Supplier mixes paint, it doesn't match...

[kevsLX]

Supplier mixes paint, it doesn\'t match...

What do you do in that situation?
I bought my father a fiberglass bed cover for his truck as a birhtday present, got the paint code off it (97 Nissan Platinum Gold Metallic) and had a quart of PPG DBC mixed up at my supplier. Painted the cover and today he brought the truck over so we could install it. It didn't match. Way too silver, it should be more of a light pewter color. He doesn't care but it bugs the crap out of me.
Had this been a paying gig what would you do? Bring it up with the supplier and get some kind of reimbursment, bring the truck in to get it "camera matched" etc?

 

[TAZ]

Re: Supplier mixes paint, it doesn\'t match...

Kev,
You definitely should have checked the color first. You should have did a "test panel" before actually doing the cover. I am sure you will get no type of reimbursement for the paint, labor, materials...Most of the time, even when you mix by the formula, it will not match. So it is not the auto body supply stores fault.

It's not even the paint manufacturers fault...
Different assembly plants used different batches of paint, therefore, you can have the same code, but the colors do not match (case and point--Ford Code DD, Mocha Frost had about 15 variances). Paint manufacturers try to keep up, with what they call "variances". But without having anything to match it against, most of the time, they will just mix the "standard" formula.

This is where if you have your own mixing system, you could have tinted it yourself. I know you don't have this, but in the "real" world of painting, you have to have one.

Anyway, back to the question at hand. The best thing you can do is possibly take the fuel lid off, and take it to the paint store and have them match it for you. They can either show you some variance swatches and you can choose from those, or if they have they can take a sample from the lid and create their own formula.
This would give you the best possible match.
Gold's and light blue metallics are the two hardest colors to match. Especially on today's cars/ trucks because of most colors having some type of pearl in them. So the color may match looking at it one way, but may not match looking at it the other way.

I would offer to redo it, all you would need to do is DA with 600 the cover, then apply a few more coats of base, then reclear. I would say a pint would do it since you already have gold as the base. Also, a pint in most systems will reduce into a quart.
You might want to get the paint first, and make sure the color matches first before pulling the cover off.
Hopefully they can get it very close for you!
Unfortunately, you do have one of the hardest colors to match (gold).

Hope this helps you out.

 

[kevsLX]

Re: Supplier mixes paint, it doesn\'t match...

Thanks for the info Scott. I stirred the paint up and held the stick next to the truck before I shot it and it looked almost perfect, so I was suprised that it looked so different in the finished product.
He doesn't care really, the cap looks good on the truck and he's happy.
When I put the 'glass hood on my Mustang I went and had the PPG guy sample the color on the tops of the fenders with that camera thing, I think he took three samples and mixed a quart of red base for me according to what the computer spit it. It doesn't match for crap either.
Maybe it should have been blended onto the tops of the fenders?
I dunno.
I hate to ask, how much does one of those mixing racks go for?

 

[rex]

Re: Supplier mixes paint, it doesn\'t match...

Hey Kev,what's up?Unfortunately it works like Scott said.PPG calls that little camera the Prophet,unfortunately it only gets a blendable match most of the time.If the red on your car is the red I'm thinking of (just plain ol solid medium red) it's a touch transparent so if your sealer wasn't the same as factory that could have helped throw it off some.I have seen a few great matches from the Prophet but I don't trust them for a panel job.On your Dad's,what gun and kind of pressure did you use?The higher the pressure the lighter the color will be.Usually if I get a 'stick' match like you did I drop a few lbs of pressure from my normal setup and put each coat on wet.If it mottles I dust it immediately after the last coat so the dusting doesn't set on top and lighten it.On that cover with the right reducer speed as soon as you're done with the last coat go back to the first half and start dusting it out.If they make the new batch so it looks darker on the stick spray it like you did the first time,that should get it much closer but you'll be lucky if it's a great match.There are a few colors here and there that are dead nuts matches,but then for some reason the paint company feels they need to redo the formula and blow it.Ford's PB green in singlestage and EG red are 2 examples they screwed with that matched beautiful.The mixing systems are a few thousand dollars for just one line (bc,singlestage,etc.).Usually they set up the shop on consignment where they set you up with the mixer,tints,scale and either the computer or microfiche formula retrieval.You buy the tints from that point on,BUT,if you go out of business or decide to go to another paint brand you pay for the initial setup.The number $10,000 sticks in my head but I'm not sure.A drawback to a mixing system is that some tint are age sensitive and go bad,reds are really good for it.There are some tints that are hardly used and can sit for over a year before you use up the quart (and some are well over $100/qt).They get seedy.If you think a paint is bad,put a few drops on the lid and add thinner or reducer to it so it's extremely thinned down.If there's a bad tint in it you'll see tiny seeds of that color but don't confuse it with dirt specs that settle in it.It'll look seedy when you spray it too like there's almost perfectly spaced sand grains all over the surface.Hey Scott,I thought I was bad about long posts but I think you're catching up

 

[kevsLX]

Re: Supplier mixes paint, it doesn\'t match...

rex I thinky about hit the nail on the head with the red situation. It was awfully transparent, and it's a blood red I guess you'de say. It looks alot brighter than the factory color.
On the truck bed cover, I used a Harbor Frieght HVLP gun (stop laughing), 45psi @ the gun.
Definately some interesting info on the mixing systems, thanks!

 

[rex]

Re: Supplier mixes paint, it doesn\'t match...

Hey,for a few paintjobs those bargain basement guns aren't bad.Years ago in the hack shop like Earl Shives or Maaco I'd buy Binks 7 copies to paint with.At 8-10 cars a day I figured a $40 gun every 6mos was better than rebuilding a good one all the time and the good one was always ready for a nice job-alot of metallic jobs will eat up a needle and tip.You want to laugh,for $299 you could have a Deltron singlestage (PPG's pedecessor to the Concept DCC,DBU and DBC line) or Imron.I'm not the one to talk about HVLPs but try playing with it if you think the adjustment isn't quite right.I'll eventually get an HVLP for basing but cashflow's been real tight with the off season.The few times I've used one they hose on the base nice and even and it seems the wetness and lack of overspray keep the color truer.Big difference compared to the gravity feeds I think.Seems to me your pressure going in is about right,but they have some leeway to play with too.I think my buddy is running 35 through his,only because if I use his booth I have to crank up the regulator to get 40 at my gun(he doesn't put regulators on his guns).Oh,that red's the one.One of the main red tints is really transparent and any color made with any quantity of it turns out transparent.There was a GM red pearl that was like candy and wouldn't cover if you didn't use a red sealer.I watched a guy put 8 or 9 coats of it over grey sealer and you could still see through it outside.Sucks bigtime.Take care.