Painting front spoiler
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IronAnaconda
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:15 pm
- Car: G35
Painting front spoiler
I'm thinking of putting on an aftermarket front spoiler, but where's the best place to get it painted at? I know you can do it at the dealer but I know it will cost a lot of money.. Do regular bodyshops carry the exact paint a G35 uses? (in my case, diamond graphite) I want the paint to be the exact same because I don't want my spoiler and the rest of the car to have different shades of gray... Thanks.
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C-Kwik
- Moderator
- Posts: 8070
- Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2002 9:28 pm
- Car: 2013 Chevy Volt, 1991 Honda CRX DX
Most dealership body shops are nothing more than regular body shops. Many dealerships don't have a body shop on sight and contract their work out to a local shop that they trust. Any decent body shop should be able to get the right paint for your car. And major paint companies are out at the docks when new cars arrive to match paint colors so they are ready when the cars get into accidents and they need to provide paint.
You should also understand a few things as well. When a bumper or plastic piece is painted, a flex agent should be used to avoid cracking. This typically has a very slight tint to it so bumpers can only be brought as close as possible. Major adjacent panels on a car are typically blended when painted after an accident to avoid seeing a difference in paint color between panels.
Metallic paints in particular, especially need a blend as the metal flakes may not line up the same way causing a condition known as flip. Basically, 2 panels next to each other can look different, even if the exact same paint is used as the light bounces off of it differently. Nozzle size, paint angle, nozzle distance to paint surface, and other factors can affect this. By blending gradually into the panel next to it, they can visually negate this effect. With a bumper cover, or in your case, a front spoiler, since a flex agent is used, they can not blend and there's a natural tendency that bumper covers don't always match the paint on the sheetmetal when looking at it. The key is to find a good painter, perhaps one experienced in paining your car and he may have a better idea of what conditions he needs to get a close match.
Lastly, even exact paint matches can end up not having a perfect match to the paint on the car. Like many things there are some variances in color in different batches of paint production. Paint can also fade slightly over time causing a difference in color from the original. Body shops tint paint to come as close to a match as possible. Then they use the blend technique to visually match the paint.
So basically, there is no perfect match for your paint. But a good body shop with a great painter should be able to keep anyone from noticing a difference.
You should also understand a few things as well. When a bumper or plastic piece is painted, a flex agent should be used to avoid cracking. This typically has a very slight tint to it so bumpers can only be brought as close as possible. Major adjacent panels on a car are typically blended when painted after an accident to avoid seeing a difference in paint color between panels.
Metallic paints in particular, especially need a blend as the metal flakes may not line up the same way causing a condition known as flip. Basically, 2 panels next to each other can look different, even if the exact same paint is used as the light bounces off of it differently. Nozzle size, paint angle, nozzle distance to paint surface, and other factors can affect this. By blending gradually into the panel next to it, they can visually negate this effect. With a bumper cover, or in your case, a front spoiler, since a flex agent is used, they can not blend and there's a natural tendency that bumper covers don't always match the paint on the sheetmetal when looking at it. The key is to find a good painter, perhaps one experienced in paining your car and he may have a better idea of what conditions he needs to get a close match.
Lastly, even exact paint matches can end up not having a perfect match to the paint on the car. Like many things there are some variances in color in different batches of paint production. Paint can also fade slightly over time causing a difference in color from the original. Body shops tint paint to come as close to a match as possible. Then they use the blend technique to visually match the paint.
So basically, there is no perfect match for your paint. But a good body shop with a great painter should be able to keep anyone from noticing a difference.
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IronAnaconda
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:15 pm
- Car: G35
Re: (C-Kwik)
Thanks, your post was very informative. =)