What to do when the paint doesn't match?
08-20-2007, 02:21 PM
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What to do when the paint doesn't match?
I had the local Audi Dealer's body shop refinish the rear bumper on my Brilliant White coupe...got the car back and the "TT & Quattro" emblems were in the wrong locations on the wrong side of the car, (fixed them myelf to be sure they were in the correct spots) but worse, the new white paint on the bumper cover is a distinclty different shade of white than the original, untouched metal body parts of the car. I went back and the shop foreman said "they all do that...painted plastic never totally matches original paint on steel body and that white and silver are the colors where it is most obvious". Please help me out...has anyone else had this problem on their cars? On Lake Silver or white or other colors? I'll have the car at TT East and some of you can see it there. Meanwhile, do you think the shop is blowing smoke or should I demand a re-spray?
08-20-2007, 02:31 PM
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Paint match will be tough>>>
as paint fades...but here is the thing, professional body shops know this, and they should be able to match it perfectly....take it back and make him do it again...
White and silver are actually the EASIEST to match......
White and silver are actually the EASIEST to match......
08-20-2007, 02:35 PM
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The toughest TT color is probably...
Primer. ;^) It's like a 3 process paint from the factory or something, isn't it? Amulett seems to be tough too. they did some touchup on my Nimbus & I couldn't even tell. I was quite impressed.
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08-20-2007, 02:45 PM
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white is a hard color to match. do u know what paint line that shop uses?
white age's and changes slightly in color over time making a match based on code hard, and depending what paint line they use matching a euro paint job isnt easy as u would think. the last body shop i worked at did all the work for a local vw/audi dealer and wow white was a real pain to match on some cars. they could def bust a blend but....... that isnt the best way to fix it.
08-20-2007, 02:54 PM
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Paint match continued...
The shop guy mentioned a blend job and said you don't want to do that...he said he has painted whole cars trying to match re-painted panels...however, I'm getting conflicting points of view about white...some say it is an easy match...if I demand a re-do I may end up with a still unmatched job and a shop foreman who permanently "has it in for me". Any suggestions as to my next move?
08-20-2007, 03:15 PM
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white isnt white
most auto companys have 2-5 diffrent white's thye use. go to home depo and see how many diffrent whites u see. cars are the same, some are more blue, some are more yellow and so on.... then u get into haveing any kind of matalic and OWWO it gets insane to match. i dont like to have my car's blended in less its the 100% last option. basicly what they do is prep you car a good 20-30" back from where the new part is that has fresh non matching paint. then they lightly mist the new paint color on your car creating a type of "fade" from teh new color to the old color. this creates a type of eye tricking transition in color that helps fool your eye from being able to tell as well where the new parts are on the car and save's the shop money/time from having to repaint teh whole car. i dont like this for a few reasons, #1, its ghetto to sinply "fade" from 1 color to the other color in effort to "cheat" fixing the problem properly. #2, the "blended" area will crack, peal, chip, damage much easyer than the rest of the car as, when they do the blend they simply "crack open" the old paints clear coat and spray right on top of it, no real new base or anythign for the paint to bite into is created. this leaves the new "blend" looking good for a bit but w/ a lill ageing, you wll have issues. #3, "if" down the road anything else needs to be worked on/painted on teh car ths new "blended" area will become a real issue when trying to once again install newly painted parts as, this "blended" area wont be properly preped or painted w/ a color thats "normal" or "stock" so once again will become a issue and need to be "blended" over again...... creating a real never ending line of coudl be issues. some time's its just not soemthing u can aoivd. and insurance companys love to pay for a "blend" vs. repainting a car. its just a mater of what happens down the raod and how "lucky" you are as 2 what it will be like in a year or 5......... so no, if i can avoid a blend espicly once that would be across teh whole rear of a car........ i would do whats needed to fix the issue properly.