Color matching a custom color. What are my options?

[RYU]

My motorcycle fell on my driver's side door. Long story but It left a decent size dent and scratched the paint pretty good. I have no reference to the color code used and it's safe to assume it's a GM based metallic dark blue. Unfortunately, I have no idea which blue the prev. owner used.

I trust my shop with the body work but I don't trust their color matching skills, at least to get it right the 1st time.

What are my options for color matching?

Is there something as easy as sending a body panel to get color matched at, say, Dupont or PPG? To then order a gallon of paint as if I was shopping at Home Depot?

I'd really like to get this fixed but i'm very hesitant about having any shop color match the paint manually.

What would you guys do?

[NOT A TA]

I've brought parts to my local paint supplier and they use an electronic scanner on the part and then mix PPG paint to match. It works pretty well. The only drawback is that if the paint your scanning is already faded when it's scanned the new paint matches well when painted but years down the road you'll see the 2 paints fade at different rates.

[RYU]

Thanks for your help. Any idea how well it works on metallic paint?

[200horse]

lol the "electric scanner " Is hit or miss.But try it you never know I have not had any luck with them. Or find someone that can tint paint. The guy will pick a color close to it do a spray out and tint the color to match.

good luck

[NOT A TA]

Thanks for your help. Any idea how well it works on metallic paint?

I've used it on metalics and it worked fine. Make sure primer used in the repair area is the same color as the rest of the car had.

[TT302Z28]

I had the scanner used for my blue to paint a cowl hood to match. No mater what test spray to be sure before putting it on the car. I needed to have it brought in a little lighter by mixing in some silver.

In the end we shot the top of the whole front clip to blend it and you cannot tell where the old color was and the new color begins.

Now the only issue will be the possible different fade rates.

[1in1969]

Matching colors takes alot of experience, and there are tons of variables. You really need some one who knows their way around amixxing bank but knows how to spray as well, someone who has done HIGH Quality collision work for around atleast 10yrs this person will have seen a lot of colors and know what tints do what to the formula. Go to your PPG, Dupont supply house and ask to talk to the guy that calls on the shops he will know whos good and whos not so much, hopefully you have this guy in your town. Shawn

[Happyfunballs]

In my opinion, it'll never match perfectly. Get something as close as possible via tinting or scanner and have a professional blend it into the adjacent panels. Painting just the door will result in a noticeable difference.

[Hogshooter]

Was the dent in the middle of the door, at one edge top or bottom? That will affect how much blend room you will have. For instance if the dent is in the door handle area you will need to blend the quarter, but may be able to stay in the middle part of the door with the color and clear the rest. If you get in the quarter you will need to clear the roof and the opposite quarter, unless you want a clear that is "melted in" which will look good for a while but eventually show up. The camera they use is a spectrophotometer and is only good enough for a blendable color or a starting point. Although it is possible to get lucky sometimes and get a really close match the first time.

[RYU]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. It's been an education for me. The dent is in the middle of the driver's door but there is subsequent damage at the edge of the door. This goes to your point about having to blend in possibly the front fender and rear quarter as well. I'm getting the feeling there's no real easy way to do this and a scanner may not be a perfect match right away.

Can anyone recommend a shop to do this here in LA? Preferably San Gabriel Valley.

[Duesey2]

You'll surely have to blend it into adjacent panels and I'm sure it will be trial and error even for a good shop. Most have to use the scanner for a baseline and then adjust the tints from there to get it right. If a shop is smart they'd look the other way unless they aren't busy.

[joeelco72]

Matching colors takes alot of experience, and there are tons of variables. You really need some one who knows their way around amixxing bank but knows how to spray as well, someone who has done HIGH Quality collision work for around atleast 10yrs this person will have seen a lot of colors and know what tints do what to the formula. Go to your PPG, Dupont supply house and ask to talk to the guy that calls on the shops he will know whos good and whos not so much, hopefully you have this guy in your town. Shawn Yeah I would do the same, you know a good collision shop is more experienced at that than anyone because insurance companys hardly ever pay to repaint a whole vehicle.

[chavez o]

Yeah I would do the same, you know a good collision shop is more experienced at that than anyone because insurance companys hardly ever pay to repaint a whole vehicle.

Although most insurance companies will pay to blend adjacent panels. Sometimes that is a shops only recourse tp match a color. @ my shop we mix all our own colors,& even with a code #, matching colors exactly can be a challenge, manufactures often have different batches of paint which in turn creates many variations of the same code #. There can be as many as 10 alternates for the same color code. As mentioned earlier going to an experienced shop is your best bet, the paint scanner can at least give the shop a place to start to create a blendable match. Good luck.

[RYU]

Thanks everyone for your advice. There are two dents. One is about the size of a silver dollar but not very deep and the other is a nearly vertical (deep) scratch about 8" long. It's borderline call whether or not it'll need to blend into the adjacent panels. Hopefully, my shop will determine it's small enough to blend within the door.

I ended up going to my local Sherwin Williams since I couldn't find a retailer for PPG or Dupont in my area. I'm having them blend the paint with a small panel I removed from the car. I'll take my car there next week to see the swatch sample against the car itself. I should also add my local SW didn't mention having a scanner. I think he's doing it the old school way with mixing. I've asked for the formula so I don't run into this problem again!

With everyone's advice here, I think this was the most sensible thing to do so my body shop doesn't keep on respraying (read: charge me more $$$).

Much appreciated!!! Hope it all works out.

[200horse]

i am hoping you are not having the person working at sherwin williams color match that for you please say no!!!!!

[RYU]

i am hoping you are not having the person working at sherwin williams color match that for you please say no!!!!!
lol! you must have some horror stories to share.

yes, their "color matching guy" is suppose to match the color in their automotive dept. I'm not looking for a long term fix here. I plan on respraying the entire car in 2010 sometime but I need to fix this eyesore in the meantime. i guess i'm in trouble if their paint won't hold up at least a year in socal weather. i'm also not paying for the quart i ordered if the color match isn't satisfactory. not sure what I should be so worried about...? enlighten me please.

[200horse]

well most dont even have spray gus or even a compressor they used those pressurized bottles.

Hell most paint reps dont know nothing about paint at all. I have been doing this stuf 20 years have not met one guy that worked in any paint company that knew anytthing on tinting

Sorry but true anyways good luck

ask if they did a spray out. Some will just tint it in the can it gets to be funny watching them tint.

again good luck if you were closer I would love to show you how tinting works !!!!

[Hogshooter]

Let us know how this goes for you. They paint store I use sprays everything they tint with a gun then use an areosol clear. You will definately want the panel cleared to see the real color, look at it outside and look at it from several angles to make sure it doesn't have a funky "side tone" or flop. I have been in the trade since 84' and have done many of these kind of "no code" kind of jobs. If you are redoing the car in a couple of years I would get the color as close as possible and do the entire side of the car. I hate Sherwin Williams though I have seen to many issues with their system, peeling between base and clear, chemical sensitivity (polish etched the dry clear), and mottled appearence that you could not get rid of. Are you still able to get solvent based base coat? I thought Calif. was switching to water borne base.

[Paint God]

A good painter can match it. As funny as it sounds you want to take it to your towns busiest collision shop. Collision painters usually don't do the highest quality work (because they have learned how to make a car look ok in a short amount of time) but they match colors all day every day.

DO NOT TRUST THE GUY AT THE PAINT STORE OR THE COMPUTER/SCANNER THING!!!!

A good collision painter can match it dead on.