3 Facts for Car Owners to Know About Auto Painting
When your vehicle is involved in an accident, and you need to repair either a bumper, air deflector or spoiler, a paint job might be necessary. Most importantly, the colour of a repaired part or panel should match the rest of the car. However, even when armed with a car's paint code, colours can differ in terms of shades. Therefore, knowing about colour matching is crucial to ensuring a car's paint job meets your expectations. Notably, not every auto body shop can recreate the exact paint like that of a car manufacturer. Besides, remember that as your car ages, the elements, such as sun and wind, can slowly degrade the pigmentation. Here are some facts about auto painting during a car repair.
Paint Code
One mistake that most people make when paint matching is misreading a paint code. Always double check to ensure that a car repair shop has the right paint code for your car. Each car paint comprises of different shades of the colour, also referred to as tinters. By using a paint code, an expert can mix different colours in varying quantities to generate the colour that resembles your vehicle's. If you use a wrong paint code, you are likely to get the wrong colour or shade that does not match that of your vehicle.
Beware of the Challenge With Metallic Colours
Metallic paints are available in a range of variations and colours, which can present some challenges during the colour matching process. When you look at a metallic colour with the naked eye, it may appear to match the rest of the car. However, a close angled look might reveal a lighter or darker shade. Therefore, spraying such colours should be done with care. If you apply a colour heavily, it becomes darker and contrasts the original car paint and vice versa.
Spraying the Car
Even with the correct paint, you can still end up with a bad match due to a host of factors. Therefore, a painter should be mindful of conditions that might affect the quality and shade of paint. Paint viscosity, ambient temperature, choice of thinners and air pressure are some of the significant factors that a car painter must consider before starting a painting job. Besides, a spray booth that prevents contaminants from mixing with the paint should always be standard. An enclosure also keeps the wind check and prevents a messy paint job.
Speak to companies like Shannons Approved Smash Repairs to learn more.
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