Paint job after repair is darker than original

Hello,
My 4Runner was sadly rear ended at Costco. The lid had a minor dent and the bumper had a small crack. The body shop fixed the dent, replaced the bumper and painted both. The lid paint came slightly off, darker than the quarter panels. I showed it to my mechanic and a Toyota body shop and they said that it's hard for the paint to match 100%. They said that I see the difference in paint because I know that it was repainted, that it's really not that obvious.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,
Mike

 

Can you post a picture?

 

new paint will look a bit darker .. original paint does fade out a bit gets lighter.

 

Here are two pictures. There is a difference in color between the quarter panel and the bumper cover and between the lid and the bumper cover. I may need to take another picture of the lid in different lighting.
Thanks,
Mike

 

I work in a body shop and new paint will always look darker cause it has NEW clear which brings out the color. Old clear like in the quarter panels is dull and faded. If the shop that you took it to just cleared both quarters it would match the back. Its what we call blending panels. As far as the bumper goes plastic will never match no mater what. It will either be lighter or darker. Even factory painted bumpers dont match.

 

Some places are better than others, in regards to paint matching, personally i see why you are unhappy. We had some work done on my wife’s Mini, and we could barely see were it was, but that is just lucky l guess. The best way to go is complete paint job by a reputable source, and that my friend is gonna cost you some $$$$$$. I know it’s hard sometimes, i feel your pain man.

 

A body shop guy told me about “blending” the paint where they spray area that does not need paint to slowly transition from on shade to the other so it was not as noticeable.

I had this done to a silver Acura. I am very fussy though. It’s hard not having that perfect finish.

After the paint is on for at least month you could try some polish and wax also?

Perhaps the guy who is the body shop contact on here could weigh in? He would be the expert

 

Perhaps I'm blind I don't see what your talking about maybe in person I would. The shop is right about one thing cause you know it's there it will now haunt you... You have to ask yourself is it really that obvious to the naked eye?

 

Thank you all very much. I see all your points and they make sense. The more I look at it now the more I don't see the color difference. Even if I decide to sell it, I have nothing to hide as I have pictures before the repair that show it was a very minor damage.
I got a price at a different body shop and was quoted between $200:to $300 to repaint the lid which is not much. However, I'll leave it alone for now.
(Don't take your 4Runner to Costco's parking lot)
Thanks again.
Mike

 

My 4Runner had a scratch on the door that was too deep to be buffed out and required repair at a body shop.

When I look at it from certain angles I can see a bit of a "ripple" in the clear coat on the door that was repaired.

One day I stopped at a different body shop and asked their opinion of the repair. They said it looked like a good job to them.

I even went so far as to ask a friend that spent years working at a very reputable body shop what his opinion of the repair was.

He said that I'm waaayy too picky if this repair work bothers me.

I decided it was good enough.

 

No I live in Fountain Valley Huntington Beach area.

 

I am probably as picky as you. My mechanic said the same thing. He also said if I take to another bodyshop they'll probably say the same thing.

It took me 3 months to find this 4Runner. It was the cleanest and the in best condition than five other newer used ones I looked at.

 

I’m same way I can’t stand miss matched colors, I see it just about every day cars driving bye and you see the entire door that sticks out like a sore thumb. Because of the paint job… I’d take it back and have them either buff the rest of the vehicle to bring out the shine or make them repaint it ? It’s a pain either way my father in-law has my old Taco in black Sand Pearl well he has scratched it up and dings in it and wants it repainted lol I told him it’ll never look the same they will never match that color perfectly…

 

I may end up taking it back. I'll post the outcome.

 

I was going to say it looks great.
Does it really look bad?
I must be color blind?

 

Where you talking about me? If so the color is right on its just that the new clear makes it look darker. We just did a 17 silver 4runner which we painted the right quarter, rear bumper rear hatch and left quarter panels and we blended both rear doors. The rest of the paint that we did not touch had the same effect that yours does. The customer wasnt satisfied with what we told her and why the paint does that so we had to re-clear the rest the rest of the 4runner. She paid for half the cost and we ate the other half. Now her silver 4runner looks the same.

 

Hi John,

Yep. Now this makes sense. So the clear coat itself makes it look darker? I thought blending was actual paint and not just clear coat.

I just remember a body shop guy explaining blending and how insurance companies won’t pay to “blend” enough to try to make it look correct. He said similar to you that the shop ate costs to try to make the customer happy but the net change in the look was negligible.

The place I have used does the best they can. That’s all we can ask for.

 

The other body shop is correct on blending we only feathered new paint on the edge of door a few times inward then clear coated it. It helps transition the new paint to the old. And yes new clear makes it look darker. Most body shops go buy a paint code on the car but also have an electronic scanning gun that helps get the shade to the old paint also.

 

Speaking of clear coat. I had a front bumper repair on an old car and the new colour was darker than the faded, near 15+ year old hood paint. Had the shop clear coat the entire hood and it came out dynomite.

Is clear coating the whole car a resonable cost option to refresh and give more longevity to an old car. Or is a complete respray a better bet.

Just wondering because I'd like to keep the next vehicle for at least 15 years. And if we go silver 4Runner the older ones I've seen look pretty faded.

 

As long as the clear coat is not flaking or hazy a fresh coat of clear with make it last much longer and clear coat is MUCH cheaper to do than a complete paint job with is$3-5K complete with disassembly and put together. A fresh coat of clear on the car with disassembly and reassembly should run about $1500-3 tops. Just look around and get quotes.

 

Beauty, thanks. That's really good to know.

 

No not really. I showed it to two other friends of mine and they couldn't see any difference. I think I see it because I know it was repainted. It's not bad at all, actually today I can see it better and it looks nice. The shop also repainted the hitch with fresh black paint and it looks great.
Thanks

 

old paint fades clear coat turns to a whitish look.. if you go to a car wash the acid cleaner causes the top coat to turn a fade look..
I do not go to car wash and I use safe car soaps no acid ..

 

Mr socal2012, so in my opinion everybody in here is wrong. I was a painter and run a body shop now! It’s definitely darker, it has nothing to do with clear…they didn’t match the color appropriately. Silver has got to be one of the hardest colors there is, but they could get closer whether they have to call a paint rep to help them match the color or whatever it is but you can take it back, they should carry a warranty on paint work. If it was insurance, call the insurance and tell them you are unhappy with the color if the shop isn’t willing to help, sometimes they will pay another shop to do it and charge back the original shop if they can’t match the color. Silvers carry multiple variances of the color so they just need to respray and make sure they do spray out cards/test panels

 

With all due respect, and I do mean that, because matching paint is a REALLY hard job to do, bumpers don’t match from the factory. Different materials, paint conditions, paint, etc, get different results. It sucks, but it is what it is. There is a reason why so many body shops blend panels. It is just hard to match paint. Bottom line.

I would be pretty damn stoked on the job that was done on the truck above. Can I tell the difference? Yeah, I can. Would it bug me? Probably. Clear does yellow as it “dies” and the difference will probably not be noticed in a year or two. I probably wouldn’t make a stink about it.

I’ve had paint shops do the spray out cards for my wing on my FRS (and these were top of the line shops, mind you) and it still came out looking darker. There was not a single other person that noticed but me. Ha!! I got made fun of for a long time for being too picky. Oh well

Pics for reference. Bumper is light. Nice little old lady decided to rear end me at the mall. Quarter panels were blended. Wing is aftermarket. Painted alone. Always looked dark to me

Just noticing now, but look at the back garnish with the scion emblem. It’s darker than the hatch….and that is 100% off the line. Never painted.

I have nothing but respect for body shop guys. It really is not an easy job.

 

@suaveflooder
I have worked in nothing but body shops for over 20 yrs, saying plastics take on a different color is the lamest and laziest excuse there is from painters! That’s complete bs, there’s different clears as well as several variances on each color….if the painter/shop can’t match its because they are being lazy! I have an account with Land Rover and we do all their cars which they want to panel paint, or do bumpers only! We’ve had a few issues and then my painter makes right but I can do a bumper only all day and it’s not darker or lighter.
In the main post he is referring to his gate though, which is metal by the way. If you have to blend a qtr panel to paint a gate, that painter is garbage. none the less if the customer is unhappy with the work performed whether he is being picky or not. Most people can’t see the color differences but some can and have a better eye for it. It’s the shops obligation to make it right or have the insurance check and get there opinion. If they thinks it’s good your kind of screwed!

 

the paint color over the years is a light color . variable where the UV sun changes the color.
I do not buy silver particles in the paint .. I like white paint less damage on the UV ...

 

Looks good to me! As someone pointed out, new clear coat show the colors more brilliantly. Clay bar, buff and wax the whole thing, give it a month and you won’t see it anymore.

 

A month won’t change the color that lift gate is dark as shit on flop. Take it back and have em respray it.

 

I always park in the back 40, even with my 2001 at Walmart and such. If it was a insurance job in my case the other party nailed the quarter panel of my Tahoe with there door hard enough to cause $1000 in damage and was deemed 100% there fault. I initially took it to Basil Chevrolet in hopes that a dealer would do the best job and I was wrong. They tried 2 or 3 times as I kept taking it back and kept doing a bad job. Insurance let me take it to a place of choice again and I went to Gabes Collision and they nailed it first try and explained what happened prior. If you don’t like it, try again.