White platinum paint

[Her Diamond 2]

Hi everyone,

 

Was wondering if anyone has any experience with paint repairs on the platinum white C-Max. Unfortunately while in for an oil change, the dealer damaged my rear bumper. They've repainted the entire bumper twice and it still doesn't match. Is asking for it to match to much given the color of the car? I expected it to be a tough color to match. So far the dealer has been great but I expected eventually they will push back.

 

Thanks

[plus 3 golfer]

The short answer is yes a tri-coat paint like platinum white is tough to match.  

 

Apparently, it's the first coat (ground coat), that needs to be perfectly matched.  So, how does one do that when the ground coat is not exposed on the car to match.  Trial and error on a "let-down" panel until one finds the right base coat such that the let-down panel with all three coats matches the car?  I had a Maxima with tricoat that after two repairs, had three different shades of white on the car.    

 

 

Our concern today is with the three-stage systems. 

I dug up a few paint formulas for the middle coat of a three-stage paint color — a GM white, a Ford metallic red and a Ford non-metallic red. Each formula is for mixing a quart of the needed color. Out of about 1,000 parts each, there are 56.8 parts of white, 40.4 parts of red and 32.9 parts of color. This is about 3-5% total color load in these middle coats. And it’s not unusual for the groundcoat to have more than 90% color load. Also keep in mind that these values are before reduction and application. (You can see a quarter in the bottom of a gallon can of ready-to-spray white pearl.) 

Now think about that let-down panel. One to two coats of ground, and generally one to five coats of the middle color. Says a technical manager at one of the paint manufacturers: “The let-down panel will help you match the pearl intensity, not necessarily the color.” 

That’s because the relative strength of the middle coat in a tricoat has less effect on the overall color match than the groundcoat. If your groundcoat isn’t on the money, you will never match the vehicle. 

 

[SnowStorm]

We have White Platinum and after a minor deer hit had the following done at our dealer:

 - Repair of front "bumper" - only a small crack near headlight.  Don't know how much was repainted.

 - Replaced front fender so it had to be fully painted

 - Paint was feathered in on front door (Hybrid emblem had to be replaced).  Nothing wrong with the door - we were told this was done to hid any slight mismatch.

 

I thought it came out great - almost undetectable.  Certainly don't think anyone would ever notice just walking by.  It looks like there is a slight difference detectable between the fender and hood but it doesn't bother me any.  Bugs and dirt are a bigger problem!  Factory perfection may be too much to ask for but I guess it shouldn't "jump out" at you.

[BIG ROCCO]

We had our White Platinum C-Max front bumper and hood replaced and repainted - it is a 100% perfect match when done and it has stayed that way so far.

 

ps:  I have had body work on 2 prior White Diamond GM cars, with equally good results.  I think you just need to find someone who knows what they're doing.

Edited November 4, 2014 by BIG ROCCO