When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I've got a new hood coming and it will need to be painted to match my electron blue 2002.
What are the odds that good paint shop will be able to get the color to match without having to spray the fenders and bumper to blend the new paint and old paint? Is there anything I should ask about when I talk to local body shops? (Brands of paint? Color matching equipment? Etc?) Obviously I'm going to ask if they can match the current paint, but I assume they're all going to say yes, and I'm not sure they're all going to be equally correct in that aspiration.
I ask because I had paint protection film added to everything forward of the windshield a while back, and I don't want to repeat that expense if I don't have to.
I've got a new hood coming and it will need to be painted to match my electron blue 2002.
What are the odds that good paint shop will be able to get the color to match without having to spray the fenders and bumper to blend the new paint and old paint? Is there anything I should ask about when I talk to local body shops? (Brands of paint? Color matching equipment? Etc?) Obviously I'm going to ask if they can match the current paint, but I assume they're all going to say yes, and I'm not sure they're all going to be equally correct in that aspiration.
I ask because I had paint protection film added to everything forward of the windshield a while back, and I don't want to repeat that expense if I don't have to.
I know of a paint shop here that can definitely match the paint perfect to any color with out any blending of any kind....they have this expensive little device that "reads" the color perfectly and spits out a code for the paint mixture content...then the painter paints a large paint chip to show how it matches up before painting...yes there is hope....do a lot of checking and get in writing...
....and believe me....i was one picky sombitch when it came to my MCM hood...
pretty close color match....... huh ?
I'm with the others. Not much chance of an exact match. Close enough that you don't notice though is possible.
A good shop should be able to do a very good match. Ask your insurance agent to hook you up with one of their adjusters who should be able to recommend someone in your area. They never want to pay for blending so they usually have a good handle on shops that are good at matching.
I'm with the others. Not much chance of an exact match. Close enough that you don't notice though is possible.
A good shop should be able to do a very good match. Ask your insurance agent to hook you up with one of their adjusters who should be able to recommend someone in your area. They never want to pay for blending so they usually have a good handle on shops that are good at matching.
You have electron blue as I do. When I checked about painting mine they told me they would not be able to match the metallic in the paint
8 to 9 thousand to re paint the car.
I ended up going to a shop and had it wrapped with a color that was so close you have to look hard to tell the difference
A good shop should be able to do a very good match. Ask your insurance agent to hook you up with one of their adjusters who should be able to recommend someone in your area. They never want to pay for blending so they usually have a good handle on shops that are good at matching.
Straight red is an easier match. Blue with metallic is very, very hard. You won't find an insurance job that is done without blending a metallic.
A good painter and protection film applied after could combine to "close enough it's OK".
Last edited by lionelhutz; Feb 25, 2020 at 07:26 AM.
Maybe not EXACTLY the same. But if they can find your year/variant of that shade, the fenders/bumper aren't too faded already and they know what they're doing, It'll be pretty close. I had some fenders painted CRM and they were spot on!
It turns out that PPG carries an off-the-shelf paint that is Electron Blue. The hood matches perfectly, and there was no need to blend the adjacent body panels.
Unfortunately I did not get a part number of the paint. All I know is that it's solvent-based rather than water-based. But if your local shop uses PPG and can work with solved-based paints, they can get you an exact match.
Straight red is an easier match. Blue with metallic is very, very hard. You won't find an insurance job that is done without blending a metallic.
A good painter and protection film applied after could combine to "close enough it's OK".
Beg to differ, my family has had two cars with metallic paint, brown and dark green, that were not blended. They matched perfectly. It does take very skilled paint shop.
Beg to differ, my family has had two cars with metallic paint, brown and dark green, that were not blended. They matched perfectly. It does take very skilled paint shop.
I have a buddy that runs a body shop. Yes, it is VERY hard to match. It simply NEVER matches exactly, especially with metallic. There is simply no way to get the metallic to lay the same as the factory equipment. Hell, even paint a car all at the same time but apart and have some of the panels at the wrong angle and they don't really match. He laughs at the matching camera. He gets the paint reps to come by with their newest high tech setup and it sometimes comes back with a worse match then starting with the base code blend and guessing at changes to get it closer.
The factory doesn't even get the panels to match. Just go to a car lot and actually look at a bunch of cars. I've seen factory painted C5's that don't match. Pewter color is bad for this.
I know of a paint shop here that can definitely match the paint perfect to any color with out any blending of any kind....they have this expensive little device that "reads" the color perfectly and spits out a code for the paint mixture content...then the painter paints a large paint chip to show how it matches up before painting...yes there is hope....do a lot of checking and get in writing...
....and believe me....i was one picky sombitch when it came to my MCM hood...
pretty close color match....... huh ?
This hood looks terrible. I will help you out and buy it from you.....lol
I have a buddy that runs a body shop. Yes, it is VERY hard to match. It simply NEVER matches exactly, especially with metallic. There is simply no way to get the metallic to lay the same as the factory equipment. Hell, even paint a car all at the same time but apart and have some of the panels at the wrong angle and they don't really match. He laughs at the matching camera. He gets the paint reps to come by with their newest high tech setup and it sometimes comes back with a worse match then starting with the base code blend and guessing at changes to get it closer.
The factory doesn't even get the panels to match. Just go to a car lot and actually look at a bunch of cars. I've seen factory painted C5's that don't match. Pewter color is bad for this.
Show me a GM car made in the last 7 years that the different panels don’t match. Things have changed over the years.
Your buddy must be running an old fashioned body shop. Not one that embraces new technology. The camera formula is merely the starting point for the first test. If someone at a body shop told me what your friend is saying I would run. What he said may be true for highly metallic custom paint but not for paints that the major manufacturers use.
Show me a GM car made in the last 7 years that the different panels don’t match..
LOL, you writing this just makes me laugh. New cars have terrible paint matches between the parts painted at different times. Go to any dealer and actually look closely at the bumper cover vs body paint match. I see it all the time. No-one notices just looking at the car, but when you pay close attention to it you find it all the time. I see it with ALL manufacturers, ALL years. Of course, some cars match worse than others.
I wrote that the camera DOES NOT properly match the paint, and it often does a worse job than just mixing up the color code that is supposed to be on the car. The match has to be done by an experienced eye. You write my buddy must not be embracing the technology even though you also wrote that the camera doesn't get the match right. Ya, lots of credibility and consistency in your responses there....
It turns out that PPG carries an off-the-shelf paint that is Electron Blue. The hood matches perfectly, and there was no need to blend the adjacent body panels.
Unfortunately I did not get a part number of the paint. All I know is that it's solvent-based rather than water-based. But if your local shop uses PPG and can work with solved-based paints, they can get you an exact match.
LOL, you writing this just makes me laugh. New cars have terrible paint matches between the parts painted at different times. Go to any dealer and actually look closely at the bumper cover vs body paint match. I see it all the time. No-one notices just looking at the car, but when you pay close attention to it you find it all the time. I see it with ALL manufacturers, ALL years. Of course, some cars match worse than others.
I wrote that the camera DOES NOT properly match the paint, and it often does a worse job than just mixing up the color code that is supposed to be on the car. The match has to be done by an experienced eye. You write my buddy must not be embracing the technology even though you also wrote that the camera doesn't get the match right. Ya, lots of credibility and consistency in your responses there....
Bumpers not matching is due to the additives in the paint to keep it flexible, not a difference in color or being done at a different time. The paint with the additives dries differently which effects the flakes. It’s also why the paint ages differently. Has not a thing to do with getting a hood to match the fenders.
Friends and family have had collision damage repaired by a local body shop that uses the camera system. One had a very metallic black paint. I didn’t think there was a chance in hell that there would be a good match. I couldn’t tell which panels were repainted when it was done. Shop attributed camera system as the reason it came out so well. Others came out looking great also. I’m sure that the skill of the painter was also a factor. If I needed any vehicle repainted, I wouldn’t be going to a shop that didn’t use the camera system.
Also as far as consistency, the amount of thinner, reducer and catalyst used effects how the metallic particles sit in the finished paint. It’s not just the paint base coat color. Temperature and humidity must be considered by the painter to get it right. Thus doing a test shot may be needed. It isn’t because the camera didn’t get it right.
Last edited by Bubba1951; Dec 23, 2020 at 08:40 AM.
Getting a hood painted to match
