Dino Saga 070624 _ Metallic Paint

Dino Saga 070624 _ Metallic Paint

Funny how the paint and photography stuff works. Got some comments about the stars that show up in my photos. It’s not only the stars, it’s everything. Back in the days that I had a white Dino, there was not much I could do to make the car look good in photos except wait for a hazy sun. Then you could get subtle shadows by parking near something big or turning the car just so. Really crimps your style if you like to play.

The dark metallic plus clear opens up a whole new world. You can separate all three characteristics (dark, metallic, clear) and use them individually or together. Or you can wait for a hazy day and let it go at that. I like to play with all the tools I have. Grew up in the 40s and 50s, used box cameras and developed and printed my own stuff. Graduated to a range finder 35 mm in the late 50s and set up a nice B&W darkroom. Went to SLRs in the late 60s and shot mostly Ektachrome slides. New cameras and lenses kept me going through the 90s. Finally went digital in late 2003. Fuji had the S5000 that met all my requirements except for shutter lag. Small, light, 10x zoom, 39 to 390mm, electronic viewfinder. Plenty of resolution for Internet posting and 8 1/2 x 11 prints. Used to design and use digital microscopes so computer editing tricks are second nature. All of the Dino Saga shots except last week’s were with that camera, suitably edited.

The shutter lag kept me looking. I love the one piece aspect of the 10x zoom. The slight distortion at extremes of focal lengths can be removed in editing. Fuji came out with the S6000. 28 to 300mm. I can’t hand hold 300mm so high end was fine. Wide angle was great. Played with one for an hour and was sold. Shutter lag is gone, weight and size is still much less than the 35mm. I can live with this one for a while.

Went out into the car port and did some experimental shots that show what happens with metallics and surface finish. Metallic highlights are hot and there is a subtle glow around the highlights that’s helps model curves. Up close the individual metal particles sparkle. The blue base is transparent and has great depth. Lots of coats required to cover. Sparkles are in varying shades of blue depending on depth.

The clear coat is a case all it’s own. The daylight sky bounces off nicely. The car always has lights modeling it. Random light is fine no matter what the surface finish. The thing that really makes a car look great is the reflection of specific objects, clouds, roadways, buildings, etc. The clearer and sharper these reflections are, the better the perceived paint job. Modern clear coats have horrible orange peel right out of the paint booth. No sharp reflections. The only way to remove the orange peel is with sandpaper. 600-1000 grit with a flexible but not soft backing and lots of water. Pretty much has to be done by hand. Hell to get into every nook and cranny. That is where you can spend 7-14 days and $10 K+ at a top end paint shop. I used a volume shop and had them only do areas that would likely reflect detailed objects. 2 guys, 2 days. Final polish and you have to look to find the rough spots. Have to go to a CF bulb to make them stand out for photos. Interesting.

John
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