Paint Match

[merc convert]

Some kind person has put a lovely deep scratch in the boot lid of my beloved.
I have tried 2 different paints 1 off the shelf and 1 mixed at the auto factors neither are a good match (Smoke Silver)
The car is a 1999, am i expecting too much to get a good match off the shelf or will i have to resort to a bodyshop? Hopfully if the latter the whole boot lid will not require painting.

 

[stumpy]

Sounds like a bodyshop job to me. Silvers are very hard, even for the pros to match. Your best bet is to get the whole panel sprayed.

 

[merc convert]

If that is the case regarding the match, the lid will not match then or am I missing something.

 

[television]

If that is the case regarding the match, the lid will not match then or am I missing something.

Paint on one plane, that cannot be seen on the same plane as say two doors does not show up as a miss match, the boot cannot be seen in the same light or plane as the rest of the car, therefore no miss match. Modern paints are very good these days, What you have to remember is that these base coats are very thin and have a weak covering power, in order to get the silver in your case to the same colour requires a primer in the same colour as the original, otherwise the dark background will always grin through, no matter how much paint you puy on.
When spraying Red cars (the weakest colour) we used to spray the cars white first in order to get a bright red, for patch work we had to use a biege undercoat. if we used a grey,the patch would always grin through in the sunlight


Malcolm

 

[carabind]

Malcolm is right, if the whole boot is done (by a good body shop), then the mismatch will be impercepetable with the wings etc far less so than just trying to blend in part of the panel (which is what you are trying to do, Isuspect.)
You'll alway see a "tide line" if trying to blend in old and new paint - what is on already is 7 years old, weathered, polished etc and a factory finish applied by the best equipment . Hard to replicate at home !

Like you I suffered a scratch on the boot just after I bought mine - really annoying as the rest is still perfect. I hate to think what the MB dealer wants to charge - I'll wait till something else needs repair and try and negiotate something off for doing both- the Ford dealer uses a local body shop which has done some good work for me in the past.

 

[television]

Just add that with blending it would not be recommended on a large panel, its ok at times fo wheel arches and the flair on the wings. The big problem is that a very high powered thinners must be used to melt the surounding area, leaving the big danger breaking down the overlap when polishing. Also very cold weather -30c can cause it to lift.

Re the ford network, I under stand that they are very good, When a guy reversed into my Volvo, Norwich union said that they were the SW approved finnishers. The manager said that if I could see where anything had been done they would not charge. I had it done by my own man as it does not cost me anything.

Malcolm