Is the bumper a different paint shade?
Bumpers normally appear to be a tad bit darker/flatter. Countless vehicles of all makes and models have this "problem", it's just how the paint/primer reacts to the surface it's being applied to, and how light reacts to that difference. You can spray the same color over a whole car, and the bumpers will probably look different.
Whether the car is being painted in a factory or repaired in a body shop, bumpers usually don't match perfectly every time. Coming from previous auto body experience I've seen countless cars with perfectly matched paint cards (these are usually half a dozen variants/shades that account for fade/sun damage etc) being painted by the best guys that I know in the local industry, and still have it turn out different after being sprayed and cured. Things like fading can be accounted for, but there's no guarantee a bumper will match perfectly after it's been sprayed.
Most body shops work on volumes of insurance repairs. Do you know how badly a highly producing shop's productivity would be suffer if insurance jobs were handled by a perfect match standard? If the paint job is out of pocket and you want it perfect, sure, you'll pay for the time it takes to match the color and the materials needed to to that. If it's an insurance job, basically when there's a matching color code and a positive hit on a paint card variant, unless it comes out contrasting like black and white it probably won't see the booth again.
Your comment kind of undercuts a lot of people who refinish vehicles for a living. It's a non issue, and some people are just stupidly picky.
Whether the car is being painted in a factory or repaired in a body shop, bumpers usually don't match perfectly every time. Coming from previous auto body experience I've seen countless cars with perfectly matched paint cards (these are usually half a dozen variants/shades that account for fade/sun damage etc) being painted by the best guys that I know in the local industry, and still have it turn out different after being sprayed and cured. Things like fading can be accounted for, but there's no guarantee a bumper will match perfectly after it's been sprayed.
Most body shops work on volumes of insurance repairs. Do you know how badly a highly producing shop's productivity would be suffer if insurance jobs were handled by a perfect match standard? If the paint job is out of pocket and you want it perfect, sure, you'll pay for the time it takes to match the color and the materials needed to to that. If it's an insurance job, basically when there's a matching color code and a positive hit on a paint card variant, unless it comes out contrasting like black and white it probably won't see the booth again.
Your comment kind of undercuts a lot of people who refinish vehicles for a living. It's a non issue, and some people are just stupidly picky.
- Body shops work on volume and productivity would suffer if they were held to a perfect match standard.
-if there is a matching color code, thats the paint they use.
- And maybe I am Stupidly Picky-- I want what I had before the re-paint and I want it to match. Simple. Something tells me that this interferes with High Volume- close enough works--
You've outlined the same things I did-- just the simple statement of the facts. As with everything there is good enough work, there is good work, and there is excellent work. We all agree on what excellent work looks like, no question.
it's normal, but paint shops can opt to use a lighter/darker shade to match the entirety of your car's body panels. there are techniques as well to mask the differences, such as spray blending.
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 9
Likes: 1
From: Nissoria
For those of you that have not been hit, when you do, do what I did and take the estimator back outside and show him there is no color difference now and you expect the color to match when they are done. And if they say they can't. Take it somewhere else.
These guys are playing with you. A good shop will make sure it blends one way or another. Check you paint inside the shop under florescent lights too. You'll see true color. Sun works but must be directly on the panel You'll see bad bodywork in the sun.
These guys are playing with you. A good shop will make sure it blends one way or another. Check you paint inside the shop under florescent lights too. You'll see true color. Sun works but must be directly on the panel You'll see bad bodywork in the sun.
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 54
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From: Los Angeles, CA
I own a body shop that does not operate off of any insurance refferals. I can attest to many factors that make the difference between bumpers and the body of any vehicle.
First, I hope that if nothing else this thread sheds some light on how much time, effort, and skill go into painting and repairing a vehicle.
When vehicles are painted at the manufacturers, they are painted from a giant vat of paint by machines. Paint is very heavy, therefore particulates in this giant vat settle making the first vehicle painted out of the vat different than the last. The paint manufacturers make "variants" for each paint code to make a starting point to match from. NO CAR IS A PERFECT MATCH STRAIGHT FROM A PAINT CODE.
Bumpers, as stated earlier, are made from a different material. Making them react to paint, primers, etc. differently. Many factors also effect paint match. These things range from spray pattern, to temperature, to spray angle, and on and on and on. The only way to achieve an exact match is to blend the neighboring panels to replicate the changing factors as the car was originally painted. Mimicking the same changes as a complete fluid paint job. The issue with this is that the bumpers would have to be on the car during painting (not the proper way by OEM standards). Allowing the same spray to overlap from bumper to fender or bumper to quarter panel. Who really wants to paint that much of their car for a bumper? The answer should be no one.
The reality is this:
Vehicle manufacturers are designers and assemblers. They subcontract most components for all cars and this includes your bumpers. These bumpers are not painted with the car, but they are painted off sight from a separate vat of paint and then paired with the cars later to speed up production. The more attention to detail during these steps the more money you pay for the car. If you step up and buy a hand built car that will break down often and cost you the equivalent of a kidney in cash. Your bumpers will match. On the other side, the brands we associate with terrible cars have even more of this problem. Check out some of the Dodge Chargers for a laugh.
I hope this helps
First, I hope that if nothing else this thread sheds some light on how much time, effort, and skill go into painting and repairing a vehicle.
When vehicles are painted at the manufacturers, they are painted from a giant vat of paint by machines. Paint is very heavy, therefore particulates in this giant vat settle making the first vehicle painted out of the vat different than the last. The paint manufacturers make "variants" for each paint code to make a starting point to match from. NO CAR IS A PERFECT MATCH STRAIGHT FROM A PAINT CODE.
Bumpers, as stated earlier, are made from a different material. Making them react to paint, primers, etc. differently. Many factors also effect paint match. These things range from spray pattern, to temperature, to spray angle, and on and on and on. The only way to achieve an exact match is to blend the neighboring panels to replicate the changing factors as the car was originally painted. Mimicking the same changes as a complete fluid paint job. The issue with this is that the bumpers would have to be on the car during painting (not the proper way by OEM standards). Allowing the same spray to overlap from bumper to fender or bumper to quarter panel. Who really wants to paint that much of their car for a bumper? The answer should be no one.
The reality is this:
Vehicle manufacturers are designers and assemblers. They subcontract most components for all cars and this includes your bumpers. These bumpers are not painted with the car, but they are painted off sight from a separate vat of paint and then paired with the cars later to speed up production. The more attention to detail during these steps the more money you pay for the car. If you step up and buy a hand built car that will break down often and cost you the equivalent of a kidney in cash. Your bumpers will match. On the other side, the brands we associate with terrible cars have even more of this problem. Check out some of the Dodge Chargers for a laugh.
I hope this helps
Last edited by lucke24; Dec 18, 2013 at 11:19 PM.
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 0
Likes: 0
From: Newcastle
Bumper off colour
Hi all I work and paint for Mercedes Benz,the reason why paint is off is simply static on all plastic parts ie.. Bumpers mirror covers etc the paint lies on different making it look off colour not a lot can be done other than lay colour on wet with out drop coating
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