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Benvk
14-07-2016, 13:07
Just went to pick up my Mk1 from the bodyshop, they re-painted the bonnet and rear quarter panel, and was gutted to see that the new paint is a different shade of blue. I wasn't expecting a perfect match because obviously paint ages and fades etc but the new blue is way off. The bodyshop guy said that they'd taken the fuel cap off to get the colour matched in the computer but it still looks wrong to my eye, especially when the sun hits it.

So my question is this, did Renault definitely produce different shades of 449?

I read this thread which seems to suggest they did.
http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?1593

If so, is there any way of finding out which shade was used to paint my Williams originally?

It will end up costing me yet more money but I'd rather have it done right.

Benvk
14-07-2016, 14:24
Just been on the phone to these guys http://www.carcolourservices.co.uk/ and they have 7 different shades of 449 in their database!!?

Don't know what to do now..

Vandella
14-07-2016, 15:16
https://www.mixitcloud.com/#/search/Automotive?page=1&brand=Renault&model=Clio&year=1995

have a look on here..

these guys do the correct gold for the wheels and is who speedline use/give out the colour code for..

as mentioned there a 4 different shades of the blue.. each with a slight different blush/tint.. one of these must be close to the rest of the car..

once in the 449 bleu sport you'll notice the difference of the shades.. unless you do the whole car the difference will be noticeable.. my passenger door is slightly different to the rest of that side and only in certain light is it noticeable...

what you will find is that the paint code will stay the same but the colour over years will change slightly.. as they find new ways of getting a certain colour..

Taken from the carcolourservices website - "If you are requiring paint for your Classic Car then most likely you will need a colour match. Colour codes, names will only give us a starting point as the colour of the car will have changed from its original colour over all those years."

hopefully this will help you out.. good luck..

Benvk
14-07-2016, 16:06
Very useful thanks!

Ok so that proves that there's definitely different variants of 449.
Good, I can show this to the bodyshop now.

Danno
15-07-2016, 06:37
Very useful thanks!

Ok so that proves that there's definitely different variants of 449.
Good, I can show this to the bodyshop now.

To be honest any good bodyshop should know the situation regarding colour, and imo should have put the potential issues to you before starting work. It's 1 thing getting the computer to match the colour, but the real skill is in tweaking the colour to get it as near as poss. I've known my old boss spend hours tweaking a colour to try and match with existing.

northy
15-07-2016, 10:38
yes there are definitely different shades of 449 & 432.

Did they not do some spray tests to get a match first????

Benvk
15-07-2016, 12:01
I don't know how they went about matching the colour to be honest. It's difficult to be sure when you're speaking with the garage boss and not the actual painter.

I know it's not easy though to achieve a good match. Like Danno said, those spectrophotometer thingies are a useful tool but it still takes skill and a good eye to get it right.

Benvk
15-07-2016, 12:12
This is a pretty good article about matching paint.

https://www.quora.com/How-does-a-professional-body-shop-paint-shop-get-an-exact-color-match-on-car-paint-repair-when-the-original-paint-has-faded

Smokey McPot
18-07-2016, 16:14
Wasn't there something about the cars coming out in different shades as they moved along the production line? Starting out more blue and then as the run got toward the end looking slightly more purple?