Matching Car Paint

I've done it a couple of times with some misgivings but the outlay on a small bottle of touch-up paint wasn't so large. The colour I got was pretty much identical with the original, but on a vehicle that's a few years old the paint might have faded a tiny bit, so I didn't mind it not being absolutely identical. For my purposes, touching up a small fairly inconspicuous area, it worked fine.

Forget it for red cars. Red fades terribly.

I've done that from

It was fine on my ten year old Leon, but then it wasn't faded, because I looked after the paint- I filled/sprayed a small spot low down on a front wing and you had to be very close to tell. I need some touchup for OH's Lupo, which is yellow and definitely *has* faded, so that may be less successful.

Red can be a nightmare and GM paint seems particularly prone to fade, but VWs were pretty shocking with the early water-based red paint.

On my 2001 Ford the paint code was meant to be on a sticker on the edge of the front door but the previous owner had removed EVERY sticker on the car.

I can't remember if I got the actual paint colour from the plate beside the bonnet catch or from the VIN number and a bit of googling but having found the name of the paint colour it was a perfect match, before 14 years of paint fading - the match isn't too bad even now.

It may help in the first instance going into somewhere like Halfords, looking at the the range of paint colours for the age of the car. For instance they may have only used 10 shades of red so when you find one of these by other means of identification you can be more sure of your results.

Did it with the paint code in the handbook and went to the main dealer for the paint. It was not cheap, but it matched.

Not so much with a clear lacquer on top.

Until it peels.

I did a long while ago. It was way out. But then the car in question was known for paint colours only matching mfr's spec rather roughly.

NT

My 2001 red ford has one small area of around 4 inch by 1 inch where the lacquer started to peel last year. A light rub down around the edges and an application of lacquer with a small brush has consolidated the peeling.

Problem is most paint ages. Some colours more than others.

I was once (years ago) told by a paint supplier that Ford Diamond White was an absolute pig to match as it varied so widely from the factory.

It may give you a paint formulated to look like the original paint put onto the car at the time of manufacture (if you are very lucky). It may not be a superior match to a manufacturers own brand name paint though.

Depending on the model Halfords finest might be good enough. You will have to try it and see what the match looks like on a piece of scrap.

Any of the spectrum of colours that absorb energetic blue photons will be prone to suffering fading in sunlight. Base coat clear paints are better since there is a UV absorber in the top coat.

Also there are serious problems matching the properties of original metallic paints since how it looks in the end depends critically on exactly how you apply it even if the flake size mix is right.

Yes, many years ago my late father did this with ford polar white, but due to the aging of the car paint it really did show up in some lights as being lighter. its a tough one.

Brian

Yeah, but I don't think white is the worst to match by any means. I'd say metallic silver probably takes that 'honour'.

This stuff could be pretty tricky as well. Depending on your angle of view, of course.

All metallics are a PITA. Not only does the colour have to match, but the 'direction' of the reflective particles. Hence the need to blend in over an area. Just spraying say a door is likely to stand out. Took a BMW main dealer three goes to get a rear wing on my dark green metallic car right. When I collected it, looked not bad in the bright sunshine. On a dull day stood out like a sore thumb.

I used that well worn phrase:- 'Either make the rear wing the same as the rest of the car, or the rest of the car the same as the rear wing.)

And of course with a metallic not only has the base coat got to be right, but the clear coat too.

This bloke who was trying to convince me he could replicate any colour I wanted from the back of his van specifically boasted he could handle iridescent colours as well; claimed there was *nothing* he couldn't mix on the spot from the paint code. On the basis of gut instinct (and what I read here) I remain sceptical. Perhaps I'll give him a chance just for the pleasure of shooting him down in flames if he can't deliver. ;->

At one time, car paints were matched by eye. And a craftsman could get a perfect match, even to a faded paint.

These days if the computer doesn't give a code it can't be done.