Do metal flake go into the paint or the clear coat?

Hi im gonna Paint my olds cherry red wit metal flake. One time me and my dad painted an chevy blue with metal flake but we put the flake in the paint waited for it to dry wet sanded it then put a few clear coats on it. The vehicle turned out nice, but my dad think we did it wrong. He thinks it would have turned out nicer if we put it in the clear. What is the best way? ThanksDo metal flake go into the paint or the clear coat?
It can be done either way. Most smaller metallics or micas are mixed in with the color. However it is common to paint a solid or metallic color on and then a ';mid coat'; clear base/binder with a larger metal flake, then the clear coat over it all. It just depends on the effect you are trying to get. Go by your local auto paint supplier and have a look at the custom colors. Personally I don't like the flake over the color, but it's your car. When using a basecoat/clearcoat don't sand in between color coats unless you are removing imperfections, and don't sand at all between clear coats. The clear is put on shortly after the color has been sprayed, not days later.Do metal flake go into the paint or the clear coat?
Metalflake is normally mixed into the colour coat.





However, there is no law that says you have to.
metalics are mixed with the paint, not the clear coat.