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color matching ???

1K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  Mr.Chev 
#1 ·
are there any classes I can take to learn this? i`ve painted a couple dozen cars but almost all were complete paint jobs, i`ve done 3 repairs for people and my color match never looks right, it could be the guy mixing my paint but I have my doubts...


anybody willing to share some tips with me? it would be greatly appreciated.
 
#3 ·
the way to blend is to keep the color tight or only on the repair til you get coverage then start over reducing it with fast reducer or blender remember get coverage+1 coat on the repair then put a coat ontop taking it out a little farther and reducing it a little more each time usually 3-4 times stay away from panel edges but use the body lines and natural curves to help hide the blend. on panel replacement scuff the adjacent panels and mask them off so they can be unmasked easily get coverage+1 coat then unmask adjacent panels and blend them in going about half way into the panel with the last blend coat. you need to have some real common sense and the best way to learn is to be shown by a pro or paint rep. white is a bitch and metalics are your friends the clear can also make a difference so use something quality.
 
#4 ·
are there any classes I can take to learn this? i`ve painted a couple dozen cars but almost all were complete paint jobs, i`ve done 3 repairs for people and my color match never looks right, it could be the guy mixing my paint but I have my doubts...


anybody willing to share some tips with me? it would be greatly appreciated.

Color matching is one of the hardest things to master as a painter. Are the cars you working on OEM original, or re-paints? If they are repainted with a wrong mix, factory color will never match. Paint starts changing color almost immediately. Your paint supplier should have a spectrameter(spelling error)they can take a picture of a part of your projects and the computer will come up with a blendable color. Almost every color must be blended to adjacent panel. The high end paints will give you the best chance for a color match to the OEM formula. The reason they cost more is due to more research in color matching. If you paint a fender, better plan to color half the door and clear the whole door.
 
#5 ·
are there any classes I can take to learn this? i`ve painted a couple dozen cars but almost all were complete paint jobs, i`ve done 3 repairs for people and my color match never looks right, it could be the guy mixing my paint but I have my doubts...


anybody willing to share some tips with me? it would be greatly appreciated.
To answer your question, check your local community college and see if they offer anything. They do here in Charlotte NC.
 
#6 ·
the 3 repair jobs were all factory paint jobs, the guy I bought my paint from didnt use anything except a factory paint code to mix them, I stopped doing repairs because I wasn`t satisfied with my work so I haven`t painted in a few years.

i`d like to get into rebuildables again but when I did them previously I had to paint the whole vehicle since my color matching sucked, painting the whole vehicle definetely ate into the profits compared to just doing section repair.
 
#7 ·
Each color has a prime formula, then 2,3,4 and some 8 variances of the same color and code. Some are very suttle and some change a ton. When I worked for Dupont there was over 100,000 colors in their library. Spend a few hundred and take a color match/paint course at a community college. Materials are too expensive to paint more that the car needs.
 
#10 ·
I use a 3m sun lamp and the color variance swatches to match colors with, but with a good blend you can get away with some variance and not notice it.
with waterborne paint You cannot tell what the color looks like till you spray a coat and it dries so its very important to use the variance charts and if possible mix your own paint, you will find when you mix it, you will be more accrurate than some counter person who whips up a batch of whatever, it sounds like you are not familiar with blending so it would make sense to go to a color blending course with a paint manufacturer. pay a little money cause you will save a lot of time and aggravation in the long run. or if you have a friend in the autobody industry, go to their shop and ask for a demo, You'd be surprized what a case of bud light buys you!!!
 
#11 ·
i`m definetely willing to spend the money to learn


i`m sure my technique needs major work but i`m starting to think my old paint guy sucked, he was the only person in town that sold paint and on all 3 occasions I just brought in my paint code and matched out of a dupont chromabase book, no shading no color swatch matching etc
 
#12 ·
everything said above is right but after you been doing this for awhile it becomes very easy been painting cars for 23 years now and i can blend any alternet the paint supplier gives me but when just starting out like you must get the best possible match you can for the learning,and always stay away or blend in to the next panel use a good blender all your trying to do is fool the human eye lol i even do other tricks like adding a couple drops of the paint into the clear coat or metalic if it looks off silvers and gold colours and tricoats are going to be the toughest for you starting out.
 
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