Barcellona Red - a bit of a warning

I hadn't seen this posted anywhere, so thought I'd inform anyone who's interested. It turns out that Barcellona Red is actually a tri-coat paint. I.e., it has 3 coats; a basecoat, a groundcoat, and a clearcoat.

What this means is that the cost to paint anything to a stock look, both right away and a few years down the road, is about 40-50% higher then the basecoat/clear of the other colors.

I was trying to find out how much some shops charge to paint a bumper and a set of eyelids and the cost went from about $250 for a 2 coat system to $350-$450 for the tri-coat.

I know that automotivetouchup.com and the dealer sell touchup paint as a single stage paint, but to do it right it's supposed to be a tri-coat.

Rod.

 

good info

Whats a ground coat though? Never heard of it

 

You'll need to ask someone more knowledgable in paint work. I just saw those names in reference to the 3 different coats.

For the other auto brands who use tri-coat colors, it seems to be an added cost option.

 

The groundcoat is an iridescent -- think silver mixed with some color, in this case red, so that it's sort of a weird pink.

The color coat is transparent, like traditional "candy" colors and is pigmented.

The top coat is a clear.

The hard part to all of this is that the depth of the color and clear coats affects the eventual, perceived color of the finished job. Color matching a repaired panel is difficult. "Blending" into adjacent panels is tough as the depth of each coat affects the color.

Any paint guy that can match a tricoat to original panels is worth whatever he is paid! To do it right requires experience and artful technique!!

That's why my Taco is white.

 

Sure, now you tell me ! Thanks for clarifying the terms and the order, I knew I probably had it wrong.

Yes sir, had I known about the tri-coat and the + and - of it, I might have chosen another color. I do like the color, but as of right now, it is what it is and I got what I got.

 

thanks for the info but not every paint company makes some colors in 3 stage. you can find most colors in 2 stage as well.you just have to do some research.

 

Yes you can, I did see it, and one shop offered me that option, but your chances of matched paint are going to go way down when using both 3 stage and 2 stage. The chances of it aging at the same rate are also going to go down.

In the end in may be worth it, but at least now it's an informed decision.

For me, it's a 6 month old truck. I want it to match now, and over time.

 

Don't feel TOO guilty. The marketing weasels who developed these colors did their work extremely well. Tricoats are STUNNING! I warned my daughter about the color but she just HAD to have her '08 PreRunner in B-Red.

I sold Fords ten years ago when these were first marketed widely. Everybody loved 'em -- right up until the first significant "ding"!

Aside from the difficult repair techniques, the simple fact of an additional layer of paint always adds to the materials cost of a repair.

 

Many red colors I have heard of tend to be a tri-coat. I repainted my cousins honda prelude for him which is their milano red color (notorious for fading to pink which his did) That color is also a tri-coat from the factory. We ended up repainting the car with a two stage milano red by valspar. Only problem with red is its a bitch to blend. Fortunately we were repainting the whole car but I still had problems of covering the primer. I even used a red tinted primer and after 4 coats of base you could still see difference in shade with the primered spots underneath where I did some bondo work.

 

def4, yup, just trying to get the word out. Like I said, still prefer the color, but was a bit disheartened as I was hoping to get a bumper, eyelids and mirrors painted body color for about $300. Turns out that is what just the bumper/eyelids will cost, even after pitting a couple trusted shops against each other. The Sport-ification of the mirrors will need to wait for a future fund injection....

macgyver, that's pretty much what the shop that I ended up trusting said about reds. He suspected it was tri-coat even before he actually checked, for the coverage reason you said, and I had to have him check twice as I couldn't find any info that backed up that it was a tri-coat. I also had to go face-to-face with an actual painter at a Toyota-certified body shop to get a true story. I talked to the shop on the phone, "No, not tri-color, no Tacoma has that", then after going to the source, the guy who actually works for a living, "Yes, 3R3 (Barcellona Red), is a tri-color"

Anyway, it was an interesting process. Others may want to check if any of the other new-for-09 colors are tri-coat or not. If nothing else, a search should now pop this up for anyone needing this info down the road.

 

a good body shop can match any paint with any color. weather its single, double, or tri. i've been painting cars for 18 years now. some colors are easier than others.its funny cuz its the simpleist colors that kick your ass.