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This Chevrolet El Camino is a two-stage color job, not a single basecoat. Chris Stewart of A1 Dipping and Automotive Paint laid Jade Green basecoat over a white ground coat, then sprayed Xenon Colorshift as a midcoat on top of it before clearing. The jade stays the body color; the Xenon rides over it and throws purple, pink, blue and gold depending on where you stand.
The whole car ran the Alpha Automotive Paint system — DTM primer-sealer as the white sealer, the Jade Green Vehicle Paint Kit, the Xenon midcoat, and HS Glamour clearcoat over the top. Below is the product list and the order of operations to chase the same shift on your own build.
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Download the Free PDF →Meet the Builder: A1 Dipping and Automotive Paint
A1 Dipping and Automotive Paint is a paint and coatings shop run by Chris Stewart, and this El Camino is their demonstration of what a midcoat does to a solid color. Rather than reaching for a pre-mixed effect color, Chris Stewart built the finish in layers: DTM primer-sealer as a white sealer, Jade Green basecoat for the body color, then Xenon Colorshift over it as an effect coat.
Everything on the car is the same system we ship in every kit — HS Glamour clearcoat, Alpha urethane reducer, AH-7100 activator, and the TSS cheat sheet. No substitutions. The kit you would buy is the kit on this car.
The Color: Why Jade Green?
Jade Green is a one-color solid basecoat — a clean jade-to-mint green with no metallic or pearl of its own. That is exactly why it works here. A solid green gives the Xenon Colorshift midcoat a uniform field to sit on, and Xenon is a three-to-four color shift pearl that travels through purple, pink, blue and gold. Over jade, those tones read as a shift across the panel instead of a flat coat of color.
The white ground coat is the recommended undercoat for Jade Green because that is how the color was designed to be sprayed — it delivers full coverage and the true jade hue the basecoat was formulated to show. Starting from that clean green is what lets the Xenon shift stay legible on top. A1 Dipping and Automotive Paint ran it exactly that way, and the panels show what the combination was built to do.
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See Jade Green in person — risk-free.
Return the painted samples for store credit toward your paint.
Shop the Jade Green Sample →Every Way to Get Jade Green
Whether you're painting a full vehicle, a motorcycle, a guitar, or just touching up with a spray can — Jade Green is available for every project size. Each kit includes matched products sized for the job.
Jade Green Vehicle Paint Kit
$679.93 USD
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Jade Green Paint Basecoat
From$13.99 USD
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Xenon Colorshift Paint Basecoat Midcoat
From$15.99 USD
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Xenon Colorshift Spray Can Midcoat
From$37.99 USD
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Jade Green Spray Can
$55.00 USD
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Jade Green Motorcycle Paint Kit
From$570.69 USD
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Jade Green Bike Paint Kit
From$270.72 USD
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Jade Green Guitar Paint Kit
From$180.73 USD
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Jade Green Wheel Paint Kit
From$557.95 USD
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Jade Green Brake Caliper Paint Kit
From$202.72 USD
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Treat the Xenon midcoat as its own color job, not a topcoat. The shift builds with every pass, so whatever you give one panel you owe every other panel — same distance, same overlap, same number of passes. Shoot a test panel first, stop where the shift reads the way you want it, then repeat that exact routine across the car.
What's Inside the Vehicle Paint Kit
These are all the products included in the Jade Green Full Vehicle Paint Kit. Every product is already matched and compatible — no hunting across brands, no guessing on ratios.
DTM Primer-Sealer (AP-7541) — Direct-to-metal primer that doubles as a wet-on-wet sealer. Mix at 4:1:2 with AH-7100 activator and Alpha urethane reducer to act as a sealer. Tinted white, this is the ground coat Jade Green was designed for — it delivers full coverage and the true jade hue the basecoat was formulated to show. See the TDS.
Jade Green Basecoat — An Alpha Custom Color solid basecoat. The basecoat in the vehicle paint kit is ready to spray right out of the can — no mixing with reducer required.
HS Glamour Clear (AC-4521) — High-solid 2K urethane clearcoat. Mixes 2:1 with AH-7100, no reducer. Wet, glass-like finish that buries the Xenon pearl and locks in the shift.
Alpha Urethane Reducer (AR-3000 Series) — Temperature-matched reducer for the sealer/primer and for mixing the Xenon midcoat. Pick speed by climate. Kit basecoat is pre-reduced.
HS Activator (AH-7100 Series) — Hardener for both primer-sealer and clearcoat. Match speed to your temperature.
TSS Cheat Sheet — Laminated guide: mix ratios, flash times, coat counts, gun settings, and troubleshooting. Download the free PDF or order a free physical copy.
Optional Add-Ons
The vehicle paint kit has everything you need to go from prepped surface to finished paint. But depending on where your project is starting, these add-on bundles can save time and money on the prep and masking side:
Bodywork Bundle
$175.00
Body filler, abrasives, and everything for panel repair. Ideal if your project needs dent or rust repair before paint.
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Light Bodywork Bundle
From $92.99
Dolphin Glaze finishing putty and OptiGrit sanding abrasives. Perfect for filling pinholes, minor scratches, and light surface imperfections.
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Mask & Mix Bundle
$75.00
Mixing cups, strainers, masking tape, and masking paper. Everything you need for clean, precise masking and easy paint mixing.
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Linear Blocking Tools Starter Set
From $236.50
CNC-cut polycarbonate sanding blocks with lifetime warranty. Produces perfectly flat, straight panels for a professional finish.
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OptiGrit PSA Sandpaper Bundle
$64.99
Complete PSA sandpaper set in 80, 180, 220, and 320 grit. The full grit progression for blocking and prep, sized for long boards.
Shop NowThe Complete DIY Process
Step 1: Strip and prep the body
A1 Dipping and Automotive Paint took the El Camino down to a clean working surface. For your build, remove old paint, rust and filler down to clean steel or a sound prior coating. Block the body lines straight, repair dents, then work through progressively finer OptiGrit abrasives until the surface is uniform. A midcoat build is less forgiving than a solid — the Xenon shift will follow any wave you leave behind.
Step 2: Seal in white with DTM primer-sealer
Mix DTM Primer-Sealer (AP-7541) at 4:1:2 with AH-7100 activator and Alpha urethane reducer to use it wet-on-wet as a sealer, tinted white. White is the ground coat Jade Green was designed for — it gives you full coverage and the true jade hue the basecoat was built to show. Tack the surface clean and lay even passes.
Step 3: Spray the Jade Green basecoat
The Jade Green basecoat in the Jade Green Vehicle Paint Kit sprays straight from the can — no reducer to mix. Tack again, then build to even coverage across every panel. Because Jade Green is a solid with no pearl in it, you are looking for a uniform green field, not sparkle. Get it flat and consistent here; the Xenon will show anything you miss.
Step 4: Lay the Xenon Colorshift midcoat
This is the step that makes the car. Xenon Colorshift Basecoat mixes 1:1:5% with AR-30xx reducer and HH57, then goes over the cured jade as an effect midcoat. Used this way — over a color rather than over black — Xenon adds shift and sparkle while the Jade Green stays the body color underneath. Keep every pass identical panel to panel and stop when the shift reads the way you want it.
Step 5: Clear with HS Glamour
Mix HS Glamour Clear (AC-4521) 2:1 with AH-7100 — no reducer needed. Lay even, wet coats and let the clear flow out fully between passes. The 4521 is a high-solids 2K that buries the Xenon pearl and gives the shift its depth.
Step 6: Cut, buff and finish
Once the clear is fully cured, cut and buff for the final wet shine. Color-sand imperfections with a fine OptiGrit abrasive, then work through your compounds to a finish polish. On a colorshift build the payoff is worth the extra care — a dead-flat clear is what lets the shift travel cleanly across the panel.
Ready to Paint Your Own Build?
Everything Chris Stewart of A1 Dipping and Automotive Paint used — DTM primer-sealer (your white ground coat), ready-to-spray Jade Green basecoat, HS Glamour clearcoat, reducer, activator, and cheat sheet — in one kit. Add the Xenon Colorshift midcoat to build the same shift.
Build Your Jade Green Kit — $679.93 USDLooking for a different color or kit size? Browse all car kits →
See It in Action
TSS painting tutorials and kit walkthroughs — the answers we get asked most.
Frequently Asked Questions
Xenon Colorshift is a three-to-four color shift pearl that travels through purple, pink, blue and gold. Sprayed over Jade Green as a midcoat rather than over black, it works as an effect coat: the jade stays the body color and the Xenon adds shift and sparkle on top of it. How far it takes over is set by how much you lay down, so a test panel is the honest way to pick your level.
White is the recommended sealer for Jade Green — it is how the color was designed to be sprayed, and it delivers full coverage plus the true jade hue the basecoat was formulated to show. The Jade Green Vehicle Paint Kit ships with the white ground coat by default, and the DTM primer-sealer in the kit is what you tint for it. Starting from clean white is also what keeps the Xenon shift reading correctly on top.
Match the layers in the same order you sprayed them. The Jade Green spray can uses the same basecoat formula as the kit, and the Xenon Colorshift spray can midcoat matches the midcoat, so you can rebuild both stages on a small repair. Order a Jade Green painted sample first if you want to confirm the base color before committing.
Every Product Used in This Build
Jade Green Vehicle Paint Kit
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Jade Green Paint Basecoat
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Xenon Colorshift Paint Basecoat Midcoat
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DTM Primer-Sealer AP-7541 Kit | Alpha Automotive Paint
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HS Glamour Clearcoat AC-4521 Kit | Alpha Automotive Paint
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Urethane Reducer AR-3000 Series | Alpha Automotive Paint
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HS Activator AH-7100 | Alpha Automotive Paint
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More From This Build
Additional shots from the project — before, after, in-progress, and detail.
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Shop Current Sales →Big thanks to Chris Stewart and A1 Dipping and Automotive Paint for running the system as designed and for proving out the Xenon midcoat over Jade Green. Follow the shop on Instagram at @a1_dipping to see the rest of their work.
Stay connected with the TSS paint community: follow tutorials and color reveals on YouTube, short-form builds on TikTok and Instagram, and join the Facebook community group for tips, troubleshooting, and real customer projects.
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