Paint doesn't match

[polenskyuk]

Hi there everyone. My husband and I just bought a used Jeep. The fender needed to be fixed, so we talked the dealer into replacing it. I just got it back yesterday and the new paint on the fender doesn't match. I figure that they tried to cut corners and didn't blend the paint to match the rest of the car that has faded with three years of sun exposure.

Anyway, my question is: Does anybody have any suggestions on how I can get the paint to match (at this point, even a little better would be great!). The color is silver.

Thanks!

 

[ScottB]

metallics are usually a bit harder to match, but silver is usually pretty easy. I would take it back and ask them to repair, as they should have blended it into surrounding panels as possible to reduce the noticability of color difference also.

 

[David Fermani]

metallics are usually a bit harder to match, but silver is usually pretty easy.

That's interesting. What makes you think this? Silver is one of the hardest colors to match and requires blending on pretty much every adjacent panel (even if you do multiple spray out/test panels). Solid black IMHO should even be blended. Most paint manufacturers even suggest it.

Take your Jeep back to the dealer and insist on them blending. unless you didn't want to pay the extra charge of blending that they *might* have offered you (you didn't say). They should have enough common sense to know this up front that the paint wasn't going to match.

 

[polenskyuk]

They didn't offer to blend it...and I called them up after and asked if they would re-do it and they said that they wouldn't. They said that they had to send the fender off to another place to get it painted because they did not have the capabilities at the dealership.

So, I'm pretty much stuck with it the way that it is. I'm just trying to minimize the color difference as much as possible. Thanks

 

[nrengle]

It sounds to me the dealership shouldn't be doing autobody work if they don't have the capability to repaint what they've replaced/repaired. Or they need to do the proper thing and send the whole car to whoever paints for them, and have it blended. I would fight this tooth and nail.

 

[Matt S.]

This is why I always pay with a credit card when I get work done to any car. I'd tell them to fix it or a charge-back will be in order.

Unless the surrounding panels are oxidized, there's really nothing you can do IMO.

 

[builthatch]

metallics are usually a bit harder to match, but silver is usually pretty easy.

hmm...IMO silver metallics aren't that easy. It's very easy to get it wrong w/o really blending far and properly. I've had 4 silver metallic cars (97 Civic, 05 Si, 07 Si 08 Ms3), each and every one needed work at some point, including my newest one on the roof. With the exception of my ms3 because the roof, thankfully, is fully isolated from everything else, it was always a hassle to get things right w/o proper attention. if i recall the silver on those jeeps isn't that rich with metallic, but the tint could easily be off.

to the OP, have you tried to clay, compound/polish well and wax the original surrounding areas? If the tint of the silver is genuinely off, you can't do anything about it; same if the metallic size is different, but...there are certain instances where i can see that attacking the surrounding 'old' areas with a heavy detail protocol could improve things, making the clear have a perfect finish and effectively making the base underneath more 'dazzling' to help fit in with the glamorous new clear coat on that fresh fender.

 

[ScottB]

I worked as a lot boy for a major automotive dealer for several summers, silver was always preferred for paint matching. Guess I was lucky that my silver Vette never needed any work, well until its demise.

A letter to the Better Business Bureau might have a different outcome on dealer !

 

[David Fermani]

Did you ever notice that the brand new cars that were/are silver always had the worst matching bumpers? Especially Corvettes. They never seems to match the bodies.

 

[StephenK]

i work in a body shop and have heard everyone complain about having to match silver. they say it is the hardest to match. and you have to remember the rest of the paint is 3 years old. so the body shop matched the manufacturers paint code not the faded oxidized paint that was on the vehicle. under the same paint code there was probably 4-6 if not more different mixtures to get that code. what i mean is if you were to look at the same 2 cars with the same paint code that will be different if the paint was not from same batch. if you find another jeep with your same paint code i bet if you sit them side by side you would think they were different colors.

 

[killrflake]

Did you ever notice that the brand new cars that were/are silver always had the worst matching bumpers? Especially Corvettes. They never seems to match the bodies.

Your right about silver Vette bumpers not matching, it makes you think the factory looked at it and said "let it go like that". I have a white pearl matallic car that isn't much better. It doesn't seem to make a differance if it's a MB a BMW or a Lexus, they are all messed up. I had owned a 68 Vette convertible back in 1970 that was silver with that same problem. I had the car custom painted mini metalflake silver just to get around the body parts that had been made of plastic with the flex agent that screwed them up. Back then the car had chrome bumpers so I didn't have to worry about them at least.

 

[AaronO]

I have a friend who owns an auto body shop. I had to get the front bumber on my silver Civic repaired. He matched the paint on the car and then pointed out that the rear bumper now appeared to be slightly off (compared to the front). He explained to me that when the car was made, not all parts are painted in the same location or at the same time. So the paint on all panels may not match exactly. The front bumper (he painted) matches the body perfectly. However, the back appears to be a little darker than the body. I found it interesting.

 

[builthatch]

Did you ever notice that the brand new cars that were/are silver always had the worst matching bumpers? Especially Corvettes. They never seems to match the bodies.

ha ripper, it's funny man- you f'n read my mind. as soon as i saw the 'vette pic, i thought about how my car (mazdaspeed3 in silver) and most cars with seperately painted bumper covers have, usually, a darker tint on the cover. it's common with pretty much all cars, but it's especially noticeable with certain colors- pearls, metallics and....like mentioned, silver.

 

[StephenK]

under the same paint code there was probably 4-6 if not more different mixtures to get that code. what i mean is if you were to look at the same 2 cars with the same paint code they will be different if the paint was not from same batch. if you find another jeep with your same paint code i bet if you sit them side by side you would think they were different colors.

to give example of what i mean i took picture of a set of paint colors from work. there are 5 different swatches but all are same paint code.

dont think the picture shows it but there is a difference in all 5 colors. and as you will see from the next picture they are all the same nissan paint code

you notice there is a letter after the color name. that is where alot of problems come. some shops may not pay attention to that. and it will make a world of difference in the color. all 5 are the same manufactures code (KL0) also all the same name (silver ice) and all from the same year (1992) which is why touch up paint you but in stores or even from the dealership does not match. to many variable within the paint code