I took my car into a shop a few weeks ago to have my Nextmod fiberglass sides and front mounted and sprayed. I had the body shop, where I initially bought the car used, do it because they sprayed the rear bumped to take care of some chips when I bought it. The paint matched great, so I figured I'd go with them again. BTW, the color is 074, Glacier Frost Mica.

After I pick the car up, I can tell that the color is off. The blue flake is there, but the shade is a much brighter white. I noticed when the sun was shining off the door panel, it gave a soft orangish tone (from the pearl I'm guessing) but when it shined off the skirt, it was just a bright reflective light.

I pointed this out to the guy the next day and he said that there was nothing he could do. I told him BS. So finially the guy said he could try a different brand of paint. The first time was with Dupont and next he will try Standox, I think.

I just dropped the car off yesterday again to have them resprayed. If the color is off again, what do I do? I've already paid the guy because I didn't notice the color until after I got home later in the night that I picked it up. He was nice enough to work with me to get it right, but after I dropped it off yesterday, he said that there is not much he can do if it's the same as last time. He tried to give me the "paint fading" and "blending" schpeel (sp?). But I had a GFX kit on there that was painted to match fine. And the car is 4 years old. If the paint was faded, wouldn't the factory painted GFX kit be off? I asked what would happen if I brought the car in to fix some bumper damage, and he said that he would use the same paint he used on the lip kit and have to blend 80% of the car. That can't be true.

I know that the tricoat GFM is a tough color to match, and that if you go too thick on the base coat or mid, it could throw the color off quite a bit. Honestly, I wasn't even happy with the finish. The front lip looked orange peeled and the one side skirt felt like it was painted in a dust storm. He fed the BS about not being able to get the same finish with fiberglass as you would sheet metal. Orange peel is fixed by wetsanding and buffing. And the fiberglass hairs should be taken care of in the prep work.

I am just stuck and wondering what to do if I get a call tomorrow and go find that it's in the same condition. Do I have grounds to ask for a refund or is that paint just that hard to match?

Sorry for the long post, just frustrated.

 

Man sounds like a tough situation. I didn't have the same issue as you and I got the same color. I just took it to a good body shop that knew what they were getting into. They hit the mark the first time around. Nothing is perfect but my guy was super close. Good luck getting it done.

 

This wasn't close at all. I will accept close. The GFM has sort of a creamy or pearl finish. That was missing and it was a brighter white.

I hate to call the guy out but I feel he is just half assing and BS'ing me.

 

Yeah he prolly got in over his head

 

the orange peel effect is a sign that your body/paint shop didn't do a good job properly prepping the pieces.

however, GFM is difficult to match in terms of shade and metallic flake content. even the best shops have trouble.

you can probably suggest that they do a better job in terms of prepping it, but getting the color/shade/flake effect spot-on is a hit or miss.

 

If they are in the same condition as last time, I really don't think painting for a third time would turn out much different.

 

Standox is great matching paint that's what I use sometimes in tricky In my paint system can u send pics?

 

he can use the camera match n that's 99% on point

 

Well, stopped by the shop today and color is still off. Guy said there is nothing can do unless I pay to have it blended.

I've read that if the base coat is applied to little or too much, it can greatly affect the shade. He said that he put 7 coats of base because thats what the manufacturer said. At least the finish was better. He's going to wetsand and buff tomorrow so I can pick it up.

Still pissed that I had to pay full price. I'll try to snap some shots tomorrow night.

 

It can't be helped~ GFM and SFP are a PITA to match... also remember that kit pieces are black while the body is metal so even if the factory painted everything at the same time, it still wont 100% match... take a good hard look at your bumper and the fender, you'll see...

 

i would put mine at 85-90% match at best. From 5 ft and closer, they look like 2 completely different colors. Past 5 ft, it looks OK.

He didn't even mention about doing a test panel. I'm guessing he just sprayed the recommended # of coats.

 

At this point, he probably is doing it right, its the usual variables with colors like GFM and SFP that is giving you the differences that you see. Also depending on how old your car is, you have new paint vs old paint. The old paint will always be more dull.