Paint Match, am I being dramatic?

[ay1820]

I had a similar situation a few years back and was able to get the body shop to reshoot the panels in question. Just stay calm and don't make any accusations of poor workmanship. Let the facts speak for themselves.

Also, be sure to walk around the car and look at with them from different angles with different lighting conditions. That was how I got them to agree in my case. From one angle it looked like a perfect match, but from a different angle the difference in color was quite dramatic.

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[waltrs]

I had a similar situation a few years back and was able to get the body shop to reshoot the panels in question. Just stay calm and don't make any accusations of poor workmanship. Let the facts speak for themselves.

Also, be sure to walk around the car and look at with them from different angles with different lighting conditions. That was how I got them to agree in my case. From one angle it looked like a perfect match, but from a different angle the difference in color was quite dramatic.

Oh yeah, by the end of the conversation and inspection he agreed that the color was off. Then started talking about ways he could blend the hood into the top of the bumper, respray the hood, completely respray the bumper, etc. I remained calm and made no accusations, just stated I was unsatisfied and wanted them to take another look at it. That did not change the technician's tone though, he probably was the guy who did the spray and his feelings were hurt. Oh well.

 

[DR_Mach1Yote]

Just got my car back from a front bumper replacement after a deer ran out in front of me.

Am I being dramatic on the paint match? I know it'll never be perfect, but this is my first new car and Im not too sure how close they usually get.

If this looks good to y'all, Im fine. Just inexperienced in this part of car ownership.

The front bumper is new, and looks a shade lighter to me.

Thanks y'all.

I Run a custom body shop, I haven't bothered to read everyone's comments because I kept reading how its not to bad. It is horrible, it is not even the same shade nor does it have the same flop on the metallics. This needs to re shot and shot with correct air pressure to adjust for the metallics and better color match.

 

[waltrs]

I Run a custom body shop, I haven't bothered to read everyone's comments because I kept reading how its not to bad. It is horrible, it is not even the same shade nor does it have the same flop on the metallics. This needs to re shot and shot with correct air pressure to adjust for the metallics and better color match.

Thanks for this. I was pretty close to just dealing with it. This thread has bolstered by confidence a lot to fight for the repair to be done right. Im used to driving hoopties so I'm used to just taking what I can get lol.

 

[DR_Mach1Yote]

Thanks for this. I was pretty close to just dealing with it. This thread has bolstered by confidence a lot to fight for the repair to be done right. Im used to driving hoopties so I'm used to just taking what I can get lol.

I don't know about the initial repair, but that paint match is off, they just went off your color code instead of shooting it with a camera or checking a paint variance chip and doing a spray out. If when you take it in now ask them to give you a spray out card of the color match. The metallic flop depends on air pressure and distance to panel again this can be checked on the spray out card. Now with all that said please note that paint will always be different on plastics than on metal. look at any car doesn't matter. However a good painter can make it look like it was never painted.

 

[Rick#7]

Update:

Went back to the shop, the technician I spoke with attempted to persuade me out of pursuing corrective action; said they will never be able to get it perfect. Tried showing me other vehicles in their lot with mismatched panels. I told him I understand where he is coming from, but that does not dismiss the fact that I am not happy with the repairs. He begrudgingly told me that the shop is super busy right now, and they cannot fit me in until January.

Reported the interaction to USAA, asking them to either refer me to a different shop or lay out my options for me. Might be time to wrap it lol.

If the other cars with mismatched panels they showed you are other examples of their repair work, I'd run from that shop!
I've never dealt with USAA, but it's your car, you should be able to take it wherever you want for the repair. Most (if not all) insurance companies form relationships with repair shops based on cost, they make referrals to specific shops because they will keep the cost lower for the insurance company and in return the shop benefits from the insurance company sending more customers to them. It's a win/win relationship for the shop and the insurance company, but it doesn't benefit the customer.
You've already tried USAA's shop recommendation, it wasn't satisfactory, and they are obviously not in any hurry to make it right. Get a quote from 2 or 3 other shops, and when looking for shops to go to, try to find some that are either BMW or Mercedes certified, or both if possible. Those certifications have very stringent requirements for paint brand/quality and application techniques that meet BMW and/or Mercedes manufacture standards. Shops that are able to get both certifications are recognized as among the best you will find. Insurance companies don't often like to deal with them because of the cost, but like I said, it's your car, take it where you want and USAA will have to deal with it.

 

[IPOGT]

I have USAA as well. I expect they will be more than happy to have it fixed to your satisfaction.

USAA sucks. They pick and choose which veterans they care about.

 

[2022 Mach 1]

add that onto the fact that the rest of the car is filthy and this bumper is brand new so it hasn't had a chance to get any nastiness on it, i think i can live with it.

This! It looks a little off but the rain and other environmental elements made it had to tell what was causing it

 

[waltrs]

This! It looks a little off but the rain and other environmental elements made it had to tell what was causing it

Ive since washed it and looked at it in different lighting; no change. If anything, I've grown to notice it MORE over the past few weeks lol

 

[2022 Mach 1]

Ive since washed it and looked at it in different lighting; no change. If anything, I've grown to notice it MORE over the past few weeks lol

Dang. Time to raise a stink

 

[DR_Mach1Yote]

I'd take that back. There is no reason it shouldn't be a perfect match with todays color matching technology paint shops have. And if they tell you that the plastic holds the color differently than metal then ask them why the back bumper matches.
I've had 3 bumpers painted over the years and all of them matched perfectly.

You are 99% accurate, I guarantee you on any metallic the bumper if a composite material will never 100% perfectly match a metal panel period. I've been to 3 color theory schools and do this for a living.. You can make 20oz of paint and spray a whole bumper and side of car and the bumper will not be exact. However if you than make a different batch and spray it different you can get a match, because of the metallics landing on metal surface vs plastic. Shoot I bet if you walk into most paint shops they don't even ground the cars. However 99% of insurance companies don't pay for a second batch mix. and he probably went to a MSO insurance shop.

"Waltrs" send me your paint code and ill check how many variances there are without adding blend mixes just to show you what we look at on the paint side.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Oh yeah, by the end of the conversation and inspection he agreed that the color was off. Then started talking about ways he could blend the hood into the top of the bumper, respray the hood, completely respray the bumper, etc. I remained calm and made no accusations, just stated I was unsatisfied and wanted them to take another look at it. That did not change the technician's tone though, he probably was the guy who did the spray and his feelings were hurt. Oh well.

Could be more than feelings. Management won't be happy with him causing a repaint on their dime.

I would absolutely not let him adjust for his inability to match better by painting other parts of the car.

As others have mentioned, bumpers often aren't "exact" matches. They are painted at different times and probably not even the same formula paint due to flex agents for bumper paint.

But yours is too far off. Factory mismatches are often not noticeable at a glance.

My Oxford white bumpers were a bit too far off and Ford was willing to pay for dealer repaint but I planned painted stripes and wasn't about to risk adding them over dealer paint. Since I was also having under hood stuff painted OW at the same time as the stripes, they didn't charge much to match the body paint and reshoot the bumpers since they already had the paint mixed and already had the bumpers off and sanded and prepped for the stripes.

 

[TonyNJ]

You are 99% accurate, I guarantee you on any metallic the bumper if a composite material will never 100% perfectly match a metal panel period. I've been to 3 color theory schools and do this for a living.. You can make 20oz of paint and spray a whole bumper and side of car and the bumper will not be exact. However if you than make a different batch and spray it different you can get a match, because of the metallics landing on metal surface vs plastic.

Interesting points and valid. You can see the difference in this brand new car. The metal fender and plastic bumper aren't exactly the same shade. It's been brought up before in regards to these Brittany Blue cars. There's a little metallic in the paint so that's the issue versus a solid color.

@waltrs don't be too upset if they try to fix it and it's not perfect. But hopefully it gets better than what it is.

 

[313_S550]

I have an iconic silver GT and after about a week of owning it, I realized the Passenger side quarter panel had been replaced and the paint was off. I only noticed it after the sun hit the car a certain way and I saw it through the window at work. And for the longest time it was the only part of the car I'd look at, a few months and opinions later I realized its something that only I'd notice and it wasn't too bad. The main thing that bothers me now is that it never showed up on the carfax.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I have an iconic silver GT and after about a week of owning it, I realized the Passenger side quarter panel had been replaced and the paint was off. I only noticed it after the sun hit the car a certain way and I saw it through the window at work. And for the longest time it was the only part of the car I'd look at, a few months and opinions later I realized its something that only I'd notice and it wasn't too bad. The main thing that bothers me now is that it never showed up on the Carfax.

It wouldn't show on Carfax if Ford/dealer repainted before initial sale. They can get damaged on the way to the dealer or the dealer can damage them. Most(all?) jurisdictions allow certain amounts of damage repair to not be disclosed to buyers and neither any obligation to report things to Carfax. In fact, even post sale body work is typically only reported to Carfax by insurance companies paying the bill. The dealers I've asked about that all say the body work they do doesn't get reported to Carfax if done and paid for by the owner.

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