ever heard of a door jam colour being wrong?

[sneek]

I have a silver 03 accord and when even I use the touch up paint it seems to be a darker colour than my paint. I know my paint isnt oxidized or anything but it just looks really bad when you have these dark greay dots all over the car!

My paint code in the door is NH623M and my touch up paint is that code too! but my paint looks a lot like NH638M. Does anyone know anything about touch up paint?

[the other pc]

Paint can vary from batch to batch, both the factory and the touch-up. If one was a tiny bit light while the other a tiny bit dark putting them together doubles the difference.

I presume the car is clearcoated. Single stage touch-up can also look different than the exact same paint with clear over it.

Metallics applied by brush can look different than when they are sprayed. A metallic that’s been sitting around a while needs to be stirred really, really well to get the flakes distributed right.

One or all (or some other) of these effects may have come into play for (well, against) you.

It’s much more expensive than the little pre-packaged “nail polish” touch-up paints but you can have a good paint shop custom match paint for you. If you have a custom match done be sure it’s by somebody with lots of experience and a “good eye,” who’s not just “going by the numbers.”



PC.

[theshineshopm3@comca]

touch up

i had the same problem with my bmw. i took the gas door to a body shop that does bmw and they matched it with the machine they have. i would go to your dealer to see where they send they're work.
good luck

[sneek]

Originally posted by the other pc
Paint can vary from batch to batch, both the factory and the touch-up. If one was a tiny bit light while the other a tiny bit dark putting them together doubles the difference.

I presume the car is clearcoated. Single stage touch-up can also look different than the exact same paint with clear over it.

Metallics applied by brush can look different than when they are sprayed. A metallic that’s been sitting around a while needs to be stirred really, really well to get the flakes distributed right.

One or all (or some other) of these effects may have come into play for (well, against) you.

It’s much more expensive than the little pre-packaged “nail polish” touch-up paints but you can have a good paint shop custom match paint for you. If you have a custom match done be sure it’s by somebody with lots of experience and a “good eye,” who’s not just “going by the numbers.”



PC.

dang, i thought about taking it to one of those body shops but i think they only do spray cans. I am only looking to touch up some rock chips not repaint the entire hood so i may just have to buy the "wrong" touch up paint and see how it looks

edit: the thing that is really strange is that i have had the rear bumper re-painted before and the paint is the exact same colour and I am pretty sure the painter went by the door jamb code . I think i am SOL

[Nolan_k]

From what I understand, with metallics it also depends on the position the body panel was in when the paint dried. So if it was upright the metal particles settle differently than when lying flat etc... Hope this helps.

[the other pc]

Most PBE stores will mix up small bottles or spray cans for touch-up. It's worth calling around to find out who does what and what it'll cost. Since your car is so new and you know it's been matched before it shouldn't be a problem for a good PBE store. As Mike pointed out, bringing the gas cap door in for them to match would be ideal.

Get more paint than you need for the car so you can make some test pieces and lay them on the finish to compare before doing the touch-ups. You'll also be able to play around with your technique and products before you commit to the car.

Don't be afraid of spray cans. You can use them on small chips by masking around the chips. Note; cover the entire rest of the car with drop cloths/masking if you spray a touch-up.

The ace paint matching dude in my neighborhood works at a Sherwin-Williams store. (Yes, that Sherwin-Williams. Their automotive paint operations are completely separate from the house paints.) Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes' dealer locator shows three PBE stores in Calgary. I'm sure you've got DuPont, PPG and BASF near by as well.


PC.

[Zet]

I have the same problem with my Toyota, the touch up paint I bought for it is a somewhat lighter color, even though it has the same color code, and it's bought at a Toyota dealer It's very noticeable, especially when the car is just detailed those lighter spots really stand out. It's very frustrating, so much in fact that partly because of these spots I'm thinking of selling the car Oh well, I'm getting a bit tired of it anyway...

I'm afraid it's very comon with touch-up paint, also had the same problem with a single stage red Toyota...

[sneek]

awsome thanks Paul, this is very useful info as usual!