Auto Body Workers Struggle to Match Paint Colors
16 posts across 3 communities in the last 60 days; 88% from r/Autobody.
“White is a asshole, its not easy to paint because there are so damn many different shades of every white. But this is too bad in match. It can be a clearcoat issue too. For plastic a more elastified clearcoat is needed and the more elastified clearcoats are a bit yellowish. And…”
“It’s almost impossible to make pearl match in all lighting conditions and angles. It’s a product in the paint that reflects light so it’s hard to replicate every time.”
“My guys did this resurfacing job, why is the color like this after two weeks.”
Auto body workers are frustrated because the paint color they applied doesn't match, requiring a complete redo. This suggests difficulty in achieving accurate color matching for vehicle repairs.
SOURCES (55)
“Helps to use the same paint code [re: Just got body work done, was told that it’ll “blend” together in about a week]”
“Hey OP, I'm a painter at an actual shop. At first I thought this was a tri-coat (the pearlescent variant you mentioned), Alpine White however is not. This match is absolutely unacceptable, especially if you're paying for blending. I'm sure you've already figured this out, but do not accept it until they get it right. Ask them how much of a blend you paid for, if they are truly having difficulty with this then they will need to blend onto the hood and potentially the A-pillar, doi”
“White is a asshole, its not easy to paint because there are so damn many different shades of every white. But this is too bad in match. It can be a clearcoat issue too. For plastic a more elastified clearcoat is needed and the more elastified clearcoats are a bit yellowish. And they went more yellowish over time. I prefer to use standard clear and mix elastifier by myself, thats not yellowish. But most painters dont have a standard clear thats really crystalclear. Was at a paintshop years ago an”
“SIKE!! Factory color on brand new gmc terrain submitted by /u/brettr00 [link] [comments]”
“Static will change the orientation of Metallics and pearls on different substrate”
“It’s almost impossible to make pearl match in all lighting conditions and angles. It’s a product in the paint that reflects light so it’s hard to replicate every time.”
“Note: Accidentally uploaded photos in reverse order. I've been told it's called pearl "flop" or mismatch? It looks fine straight on but in medium light conditions the difference shows up. The bodyshop told me A96 metallic is hard to get right but the difference is a little much no? submitted by /u/MightResponsible3300 [link] [comments]”
“Hey everyone, I'm having trouble getting a color match on my 2019 peterbilt 389. I have a paint code, went to my local paint shop, the code was found through the computer but no formula. He took a picture to make a paint sample, did a spray out and it was horribly off. Can someone help me out? Paint code is L0280EY. The metallic Grey is the original body paint, the red stripes were added later. submitted by /u/BeatDemGutz [link] [comments]”
Colour chips or spray outs doesn’t even look like the right colour.
“Take it back tell them you don’t like the match if they complain about it bring it up to your insurance company”
“That’s a difficult color to match without blending. With that said, we need more context. Did the estimate include blend? Customer pay or insurance?”
“What’s it look like at a straight on view and not from an angle? Dudes here with no experience with this are going to scream take it back…I’ve been through this a few times since my wife and daughters like to back into things. It honestly doesn’t look that bad, I would find out if they attempted to blend though. Repair is never going to look like factory at 95% of the shops these days. It sucks…I know. A second try is not always better either.”
Clear failing, we would strip it, prime, block, paint/clear.
“You may not believe it, but that is exactly what i did, i just didnt fold the paper correctly, and i applied to much paint i think, because the color was so different so I tried to apply more to see if the color changes”
“This is a 2012 Toyota Camry, and I followed all the steps correctly, from applying the primer to the base coat and clear coat. I also wet-sanded it, but there is still a noticeable color difference. The color code for this car is Toyota 1G3. What should I do next? Please help. submitted by /u/Anxious-Location237 [link] [comments]”
“I've had my car in the shop for over a week now. It's been there for a few extra days because they're having problems matching the paint. It's a 2016 fiesta ST with the optional white paint. It's a non-insurance claim. Years ago the rocker panel on the driver side came loose and I took it to them for repair. They say it needed to be replaced. And I was quoted $1,800. I went there today and this is when they admitted that they were having problems matching the paint. They stat”
“My guys did this resurfacing job, why is the color like this after two weeks. submitted by /u/Ill-Illustrator-4026 [link] [comments]”
“Im shopping for a can of perfect match duplicolor but I cant find my exact color code (WA316N) so I need something that they carry thats as close as possible. The little touchup pen wont do, I need an aerosol can. I dont care at this point if its perfect, as long as it looks passable at a distance. WA929L was one color that looked sort of similar. Im just looking at GM colors because its for a GM but I really dont care as long as its close, I saw dodge chrysler had some pretty close colors as we”
“Buckle in boys and girls here comes another rant about the importance of blending. But first we have to talk about the nature of metallic paint and the mass production of cars. Metallic paints contain little reflective bits in them. When spraying the little reflective shards will want to lay or “flop” a certain way. This is unpredictable and could change due to curent environment and or spraying techniques. You could take that same can of paint today and have them sprayed on another panel and th”
“There will most likely be a shadow of where the pinstripes were, if you manage to remove them.”
“You get what you pay for. I tell all my customers I recommend genuine parts and blending into adjacent panels, this is, the best way but costs the most. If they want to supply or get me to use copy parts it won't ever be as good as it came out of the factory. And colour match can never be guaranteed when painting edge to edge, I don't recommend but it's cheaper option but don't complain afterwards. Your car looks like a copy part and not blended.”
“Yeah this is bad. Theres always going to be some degree of mismatch because you can never make paint perfect, but these tones are completely off.”
“I did not notice it whatsoever the first 2 times I looked and then when I looked really hard it could see it barely.”
“Need a desert tan color code for my truck that isn’t super light or super dark, if anyone knows any let me know! submitted by /u/Fancy-Evidence-1366 [link] [comments]”
over time it’ll look close and closer to the rest of the paint
“You won’t be able to match paint. That’s about it. Every other aspect of the trade you’ll be fine in. That being said. You can still spray but it’ll be out of a can or after someone else has given the product a thumbs up. You just don’t get to decide on color.”
“Hey this is a question for people who are actively working in the auto body industry, I’ve been looking at every trade to learn and pursue and auto body work has interested me the most but unfortunately I’m red/green colorblind. I still see colors, I can definitely tell if something is off but Ive been told I wouldn’t excel at the paint side of things and I’d likely fail the color theory class etc. I’d love to pursue this as a career but I’m not sure if I’d be happy just being an expert at one s”
“Me staring at all those photos for like 10 minutes and then realizing that I’m colorblind and no longer knowing what the hell I’m doing here”
Plastic refinish will always look different next to metal refinish.
“I’m convinced I might as well flip a coin every time I look at the comments on a post like this. Yeah, I see the color difference, and yeah, it’d drive me insane too.”
“maybe its all the women in my life asking about the differences between the slightest color changes of nail polish or sum but i spotted that immediately… yet it seems nobody else did😭”
“deadass 2 completely different yellows tlaking about “you’re the only person that notices it”🤦🏽♂️”
Tweetybird yellow is not lemon chiffon yellow.. Holy shit.
“Unless it looks worse in person than in the photos this is very very very hard to tell. I had to scroll back in forth and close one eye really tight to even let my imagination lie to me that it looks different”
“Yellow fades, it’ll match better in a few years in the sun. On top of that, painting a bright color on a plastic piece vs a yellow piece, it’ll be a different shade every time, even when brand new from the factory”
The body metal and the bumper plastic colors never match up