We recently had a nasty scratched repaired on our 2007 Acura TSX with 125k miles. I noticed today (guessing the lighting was just right) that there’s what appears to be a bubble area around the scratch repair and extends into the back door that is lighter than the surrounding paint. I have never really noticed it, and upon delivery it was raining so it looked ok. I am going to take it back to the body shop, but I was wondering if I ran some Meguiars Color X over the area, that might correct it? It appears duller, so I was hoping maybe that would add shine?
I’m guessing the body shop didn’t match correctly, but it’s frustrating!
Paint matching is never easy. Your car is nine years old so the OEM paint has changed somewhat, likely faded a bit. Even the factory made paint that is supposed to match, won’t. Most body shops have at least one person who is adept at matching paints, but it is hard to get a perfect match especially when it is a small area repaired and repainted.
Is your car red? Very tough to match faded red cars.
Or silver? Honda/Acura uses a type of silver paint that has LOTS of metal flake to make it really sparkle. Also VERY tough to match because not only does the color need to match but the little metal flakes need to aligned correctly while spraying so they catch the light correctly. Very tough to do!
@Jman136
I’m guessing it’s silver, too.
How does it look from several feet away, from different angles, under most ordinary lighting conditions? Keep in mind that you know it was repainted where the scratch was. When you look, you naturally are zooming right in on that area.
It is very difficult to get a perfect blend result with some colors/coatings, but it is also possible that it’s a poor job. Have somebody (average car enthusiast) briefly look your car over, but don’t tell them what has been painted. See if they pick it out, quickly or are stumped.
You said the light was unusual “(guessing the lighting was just right),” and you know where to concentrate your gaze. Could it be that you are being too critical because of these factors? We can’t say from here.
You could have another shop or two look at it and see if they think it’s normal. Keep in mind that if they boast they could do a better job then they’d be stuck proving it to your satisfaction.
Is this an insurance claim or is somebody paying out of pocket? CSA
I don’t understand questions like this one. The repair and painting should have a warranty of some kind. Taking it back to the repair place is the first step always. But by asking would the OP have done something to the paint if someone here said " put this on it " therefore voiding the warranty.
To properly match the paint, they use the original paint code and then adjust it by using a computer scanner on the actual car. That will give them a “blendable match”. Then the painter still needs to blend it in. The shop I have used will blend into the two adjacent panels to make any difference disappear. You can’t just do one little spot and expect a seamless match. At any rate, back to the shop but they may have to go beyond their original price to paint the adjacent panels so the spot doesn’t show. Also, some colors are harder than other plus the color changes some when the final clear coat is sprayed on. So it’s really a talent but like I said, you can’t just do one little spot.
If new paint matches the old paint in the first 6 months, it may fade then not match the old paint. Maybe that is what is going on, the paint shop purposely mis-matched the colors b/c they know from experience the new paint will change color over time and then – hopefully – match. The only problem w/this theory is that usually as paint ages it becomes lighter, not darker. But maybe this particular paint is different, and they know from experience it will eventually match the rest of the car as it ages. @Rod_Knox 's comment about the need to feather the two paints together is worthwhile talking to the shop about, as a little feathering work might make it acceptable while waiting for time to improve the match.
Some time ago, here in Mexico, a knucklehead ex-con murderer rammed his pickup into the three cars ahead of him on Market Day. I took the car to a man who said he did body repair for 15 years in Phoenix, to get the rear hatch fixed. To match the paint, he took the gas door off and went to a small town an hour and a half away. They matched it perfectly though I don’t know how.
This is all computerized these days. They can take a picture of the paint and feed it into a computer that matches the color and then automatically mixes it. I know of at least one body-shop that has this technology.