Here are some questions:

1. Should I even try to spray (can) paint it myself? Would you think even the best work will look like ***? Leave it to the pros?

2. Do shops just match paint? Or do they actually use factory paint? Can someone educate me on the matching process? Is it by computer or eye?

3. I know a collision work body shop. They do good work. They repainted cars ok. Is that a fair judgment that they will be good in painting a spoiler or even installing it for me?

 

1.Leave it to the pros. The one wing isn't worth buying the correct equipment and learning to do it right.

2.Shops match paint with a computer program, color cards, a rack of different paints & additives and a scale. The shop sprays &/or buys color cards and use them to match the exact variation of a given color (cars painted at different factories can end up with very slightly different colors). They type in the color code and the computer says how much weight of each type of paint to add. Put a cup on the scale, tare and pour carefully. Often, if the color doesn't exactly match, the tech poured too much of a paint and just said f**k it.

3.Yes. Good meaning better than an inexperienced person would likely do himself. No way for me to compare that shop to others atm.

 

a shop shouldnt charge you that much just to do that thing. i work at a restoration/collision shop myself. i also do paint mixing there. what delsolproblems said is correct. i punch in your paint code in the dupont program and it tell me how many grams of each color to mix up for that particular color(depending on how many ounces i decide is needed) as well as the alternate colors honda/acura produced. i then put my mixing cup on the scale and pour into the needed toners. after that i spray a test card to check the color and see how i need to tint the color to match. shops either use dupont products or ppg. im not sure what honda uses to spray at the factory

 

...or BASF, Sikkens, Glasurit, Sherwin Williams, etc. or any one of their many sub-brands.

for that spoiler, definitely just take it to a shop. it's a simple scuff-n-shoot, which should cost no more than $75.

 

The vendor does offer to paint it for $100.

They will use the OEM paint code. Going back the the question of matching. My 2010 car is one year old. My guess is the the color does change (?) siting at the dealership for 8 months in the sun, from built date.



I know you can't speak for the vendor on their paint process. Is it better to go to my local shop and have them match it? Or have the vendor paint it with OEM code?

And my paint is a metalic green. I'm guessing if it's black or dark gray, it's harder to tell the difference if there is a difference.

Which way would you go?

 

Modern coatings aren't as affected by sunlight as they used to be. If the sun caused any damage at all, you'd be able to tell the difference between, for example, the top of the hood and its underside.

The only way to match a car's specific paint variation exactly is to compare samples of each variation to the car's original paint. The variation isn't usually listed with the color code. Sometimes there aren't any variations but a card should be sprayed and compared to the original paint anyway to make sure the color matches before painting.

 

Here is an example like you guys said. Paint code don't always match the paint.



At least that's how it looks to me. The paint is (Honda) pearl white. I've seen black and it look's "perfect." So I'm questionable about having the vendor paint it.

I asked how much the shop would charge, just based on estimate (talk).

$160. Wow.

This put the price for this piece of plastic over $300+. Like I said, the shop does good work. I have personal experience with them . But most of their work is insurance so I guess they can overcharge.

What do you guys think? $160 is too much for this type of job?

To shop around can save me money, but it requires some work and trust they will do it right. No guarantee how good their work will be. At least with this shop, I'm more familiar with.

 

If they will properly fit it, match the paint, paint it, buff it and then install, 160 isn't all that bad. You might be able to talk them down a few bucks. Did you show them the spoiler or just call? Show it to places when you get an estimate so they can see how small it is.

The cheapest way to get a professional finish when you don't have spray equipment is to prep and install it yourself. Not all shops will go along with this, primarily because they are responsible for the paint's adhesion and longevity, and don't want to base their reputation on an unknown person's work. You make an appointment for the spraying and then clean it, fit it to the car, sand, prime, sand again and then carefully wrap it with plastic wrap or clean paper to keep it clean. Primer-surfacer gets sanded and so you don't need the atomization of professional spray equipment. You can just purchase it by the spray can. I'll post the steps if you and a shop want to go this route.

 

its very hard to paint a item that isnt next to the car since when a car comes off a line it isnt 100% true. if you take it to a good shop they might have a spectro analyser that can give them the best possible paint match for your car.

 

Final thoughts on this.

1. Do you agree (if it was yours) that it would be better to have a local paint shop paint it, to try to match the body of the car, vs ordering it from the vendor painted by using the paint code?

2. Let's say I was to order this OEM from Honda (not available btw) painted as a Genuine Honda accessory. Will the paint match? Better? Wouldn't the same concern still be there? Painted at different time by different batches.

 

One a darker colored car it might not be a problem but very light colored cars and black cars a slight color difference will be very noticeable.The sun and environmental conditions will affect paints differently making it hard to paint something and expecting it to match when you dont have the car in front of you to make sure the colors match.I would have the local place do it that way when you go to pick it up if it isnt up to your standards you can refuse to accept it.

 

PAINT CODE, does not mean THE ACTUAL GALLON OF PAINT THAT PAINTED YOUR CAR. you hit that right on the head. different batches of paint. Every shop in the world has access to paint codes, just like the vendor does. The paint companies(ppg, dupont, sikkens) are either given,or buy these codes from the manufacturer with the specified formulas, sometimes there are multiple alternates. sometimes there are not. Buying a part from a dealership,or a vendor does not GUARANTEE that it will match perfectlyand will probably cost you more. Ive painted stuff for people who have purchased $1500 dollar factory kits that are way off in shades, so ive repainted them and tinted them to get it closer to the vehicle. accessories are not always painted at the same factory as a vehicle,and they are certainly not sprayed with the same mixed paint that sprayed your car. Your chances of getting a perfectly matching part are pretty much nil. Take it to a shop that you trust, let them do it, let them tint it if the formula is off and it needs to be lighter, darker, more of one shade or tint. Black is going to look perfect, its black, theres not a whole lot of pigments or tints that go into black until you start getting into metallics and effect paints. Pearl White is one of the hardest colors to panel paint and its never done, its always blended. White in general normally, there are multiple tones and colors that go into white to make your code. Get it to a good shop,let them spray it and hopefully the painter can tint it properly to match your car. Considering that spoler is going to be on a flat trunk, its probably going to be slightly off. but not to the point of god awful if the painter can match it close.

oh and that should seriously cost you no more than 100 bucks to paint. even though its pearl white and is a base/mid/clear. Its a very minmal cost to spray that. Our shop would charge about 75 dollars.

 

Follow up question.

I decided to take that chance and order it painted by the vendor. Of course they say "High quality professional" painting. I talked to a few customers, and they said the paint match and did a good job, perfect, etc, etc. So I have some confidence, and went for it.

Calendar days passed so far is 2.5 weeks. I checked with them 7 days ago, they said "it's almost done."

We are not talking about shipping here.

How long does it take to paint it, with the best efforts of sanding and drying?

I don't want to be an @ss by bugging them, again.

Another guy also ordered the same thing, at the same time. Processing time was like 4 days unpainted before they ship. He got his. He went to his local guy for paint. Done in 2 days. However, he rate his job as "average."

So my paint job must be good?

Does painting take that long?

I know this is a question for them. I just want to make sure I'm not being unreasonable, in how long it takes to paint.

TIA

 

You are not being unreasonable. Of course this has no bearing on your particular situation since it has already been a long time, but to give you an idea...

If you gave me that spoiler to paint at 8am tomorrow morning, I could clean and scuff it in about 10 minutes, clean and mount it in about 5 minutes, and roll the stand into the booth with any number of jobs that are being done throughout the day. It would take about 10 minutes to find the right code, mix the paint, and have it in the gun and ready to go. It would take no more than 15 min to seal and base it, and then it would be cleared with the other job. If I use a medium hardener in the clear (what we use for nearly every job), and bake it (again, nearly every job), I could install it by 4pm. If baking the part isn't an option, I'd say give it about 8-12 hours air dry time at a reasonable room temperature before it could be installed safely and another few hours until it could be packaged up for shipping.

Basically a spoiler like that takes no more than an hour to prep and paint, and significantly less if the painter knows what he's doing and can multitask. Total start to finish time with air drying would be absolutely no more than two days. There is no "almost done". It's not a $10,000 insurance claim. No matter how busy a shop claims to be, that spoiler is an easy job and could be taken care of in no time. I would definitely be bitching up a storm after 2.5 weeks.

 

^^ Thanks.

 

Here are the results. IMO, the paint matching is Grade A. The finish (clear coat) could have been thicker. I was tempted to buy a can and spray on another coat, but don't want to mess with it incase the tint end up being off. Grade B+. Handling? Grade B-. There are some marks on it. Maybe from it resting on something while painting. Overall, satisfied. Happy I got it.

Question, I was not able to get a response from the vendor on if the paint job was baked. So I can wax it? Or should I wait a few months?