If you’ve experienced a fender bender or something else that damages your car paint, you may wonder if the local auto body shop will be able to match your car paint perfectly.
With all the different car models, custom paint jobs and even custom shading in play, how will the restored car paint turn out?
Read on for insider tips as to how auto body shops can expertly match your car paint.
An Expert Eye
To get perfect results, it all comes down to an expert eye and knowing how to match, layer and blend different colors and shades of paint together.
It takes an expert eye to assess the existing car paint to consider:
- Location/size of area needing car paint matching
- Condition of existing car paint
- How much shine/gloss is still on the overall body of the car
- How much light reflection there is on the existing car paint
- What if any metallics or additives need to go into paint for a perfect match
An experienced expert eye is important when it comes to matching the overall shine of the vehicle’s paint finish.
Visual Color Matching
A tried-and-true method of choosing the right paint colors for blending is by visually looking at paint samples or swatches.
Visual color matching is a good starting place to pinpoint like colors in the spectrum that most closely match the existing paint color. From there, it’s easy to access the matching color code so the technician can prepare the paint.
An experienced paint technician has the eye, experience and skills to visually match paint colors for expert blending results.
Once a color sample is selected, the paint color is sprayed on a test strip and left to dry.
Once the paint is dry, it’s compared to the existing auto paint. If it’s a perfect match, the affected area is sprayed. If not a perfect match, the process begins from scratch until the perfect color is found and tested.
Technology
Many auto body shops use technology to take away the need for visually matching paint.
A spectrophotometer is just such a tool that uses computer technology to match paint colors. Based on how the computer measures the desired paint color against the color spectrum, it helps to narrow down and select the right color.
Even though a spectrophotometer saves time and helps take guesswork out of selecting the right paint colors, it still requires the input and operation of a professional paint tech to make sure it’s a proper match.
This is especially true when working with silver or metallic paint or additives because getting just the right amount of metallic sheen cannot be done by computer technology alone. It’s also important for a paint tech to note any color difference once the paint is dry.
Other Considerations
Painting Begins with Primer
After color matching, another critical step is layering the primer and paint for best results.
Because all paint jobs start with a primer, choosing the right shade of primer also makes a difference in the end result of your car paint. Although primers are typically gray, the shades of gray vary from lighter to darker.
Before painting begins, it’s important to choose the right shade of primer, which can make or break your car paint results.
If the primer shade is off, corrections will need to be done to the paint, which just takes more time, layering and blending on the back end of the project.
Metallics
As mentioned before, custom car paint with metallic additives makes paint matching far trickier.
Whether adding flakes or powders to the paint, choosing the right metallic element is very important.
If done incorrectly, the paint won’t match and the way the metallics hit and reflect light will be noticeably different.
Conclusion
When it comes to expertly matching your car paint in Sonoma County, leave it to the professionals at Downtown Autobody.
With years of experience in matching custom car paint, call today to restore your car paint back to its original color and sheen.
