Tungsten Sllver 1262

[stevenichols]

Just did some paint work on my 2007 V8 Vantage. Had two lots of paint mixed up to the "right" colour - tungsten silver 1262 - from two different suppliers..

But, it's slightly too dark and doesn't really match. I had the bonnet resprayed about two years ago and they must have mixed the paint up specially after doing a digital paint colour test with a scanner. That was done in two pack and they did a great job, but it cost £2,000.

Question is - is there any other paint colour off the shelf that would be a better match? I'm assuming it has faded a little over time. This has been an ongoing problem, but it is a PITA.

I am sure I'm not the only one with this problem, but to avoid spending another £2,000 on what is actually a minor paint job ,has anyone found an off-the shelf paint colour in cellulose spray can that matches "faded" AM Tungsten Silver 1262 paint?

I'm happy to take the new paint off and try again. But it is soooo time consuming if you end up with the wrong colour after laquering it, flattening it and buffing it up with a mop and 3M Finesee it. Probably about three days work each time!

Regards, Steve

Edited by stevenichols on Tuesday 16th September 10:14

[stevenichols]

Quick update - apparently I'm not the only person to find this. There is another Aston Martin Tungsten Silver colour, coded 5119H.

This has less black in so is lighter and a better match. I 've ordered some touch-up to experiment with and will report back.

Also, by a sheer fluke I came across a spare sill cover in Tungsten Silver on Ebay for £150, so bought it! I thought it was too cheap to ignore.

My fitted one has been hit at some stage and has a dent. I aim to remove it today. I'll see if you can knock the dent out of plastic and fit the replacement. Anyone need a RH sill cover for an early Vantage V8?

[m.barnes]

My car is tungsten (2010) and my friend has a v12 vantage in tungsten and they are really different colours so that probably explains why!

[stevenichols]

Quick update. I have now taken the fuel filler flap off and am having it scanned tomorrow at Kett's Autopaints in Norwich. Then we'll know for sure what colour the car is and I can order some paint accordingly.

[stevenichols]

Well, the saga gets worse. I took the fuel filler cap in to Ketts Autopaints in Norwich, had it scanned and they said - its code "1262". Bugger!

So I ordered 400ml of solvent-based paint, plus solvent-based lacquer and came away.

First job was to replace the sill cover, which had been damaged before I got it and I was lucky enough to find a used Tungsten Silver one on Ebay. This took longer than I thought and involved removing both wheels, and both wheel arch liners. I took the opportunity to clean that area up and also apply some more Dinitrol rust-proofing to areas I had missed. I also removed the MAF sensor as it only had one screw holding it in after I cleaned it about four months ago. Quick tip - if you are doing this, disconnect the air intake hose and remove the plastic pipe with the MAF sensor still attached. It's one screw and just twist the pipe to release it. Simple.

This is infinitely better than reaching in to the wheel arch with no space to swing a wrench and the risk of dropping the screws, never to be seen again. Don't ask me how I know! Once out I could then comfortably remove the old knackered screw with a Dremel and replace it and the missing one.

Anyway, MAF sensor back on, I could then carry on fitting the sill cover. Not too hard, but a bugger if you don't know how! Quick tips - having removed all the bolts and screws look for a little black tab at the front of the sill inside the wheel arch. Pressing this releases the sill from the front. At the back, use a screwdriver to push the tab on the sill down that fits into the black clip mounted on the body (see the photograph). This should release it with a bit of a wiggle.

Anyway, I could then paint the rear arch, but bugger - it was too dark again (see the photograph). Worse still, the new sill was also too dark, despite being painted "Tungsten Silver", probably from new. Arrgh!

So how many shade of Tungsten Silver are there?

So, I admitted defeat and went off to my local friendly body shop and told them my tale of woe. He wasn't surprised and the car is booked in for three days in November to fix the paint work - rear arch and sill cover. They'll have to remove the solvent-based paint I used as otherwise they'll get a reaction. bks!

While they are it I'm having the bottom of the front bumper painted as that has been too dark since I bought the car three and a half years ago. As my wife said: "I don't know you didn't do that in the first place." Right, thanks. That's what us journalists call a "SOBO" - a "statement of the bleeding obvious!"

[LTP]

stevenichols said:

So, I admitted defeat and went off to my local friendly body shop and told them my tale of woe. He wasn't surprised and the car is booked in for three days in November to fix the paint work - rear arch and sill cover. They'll have to remove the solvent-based paint I used as otherwise they'll get a reaction. bks!

While they are it I'm having the bottom of the front bumper painted as that has been too dark since I bought the car three and a half years ago. As my wife said: "I don't know you didn't do that in the first place." Right, thanks. That's what us journalists call a "SOBO" - a "statement of the bleeding obvious!"

I appreciate that images on a screen can be deceptive, and Aston colours can change depending on the panel angle and how the light hits them, but looking at the last picture you posted (above), it looks almost as if the sill, rear quarter, C-pillar, cant rail and front bumper are all in a matching colour and the problem is the door and front wing are too light

[paulrog1]

Umm....

There seems to be different shades on some of the panels on your car??

Just out of interest how much did it cost to spray your side skirts? Mine are off at the mo as I'm changing mine for DBS type.

Why didn't you take your old side skirt to the bodyshop to be scanned, then your new skirts would be the same colour?

I know car paintwork can be very expensive, hope you get it all sorted soon and not too expensive

[stevenichols]

The cost of painting the rear quarter, the sill and the front bumper will be about £950 + VAT (Just my bonnet was £2,000 at another bodyshop about two years ago.). I went to the paint supplier before I took the old bumper off so couldn't get it scanned. With hindsight, I should have taken the whole car, but I thought the fuel filler cap would do. Oh well, live and learn - at least this way the whole car should match colour-wise.

[Krhuangbin]

This is very interesting, as at some point the offside rear quarter and door has been painted on my 06 car (appears to have been done to correct the door handle paint corrosion years ago,) and the match isn't spot on and has always bugged me. Can;t see it normally but in intense midday sunlight it's somewhat obvious.

Mine is Mercury Silver however which seems a rare colour - watching with interest how you get on, as i'd like to sort mine too

[geresey]

Assuming the fuel filler cap matches the surrounding panels I don t think you d have got a different result with the spectro, if they had sampled off some other part .

I had mine done yesterday at a local Automatove paint shop, to get some touch up for stone chips. After much pfafffing about looking for definitive paint codes, as he thought the one they had against my code (1348 - Titanium silver) looked too dark, they did the spectrometer on the bonnet and Lo and behold it came back as a match to that same code. Yet to be seen if it matches or not as I haven t had a chance to try it yet. The pic is the screen showing my car on the left and the 1348 paint on the right, at an 88% match, which apparently is pretty good, “anything around 90 is usually fine”. We ll see.

Edited by geresey on Thursday 25th September 22:55

Edited by geresey on Thursday 25th September 22:57

[stevenichols]

Well, took the car back to the paint supplier, had the door scanned and it came up as that traditional British colour ~ Hyundai silver!

I bought 400ml and will try it on the door ~ such fun!

[stevenichols]

A quick update on the Tungsten Silver paint debacle. I had some paint mixed up to match the door (scanned) and guess what - it was still too dark.

So, I bit the bullet and got "The Body Centre" in Norwich to paint the sill, the rear quarter and the lower half of the front bumper. I removed all the cellulose that I had put on (which took as long as the original painting!) and took it in.

Anyway, just picked it up and they've done a great job. I even got them to put some of the paint in a bottle for touch-up. Not cheap, but well worth it as I had just about given up hope. So the moral of the story is - if you have a Tungsten Silver Aston Martin and it needs paintwork, leave it to the professionals.

[LTP]

stevenichols said:

<snip>

Anyway, just picked it up and they've done a great job. I even got them to put some of the paint in a bottle for touch-up. Not cheap, but well worth it as I had just about given up hope. So the moral of the story is - if you have a Tungsten Silver Aston Martin and it needs paintwork, leave it to the professionals.

That looks so much better than the earlier picture you posted.

And I think the "....leave it to the professionals.." comment could apply to any AM paint job

[stevenichols]

Thanks. I should have said - this latest paint job cost £2,500, But hey, it's only money! And it is an Aston Martin....

[geresey]

Glad it worked out for you in the end. I’m not convinced my touch up chip paint is a correct match … in some lights it looks ok but not in others!

I don’t really want to spend 2k on getting the whole front end resprayed though, especially as it may not match 100% !! I guess the positive side of that is not worrying too much about any more chips appearing.. at least they won’t notice as much as if freshly painted up!!