condiment of the rich has been mentioned in more corny commercials and songs by musicians through the years than can be mentioned since its developers Maurice Grey and and Auguste Poupon partnered and produced their first mustard around 1866 in France. The Plochman's in the yellow bottle is much more affordable, but not as tasty I hear but I cannot judge I hate mustard!)

Back to my experiments and enough about overpriced mustard, I was attempting to create a spicy mustard look by mixing a yellow, green and black powder coating. I had some success in getting it really close to what I was attempting to achieve but once again observed the result after baking can be very different from what is initially observed spraying on the panel. The final result after baking required several remixes to get it dialed in. 

My last Experiment I was attempting a lush forest green look, which I was able to achieve using green, yellow, black and blue. I included some pictures so you can see the results of my color mixing experiment. Keep in mind that the key is mixing them together well and starting with your desired end product color first and using other colors to deceive the eyes and see the whole “picture” rather than focus on the specks of every color. 

One more thing to keep in mind, the baked out look will differ typically from the way it looks when it is sprayed, so be prepared to remix to adjust and spray another panel. That’s all back to the real work for today…sure could use a sandwich…but hold the mustard please.

Darrell Flachs