Bumper painted - acceptable color match?

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:10 pm
Hey all, I have a brand new 2019 Subaru WRX rear bumper cover painted. Looking for opinions on if this acceptable match without a blend.

The bumpers didn't exactly match from factory so I'll post a pic of the front bumper also. The pictures at night are what is throwing me off. It seems lighter in shade in the day, but darker at night with the phone on the rear bumper.

sbumper1.jpg

sbumper2.jpg

bumper2.jpg

sfbumper1.jpg

fbumper1.jpg


I went to a few body shops to ask them but they seemed to turn it down saying they don't match anyway from factory, even on high end cars. One shop said they could blend it but even then it wouldn't be perfect because of the differences in the metal and plastic.

There has to be a better way to get at least a factory match to this, I would think, even without having to blend.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 3:58 am
magma wrote:There has to be a better way to get at least a factory match to this


There is, but how much are you willing to spend?

There are two issues here. One is that it's a white pearl, so 3 layers, each of two coats. Getting a match means getting every one of those 6 coats exactly the same. As you note, they can't even get it right in the factory, using robot painting. I've seen many, ex factory, that are much worse.

The second is that plastic and metal absorb heat differently, so on a warm day the plastic will be cooler while on a cold day it will be warmer. On the warm day the plastic will dry darker on when viewed from an angle while on the cooler day it will look lighter.

Some adjustment can be made with flop control but getting it right depends on the second try being exactly the same temperature and humidity as the first and the painter being the same, using the same gun, techniques and pressures. If the shop that did this kept a record of their paint formulae then you might ask them to re-do it using more flop control agent to make the flakes sit in a more even fashion. There's no guarantee, though, that doing this won't result in the flip being lighter (as you want), but the face being darker (as you don't want). They're unlikely to want to try this for free though.
Chris

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:13 am
Time and money.....they are the same thing when it comes to "chasing" this..... I've seen a lot worse matches right on the showroom floor. Car is seen mostly during the day right? You are taking the night pic.s here with a flash, right? So honestly, how does it look just walking up on the car at night, completely unlit and then near a light source?
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:18 am
The only way to get a "true" match when painting up to an adjacent panel
is to blend into it. This is true with any panel.
You have to take the color into the adjacent panel at least 12" stair stepping your
coats then clear that panel too.
In your case you have a nice body line on the quarter you can stop the clear on,
tape it off right on the body line and extend only the last coat of clear to the tape.
Once it sets up you can buff that line smooth.
Works easier if you pull the tape as soon as possible after spraying the clear,
lets it lay down better.
JC.

(It's not custom painting-it's custom sanding)



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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 11:43 am
Thanks guys. Appreciate the feedback.

NFT5 - the way you put it, seems near impossible to match, and being a different material it will always be slightly off.

DarrelK - yes that's a camera flash, it's noticeable more on an overcast day and at night, though it doesn't look dark like you see in that night picture unless I throw a light on it from an angle at night. During the day, it looks like a lighter shade of white. If I take a pic with the camera on an angle to the factory front bumper, it doesn't have a darker shade like the rear at night though. That's weird to me.

JCCLARK - I see what you're saying with the body line on the blend. I was actually thinking of eventually respraying the whole car. I am about to paint a restoration I'm working on, so I'll see how that turns out. I'd be a little weary going for it on a brand new car though at this point, especially a white pearl. If I did repaint it, I'm not sure I'd keep the pearl, maybe just straight white base and clear.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 2:42 pm
Most of my work is bumpers so I run into this all the time.
I usually explain to my customers the blending verses painting only the bumper
and give them a choice of paying a little more to get a better match or just painting the
bumper.
Most will opt for just the bumper saying it didn't match from the factory anyway.
And most of my customers thinks it matches when I don't, so most times
it doesn't matter.
JC.

(It's not custom painting-it's custom sanding)



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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 4:25 pm
JCCLARK wrote:Most of my work is bumpers so I run into this all the time.
I usually explain to my customers the blending verses painting only the bumper
and give them a choice of paying a little more to get a better match or just painting the
bumper.
Most will opt for just the bumper saying it didn't match from the factory anyway.
And most of my customers thinks it matches when I don't, so most times
it doesn't matter.


I'm surprised most don't care, but it depends on the car. This is new so it's bothering me. I didn't even catch how off the bumpers were before this repair but, to me, this is a little more off then factory. I can live with it for now.



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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 4:31 pm
Say I did decide to paint it myself. I've never painted yet, but have been doing tons of body work and panel patches on my resto. I am going to paint that myself and if it comes out good, I'll think about respraying this down the line.

On a newer car like this that doesn't need any body work or straightening, how would you guys go about it?

I'm thinking 400-600 grit on a DA, maybe with an soft interface pad, gray scuff pad and/or 800 wet, then base and clear?

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 5:45 pm
I would sand it with 600 grit by hand. You can even get by with a gray scuff pad and some sanding paste. That's all that's really needed as long as you're thorough.
I like sanding with 600 because it flattens the surface and rids any orange peel,
scuff pads just scuff it, they don't level at all.
I don't use a DA for any finish work.
Sometimes I use a random orbit sander (electric) for big flat areas.
JC.

(It's not custom painting-it's custom sanding)



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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:21 pm
JCCLARK wrote:I would sand it with 600 grit by hand. You can even get by with a gray scuff pad and some sanding paste. That's all that's really needed as long as you're thorough.
I like sanding with 600 because it flattens the surface and rids any orange peel,
scuff pads just scuff it, they don't level at all.
I don't use a DA for any finish work.
Sometimes I use a random orbit sander (electric) for big flat areas.


Thanks, makes sense.

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