What You Need to Know About Auto Paint Matching

They often say that little details count a lot, and this concept applies also to our vehicles – including auto repaint.

Matching the paint with the existing color is not as easy as it looks. You might think that the auto body shop simply needs to type a code in the computer and it will automatically mix the right hue. The truth is, there are a lot of variables that can make this simple process challenging. Miracle Body and Paint in San Antonio Texas explains some of these:

• Variance – car manufacturers usually have assembly lines located in different countries. This may result to a slight difference in mixes because certain environmental variables come into play, such as humidity, air pressure and even human error. What’s more, the formula descriptions made by the manufacturers are often hard to understand.
• Old vehicles – an aged and faded car’s paint is hard to determine since it’s already faded. Matching paint for this type of car always ends up as very tedious trial and error through mixing small paint batches and using spraying test cards.
• Material used – different materials display paint in different ways. Some materials need specific spraying techniques to lower variation factor. Cars are made from metal, but other parts like bumper covers and mirrors are made from plastic. Paint in plastic appears differently if compared with painted metal. This is because paint dries slowly on plastic, which significantly changes how the paint is reflected.
• Spray equipment used- even the equipment used can vary a car color. Modern manufacturing plants use electrostatic spray equipments to paint metal surfaces while plastic surfaces use more conventional equipment.
• Lighting- a color can still appear slightly different because of how the light reflects and refracts off curved surfaces (bumper) vs flatter surfaces(hoods and doors).

It is therefore the auto body shop’s responsibility to take these factors into consideration. Miracle Body and Paint in San Antonio Texas understands these variables. Our experienced technicians use precise matching procedures and modern computer-controlled mixing system to formulate and mix the right tint and dye to match any vehicle. Avoid having to repaint unmatched surface, head to Miracle Body and Paint today!