How to Read Car Paint Samples

One of the most important components behind any auto refinishing project is ensuring a perfect color match. Many vehicle owners mistakenly believe the color of their car is a standard formulation used in factories and any pre-purchased paint material provides an exact match. Unfortunately, many standards colors have formula variations that make the shade slightly different, and color samples should be used to make sure the best possible match is achieved.

Instructions

1

Open the vehicle owner's manual and find out where the color identification plate is located. Most vehicles have a stamped plate in the engine bay, the trunk compartment or the door apertures. Write down the color code on a piece of paper and visit your local automotive supply store.

2

Ask the auto supply retailer for a selection of color samples relating to the color code found on your vehicle, including any variants they may have. Some colors only have one shade' take home color samples from different paint manufacturers if this is the case, as some factories might not have the formulation for your color perfected.

3

Park your vehicle in good lighting conditions and add a small quantity of cutting compound to a clean microfiber cloth. Select a panel adjacent to the one that is being painted to ensure the match is going to integrate. Make sure all traces of weathering and oxidation are removed when using the cutting compound. Wipe dry with a fresh piece of clean microfiber cloth.

4

Hold up the first color sample to the side of the polished panel and carry out a visual inspection to check the quality of the color match. Remember to look at the color from different angles as pigments in the paint give off different hues when viewed from the side compared to the hues they display when a color is viewed face on.

5

Check the remaining color samples with variant shades to see how they compare to the first one. Look for different hues in the color as some variants are lighter, darker, greener, bluer, yellower, redder or a combination of several of these shades. Select the best color based on the sample that gives the best combined side-tone and face-tone match.

6

Return to the auto supply retailer and ask him to create a spray-out card using a small quantity of your preferred shade, using real paint. Color samples are made with ink, while the material that is applied to your car is made of a proper paint product and the actual material you use during spraying may vary slightly from the sample itself. Check the spray-out card against your vehicle a final time before committing to the purchase of a larger quantity.