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Most gold paint announces itself from across the parking lot. Tinted Gold does the opposite. Parked in shade it reads near-black; walk around it and the fine gold pearl lights the whole panel up at once. That is exactly what Preston Cobb's Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS does in these photos, and it is why this build is worth pulling apart step by step.
The car started as a faded, primer-patched G-body on steel wheels. It came back as a full exterior repaint in Tinted Gold over a black ground coat, buried under Alpha AC-4521 HS Glamour Clear. Below is the exact system that got it there and how to run the same one in your own garage.
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Download the Free PDF →Meet the Builder: Preston Cobb
Preston Cobb is not a production shop pushing ten cars a month. The Monte Carlo SS was a personal build, sprayed by a friend, and the bar it was held to shows up in the reflections. Nothing in the finish reads as a driveway shortcut.
The whole job ran on one system: the Tinted Gold Vehicle Paint Kit, which pairs DTM Primer-Sealer in black with ready-to-spray Tinted Gold basecoat, HS Glamour Clear, Alpha urethane reducer, and HS Activator. One kit, one mixing system, and no guessing whether a reducer from one brand plays nicely with a clear from another. Preston put it plainly when he saw it in the sun: the color was exactly right.
The Color: Why Tinted Gold?
Tinted Gold is a pearl basecoat from Alpha's Tinted Series, and the series is built around one idea: a heavy load of fine pearl suspended in a crystal-clear binder. Here that pearl is fine gold, and it is what makes the panel flop from black to gold as the light angle moves. The binder carries pigment control so the color lays down without striping or mottling, plus UV resistance so the gold holds up outdoors.
Tinted Gold basecoat is rated for great coverage and is built to go over a black sealer. Black is the ground coat this color was designed for — it is what gives the shaded areas their depth and lets the gold pearl read at full strength the moment light catches the panel. Preston's car went down over DTM Primer-Sealer in black, the same foundation the color was formulated on. Want to see it in person first? The painted sample is sprayed on that identical black ground coat.
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See Tinted Gold in person — risk-free.
Return the painted samples for store credit toward your paint.
Shop the Tinted Gold Sample →Every Way to Get Tinted Gold
Whether you're painting a full vehicle, a motorcycle, a guitar, or just touching up with a spray can — Tinted Gold is available for every project size. Each kit includes matched products sized for the job.
Tinted Gold Vehicle Paint Kit
$714.93 USD
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Tinted Gold Paint Basecoat
From$17.50 USD
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Tinted Gold Spray Can
$59.99 USD
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Tinted Gold Motorcycle Paint Kit
From$425.65 USD
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Tinted Gold Bike Paint Kit
From$225.70 USD
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Tinted Gold Guitar Paint Kit
From$130.72 USD
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Tinted Gold Wheel Paint Kit
From$412.91 USD
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Tinted Gold Brake Caliper Paint Kit
From$152.71 USD
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Tinted Gold is a pearl, not a solid, so how you move the gun matters more than how much paint you put down. Keep every pass the same distance off the panel and overlap the same amount each time. The pearl records any change in your pattern, and no amount of buffing takes a stripe back out.
What's Inside the Vehicle Paint Kit
These are all the products included in the Tinted Gold 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-sealer, tinted black. Seals your bodywork and lays the uniform black foundation Tinted Gold was formulated over. Mixes 4:1:2 with activator and reducer.
Tinted Gold Basecoat — Ready-to-spray pearl basecoat from Alpha's Tinted Series. Fine gold pearl in a pigment-controlled, UV-resistant binder that flops the panel from black to gold. Rated great coverage. Mixes 1:1 with reducer.
HS Glamour Clear (AC-4521) — High-solids clearcoat — the depth that makes a pearl worth spraying. This is the clear on Preston's Monte Carlo. Mixes 2:1 with AH-7100 activator.
Alpha Urethane Reducer (AR-3000 Series) — Temperature-matched urethane reducer for the basecoat, sealer, and clear. Pick the grade that matches your shop conditions on the day you spray.
HS Activator (AH-7100 Series) — Activator for DTM Primer-Sealer and HS Glamour Clear. Matched to the Alpha system so your ratios stay consistent across every step.
TSS Cheat Sheet — Every mix ratio and flash window in the Alpha system on one sheet. Tape it to the booth wall so you are not scrolling a phone with paint on your gloves.
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 It and Get It Straight
A pearl this fine will telegraph every low spot and sand scratch you leave behind, so the bodywork is the job. Get the old finish off, cut your filler flat, and block the panels until a guide coat comes off clean. Work up through the grits with OptiGrit abrasives and finish at a scratch your primer can fill. If you are starting from bare, the Bodywork Bundle covers the filler and blocks in one shot.
Step 2: Seal It Black
Spray DTM Primer-Sealer (AP-7541) tinted black over the whole car. This is the step that decides what Tinted Gold will look like — the black ground coat is what the color was formulated over, and it is what gives the finish its depth in the shadows. Mix it 4:1:2 with AH-7100 activator and Alpha urethane reducer, then let it flash per the data sheet before you scuff.
Step 3: Lay the Tinted Gold
Tinted Gold basecoat ships ready to spray and mixes 1:1 with urethane reducer. Because the pearl is what you are building, your gun technique matters more than volume. Keep the gun the same distance off the panel the whole way, overlap every pass the same amount, and do not chase a dry spot with a heavy pass — that is how you get a stripe you cannot buff out. Keep spraying until the black is gone and the gold reads even across the panel. Touch-ups later are easy with the matching Tinted Gold spray can.
Step 4: Bury It in Glamour Clear
HS Glamour Clear (AC-4521) is the clear on Preston's car, and it is what gives a pearl the depth that makes it worth spraying in the first place. Mix it 2:1 with AH-7100 activator, adding reducer only if your conditions call for it. Build enough film that you have something to cut into later without touching the basecoat.
Step 5: Cut and Buff
Once the clear is fully cured, flat-sand out any texture and buff it up. Work through the fine OptiGrit grades and finish on a machine polish. This is the step that turns a good repaint into the mirror you see in the finished shots. Every ratio and flash window for the system is on the TSS Cheat Sheet — keep it taped to the wall instead of guessing.
Watch the Build
Build footage from the shop — process, transitions, and the finish in motion.
Tinted Gold Car Video 1 - Preston Cobb
Tinted Gold Car Video 2 - Preston Cobb
Tinted Gold Car Video 3 - Preston Cobb
Ready to Paint Your Own Build?
Everything Preston used — DTM primer-sealer (your black ground coat), ready-to-spray Tinted Gold basecoat, HS Glamour clearcoat, reducer, activator, and cheat sheet — in one kit.
Build Your Tinted Gold Kit — $714.93 USDLooking for a different color or kit size? Browse all car kits →
See It in Action
Watch Preston Cobb's Tinted Gold build below, plus TSS painting tutorials and explainers — swipe through.
"The Spray Source hit the nail on the head with this color." — Preston Cobb
Frequently Asked Questions
That flop is the whole point of the color. Tinted Gold is a pearl basecoat carrying a fine gold pearl in a clear binder, so what you see depends on the angle between you, the panel, and the light source. Straight-on and in shade it reads near-black. Catch it at an angle in sun and the pearl fires and the panel goes gold. Preston's Monte Carlo shows both extremes in the photos on this page.
Black is what we recommend, and it is what the color was built around. The product calls for a black sealer for full coverage, which is why the Tinted Gold Vehicle Paint Kit ships with DTM Primer-Sealer tinted black. Black is what delivers the depth in the shadowed areas and lets the gold pearl read at its strongest where the light hits. If you want to see it on that exact foundation before you commit, the painted sample is sprayed over black ground coat.
The Tinted Gold Vehicle Paint Kit is sized for a full vehicle exterior, and Tinted Gold is rated for great coverage, so a G-body coupe like this one is comfortably inside what the kit covers. If you are painting jambs, the underside of the hood and deck lid, or a larger body, add a second basecoat and extra HS Glamour Clear rather than stretching what you have thin.
Every Product Used in This Build
Tinted Gold Vehicle Paint Kit
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Tinted Gold Paint Basecoat
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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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Limited Time Deals
Clearance & Flash Sales
Discounted kits, closeout colors, and flash deals — check back often, these move fast.
Shop Current Sales →Big thanks to Preston Cobb for sending over the photos and video of the Monte Carlo SS. Follow the build on Instagram and on Facebook to see where the car goes next. Seeing Tinted Gold out in real sunlight on a real car beats any spray-out card we could shoot in the shop.
Want to be featured? Tag @thespraysource or email sales@thespraysource.com.
