Yes, was going to mention the analyser. Though the other option previously used was the paint code sticker usually in the boot and/or paint manufacturer supplied data.

 

To be honest I notice far fewer dodgy resprays nowadays. There was a time when you would often approach a car waiting at a side road and the mismatched door or wing etc. would stand out like a sore thumb.

Thanks for the above.

 

I did go and see the fella who fixed the Hyundai today. It's a one man business in a single industrial unit (probably with some hired help as and when).  I said I wasn't there to complain or seek a respray (which I wasn't) .. but to seek his advice regarding his experience of which colours or paint types to avoid or whether solid was better than metallic etc etc.  In all honesty I came away no better informed. Very vague. He said dark blue was a good choice but that whites, silvers & reds can all be tricky on occasion. Couldn't determine if he favoured solids to metallics...very non commital. He's a man of few words anyway, so not surprised...and, as mentioned, he does a pretty good repair at excellent prices. Maybe a large bodyshop has more facilities.

 

He did two good repairs on two separate occasions and was very reasonably priced. However he said he puts the paint code into his machine and that's that. No adjustments or fiddling about to alter the final colour.  He blended both jobs to adjacent panels and laquered them. It all looks fine except for the colour IN BRIGHT SUN.  

 

But, regarding futur purchases, as has been noted above maybe I should just get the colour I like and hopefully, as noted above, any future repair would be good.  Maybe I'm worrying unduly and expecting the worst.

 

Thanks.

Seems to me you are thinking that you will prang a new car and how it will be fixed rather than keeping the car damaged free? Obviously we never know when a car maybe damaged but getting the colour matched is the least of my worries when purchasing.

 

I think you mean solid red rather than flat red? If I had an ideal choice when buying a car, I always go for solid red as that is my favourite colour.

 

In all honesty if I my car was seriously damaged it would go to an insurer approved bodyshop rather than some one man band down the road, however good he maybe.

Seems to me you are thinking that you will prang a new car and how it will be fixed rather than keeping the car damaged free? Obviously we never know when a car maybe damaged but getting the colour matched is the least of my worries when purchasing.

 

I think you mean solid red rather than flat red? If I had an ideal choice when buying a car, I always go for solid red as that is my favourite colour.

 

In all honesty if I my car was seriously damaged it would go to an insurer approved bodyshop rather than some one man band down the road, however good he maybe.

 

 

If that's how it seems to you then you would be wrong.  If you knew me (which admittedly you don't) you would know I have gone to considerable lengths to try to ensure (i) I don't have a "prang"...and have done for the past 49 years and (ii) take, what could be considered, substantial lengths to try to ensure my cars don't get damaged when out of my sight. But, as I mentioned above, the two recent incidents requiring repair occurred when the car was parked...once outside my front door and once in a private car park. On both occasions persons known to me reversed into the car and on both occasions they paid for the repair. Hence I tried to keep the costs down as they both paid cash and didn't involve insurance claims - which would have cost ME money due to increased premiums by virtue of my having notified them of two incidents.

 

I apologise for having mistakenly using the word "flat" instead of "solid". Thank you for bringing that error to my attention.  I note your own personal favour for solid red...it just doesn't happen to be mine.

 

Agreed, a more serious incident would obviously dictate using an approved repairer rather than "some one man band down the road" as per your description.  

 

I think my contribution to this particular thread might have been misplaced and am happy to withdraw as there is a possibility of it going off topic. Apologies for that.

 

Thanks.

Edited 16 April, 201610 yr by oldstan

Oh dear...

Stan,

My Musci Yeti has had both front wings and the front bumper replaced at various times, the bonnet replaced, and the drivers door resprayed, and you cannot see any paint difference.

 

Stop worrying about it!!

Thanks. Am pleased to hear that the Muscovado colour matched well.

 

I don't think I said was worrying about it ...but was asking for people's experience such as you have offered here...thank you for that, it was this I was seeking in my original question.  Rather than keeping me awake at night I was just asking if anyone had experience of particular colours being good - or bad - following accidental damage.

 

Having had the two, above mentioned, incidents happen to my Hyundai  in quick succession...and having seen that the match was poor..I don't think it was entirely unreasonable to seek the advice and opinions of others.

 

Thanks.

I wasn't happy with the respray on my driver's door - done under warranty due to the zinc inclusion/paint blistering issue - but not spotted until a while later. Most of the time it looks fine, but strong light can show a difference, as below. That could be down to the VW bodyshop Skoda used for the repair, as the swirls and marks they put into the rest of the paintwork while doing the door makes me think they weren't bothered about a quality finish :(

 

Thank you, dbg.  I have to be honest and say that your drivers door stands out like a sore thumb in that particular pic. 

 

Your post and photo rather emphasizes why I was asking the question. You've said it looks OK most of the time but strong sunlight shows up a mis-match. This is exactly what I said myself earlier. Your repaired door looks darker to me..whereas my Hyundai repaired areas show a blue-ish tinge. You don't seem to have had any blending..it looks like just the door was painted and not continued on to the adjacent areas. My repairs were blended to adjacent areas but you simply see the difference at the point where the colours merge rather than, in your case, the extremities of the door.

 

But LG has said in his previous post that he was happy with the match...and both are Muscovdo.  I'd like to see LG's car myself to see the repairs....if they're invisible then I don't know what conclusions to draw. Is it possible that different bodyshops use different makes of paint? Is that where the variations occur? 

Edited 16 April, 201610 yr by oldstan

Thank you, dbg.  I have to be honest and say that your drivers door stands out like a sore thumb in that particular pic. 

 

Your post and photo rather emphasizes why I was asking the question. You've said it looks OK most of the time but strong sunlight shows up a mis-match. This is exactly what I said myself earlier. Your repaired door looks darker to me..whereas my Hyundai repaired areas show a blue-ish tinge. You don't seem to have had any blending..it looks like just the door was painted and not continued on to the adjacent areas. My repairs were blended to adjacent areas but you simply see the difference at the point where the colours merge rather than, in your case, the extremities of the door.

 

But LG has said in his previous post that he was happy with the match...and both are Muscovdo.  I'd like to see LG's car myself to see the repairs....if they're invisible then I don't know what conclusions to draw. Is it possible that different bodyshops use different makes of paint? Is that where the variations occur? 

 

You'd better be quick if you want to see mine, as it is going in P-ex on Friday! 

 

As long as they are using quality paint, and to be honest the bigger places will be contracted to one of only a couple of suppliers, then there will be very little difference in the quality, so it isn't so much the paint supplier that makes the difference, but the ability of the actual sprayer. A good one will know if there is going to be a difference so will account for that, often by "fading" into the next panel, or at a swage line.

 

And personally I would not trust what you see in a photograph like that above. Even laying the clear top coat on in a different direction to the next panel can affect the reflection noticed by a camera more than that seen by the mark 1 eyeball.

 

(I did spend 10 years supplying consumable to Bodyshops!!)

Thanks, LG.  

 

I'll accept the inability to view the outgoing vehicle with good grace :-)

 

I'll also accept the point about paint quality then - but you've mentioned that a good sprayer will "fade" the new paint into the existing and I did, above, say that my Hyundai was "blended"  - and by this I meant it was "faded" (same effect, different words) into adjacent areas.... and the final result was still that you can see the different paint colours irrespective of the fading/blending. And I have to give credit where it's due regarding the fella who did it as his repair work is excellent...it was simply that the colours are different in strong sunlight and he says he can't "adjust" the tint/hue/colour (whatever the right word is) .... (I've already got one word wrong and said FLAT instead of SOLID, so am clearly prone to mistakes). He says he can only use the paint code that relates to the vehicle and can't adjust it...but I do see references in other forums (and ref. post #25 and #26 above) to the sprayer applying alterations to the mix and adjusting it by virtue of direct comparison with the car's  ACTUAL paint colour rather than a rigid, unalterable code number that he relies upon.

 

I hope that dbg will return to address the comments about his drivers door and the suggestion that I shouldn't trust what I see in the photo - I can't speak on his behalf...but two things strike me as being apparent. (i) I can definitely see what dbg is pointing out and can see a marked mis-match in the photo irrespective of what caused it. And (ii) Presumably dbg's Mk 1 eyeball is providing him with the impression that the colours don't match in strong sunlight. otherwise he wouldn't have said so.

 

Thanks for replies, info. and opinions...I'm learning all the time.

Edited 16 April, 201610 yr by oldstan

A bit more education for you, Stan.

 

A good paint shop has a "mixing scheme" just like you will see at some of the bigger DIY sheds, where they in-put the manufacturers paint code and the machine then mixes the pigments to a (normally) computerised formula. Some of the really clever machines allow the "mixer" to tweak the formula to allow for ageing. For example, look at an old red car that has been "patched" and you will often notice that the older paint is slightly pinkish compared to the new, but a clever mixing machine can be set to allow for an element of that fading. Likewise some colours actually darken with age.

 

Some machines are even cleverer and have a system of colour analysis, so that a sensor can be taken to the paint (or an item to it) and that will construct a paint formula to suit. Again you may have seen similar at the DIY sheds so that SWMBO can have a paint to match her handbag or such like. 

All the above noted with interest and appropriate levels of gratitude.

Old Stan, I never intended to cause any offence and it is not in my nature to do so. Please accept my appologies if I have done so?

Old Stan, I never intended to cause any offence and it is not in my nature to do so. Please accept my appologies if I have done so?

 

Sorted, Thanks :-)

 

The points raised here by others are are duly noted with appreciation and, as I mentioned, I'm learning about different people's experiences and hopefully will be able to put them to good use next time.

You'd better be quick if you want to see mine, as it is going in P-ex on Friday! 

 

As long as they are using quality paint, and to be honest the bigger places will be contracted to one of only a couple of suppliers, then there will be very little difference in the quality, so it isn't so much the paint supplier that makes the difference, but the ability of the actual sprayer. A good one will know if there is going to be a difference so will account for that, often by "fading" into the next panel, or at a swage line.

 

And personally I would not trust what you see in a photograph like that above. Even laying the clear top coat on in a different direction to the next panel can affect the reflection noticed by a camera more than that seen by the mark 1 eyeball.

 

(I did spend 10 years supplying consumable to Bodyshops!!)

 

The thing is that is quite representative of what it actually looks like in the right (wrong) conditions. Most of the time it's not visible, and it does need to be pretty much side on to see - which is why I didn't notice for some time after getting it back.

 

Given that it's going back to Skoda to get both rear doors looked at - same blistering under the paint - I'm wondering what I'll end up with. Maybe the first Harlequin Yeti!