Matched car paint.

[wunbe]

Had some repairs done on a brand new 2019 model Subaru Ascent. Th new paint was a perfect match for that on the car.

The guy at the shop -- a big chain locally -- said that they now have computerized records of paint batches used on each new car coming off the line and that they can dial up the perfect match in their shop!

Whataworld!

wunbe

 

[gramps]

Yep, but sometimes that doesn’t work. A former GF does touch up painting for auto auctions. Her competitors use the paint codes-and it stands out like a sore thumb because oxidation has changed the color. GF does it by sight, and matches what is there. Needless to say she stays busy. I am glad you are satisfied with your car work.
gramps

 

[Fox Mike]

My son-in-law operates a body shop. The wife dinged the door on our Tuscon and Chris repaired and painted it. He didn't have the required paint in stock so he mixed some from whatever. He said he would repaint it later as it didn't quite match. I see no difference between the old and the new. The wife, that can tell the difference between pink and pink sees no difference. I guess that is what separates a pro and the guy on the street.

 

[XP100]

I had my own body shop for 20 yrs. Paint matches were the second biggest headache right after Insurance adjusters trying to save Ins. company's money. I don't know how many times I told them if they could do the job for the time they wanted to allow me I would pay them double the time they allowed, if it took longer they got nothing. I was amazed how many said they had never done bodywork before. One told me he had went to an extensive 40 hour training course.

I didn't blend onto adjacent panels to make it look like the part I repaired or replaced matched the rest of the car. I panel painted and had to tint many pints of paint to get it to match even after using a hand held machine that came up with a supposed match.

 

[Bull Barrel]

A good shop will have an analyzer that scans the paint and produces the formula to match it.

 

[XP100]

Some of the time the analyzer does not even work. Color can be changed some by using more or less pressure or how far from the object being painted the gun is held or how fast or slow the spray gun is moved.

 

[Bull Barrel]

The analyzer worked....the painter didn't!

 

[Colonialgirl]

Yep, but sometimes that doesn’t work. A former GF does touch up painting for auto auctions. Her competitors use the paint codes-and it stands out like a sore thumb because oxidation has changed the color. GF does it by sight, and matches what is there. Needless to say she stays busy. I am glad you are satisfied with your car work.
gramps

I first got hired as a Quality Control Tech for a paint company because I had 100% perfect color shade difference recognition; It got better over the years and I learned the difference between "Too Blue" and "Not enough Yellow" over the years and how to correct it. After I went to work for a touch-up company (Aero-Tech) I also was quite good at matching auto paint colors. Yeah, we used the paint code on the tag and had a formula book, but I also adjusted the paint colors until you couldn't tell where I had touched up and the original finish even on a NEW cars. It's an ART and your brain does need to learn all the time.

 

[Acorn]

Some of the time the analyzer does not even work. Color can be changed some by using more or less pressure or how far from the object being painted the gun is held or how fast or slow the spray gun is moved.

Agreed! Too many variables to just mix it up and bingo it matches. I’m sure you remember Chrysler’s notorious Ice Blue Metallic. IIRC there were more than 14 variations on that one.
Many times a color looks good from one POV but as you change the angle you vue it from the color changes.
Paint matching by body men is an art.

 

[Acorn]

The analyzer worked....the painter didn't!

Not necessarily. When you run a color analyzer on the car they tell you to take readings from 3 different spots on the car and the color gun and computer will average them out and give you a “match”. If the area your painting doesn’t match the “average” you either tint or blend. When I sold PPG paint the rep told me that many times the front of a car didn’t match the back of the car. It was just the transition was so gradual it wasn’t noticeable. Butt up two samples from each end and it was obvious.

 

[XP100]

Sometimes the color looked off in the shop under artificial light but out in natural light it was a great match. 30 years in the business I have seen some colors that there was almost no way to match.

It also relied on the person in the paint store mixing it exactly per formula. One or two drops mor eor less of a color could make a mismatch.

 

[exavid]

My wife likes red cars. She's always pointing out the "right red" in cars that go by. I can't see any difference in most of them. But then I'm a male and can only reliably recognize seven colors.

 

[Rick Courtright]

A good shop will have an analyzer that scans the paint and produces the formula to match it.

Hi,

And a GREAT shop will have a guy who can put that computer thing to shame... I've had work done in both types of shop, and there IS a difference!

Rick C

 

[Rancher Will]

Maybe Henry Ford had the right Idea. "You can have any color you want, so long as it's Black".

 

[Rick Courtright]

Maybe Henry Ford had the right Idea. "You can have any color you want, so long as it's Black".

Hi,

I grew up hearing that phrase, and after learning Henry was of Scottish descent, I figured it was because of his inner frugality showing through. Many years later I saw a documentary on the Model T, and it was explained there that with the paints of the day, only the black would dry fast enough to keep up with Henry's assembly line. I dunno which story is true, but both make sense in their own ways.

Rick C

 

[exavid]

Black paint could be loaded up with Japan Dryer (still available) which was a paint drying accelerator. Other colors could discolor with that treatment back then. It allowed assembly lines to move faster. Using only one color of paint also made inventories of spare parts to be simpler and smaller.