So I'm getting my car painted Galapagos Metallic Green (G511M)

But I get a call back from my paint guy saying that there are different "versions" and some are more green, some more silver, some darker, some more lighter....


WTF does that mean?
I thought if there is a paint code, it should just be 1 formula listing all paints needed to make a single paint code (G511M)


What to do...?





http://www.cardomain.com/ride/558581/1990-honda-civic

 

Well if a specific cars color is what you are after tell him its for that car and he should be able to get the right mixture to match that car.

 

A paint code isn't just a "mix the right code and it matches" affair. There are different variations, or alternates, of each color code. As you mentioned Charlie, there are some alternates that are lighter or darker on the 'face' or 'flop' (head on or as seen from the side), and there are color and flake/pearl variations within those face and flop variations as well.

The different variants exist because when the paint is mixed and sprayed at the factory, there are slight variations in paint mixture from batch to batch and between different cars which are produced at different plants. You might have a silver that's used on a Civic, produced at one plant, and that same paint code is also used on an Accord which is built at a plant across the country or a different country altogether. There's no way to get every last drop of paint flawlessly mixed every time. The paint manufacturers realize this and create alternates based on what they know to have been sprayed on certain cars.

You might have a metallic silver color that has variants and different color chips for each one. Usually on the back of the color chip card it will have descriptions like "Lighter, dirty red sidetone" which means that the particular variant shows as lighter than the other variants when seen at a 90 degree angle to the surface, but appears 'dirty' and more red when seen from the side. Each variant has subtle changes that don't really matter if you're painting an entire car, but when blending out collision damage, they make all the difference in the world.

In the pic below you'll see exactly what a painter using Sherwin would see on the computer when selecting the proper alternate for a job. The color below is NH630M Silverstone Metallic from the S2000 and NSX. From reading the alternate page I can see that Alternate 3 is verified to have been used on the S2K in 2001 and will appear 'Light with a Light/Dirty side tone' as compared to the other alternates. At the bottom is a bar graph showing how many times each variant has been mixed at Sherwin-using facilities. Alt. 3 has been mixed 66% of the time. From this I can narrow my focus and look at Alt.3 as the alternate that I probably have to mix based mostly on popularity of use. I then check each variant to the car to verify that it's actually the proper one to use.

For a paint match, no one can tell which exact alternate to use for a particular car without seeing the car itself and comparing chips. Again though, when painting an entire car, it really doesn't matter. It's all preference. go look at the chips and pick the one you like best.

 

what dc2.2 GSR said^^

you really got to understand how colors work, to really understand why variations exist, and vise versa.

 

Thank you sir, I do understand it more.

just to be clear,

1) matching paint code is really only important when doing repairs on sections of body panel that you want the paint to blend in well with the existing paint.


2) because i'm painting my entire car getting the "right" code of GMG is not a big deal at all. From several feet away, all the versions of GMG will look identical but up close AND with direct sunlight, that's where the differences will be apparent ?


3) where can I see in person exampled is color on PAINT CHIPS?
My paint guy only had +08 OEM colors.... and so galapagos green not used on the newer hondas.
Do I just go into the honda dealership to ask for paint chip samples?

 

1-- that is true, and it really does take a trained eye to do the matching of the paint. but sometimes its completely off and anyone can tell

2-- from several feet, or up close, you can see a color mis-match. a lot of it comes down to if the person lookin at it notices it.

3-- i dont know if any dealerships have paint chips on hand. they may only have the paint colors of the cars they have on the lot at the existing time. best thing to do is find a good Automotive paint store. they should have the paint chip book that each paint company offers. (maybe not for sale, but for you to look at)

 

Basically, within each paint code, all variants will look identical to each other when on different cars, even when those cars are sitting next to each other. Within G-511M Galapagos Green, Sherwin lists 'Standard' mix plus seven other alternate mixtures. I could paint eight different cars with each of the eight alternates and line them all up next to each other. Barring any crazy difference in the alternates (which isn't common at all but it dose happen occasionally), no one would ever be able to tell that they aren't all painted with the identical color mixture. It's when you try to paint a new body panel to match the existing paint color of the car that you will run into problems if you don't match color chips and spray the proper alternate. Also, with blending, you may see a color difference in the middle of a panel if the color alternate was not properly chosen or if it was sprayed incorrectly (but that's an entirely different topic lol).

As for color chips, I really don't know what to tell you. Normally a painter mixes on-site and has color chips for every make and model, which are provided by the paint manufacturer. I've never heard of only having '08+. For example, when we switched to PPG's NEXA Autocolor water based paint for our collision shop, our paint supplier provided us with a complete NEXA color chip library, which gives us chips for every color produced on cars in the US as well as Europe and other countries, going back to about 1970-ish. For older colors we have specialty books which we can use as reference, but they rarely have alternates.. for those colors you usually have to hand-tint the standard color if it doesn't match. We had a comparable system for Sherwin solvent as well.

With that said, it won't do you any good to look at color chips at another shop if the guy who's painting your car is buying the paint at another supplier. Your best bet is to ask the painter where he's getting the paint so that you can go look at their chips and pick the alternate you like best.

Then again, since you are painting the entire car you could always just have him mix up whatever alternate of G-511M he chooses, which will probably just be a one-option standard mix if he's 'ordering out' for the paint and not mixing on site.

 

Thank you guys for all your help.
I went to the paint shop today and they painted a whole fender just to see if I'm okay with the color. It turned out great.

galapagos green is it.

 

that color looks great.