I've an 04 Satin Silver Metallic Accord. Some lady backed into my car, so it's in the shop having the rear bumper repainted. The shop is having a hell of a time matching the color. I figured it would be a piece of cake for them because the car's new and shouldn't be faded or anything, but for some reason the PPG paint they're using looks darker than the factory silver. It looks just as metallic, but almost like it's dirtier. Have any of you had issues matching 04 paints? What did you do to resolve it? What brand(s) of paint did you use or recommend?
The shop said they're going to repaint it using DuPont paints, as I guess that's what they use at the factory. Also, DuPont has some matching system that uses the VIN to figure out the correct mix. This is starting to piss me off b/c they've had my ride for a week for something that should've taken about 3 days!

 

I would have thought all they would have needed is the paint code and if it's mixed right using high quality paints like PPG or DuPont, it should be an almost perfect match. It seems like they mixed it wrong or something.

 

Most likely it is how the paint is being applied. I had the same problem on my Silver BMW a few years ago. The car was less than 30 days off of the assembly line in Germany and they had difficulty with the paint. It turned out to be how the paint was applied (in my case too thick made it appear more blue or darker). Also, if they try to repaint without stripping the color will be wrong. Good luck.

 

i'm almost sure it's an application issue also. satin silver metallic has been used on honda cars since 1999/2000. it's not a brand new paint blend.

 

I have a new '04 in graphite pearl and i had the trunk lid repainted after someone keyed it. The color matches exactly, and they did it in less than a day. I think you may have encountered a less than competent shop. If you live in the L.A. area and want the shop's name let me know.

 

I've heard from more than one shop that the satin silver is extremely difficult to work with and match up. In the sunlight, both my bumpers are obviously darker than the metal panels on the car. It's not a horrible contrast, but anyone looking closely can see it. And this is with the factory paint job. You may not be able to do anything about this.

 

So you're saying they had to repaint the entire panel or bumper (wherever the damage was)? The body shop I took my car to is highly recommended by a few car clubs in the area. I've also seen in person some of their work, and it's outstanding. The guys at the shop were confused because they said Honda's are usually a piece of cake to match. They told me yesterday that they're going to have to repaint the entire rear and front bumper covers (there was minor damage to both). I think it would be harder to match an entirely painted cover versus just painting the damaged area and blending it.
So you're suggesting that they've applied the paint too thickly? Should I mention that to them, or just stay out of their way? They're being pretty cool about the whole thing and not wanting to send out some half-ass job. They want to do it right, but they've had the car now for a week for a job that should've taken 2-3 days! I'm starting to think about telling them thanks for the effort, but I need my car back. I'll take it somewhere else to paint it. I would hope they wouldn't expect any sort of payment, considering they haven't yet fixed the car properly.

 

In the sunlight, both my bumpers are obviously darker than the metal panels on the car. It's not a horrible contrast, but anyone looking closely can see it. And this is with the factory paint job.

Yes , I have seen this on many silver Honda cars as well.

 

Well, I called the shop and they said it's done, so I'm going to pick it up after work. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The guy there said they used some sort of camera and took a picture of the paint, and scanned the picture into a PPG computer program which suggested the closest color codes. He said they repainted it, and it looks better now. They also said they went to a local Honda dealer and looked at the silvers, and they're all a little off.
He said something that did make me nervous, though: I guess the paint color they ended up using isn't a "Honda" paint color/code. That seems a little shady to me. What're your thoughts? I'll post again when I pick up the car.

 

Well, If the honda code didn't work what else could they do?