Colour matching is a very technical process, but to give you some insight, here is a brief summary:
When we respray a car, we can’t simply order the paint off the shelf.
The paint for your vehicle needs to be individually mixed with a formula that is provided to us by your vehicle manufacturer. Each paint colour contains several different shades of paint, called “tinters”. For example, the average metallic colour would have about 8 to 10 different colours that when mixed together in specific quantities, create the factory specified colour.
The colour mixing process is a computer driven process, which allows us to mix the correct quantity of the required colour.
At most panel repair shops; the spray painter would mix his/her own paint. Not at Scientific. At Scientific we have designated Colour Matchers. The Colour Matcher’s sole task is to mix and match the paint colours for the Spray Painters. Our Colour Matcher’s are factory trained by the paint manufacturers.
When a colour has been mixed it still needs a physical “human eye check” by the Colour Matcher. This is because even factory sprayed cars do have colour variances. The Colour Matcher will spray the paint on a sample swatch card and then take it to the vehicle to compare. Often the Colour Matcher will need to vary the formula slightly to achieve a 100% colour match. It can take several hours to get the colour match just right.
This is why experience and manufacturer training are invaluable in the reproduction of paint work to pre-accident condition.
Feel free to ask us for a demonstration the next time you are in.