Chevrolet Carbon Flash Metallic (WA501Q/GAR) Touch Up Paint

The Look

This is not a flat, boring black. It is a deep, cosmic finish that looks like a midnight sky filled with stars. While your Cruze or Trax might look like it has a standard dark paint from across the street, a closer look reveals a heavy concentration of silver and blue metallic flakes. This color was originally designed to give high-end Corvettes a premium edge, but it eventually made its way to the Spark and Aveo to help those compact frames look more sophisticated. Because your car has likely spent a few seasons on the road, you will notice that this black is excellent at hiding light dust and minor swirls, but deep chips will break that metallic illusion immediately.

Technical Details

Since this is a high-content metallic finish, you are dealing with a lot of heavy particles that love to sink to the bottom of the container. If you do not maintain a steady flow while applying the paint, those silver flakes will cluster together and create dark, blotchy patches known as mottling. The goal is to get those metal bits to lay down flat and even. If the paint goes on too heavy or too wet, the flakes will "swim" and settle unevenly, which ruins the depth of the finish. It is a rewarding color to fix, but it demands that you respect the metal inside the mix.

Best Practices

Before you spray or dab Chevrolet Carbon Flash Metallic (check for code WA501Q/GAR), you need to shake it for a full sixty seconds to wake up the heavy metallic flakes. You can usually find your paint code on a silver or white sticker inside the glove box or on the driver-side door jamb. Once you have the surface clean, test the color on the included card to ensure the flake density looks right. Work in your garage or a patch of shade to keep the surface cool. Whether you are using a pen or a can, keep the container moving to prevent the metallic from pooling. Give the paint plenty of drying time between thin layers to ensure the final result looks deep and uniform.