mixing question

i want to make a mettalic red from the acrylic colours from Tamiya. Does anybody know in what ratio i should ad the silver and red (I guess X11 and X7) And if I want to darken it. Just add some black or are there better alternatives?

if you add black, it will (probably) be a dirty shade of red. I was thaught this when i entered a eveningcourse in oilpainting. "-Never add black to darken. Add browns ."the teachers said . So try brown instead, adding a drop at a time.
Mixing ratio for red/silver? Again, try mixing/adding until you come up with a shade you like! :)

If you want a darker metallic red, use gun metal (X10, I think?) instead of silver.

There certainly is no specific ratio to use, because what you use depends on the final color you desire (and obviously, only you can determine that!). The best thing to do is mix up a bit and spray it, and then adjust as you want. With a bit of trial mixing and spraying, I've been able to get suprizingly close to the factory color I've been trying for.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/502/67954102_0233.JPG

BMW Z3 in Atlanta Blue, mixed using Tamiya metallic blue and chrome silver. It really helps if you have a paint chip from a dealer of the color you're trying to match! If not, match it to pictures- or make your own unique color.

One last CRITICAL bit of advice- make sure you mix up more than enough of your final color when you paint the body- if you run out while painting, you will never match that specific color again!

well i tried some of the tips.. but the results weren't verry nice.. with the silver it got a bit on the pink side and with gunmetal it was a really "dull" looking red.... I'm now trying wit humbrol red , some chrome silver and a "tiny" bit of wine (n°73), but i haven't really got a cleu if you should need a couple of drops of the metallic, or do you need like 1 part metallic, 2 part colour.
MPWR, do you remeber the ratio U used on that Z3?

No idea. I probably started with 1:1, and added silver until I thought it looked right. Mixing by ratio is generally a pretty imprecise way of matching colors.

I always add silver to metallic paint the lighten the shade...
Lots of choices here, you can paint the color over a dark base as Tamiya colors are semi-transparent. You can darken the shade with a clear red 'clear coat' over your color coat. You can try adding a little metallic black or dark blue to you base color.
:p