After having the hood louvered on my Healey to let some of the V8 heat out, I had it painted using the original paint code in Deltron DBC that was used when the car was first painted 15 years ago. It's close, but more silvery than blue. I really don't want to blend into the panel next to it if possible. Any experienced painters can tell me if it's possible to get a closer match or am I chasing my own tail?
who mixed that paint? even Stevie Wonder could see it doesn't match i'm sure someone who knows what they are doing could get a better match
You ever watched a good WWII war movie and these ships and u-boats are communicating via Morse code. The guy with the binoculars always looks away for a moment but keeps decoding the flashing lights. You gotta wonder when the guy at the paint store interprets the paint code, maybe he gets the gist right but the actual combination of dots and dits are not exactly spot on? Close enough for government work? Oh, and different sealer color will do it ...
Any good body shop painter or paint supply can mix a Qt so close no one could ever tell. I'll go with Stevie Wonder on this one...
Any decent paint shop can scan a flat panel on your car and mix it from that. A good old school painter can do it by eye.
After 15 years, I'd bet that the base/tints used are formulated entirely different. Looks like a 'best guess'...
As an aside, when I had the car painted originally I had some original paint from the inside of the trunk lid scanned with a spectrophotometer thinking it would come up with a custom match to "Healey Blue." I didn't realize that what it does is picks out the closest formula in the PPG color library. Turns out my Healey Blue is actually a color from a Mack truck.
problem is the paint tints change with the "D.E.P" guidelines and yes the machines just find the closest known formula. it will need to be tinted and I would blend into the tops of the fenders anyway. you have the perfect cut off to do it.
Anymore with today's colors a panel to panel match will be next to impossible. You will have less grief finding a blendable match to blend into the apron. Consult with a resto/custom shop that can play with color mixes.
If you were around here, our paint guy would mix up and spray out a few cards. He's pretty good. What you have isn't even in the ballpark.
Maybe you ought to have a more in depth discussion about what you want, with the folks who are mixing your paint. If you just tell them you want a specific number, you'll get that number. If you tell them you need to match existing paint, they might or might not be able to do a better job.
I recently went through this scenario with good results. First question, are you doing the paint work? If not, ask around as to WHO does good paint work, let them see the CAR, and they can either use a spectrometer to get a good leg up on the formula, or come up with their own way of matching the color. Most painters, who KNOW they have to MATCH a color will paint a test card until they get it right. The paint work looks good from the pictures, you might want try that shop and TELL them what you want. Most body shops have their own paint mixing equipment, so it sure can be done. Bill
Have had this done several times on various cars. The match is usually spot on! There is paint store here that can get it there for me but it takes a bit of time--more than just the scan. Has done cloud mist grey, folkstone grey and just did a match to mandarin maroon-all look good. Just referred a friend for paint match on a 39 woody-looks right on too.
Panel painting is tricky especially with a metallic I have seen bad matches from the same can Humidity, air pressure, painting style, the alignment of planets all affect color Old paint formulas are subject to changes in tints I like having the paint store “ shoot” the color with their paint camera It will locate the best match If it’s a really good paint store they may even do a spray out to check if any adjusting is needed
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