what type of paint? (replacement panel)

[peanut]

following a recent rear end shunt I am having the rear bumper replaced next week by a local bodywork repair shop.

They intend to buy the bumper and pre-spray it to match my paintwork which should mean they will only need my car for a day or two. So far so good.

Problem is they have rung to say they will be mixing the paint on site to a specification to match the Porsche paint code.

My fear is that they won't match the paint colour sucessfully. Can they match a metallic Dove Blue paint ?

What do Porsche repair shops do ? do they source paint from the original manufacturers ?

How well are the local bodyshop likely to be able to match my original paintwork ?

 

[circleace]

I am not an expert, far from it but if they match the codes it should be ok but may need to blow it in abit once bumper is attached otherwise it may show. Come on you guys, am I right??

 

[Hilux]

All paint is mixed either at the paint factors or the paint shop.

Its the same as B&Q mixing Dulux paint for you.

The skill is in the spraying or whether different paint manufacturers base materials are used.

If it doesnt match then dont accept it.

I had my front repainted three times before I was happy with it.

 

[peanut]

I've chosen this bodyshop because they are just 1/2 mile away which is convenient and they are highly recommended which is great but I am concerned about the paint match. The accident was not my fault and has damaged an otherwise totally original immaculate car .

I hate conflict and can forsee argument ahead as the equally strong willed proprieter and I discuss the finish .

definitely wouldn't consider spraying surrounding panels to blend paint. If that happens I might as well have the whole car resprayed and get rid of it as I wouldn't want to keep it then. Whats the point ? it took me 9 months of looking to find this original car[&o]

 

[ukmastiff]

Theres no argument to be be had , you are paying for it to look right . If the paint is obviously different to the eye its no good and you dont pay. If they didnt think they could do it right they should not have taken the job is the answer.

The only thing I would add is that if its the rear bumper then there will be a different angle for the light to reflect from the rest of the car. Its hard to explain in type but its not like looking down the side of the car and the front foor and back door dont match or the front door and wing becsause there is no continuous line. I hope that makes sense ?

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: ukmastiff

Theres no argument to be be had , you are paying for it to look right . If the paint is obviously different to the eye its no good and you dont pay. If they didnt think they could do it right they should not have taken the job is the answer.

The only thing I would add is that if its the rear bumper then there will be a different angle for the light to reflect from the rest of the car. Its hard to explain in type but its not like looking down the side of the car and the front foor and back door dont match or the front door and wing becsause there is no continuous line. I hope that makes sense ?

yes you are right on both counts. i must be firm and resolute and insist on a match . If they can't achieve it then they had no right to take the job on .

Re the different angle I am hoping that this will to some extent disguise the new paintwork and bumper. This Dove blue is a strange paint. Every time you move your viewing position it seems to subtly change hue. Rather like that special paint they used on the TVR Bond car.

I guess I'll just have to go and look at the finished bumper and take it from there. If I'm not satisfied then they don't get my car until it is. At least I get to see the finish before they get my car which is an advantage.
Thanks for your support guys.

 

[944 man]

ORIGINAL: Hilux

All paint is mixed either at the paint factors or the paint shop.

This. Its either mixed on site of theyve invested in a mixing system, or mixed in exactly the same way if they buy it in from a local paint supplier. Your car isnt the same colour that it was when it left the factory; so even if Porsche had a large vat of ready mixed paint available, it wouldnt match.

 

[Copperman05]

TBH peanut no one is going to give you a perfect exact match. As 944 man says your old paint isnt the same colour it was so getting an exact match is going to be tricky if not impossible, most bodyshops will 'blend' the new spray with neighbouring panels to assist in the masking of the re-spayed area and this is common good practice. Metallics are particulary difficult to match as their are so many variables. If its damage to the rear then it would probably be less of an issue matching it compared to a bonnet or front wing as its generally one large panel viewed from the rear.

The best you can ask for really is a close enough match that wont be obvious to the eye and that I would expect to get from a decent bodyshop. Why dont you speak to the guy and let him know your fears, if he's any good he will let you know what you can expect, if he doesnt produce dont accept the finished job until he does.

Edd

 

[zcacogp]

I don't envy you.

I have had bits of my dove (/baltic) blue S2 resprayed three times, all by the same bodyshop (a Porsche repair centre), and as only happy with one of them.

1. Very minor front end damage to one of the wings. Someone else's insurance company (eventually) paid. Wing was repaired and resprayed (to a very high standard.) Armourfend re-applied to the front of the wing. I inspected the car and the colour match was way out. Queried this with the bodyshop manager, who said it had been painted to the Porsche paint spec for the car, therefore it axiomatically was right. By 'Porsche paint spec' he meant the original colour from the factory. When asked what he would have done had the car been resprayed a different colour during the last 20 years he didn't have an answer.

I escalated it to the dealer manager, who immediately agreed that the colour match was poor and needed rectification. They resprayed the whole of the front of the car, back to the doors, and blended along the doors. Two more visits later, I was happy and 'collected' the car. (It did tidy up the front of the car brilliantly, and removed 20+ years worth of stonechips - I was happy.)

2. Rear bumper hit by someone else. Colour match perfect. Why couldn't they do this last time (or the next time ... see below.)

3. Rear bumper hit by someone else. Colour match not perfect. Raised it with the (same) bodyshop manager, who was sore about the argument last time and got arsey. In fairness, it was a pretty good match and I ended up backing down, although not without letting him know what I thought of him and his bodyshop. In short, it will never go there for repairs again.

If you are dealing with an independant place then talk to them before, explaining your concerns and that you are fussy. See what they say. Get them on your side, and they are likely to be very helpful.

(Better advice may well be forthcoming from Paul Smith, who knows a whole load more about this subject than do I.)

All the best. Keep us posted.


Oli.

 

[dirtydirtyharry]

One thing to bear in mind is that some paint places wont make lead based paints anymore (Halfords wont mix guards red for this reason)

 

[peanut]

thanks for your advice guys. I guess I've already intimated to the guy that I am both concerned and fussy. He's not a very good listener and tends to talk all over you trying to bamboozle you into accepting his decision. Typical bluudy 'expert'

I'll try to get him on my side.

When replacing a bumper I don't think blending to surrounding panels is going to help. It will only draw more attention to it. The bumper is at right angles to the rear valence and lower spoiler so it is a different hue on every car so that will help disguise any colour mismatch
If it was along the same plane ie door and wing then I expect fading or blending would be advisable.

Oli, blimey two rear end shunts ! [] if your paintshop managed to match the paint sucessfully then I can state that with conviction to my bloke that it is possible to match .Thanks for your advice I'll let you know how I get on.
I had to move my car yesterday and today as my old neighbours were replaced by my new neighbours and the old gal started on the button gawd blessa She's been buried under a foot of snow and ice for the past two weeks

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: zcacogp

(Better advice may well be forthcoming from Paul Smith, who knows a whole load more about this subject than do I.)

Thanks Oli [] (though to be fair, most Turbo owners know more than you do anyway [] sorry, couldn't resist)

I can't really add much more than others have already said. The paint on our cars is 20 years old and the shade will naturally change over time. The chemical composition of the paint has also changed since the late 80's, most of us in the industry now use water based paint because the old solvent systems have now been outlawed by the EU (though it is still okay to use up any stocks still left around). Add to this that Baltic/Dove blue is a very high metallic content in a fairly light colour and it is nigh on impossible to get a 100% spectral match. Generally speaking the darker and more solid the colour, the easier it is to hide a shade change

However it is possible to get a good visual match that all but the most highly experienced sprayers would be unable to spot. It's all about gradually fading out the intensity of the fresh paint and hopefully losing the shade change on a curve or a tight crease in the panels. Unfortunately the design of our cars means that if you are replacing the entire rear bumper bar then it is surrounded above, below, left and right by other painted panels which would also need to be 'blown onto' to guarantee there is no obvious shade difference.

 

[peanut]

thanks Paul. lots of good advice here.

I'm beginning to appreciate how difficult it is to match 20 year old paint now.

I must confess I have a differant view about blending a bumper in with Dove Blue though.
This paint has a very unusual hue change whenever you change your view point by a few inches. it seems to continualy change colour as you walk around it.
My feeling is there is already a slight mismatch in hue between the bumper and surrounding because they are at right angles to one another. I feel there is more chance of a mismatch showing by trying to blend or fade into adjacent panels. If it doesn't work its going to show up 10x worse on the same panel .

I'll wait until I see the bumper and make a decision then I guess.

 

[Frenchy]

Just had some tidy up paint done on my 220 Kalari Beige (Light Gold) only the drivers door needed doing but Dave ended up basically doing the whole side, he also had to do the front PU which only needed a small amount of attention on one side.
MInd you itdoes look "sharp" now.
£300 cash and a domestic garage re-wire................very good value
He also did the rear panel under the hatch, new badge fitted and looks "as new"

 

[jasonp]

hiya peanut, have you considered after the works finished re:your bumper, of using a paint correction specialist, i agree with 944man and the others who say your finish wont be factory perfect but i was totally amazed with the finish on mine after using a p/c specialist, you can see my s2 on the guys site which is gleanmachine detailing.co.uk, like yourself i didnt want to have the car blown in or whole panels painted, you might find this route helpful and probably cheaper! regards jason p

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: jasonp

hiya peanut, have you considered after the works finished re:your bumper, of using a paint correction specialist, i agree with 944man and the others who say your finish wont be factory perfect but i was totally amazed with the finish on mine after using a p/c specialist, you can see my s2 on the guys site which is gleanmachine detailing.co.uk, like yourself i didnt want to have the car blown in or whole panels painted, you might find this route helpful and probably cheaper! regards jason p

mmm hadn't considered detailing. Good idea thanks .Very expensive but maybe I could work the cost onto the insurers . The car definitely needs a damn good valeting

 

[peanut]

quick update.
i went along to the panelshop today to check their two paint test samples and I was totally blown away. I defy anyone to see any difference between my 20 year old cellulose paintwork and the 2 hour old water-based paint on the sample strips. To say i was relieved was an understatement.

Apparently the secret in the matching is all about the colour of primer/undercoats and standup? and number of coats etc.

On the two 6"x4" panels were 4x samples with some slight hue variations but one was a perfect match.

I'm going to ask for a small pot to do some stonechip touchups with .
The bill will come to an eye watering £1100 thank god the insurers have admitted liability

 

[zcacogp]

Top result. Very glad to hear it.

Who was the bodyshop, out of interest? If they are that good, they may get some business from chaps on here ...


Oli.

 

[peanut]

Hi Oli its Staddons Body Repair centre, yeovil rd Crewkerne Somerset TA18 7PH 01460 72530

I asked if they minded a recommendation and they were happy for me to do so unfortunately they are apparently moving soon so anyone wanting a first class paint job will need to be quick.

I'll post some pics when the jobs done hopefully next week . I'll also post the parts and prices as its obviously a common repair .

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: peanut

The bill will come to an eye watering £1100  thank god the insurers have admitted liability

Blimey [] No wonder our insurance premiums are always so high - £1100 to paint and fit a 4" wide strip of metal

It's very good to hear the attention to detail they have already performed as they obvously know you are keen to get the best match possible. Let us know how the finished repair goes, early signs are very good []