Will the paint match on my car after my auto body repair is done?

  

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Will the paint match on my car after my auto body repair is done?

So you need to get you car fixed after an accident. A safe repair is most important to the customers of our body shop in Green Valley AZ, and our body shop in Tucson AZ, but most consumers are really concerned that the car gets returned to its factory appearance. There are many techniques we employ to make a color match exactly to the rest of the factory paint on the car, such as blending and tinting. We as autobody repair professionals are faced with many challenges in matching the factory paint.

First challenge: The factory Standard

The first challenge is the factory standard. Today, the average paint code has between three to seven alternates that are worth formulating. There is actually more but the auto paint manufacturers have narrowed them to down to keep the databases simple to use.

So why do the car manufacturers have so many variances?

Most manufacturers have three major paint suppliers. The manufacturer decides on a standard color for production and submits a painted sample to their suppliers. The paint manufacturer then produces a formula for the “standard sample” and is allowed a tolerance of plus or minus 5% when they deliver the paint.

Second challenge: Manufacturers geographical variance

The plant in the east coast may be getting a 5% shade greener on a blue metallic standard and the plant in the west coast may be getting a 5% shade violet on the same blue metallic standard. When compared side by side, they look like a completely different color. This is the reason the paint manufacturers usually have the standard formula followed by two alternates. If the alternates are not available, the painter in the body shop usually mixes the standard formula and tints it accordingly.

The second reason for variances in paint colors is the metallic color applications. The metallic colors are now classified in 7 categories. Extra fine, fine, medium, medium coarse, coarse, and extra coarse. The metallic colors control the value (lightness and darkness) of the color similar to what white does in a pastel color.

Metallic colors will cause variances in color when applied. Temperature, paint film thickness, flash off time between coats, fluid tip sizes, speed of the spray gun, surface type (Plastic or Metal) and humidity will all cause the color to shift lighter or darker.

The rule of thumb: the longer it takes to dry, the darker the color will change as it dries. This is caused by pigment floatation. The metallic flakes will settle down to the bottom of the paint film and push the pigment up causing the color to shift darker.

Yet despite these challenges, a good auto body painter can match your factory paint, using manufactures’ paint codes, spray panel testing, and good old-fashioned experience. So the answer is yes, the paint will match if you are using a reputable body shop.