Paint Matching for Rookies

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Daves69

Daves69

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Q....Is it easier to match paint that's still in the can or on the car?
I'm a bit skeptical on those color cameras.
I tried (my first time) painting single stage on my '69 front clip recently. It didn't go as well as I had hoped.
Since my car was not drivable, I pulled the trunk lid and brought it to the paint shop to get the color I needed, allegedly B5 per their color match camera. Well, it came out too light. So back to the paint shop we go. The color match camera was tried again. It determines there's a hint of green so the Tech re-mixes it.
Hmmmm..........came out a touch dark this time..........but it is blue, and I still have more BW to do down the sides and I'll need more paint, hence the question.
TIA

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The paint shop I use will do spray out cards to come up with a match after starting with a code. For a good job you really need to blend into the doors.
 
I've been painting cars and trucks for 52 years, you almost always have to blend into the next panel, especially with light colors with metallic. Really hard to do with single stage. Believe it or not , your blue is one of the toughest out there. Even white can be rough to hit straight up. Black and bright reds are the only ones I've ever felt good about.
 
Blend it.
The last shop I worked at, we had our own PPG mixing station, you would not believe how many variances there is of any given color.
Just panel painting, you most likely will never get it right.
 
If one mix came out too light and one too dark maybe mix up a cup of 50/50 each and do a test spray out? Agree will need to blend into doors but looks like a better match is needed first.

I been told white, grey, or black primer underneath can influence it slightly.
 
Under color greatly influences the outcome. It can lighten or darken the color.
 
Get the custom mix color as close as possible, then paint to match.

Earlier days that ment painting the whole side when repainting the front, breaking the color off at the the upper body line peak.

Today's basecoat colors blend off nicely when fading them into the next panel, then clearcoat the whole panel to magically make the blend area disappear.


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Here is a touch up around the lower corner of the back window that had some body work fix to it.

Used a touch up can of Red Toyota paint from Autozone that wasn't even the right color of red.

Got away with it by blending the basecoat red into the factory Red, then clearcoating the whole area to make it look as one (to the human eye).

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The Red Oxide Primer Surfacer of the repair area ^ was key into helping the transparent covering top coats of red to be able to cover the repair.

Had that been a gray primer surfacer, forget it > it would have taken 10 coats of the transparent red topcoat to cover it. That in itself would have brung on all kinds of paint problems...


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Thanks all for your comments and recs for my learn by do. So much appreciated! :thumbsup:



BTW, I'm not trying to make this beaten machine a show piece as it's had a harder than most past. I wanted to give painting a go for a driver.
I still need to repair a bit of bubble at the rocker seam, some rust forward of both rear wheels, and years of minor dings and scratches its collected. I'll need more paint than what I have left. . .

For reference, here was that first mix that clearly was too light on an inner fender laying against the same door...

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My 2 cents. Paint the whole car if you are doing the clip. It's just me but I am not good enough to blend it perfect and nowadays matching has so many variables it is really hard to get right unless you have the paint shop right there in your booth.

Just what I would do based on how you are asking questions.

RGAZ
 
LO23M8B said:
So just how do you blend it out to another panel?
Click to expand...
With single stage it is very difficult but can be done. Basically, sand adjacent blend panel with 1000 grit wet paper, then at the far end of the panel go over it with 1500, just barley dust the paint on when you get into that area. Do not put a full heavy coat on. Base coat clear is really simple compared to single stage, basically prep as above, but step your base coat out to about 3/4 of the blend panel then clear the whole panel
 
RGAZ said:
My 2 cents. Paint the whole car if you are doing the clip. It's just me but I am not good enough to blend it perfect and nowadays matching has so many variables it is really hard to get right unless you have the paint shop right there in your booth.

Just what I would do based on how you are asking questions.

RGAZ
Click to expand...
Its a slippery slope but you might be right.
 
Actually the all blue photo looks much better than than the one with the white front clip.
The finish looks decent on what you painted.
If the mis-match bothers you that much, I would just shoot the whole car and be done with it.
The mis-match on the color looks to be too much difference to blend it, unless you take the blend to the 1/4 panels.
So I would just paint the whole car.
 
Daves69 said:
Q....Is it easier to match paint that's still in the can or on the car?
Click to expand...
Match to the CAR, not what you have in the can, there are too many variable that determine the final outcome of the color.
Daves69 said:
I'm a bit skeptical on those color cameras.
Click to expand...
Sometimes they(rarely) get a bang on match, but most times I just used it to get a blendable match, then tinting if necessary.
Daves69 said:
I tried (my first time) painting single stage on my '69 front clip recently. It didn't go as well as I had hoped.
Since my car was not drivable, I pulled the trunk lid and brought it to the paint shop to get the color I needed, allegedly B5 per their color match camera. Well, it came out too light. So back to the paint shop we go. The color match camera was tried again. It determines there's a hint of green so the Tech re-mixes it.
Click to expand...
Yes, I can definitely see that your car is greener than the inner fender, I wouldnt blend the inner color into the car color, it would definitely need to be tinted closer to the cars color first.
Daves69 said:
Hmmmm..........came out a touch dark this time..........but it is blue, and I still have more BW to do down the sides and I'll need more paint, hence the question.
TIA
Click to expand...
What everyone is telling you about blending is spot on(no pun intended), there are too many variables that come into play when spraying that will affect final color, so mix a blendable match as close as you can get to the color that on your car, NOT in a can that you already have, and blend your basecoat into the adjacent panels and then clear the entire blend panels.
 
sireland67 said:
........Actually the all blue photo looks much better than than the one with the white front clip.
Click to expand...
Lol, that was the plan along with blackening the grey grill work. The current two-tone blue is way better than the former white/blue. :)

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70SwingerGuy said:
Match to the CAR, not what you have in the can, there are too many variable that determine the final outcome of the color.
Click to expand...
70SwingerGuy said:
What everyone is telling you about blending is spot on(no pun intended), there are too many variables that come into play when spraying that will affect final color, so mix a blendable match as close as you can get to the color that on your car, NOT in a can that you already have, and blend your basecoat into the adjacent panels and then clear the entire blend panels.
Click to expand...

Got it! Thanks so much.
A little more to do before it's street legal again. At least it won't be hideous to drive down to the paint guy with its current look. :steering:
 
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