Has anyone shot the Dupli Color Paint Shop paints before? It appears it is already reduced and ready to spray. I have a decent spray setup and plan to spray / clear some stuff on the bike. I'd like to shot their Jet Black and see how close it is to the vivid black. the only real place that I'd bump up with colors are the forks and the tank console.

Or, if you know of a paint that is a match to HD vivid, I'm all ears, just can't stomach the prices I have seen for the HD vivid black.

 

Although some may dispute it, black is black. Whether you get PPG's "Original Equipment Black", DuPont's "Pitch Black", DupliColor's "Jet Black", or whatever any other paint manufacturer calls their black, they are all the same color-wise.

Then on top of the paint manufacturers name that they give the color, the vehicle manufacturers all give their own name to the color, hence Harley's "Vivid Black". In the case of black, they are all the same.

The only exception that I'm aware of is some metallic and/or pearlescent blacks which aren't really black at all, although they do have "black" in their name.

EDIT: I stand corrected. What I wrote here was true back in my autobody days but that was a long time ago. Things have changed over the years and I've been enlightened to the fact that there are slightly different shades of black today. Sorry for the misinformation.

 

I would agree with black is black but there are different colors very very close to black. Onyx and black come to mind and that can confuse some folks. Add to this that low, mid and high solids can affect the color too.

I have been dealing with aviation paints for 20 years. I have dealt with ppg, shirwin and another one (can't remember) and their blacks are very close but different. The reason I know this is I was an expert witness in a case where a high net worth individual paid 190,000 to have his aircraft painted. The bottom tone was black and that bumped up against the bottom of the wings. About 8 months later, he had some warranty work competed where a chin fairing had to be repainted. The provider switched suppliers in between the time. Long story short, the blacks were different, even as evidence a 2X4 sheet of aluminum was etched, alodined, primed and then shot banded with three different manf of blacks. All three where slightly different. But, you had to be 12 inches to it to notice the difference and it was very slight.

I'm really more interested in shooting the single step enamel versus urethane. Everything I have learned tells me to go with urethane though..... In the end, it isn't a big deal to mix paint anyways.

 

I have added a couple of drops of black to the clear to create depth I thought it worked well

 

Last time I checked,my local autobody store had 6 different PPG color chips for BLACK.

 

I've used the ready to spray Dupli-color jet black before. I've used it a couple of times and wasn't impressed at all. Yes it's convenient to not have to buy paint AND reducer but the quality of the finished product is not as good. I wasn't happy with the way it layed down. Couldn't get it as smooth as the PPG that I mixed at the same ratio, on the same day and sprayed in the same booth. Hope that helped

 

The duplicolor is lacquer. It will not lay down smooth and will dry to a dull finish. It needs to be color sanded and buffed to shine. If I were you I would go to your local automotive paint shops and get a single stage urethane. even an inexpensive brand like kirker, nason,Omni. all will look better and outlast the duplicolor. In my opinion the kirker jet black is pretty close to vivid black. I have used it before.

 

Contact color rite in California, they sell premixed harley paint in a aerosol spray can. The paint is a 100% match and comes with the clear to cover the paint once dry.

I shot a set of lowers and a tank console with chopper blue and on a 10 year old bike, it was a spot on match. You cannot tell these parts were not painted when the bike was new.

I will never use anyone else for single stage paint, now for the 3 stage paints, I get a professional.

My .02

 

Thanks for the feedback and I figured as much. I'll stick with the poly two stage and then get my depth with the clear instead of color sanding. I have shot Ure Kem in the past and it was pretty good stuff and could lay down a clear tack, medium and then a heavy and could get a good depth with it. I'll order some of that and give it a go. Probably running out of the right temp as I have a hard time heating my make shift spray both.

 

Go to your local ppg dealer they can mix up a pint of vivid black. 9700 black is a shade different. I did a spot repair on a bag guy got 9700 black it was slightly noticeable.