freaknbigpanda

Hey guys so I had some body work done which involved repainting 3 body panels and the paint color (black) is really close to stock but in some light you can tell it is different.

Is this normal or should it be exactly the same shade with no difference?

The shop said that given the age of my car (2009) this is expected

Kenny94945

No should not be able to see a repaint.

So diminished value.

First is to verify the repair shop used the correct GM brand and paint code.
If so, then they did not "tint" the color correctly.
If not, then there's your issue.

A repaint of a repaint opens a can of worms.
You need to maintain the correct Mil thickness requiring the removal of the coats applied previously.

IMO current black paints typically do not fade.
So, machine polish an adjacent panel to see if the new paint then matches.

This sucks for you so wishing you good luck.

DUB

YES...this is going to be normal that your newly applied paint not match 100% perfectly ( I explain later in this comment why) ...AND ...YES...the shop is correct in regards to the color being from 2009 and fading can occur.

YES...despite contrary beliefs...black can change because black is NOT black...there are otehr colors in this black and in time...depending on sun exposure...it can change the color. FACT...not opinion.

NOW...IF the shop who painted these panels ...and painted them entirely WITH the black...to the EDGE of the panel...then what happens is that the panel beside the panel they just painted....which is now butted against it...more than likely WILL NOT match because they did not BLEND the color into the adjacent panel.

THAT is where the problem can occur. Imagine someone just paints your fuel door and puts it back in the area of the quarter panel. The chances that the fuel door will match 100% are highly unlikely. BUT...if the painter blended out the color into the quarter panel..then this 'tricks' the eye and you can not pick up the blend area and all looks perfect.

The brand of paint is irrelevant. It does not ahve to be the same exact brand that GM used. Once again. FACT...not my opinion. And I know this because I use a paint that GM does not use and I can tint and match Corvette paint all day long.

AND YES....the type of light DOES make a big difference on paint due to the spectrum of light can change the was color looks.....and this is also FACT and not my opinion. The color may look perfect in one type of light and look like crap in a another....becasue the different spectrum of light are picking up the differences in the different toners used to make the color...which like I wrote above.,.your black is NOT black. I have a black toner on my paint mixing machine that IF I took a drop and put it on your paint job...you will easily see the milky shade or light toners in your paint.

Is you color a WA-8555 paint code????

DUB

NONN37

Try polishing the adjacent panels. could be the clear is oxidized creating a light fog making it appear lighter gl

DUB

But the shop should have already done that pre-delivery.

DUB

freaknbigpanda

Even after the panels are polished you can still tell, I had my whole car professionally waxed and polished and the guy who was doing it noticed the different in the panel color. I never noticed the difference myself until very recently in direct sunlight.

So the consensus is that this is normal and I shouldn't worry about it?

DUB

Did oyu read post #3???

Whether you need to worry about it and get it done again all depends on how they painted what they painted.

Without knowing what they did or how they did it...I can not CONFIRM that you have to live with it.

So much of it depends IF they attempted to tint the color and/or they blended the paint...and IF this is an insurance job and they were 'hand-cuffed' becasue the insurance company was not going to pay them to blend adjacent panels....which IF that was the case...they should have called you to explain HOW the outcome of the repair can be. I do it for my customers when I know I am not being given enough to do what I KNOW I need to do.

So many 'unknowns' in this thread that with out knowing the details..I can not say IF you should live with it or if you got screwed.

DUB

freaknbigpanda

Would it be possible to get a perfect color match just tinting the paint or do you always have to blend? This is on a black 2009 corvette.

NONN37

yes but you have to be very experienced and know which way to go. I usually blend repair on then next panel or blend the repair area with old paint. I dont like to just spray a fresh replacement panel (especially metallics cuz the lay different sometimes). If a customer brings in fresh new panels and a color code we spray it but cant guarantee match.


How bad is it? black usually has a hint of brown/yellow, maybe blue/grey depending on the type of clear they used. could be bad coverage over base, bad tint, clear

Ive painted straight black on a mercedes from stuff i had left over another project and was unnoticeable to the panel lines.

DUB

As mentioned and I will confirm what 'NONN37' stated.

YES a color can be tinted to perfection..but what you have to consider that it takes TIME and I have an excellent eye for color had shades and so on and regardless of that...adding a drop of this or that toner is often what it can come down to to get a paint so perfect...you can paint a duel door and it will match perfectly. Often times ..tinting a color to absolute perfection will or can take more time than prepping the adjacent panels and blending it out. NO JOKE...I can have SERIOUS hours in spraying out test panels to verify my color mix that I am tinting to get as close as possible.

This is why in the industry painters (when paid to do so) will blend into the adjacent panel to trick your eye and make it so you can not tell the color may be off a little bit.

And just because we paint cars and know how to get them RIGHT...if we are not being paid to do it...then how could anybody EXPECT us painters to spend hours on extra work and not get paid for it.

And not knowing the particulars in your repairs and all that...it is hard to say if they screwed you or you chose to not pay more to get the adjacent panels blended. I often times am told by customers that they want it as cheap as possible or give me a budget that is not even close to reality..and that is when I thank them for stopping by and bid them a farewell.

DUB