Has anyone noticed the slight difference in color between metal and plastic body parts?

[StevenP]

WARNING! What follows cannot be unseen!

I was just looking at some pictures of my car I took and something caught my eye... I went out to look at the car in person wondering if the camera was playing tricks on me, and while more pronounced from the camera the difference is there..

There seems to be an ever so slight difference in color between the bumpers and side sideskirts (plastic) and the rest of the car (metal). It is really hard to catch and really only noticeable in the shade, but its there. A quick search led me to several mentions of white being a particularly hard color to match between different medians, ie. plastic and metal (or as one of the links was based off, bondo and body fillers).

Perhaps this isn't an issue on color'd options, and maybe even other white FiST's have escaped the duality. Its not the end of the world for me, but I did cry a little inside.

Curious if anyone else notices this... actually, perhaps its best you disregard this entire thread and go about enjoying your FiST without an overly anal eye for detail...

Here are two shots that show what I'm talking about, it is less clear in person than in the camera, but it is present. Pay special attention to the bumper panels and the side skirts.

 

[Strife]

This happens on a lot of vehicles. My 2012 Nissan Frontier has this issue. Not much you can do about it outside of having everything repainted.

 

[kjohn09e]

Thanks, now I can't look at it the same.

 

[StevenP]

Sorry mate I forgave the little FiST as soon as I got in the drivers seat, hope you feel the same!

 

[C. love]

This happens on a lot of vehicles. My 2012 Nissan Frontier has this issue. Not much you can do about it outside of having everything repainted.

Actually not really. Different substrates will have different degrees of variance. For example if you have fiberglass, metal and plastic they can all be slightly different shades. In addition when the paint is being laid down by different machines or people this can create a variance even if the color is the same. Lastly white is the worst color in most cases.

 

[StevenP]

For a moment before I did a little searching I thought about taking back to the dealer and showing them in hopes of a fix, but my brief reading has led to me agree with c.love and I think it's just the way this cookie is gonna crumble due to the color and composition of the car, not to mention I'd have to opticoat the whole vehicle again... Truly not a big deal as the vaaaast majority of folks won't notice and I can't even notice it under most conditions. This car is too damn good to get hung up on something like this anyways... Yolo!

 

[C. love]

If you want to make yourself feel better look at the 11-12 mustangs in white. i owned one and you could swear the cars had been repainted panel by panel out of different cans. I owned one and hated the thing, all of them are like that

 

[TrickSTer]

I was going to mention this awhile ago, but I was going to post: "Warning, once you see this you can't un-see it!"
Mine is an OW too, plastics seem slightly yellow-white, metal seems slightly blue-white.

 

[StevenP]

I should've titled it like that.. I'll go back and edit it now, that's thoughtful.

 

[Mav]

Everything on your car that is plastic is painted off the vehicle with a different paint mixture than what is used on the metal body panels. Bumpers and moldings contain flex additive that allows the paint to flex when the plastic moves or expands due to heat or impact. If it didn't you would find paint chipping off your plastic bumpers very easily.

This isn't an issue with the manufacturer, every manufacturer has an issue trying to match the plastic to the metal.

I work as an insurance adjuster and I see this all the time on every make and model.

 

[bodytech]

Actually not really. Different substrates will have different degrees of variance. For example if you have fiberglass, metal and plastic they can all be slightly different shades. In addition when the paint is being laid down by different machines or people this can create a variance even if the color is the same. Lastly white is the worst color in most cases.

You would be in correct. Different substrates do not cause a change in variance of colour if painted properly.


The issue with parts such as bumpers, mirrors, plastic mouldings etc being that of difference variance happens to almost every vehicle from an OEM level. The body of the car and these various pieces are painted in different factories, using different "batches" of paint, it is even possible that they used company "X"'s paint for body colour but company "Y"'s paint for bumpers due to cost reasons. No to companies and no two factories are able to completely match the paint to each other due to variances in the manufacturing process. Such things as how well the vat the paint was mixed in was cleaned out prior to mixing this batch of paint, if there was an alteration (accidental miss pour) of a toner, etc.

Another reason this occurs can also be as you stated, people and machines spray differently and this can cause a variance of colour. Usually the only time a person is spraying a vehicle at the OEM level is when a machine is down for maintence or repairs. So it is possible for a car to have the base coat applied by a person, clear by the machine or any combination that you could come up with.


I've worked in the Auto body industry for 5 years and am RSE journeyman auto body technician

 

[C. love]

^I 100% disagree with your 1st paragraph seen it myself and tested the theory several times. As I said some colors are different that others.

The rest I agree with.


Oh I am not in the industry but have been painting for 10 years

 

[bodytech]

^I 100% disagree with your 1st paragraph seen it myself and tested the theory several times. As I said some colors are different that others.

The rest I agree with.


Oh I am not in the industry but have been painting for 10 years

I do not understand how the substrate material can alter a colour. To "PROPERLY" paint a substrate it should be undercoated with a primer or sealer which then levels the playing field and creates a uniform surface for the base coat to be applied over and in doing such provides a uniform under colour or unintentional ground coat.

Yeah you can just start spraying base over whatever you want, but they do not do that at the OEM level. Also it is not considered proper in the eyes of the aftermarket paint world.

 

[Cesso]

Color will always appear differently on different materials. Paint a plastic piece next to a steel or aluminum one with the same gun, same paint, at the same time and you will get results that look altogether different. An expert painter can adjust the mix enough to get a pretty good match (better than the factory) but the finish will never be the same. I can't believe that anybody with any kind of painting experience could say differently, having worked for Ford for years and having dealt with TONs of repaints and touch-ups, this is a constant issue.

 

[bodytech]

Color will always appear differently on different materials. Paint a plastic piece next to a steel or aluminum one with the same gun, same paint, at the same time and you will get results that look altogether different. An expert painter can adjust the mix enough to get a pretty good match (better than the factory) but the finish will never be the same. I can't believe that anybody with any kind of painting experience could say differently, having worked for Ford for years and having dealt with TONs of repaints and touch-ups, this is a constant issue.

I wish the states implemented the same mandatory training in auto body refinishing as Canada did. See my above posts.


Working for Ford thats cool. I worked at Doug's place (Specialized in Corvette's then became a BMW certified shop) and Modern Auto body (BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, Lexus, Range rover, Jaguar, and Volvo certified.) We would also do Lambo's, several Austin Martin's, Ferrari's, Maseratti's, pretty much any high end car you can think of.

You guys are doing something wrong if you can't spray the same formula on plastic, steel, fiberglass, etc and get the exact same colour.

 

[JasonHaven]

My beef is how my bumper fits the quarter panels, I can definitely tell it's on crooked :|

 

[Mav]

I mean correct me if I'm wrong but, sure you can spray the same paint on different material that is properly primed and it will be the same color, but who does that? I know from the insurance auto body industry that's not how its done.

The whole point is that if you are painting a plastic part it needs a flex additive to allow it to flex if the plastic is pushed in or temporarily deformed. When make an addition like that to paint you are painting essentially a different batch of paint, and you certainly aren't painting that piece on the vehicle if you are doing it properly, right?

 

[bodytech]

I mean correct me if I'm wrong but, sure you can spray the same paint on different material that is properly primed and it will be the same color, but who does that? I know from the insurance auto body industry that's not how its done.

The whole point is that if you are painting a plastic part it needs a flex additive to allow it to flex if the plastic is pushed in or temporarily deformed. When make an addition like that to paint you are painting essentially a different batch of paint, and you certainly aren't painting that piece on the vehicle if you are doing it properly, right?

In reference to your first statement, thats a huge difference between places like Canada and the States. The training required to work in the industry and the dealings with insurance companies are totally different in both places. You guys from what I've heard and researched are getting absolutely bent over by insurance companies. We are too don't get me wrong but it seems like you guys slightly more. For the most part shops that I have worked at we get payed to apply the proper undercoatings before base coat and I haven't seen anyone applying colour directly over a bare substrate.


On the subject of a flex additive that also a myth and should not affect colour variance. If you think thats the case I would recommend either getting a different paint line or a new painter as he is incapable of doing his job. You can mix one batch of sealer, primer, base, clear or whatever you are spraying on a flexible part, then separate it and add the 10% or whatever it is that the paint company recommends for flex additive. Another way to do it is just mix whatever your spraying, walk into the booth and spray everything that doesn't need flex additive, go back into the mixing room and add the flex additive to what is remaining in the gun, and go back and spray the flexible parts.


You guys seem to be making excuses for a process that is really quite simple.

 

[bodytech]

My beef is how my bumper fits the quarter panels, I can definitely tell it's on crooked :|

You bought a ford, not a BMW

You could possibly take off the bumper and adjust the plastic assembly that the bumper clips into to fix this.

I wouldn't quote me on that though because I haven't had a Fist apart and don't know if there is any room to adjust it

 

[Mav]

In reference to your first statement, thats a huge difference between places like Canada and the States. The training required to work in the industry and the dealings with insurance companies are totally different in both places. You guys from what I've heard and researched are getting absolutely bent over by insurance companies. We are too don't get me wrong but it seems like you guys slightly more. For the most part shops that I have worked at we get payed to apply the proper undercoatings before base coat and I haven't seen anyone applying colour directly over a bare substrate.


On the subject of a flex additive that also a myth and should not affect colour variance. If you think thats the case I would recommend either getting a different paint line or a new painter as he is incapable of doing his job. You can mix one batch of sealer, primer, base, clear or whatever you are spraying on a flexible part, then separate it and add the 10% or whatever it is that the paint company recommends for flex additive. Another way to do it is just mix whatever your spraying, walk into the booth and spray everything that doesn't need flex additive, go back into the mixing room and add the flex additive to what is remaining in the gun, and go back and spray the flexible parts.


You guys seem to be making excuses for a process that is really quite simple.

Thanks for the clarification. I know from all of my training and personally that as an auto damage adjuster for an insurance company we make sure at my company that we are paying out for all the paint time and to paint on and off the vehicle the individual pieces and the proper blends but, obviously not all insurance companies are the same.

And it's always good to be getting feedback from the bodymen who are actually working the process, so thank you for the explanation!