color matching

[57chevyman]

got my truck back from the body shop. a contractor accidentally put a huge scratch on the driver side fender. the whole front flip hood had to be repainted. they painted it twice because the color didnt match the first time. is it standard practice to match a custom color by eye and make no documentation on how to reproduce the color??

theres a local body shop supplier who all the body shops around here deal with... been in business for decades. last summer i had a friend paint my truck with single stage enamel. i bought the paint.. a gallon was around $100 bucks. i brought them my glove box door and they matched it "by eye". when i picked up the paint, i asked for the "code" or some documentation for the formula they used.. they said " our guy matches hundreds of colors a day. we dont document the colors he makes". so i said, ok, what if i need more of this paint? he said, "bring the glove box door in again and he will match it again."

[chopit]

Did you ask what plan B was if their eagle eye color matcher died?

Hell even Lowes puts a code on the can after they color match house paint by "eye" lol

[_Ogre]

that sucks, big time
hopefully they removed the previous layers, thick paint can make big chips
if it doesn't match have them repaint the whole truck

any paint shop has a code for the paint, nobody mixes by eye
wet paint and dry paint don't look the same

we have an autobody paint mix system it came with a label printer
the painter prints 2 labels, one goes on the customers invoice, the other in our records
just in case

martinsr should chime in, he's a paint rep

[Valarius_Starchaser]

I worked for a local paint jobber mixing and matching Axalta(DuPont) products for the last two years before changing career paths when I matched a color I ALWAYS gave the mix to the customer in a quart amount (scaled appropriately from the match) so I then didn't need to waste my time or the customers if they needed it brought back in.

Sounds to me like someone is getting a little lazy and decided to not hit the print button on the mixing software

[57chevyman]

the guy at the paint supply store explained that they have a computer that scans for color matching but for certain colors its not accurate at all. for my paint they started with a PPG turquiose color and added blue a little at a time until they matched the desired color. seems crazy to me that the guy couldnt tell me how much blue was added.

[Valarius_Starchaser]

Yah I would have started with a chip and mixed it to compare dry color then added blue white black etc as I saw fit and recorded it until I had a good color then I would remix with what I did to confirm a correct color match then scale it up to what the customer wanted and sprayed another test out card just to be sure it scaled up correctly if not I would try to save the large mix but even then it can be hard mixing from a small amount to a large one especially oranges I've found "don't get me started on kubotas" glad I only do one color match a week now instead of a dozen a day

In the photos the front clip looks a little lighter then the door could be the light I see pins at the bottom of the fender so its a tilt is it a fiberglass unit? that could mess with color from time to time as well as plastics and simply the sealer that was used or the paint brand and by the sound of it your paint mixing "master"

[Foot Stomper]

Originally Posted by Valarius_Starchaser

Yah I would have started with a chip and mixed it to compare dry color then added blue white black etc as I saw fit and recorded it until I had a good color then I would remix with what I did to confirm a correct color match then scale it up to what the customer wanted and sprayed another test out card just to be sure it scaled up correctly if not I would try to save the large mix but even then it can be hard mixing from a small amount to a large one

100% gospel truth Valarius! Anyone and everyone reading your advice should take pause, reread and reread! A color camera that reads a color 100%, 100% of the time DOES NOT EXIST! It takes a magician "tinter" like yourself to take the camera's recommendation for a starting point ONLY!

You truly have what is becoming a lost art/skill!

[Foot Stomper]

Originally Posted by 57chevyman

the guy at the paint supply store explained that they have a computer that scans for color matching but for certain colors its not accurate at all. for my paint they started with a PPG turquiose color and added blue a little at a time until they matched the desired color. seems crazy to me that the guy couldnt tell me how much blue was added.

Lazy lazy lazy!
Having a mix code for touch up/blends is killer and this guy just screwed you because the "next" (hopefully never) time you need another pint or quart, odds are you could end up with three colors on your truck.

What happened to/about the culprit that damaged it in the first place ...dare I ask... this color issue shouldn't be YOUR problem!

[Valarius_Starchaser]

To add to my earlier post on some hard to match colors especially tri-coats and high metallic reds and browns I have had to let things sit over night to cool down and when I come in the next morning a card that was close but not quite has matched dead nuts when returning I have asked my local rep about that his response was leveling solvents in the color laying out and making it brighter or darker so on mixes like that I allow an overnight sit of the card in case it darkens overnight would hate to sell a 1200 can of Chroma Premier Base coat and then have a livid customer coming back

All in all I would go back and request a mix for it because frankly a "we dont have it" isn't an option if they are using modern mixing machines there multiple labels as well as saved data for recent mixes by date,time,mixer and even customer so the information is there the guy is just to lazy to get it for you

Good Luck
~Val

[57chevyman]

the tilt hood is steel, not fiberglass.
im trying to imagine how the color matching guy at the shop operates? if hes making a gallon of custom paint, hes obviously not adding tint to the whole gallon..hes gotta start with a small measured amount and add precise measured amounts of other colors until he gets the correct dry color.. now he has the formula to accurately make a gallon or more of that color. im no expert, but this seems pretty obvious to me.

for the shop to tell me that they dont have the formula to reproduce the same color for me seems nuts. does the guy write down his measurements on a scrap of paper and throw it in the trash after the paint is made ?!

The flip hood that was just done is very slightly different than the rest of the truck, although a lot closer than it was the first time they did it . the color is close enough that most people probably wont notice unless i point it out. at this point i think they should have just repainted the whole truck instead of doing the front twice.