BMW touch up paint does not remotely match!
Discussion
Weird one this- bought this touch up paint from BMW this morning. Car colour is Glacier Silver but the touch up paint colour is blue! I've googled 'glacier silver BMW' in images and the one pic that does come up is that same bluey colour (I've uploaded a pic).
I've tried it on metal- as it definitely looks blue and nothing like silver? What to do!
I've tried it on metal- as it definitely looks blue and nothing like silver? What to do!
Had something similar with my Alfa GT. Grigio Sterling was the colour and it looked like a standard silver-grey on the car, but the official touch-up paint (that came in what to all intents and purposes was a nail-varnish bottle) had a blue tinge to it when wet.
At first I was reluctant to use it but tried a small test touch-in and it dried to a perfect match.
At first I was reluctant to use it but tried a small test touch-in and it dried to a perfect match.
How well did you actually shake it?
Touch up colours invariably will always have a degree of difference as even despite being the same name you will have subtle differences between batches and further to this paint can age and take on every so subtly different shades which is why blending in bodyshops is pretty much essential to ensure that the difference in colour is not as noticeable.
That said some colours are far worse - silver, white a few others actually make this problem worse in the bodyshop world.
Combine this with the fact that bumpers and generally plastic exterior equipment will arrive pre painted before the rest of the vehicle, which will have specific tolerances if one body is at the opposite extreme to the bumper despite the tolerance being different the colour can be miles off. It is one reason that in some cases you see brand new cars that have not received any post factory treatment with bumpers miles off the wing and bonnet colour. Obviously numerous cars receive post factory (or even post line) fixing...
Touch up colours invariably will always have a degree of difference as even despite being the same name you will have subtle differences between batches and further to this paint can age and take on every so subtly different shades which is why blending in bodyshops is pretty much essential to ensure that the difference in colour is not as noticeable.
That said some colours are far worse - silver, white a few others actually make this problem worse in the bodyshop world.
Combine this with the fact that bumpers and generally plastic exterior equipment will arrive pre painted before the rest of the vehicle, which will have specific tolerances if one body is at the opposite extreme to the bumper despite the tolerance being different the colour can be miles off. It is one reason that in some cases you see brand new cars that have not received any post factory treatment with bumpers miles off the wing and bonnet colour. Obviously numerous cars receive post factory (or even post line) fixing...
I'm afraid it won't look silver.
Paints are designed to sprayed and when sprayed the paint hits the surface as a very thin layer …… in this thin layer the metallic/pearl particles in the paint all 'sit' correctly acting as tiny mirrors, reflecting light, thus giving the appearance of silver.
When you touch-in, no matter how careful you are, you apply the paint thicker than if it were sprayed …… in this thick paint the metallic/pearl particles 'sink', they don't sit properly, they can't act like little mirrors can't reflect the light and the paint appears dull/murky/darker.
If you're only touching in small chips then more often than not you can get better results on a silver by simply forgetting that it's silver.
Get a pot of black and a pot of white and mix a paint that matches the same general hue of the car.
The fact that a tiny dot of paint hasn't got any silver in it is a lot less unnoticeable than a dark blob.
Paints are designed to sprayed and when sprayed the paint hits the surface as a very thin layer …… in this thin layer the metallic/pearl particles in the paint all 'sit' correctly acting as tiny mirrors, reflecting light, thus giving the appearance of silver.
When you touch-in, no matter how careful you are, you apply the paint thicker than if it were sprayed …… in this thick paint the metallic/pearl particles 'sink', they don't sit properly, they can't act like little mirrors can't reflect the light and the paint appears dull/murky/darker.
If you're only touching in small chips then more often than not you can get better results on a silver by simply forgetting that it's silver.
Get a pot of black and a pot of white and mix a paint that matches the same general hue of the car.
The fact that a tiny dot of paint hasn't got any silver in it is a lot less unnoticeable than a dark blob.
Edited by Squiggs on Thursday 11th October 13:49
Your answer is in the post by Squiggs & Mignon's suggestion is worth a try.
I've had a quick look at the mixing scheme I use - Nexa Aquabase + & if your colour has the code WA83 or A83 it shows a total of 10 shades of which 3 are the most common.
In the days when I had anything to do with stonechips the best colour for them on silver cars was Vauxhall Star Silver III, a very bright silver which was usually a very good hider for small chips.
If you're doing anything much bigger than a 1 or at most 2 mm chip then it will be visible.
And for those size chips forget the 3" brush that comes with the touch-in & just dot in a bit of the colour coat with a straightened out paperclip. Far more precise.
I've had a quick look at the mixing scheme I use - Nexa Aquabase + & if your colour has the code WA83 or A83 it shows a total of 10 shades of which 3 are the most common.
In the days when I had anything to do with stonechips the best colour for them on silver cars was Vauxhall Star Silver III, a very bright silver which was usually a very good hider for small chips.
If you're doing anything much bigger than a 1 or at most 2 mm chip then it will be visible.
And for those size chips forget the 3" brush that comes with the touch-in & just dot in a bit of the colour coat with a straightened out paperclip. Far more precise.
Edited by paintman on Thursday 11th October 15:09
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