Painting with acrylic enamel - does the color of the foundation matter?

[Brassplyer]

Candy colors are affected by the base color - however does the base color matter with an acrylic enamel as well?

For example if you have a darker non-candy metallic blue acrylic enamel, would laying down an initial coat of bright silver have an impact on the look? Folks at the local auto paint supply place say no, that it would simply be covered by the acrylic enamel and not be visible.

Opinions? Experience?

 

[Tom Bryant]

I have always believed that a lighter base will make the color stand out more and a dark base will subdue the color, even if it's very minor. Of course if a top coat was absolutely opaque then in theory it should not make any difference as long as you sprayed enough coats to completely cover the base. I think you will find that in reality most top coat colors have some degree of translucency. The only way to be sure would be to do a spray out test panel of each base you are considering using the same top coat and compare in the sunlight after it's dry. Then you will know if it makes no difference or if one looks better than the other. You could have panels that were covered with different color primers as long as you sprayed a sealer over the whole surface before spraying the base. The paint store is safe in saying it makes no difference as long as they are confident that your sealer and base are of uniform color overall.

Tom