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Technical WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF MATCHING OLDER PAINT?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HOTRODPRIMER, Feb 25, 2017.

  1. I was referring to the BS part. HRP
     
  2. OK bottom line is finding the right painter. Given that God made painters from 1 to 10 so how to find the 10!

    You drive from shop to shop in order to ferret out Mr. Super Painter - what questions do you ask him?
    Getting recommendation at the paint supplier might help but unless you know the painter you still need something to point out Mr. Right Painter. How to find him? That's the question.
     
    HOTRODPRIMER likes this.
  3. Gman0046
    Joined: Jul 24, 2005
    Posts: 6,256

    Gman0046
    Member

    The best method I can think of is a first hand recommendation.

    Gary
     
    HOTRODPRIMER likes this.
  4. Lol,

    If you ask 3 body men the same question you'll get 9 different answers
     
    JimSibley, pat59 and HOTRODPRIMER like this.
  5. cavman
    Joined: Mar 23, 2005
    Posts: 669

    cavman
    Member

    About 40 years ago I worked as a painter for one of the larger body shops in my town. When something older came in that needed just a spot touched up, or just a small repair, the painting was passed off to the oldest living painter I ever knew. Man, that guy must have been in his 60's. :) Anyway, he was known around these parts as the paint guru, and would just look at the job and go in the mixing room and come back with a perfect match. In Lacquer of course, for that's all he would use. Everything he painted matched perfectly.....for about six months, or until the job was paid for. Every spot job would fade at a different rate than the original. Very few looked great after a year or so. But the customers were happy when they first saw the match.

    On those fancy cameras.....I once used the inside of the gas door for a match on a '65 Impala. They mixed a 1990 Yugo color. I must have been close,.... the car won best original paint at an all GM show the next year.
     
  6. The guy that matched the old paint on my red Deuce sedan when I repainted the new gas tank said he did it by eye,wasn't a perfect match but darn close. HRP
     
  7. thirtytwo
    Joined: Dec 19, 2003
    Posts: 2,639

    thirtytwo
    Member

    Another problem that exists , is that a very large percentage of the male population is color blind to some extent , I think this may carry over into shades or the ability to pick up on very slight differences
     
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  8. Gman0046
    Joined: Jul 24, 2005
    Posts: 6,256

    Gman0046
    Member

    thirty two X2. I am red/green color blind. Don't ask my opinion on colors.

    Gary
     
    HOTRODPRIMER likes this.
  9. Well, the 50 Ford was touched up and it is a poor match,they used a spectrometer and looked pretty good on a card but on the car it's very noticeable,looks like he is going to try and repaint the door and fender now. HRP
     
  10. Damn, I can and always do screw up on colors, but If I get to the point where I can't tell 3" from 8" , stick a fork in me. :)
     
    HOTRODPRIMER likes this.
  11. modeleh
    Joined: Oct 29, 2009
    Posts: 380

    modeleh
    Member

    This information is spot on. Anyone who tells you the camera will make an exact match is full of bs. I just went through this same thing with my 62 Lincoln, and the camera will pick the closest recipe in their system of codes. I'm sure there are many thousands of old mix recipes that are obsolete and not in the modern tint systems.
     
    HOTRODPRIMER likes this.
  12. The door & fender were preped and painted last night,I haven't heard how they turned out yet. HRP
     
  13. HiHelix
    Joined: Dec 20, 2015
    Posts: 381

    HiHelix
    Member

    I suck at paint...
     
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  14. Blue One
    Joined: Feb 6, 2010
    Posts: 11,459

    Blue One
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Alberta

    How to find the best painter ? Just ask him :D Some painters are legends in their own minds:D Heck some of them even post here :D:D
     
    HOTRODPRIMER likes this.
  15. All Painters tend to get a bad rap ,and that's a shame because you always hear about the ones that take your money and let the car sit for months or years but there are some guys out there that do what they say they will do,but rarely we hear their praises.

    I've been down the painter rabbit hole more than once and understand the frustration associated with getting a car painted,I didn't get the name HOTRODPRIMER for nothing,I have had many more cars in primer than paint. HRP
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2017
  16. Blue One
    Joined: Feb 6, 2010
    Posts: 11,459

    Blue One
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Alberta

    I know what you mean Danny. While I like fabrication, I'm not so sure on painting.... With that being said I am going to give it a go on my RPU.
    I figure it's such a small car..... this should be fun. :D
     
    HOTRODPRIMER likes this.
  17. You know as well as I that painting is 95 % preparation,body work and sanding until you can't feel your finger tips and the sand some more.:rolleyes:

    I have painted several motorcycles with excellent results and 3 cars ~ one turned out good ,one was fair and one was ,"WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING" result.:confused:

    With the cost of a quality paint I can't afford to screw it up and then prep the car again and pay for the paint and a professional painter. HRP
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2017
    Blue One likes this.
  18. Blue One
    Joined: Feb 6, 2010
    Posts: 11,459

    Blue One
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Alberta

    True enough Danny, I know that the spraying will be a small part of it.
    I'm glad my project is a little T RPU rather than a 50's panel truck etc. :eek:
     
    HOTRODPRIMER likes this.
  19. Stopped by the painters shop to inspect the car but he had just started taping it up,said it was too cold to paint. HRP
     
  20. Looks like painting the fender and door is going to work out,I was going to post photo's but he ask me not to do it,he doesn't trust the internet but I believe he is happy with the results. HRP
     
  21. joeycarpunk
    Joined: Jun 21, 2004
    Posts: 4,446

    joeycarpunk
    Member
    from MN,USA

    The color match is only half the battle as mentioned. Blending the repair and having a cut off point is the other. Door/Fender edges will break minute differences. Should turn out good. Camera paint matches I've seen have been very poor in my experiance as well as paint matching using the cheaper lines of paint such as Omni by Ditzler.
     
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  22. Aluminum1929
    Joined: May 27, 2016
    Posts: 32

    Aluminum1929
    Member
    from Troy,MO

    Part of the problem using cans of paint off the shelf is the different tints that are in them. some that may not be in the color on the car. I've had pretty good luck using the camera for a base to start with and using the tinting colors to get it to where it needs to be. Working with natural light helps too. Shop lights can throw off colors. A lot of shops use color corrected paint booth lights. A paint rep told me once that the chips were done in 3 o'clock afternoon sun. I don't know if that's true. It is true that women have better eyesight when it comes to being able to tell variations of colors. Went to a color matching class once where they had circles on a screen with tiny pixels and numbers hidden in them. A bunch of experienced painters sitting there trying to see the no.5 and one of the shop secretary's walks in and said" don't you guys see the seven in there too". Realized right then why my wife was always pointing out bad color match jobs while sitting a a stoplight!
     
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  23. Kona Cruisers
    Joined: Feb 4, 2007
    Posts: 1,078

    Kona Cruisers
    Member

    So many things effect the color of a paint...
    temp, humidity, spray gun pressure, what batch of paint it got from the factory, what # of car it was in that color run at the factory, what factory it was painted at, panel orientation, clear coat yellowing, etc, etc.

    Tint time, tint time, tint time... only thing that is going to get the paint CLOSE ENOUGH for you not to see the blend.

    Next time you're in the grocery store parking lot, look at the color differences on the bumper covers vs the body color of all the lighter silver cars.. 90% of them WILL BE OFF and noticeable if you look.

    My mom has a 86 560sl, red solid non metallic... sounds like it'd be a easy match right? It looks GREAT and all the colors match in the day light (several spot panel repairs prior to her owning it... ) but... put that same car under a halogen light in the dark and it looks like a VW harlequin golf.. It has to be 5-6 different colors.
     
  24. strait8
    Joined: Jun 11, 2014
    Posts: 142

    strait8
    Member
    from Skokie, IL

    I realize I am late to this thread but as far as a starting point (faded old oxidized paint)is it best to start with the original color and tint from there? Or camera match and tint from there? Also if the car is faded and oxidized would your chances of matching be better if the old paint is buffed/wet sanded so that it is as glossy as it was originally intended and match from there? The car in question paint wise is similar to Chris's 33 Ford pick-up in paint similarity/condition.
     
  25. JimSibley
    Joined: Jan 21, 2004
    Posts: 3,848

    JimSibley
    Member

    I do this every day. The camera will get you in the ball park, a good sun style light and a couple of hours will get you close, but old paint is tough to match. Blending helps a lot. If there is room to blend I can usually get it so knowone can tell.
     
  26. 5window
    Joined: Jan 29, 2005
    Posts: 9,517

    5window
    Member

    I put some really nasty scratches/dents in the rear quarter and tail piece on my OT '65 Mustang (there's a previous thread). I ended up taking it to a large Mopar dealer's body shop here in town. Turns out the manager is young but a hot rodder. They did a bang-up job matching the teal metallic color on the car and even took it back and redid a barely noticeable (just me and God) tiny spot that bugged me. I don't know how they matched the paint but it was worth the money- and the HAMB advice to get it done by a pro.
     
    Bill's Auto Works likes this.
  27. southcross2631
    Joined: Jan 20, 2013
    Posts: 4,413

    southcross2631
    Member

    My local high end paint shop could not match 2 week old paint with their fancy gun. The truck was setting in natural sunlight not a cloud in the sky and the girl who mixed the paint must promised me it would match as she sold me a 46.00 dollar pint of paint.
    Ray Charles could have gotten closer to matching the paint. Ended up repainting the whole truck to try and make the customer happy.
    I would hate to see what they would do with old paint. I knew one guy up in Ga. that was incredible at matching and blending old paint. All by eye.
     
  28. Wow, this is a tough crowd!! Almost as angry as Harbor Freight haters!!!!!!!!!!
     
    5window likes this.
  29. JimSibley
    Joined: Jan 21, 2004
    Posts: 3,848

    JimSibley
    Member

    Some colors match well and some don't. Tan, white yellow, orange and red are really tough. Metalics are a lot easier to blend than solids and dark colors are way easier to match. Candy or three stage paint as it is called today is almost impossible to match. Remember, the guy painting your car is trying his best to get it right. Color matching is a very difficult thing to do.
     
  30. mark schanfeldt
    Joined: Jun 28, 2007
    Posts: 286

    mark schanfeldt
    Member

    I was the paint mixer at a NAPA store. We had formula books for all the big three back to the 1930's. They may be able find the info in their Martin Senior section on computer. You should have the color code for correct look up.
     

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