How To Apply Tricoat Paint

What is a Tricoat?

Today we’re going to talk about Tricoats. All pearl yellows, pearl whites and pearl oranges use the same system. Where you have a Basecoat, a Midcoat, and Clearcoat. You can see the color in the cap here, and a pearl Midcoat which you can also see in the cap. This color, Cyber Orange on 2021 Fords uses that type of system. A yellow orangish Basecoat and a pearl Midcoat. Then the Clearcoat is what gives it the gloss.

How to apply a Tricoat:

Comparing the color on the test card against the vehicle will help you ensure the accuracy of the paint before you begin your project. If the color match looks good like this one does, you’re ready to begin your project. If it does not, DO NOT begin your project! Stop and contact our help center about our Color Match Guarantee. We are going to use the Ford Cyber Orange as an example. This color, as we mentioned, is a Tricoat. You’ll see right away that we are working with a Basecoat, here you can see the color is on the lid, same with the Midcoat. Despite there only being a little color here on this cap this is where the pearl is. The Basecoat will be the first step and the Midcoat will be the second. What we did with these test cards is start to go through the steps. Be sure to allow the paint to dry between coats. It usually takes about 10 or 15 minutes or when you see a matte uniform finish it is ready for the next coat. This is one coat of the base color, this is two coats, and this is three coats. You can see that the coverage is good, and you don’t see the writing or anything through it on this end. Once we are satisfied that we have good coverage of the Basecoat we’re going to apply the Midcoat. We taped off an area so you can clearly see where a layer of the Midcoat was applied. This is what brings the vibrance to the color and adds the pearl. Finally we’ve Clearcoated it. This is the finished color and this will match the Bronco we showed earlier.

Candy Tricoats:

Now we are going to talk about candy Tricoats. Candy Tricoats are somewhat unique in the automotive world because it takes two colors to create the color you’re looking for but they can be distinctly different. In this case we have a grey metallic Basecoat and a candy red Midcoat. This metallic will actually be shining through the candy Midcoat and enhancing the color. When you’re applying the Basecoat, you just need good coverage. The candy Midcoat will be applied over the Basecoat. This is what will determine the finished color. You usually need two to three coats of the candy Midcoat but its very important that you test first so you know exactly how many coats you’ll need. The more of the candy Midcoat you put on the darker the color is going to get. The correct number of Midcoats will determine the perfect color match. It’s important to apply Clearcoat to the test card because that will accurately represent what the color will actually look like.