Color Correct <--- key words Touch up paint????

[MKEAE92]

Hey guys,

So I decided to take on the project of fixing the rust on my car. there is nothing bad anywhere so it will just be some quick sanding... skim coat of bondo... more sanding... priming... blah blah blah.

I created a little test panel and it turned out fantastic. The look of the paint with clear coat once wet sanded at the end with 2000 grit and then polished is just fan-freakin-tastic. However I held it up to the car and was disappointed that the color was most definitely off.

Well... the under part of where I primed and painted on that panel was black. So I convinced myself that it was the culprit. So I went to my car... and decided to test it on a door jamb where it would be hidden if it was off. The paint definitely isn't fully cured - but I can picture it coming back to the correct color. Its just too creamy... not a actual Bright White like the rest of the car.

040 is the paint code on the door jamb. The engine bay is white as is the interior of the car if you move the carpet. I can not find one single hint of the car being resprayed so I'm convinced this is the OEM paint. I really dont think this is a fade issue - I really think the color is just off.

I got the paint from Advanced Auto. Its the Dupli-Color exact match oem touch up paint in the 040 paint code.

To be honest I really dont feel like blowing $20 a can for some of the other stuff I see on the net, especially if it ends up not being the right color. However I do really like this white that came from the can. So.... and I know I'm going to get bashed for this... I'm thinking about painting the whole car with this stuff... little by little... panel at a time so my car doesn't get put out of commision for a week or so. I'm not worried about a show finish... just something that looks very good. And I have to say - the results I've gotten so far are pretty damn impressive if I do say so myself. And at 6 dollars a can... I dont think I can go wrong if I take my time and do the prep work right. Which I'm a bit of a anal @**hole when it comes to that stuff.

Anyone else find themselves in this position?

[Kiwi-Corolla]

I experienced a similar problem when I got the sideskirts for my 7th gen painted. My painter sprayed them with 040 super white to match the rest of the car, but there were three different shades of 040 on his database. They all use the same name and paint code, but they have slightly different tints to them. The only way to get it 100% accurate is to do tests with all 3 of them against the OEM paint.

Fading is a factor too. The OEM paint would have most definitely faded a little bit over the years, so even if you had the perfect match it may still be a tiny bit off if you have really sharp eyes. The paint on the actual metal body of the car fades the fastest, whereas the plastic bumpers tend to hold their original colour better (or at least this was the case on my 7th gen). The engine bay, trunk compartment, door jambs etc will all remain perfect, for obvious reasons. I wouldn't recommend painting the entire car one panel at a time on different days, but at least you'd know the colour is going to be the same all round by doing it that way

[Flashmn]

Common problem with alot of cars.

Not to mention that during factory painting, the plastic parts are painted in a separate place, so the color on them is off even from the factory. Try checking out a red/yellow evo 9 and you'll see it fairly well what I mean

Take your car to the paint place and see if they have color slides/computer color sampling, that might help in getting the exact paint.

[MKEAE92]

Thanks guys... I thought about it quite a bit last night while laying in bed before I fell asleep and I decided I'm just going to paint it all myself. I think with the care I can use doing it myself it will turn out really good. The test panel I did turned out amazing and all I did was play with the pant I didn't really prep the panel other then wipe it down with some lacquer thinner to get the oils off and make sure it was clean.

And at the end of the day I figure even if it ends up not lasting for some stupid reason one - at least I get the rust taken care of properly and two at that point I can take it in and have it properly painted because I'm sure I"ll be at least several years down the road and will have the rest of the car finished. (I have some plans for this thing over the next year!)

Thanks guys!