Difficulties matching the paint

Hi all, my poor Becky (a '17 TRD OR in Super White) received some minimal damages to her front bumper due to some jerk who doesn't know how to park... I have read on other threads that shops might not be able to get the paint to match correctly due to the coating Toyota does or doesn't use.

Has anyone encountered this issue?

Just curious if it's worth taking it to a shop to repair or if I should just explore custom front bumpers.

 

It's not necessarily Toyota paint, but yes you are correct that it can be very hard to match paint perfectly. This is especially hard on mismatched surfaces like the bumper which is plastic, and the rest which is metal.

Shops will want to "blend" the paint from other panels. This involves removing paint from nearby areas and sometimes other panels and blending in new paint so their isn't such a defined line from the factory area to the repair.

Personally, I've never noticed a professional shop with good reviews do a job bad enough where I could even tell a repair had been done.

 

matching paint is almost impossible as the paint ages it tends to fade. so what you need to do is buff out the oxidation to get down to the original color. you must be very careful not to burn the paint. take rubbing compound and a new buffing pad get liquid rubbing compound and slowly rub the paint out in step use a lot of compound so you don't burn the paint. when you are done you will see the true color. and get dupli-color paint and blend the paint in do not have a sharp line at the end. try to extend it all the way to the end of the panel it will probably be base coat clear coat. put the base coat on at least 2 coats. and in 24 hours put on the clear coat it should look pretty close. it will not be perfect but it should be close.also if there are any marks from where the other car hit you it can be rubbed out with the rubbing compound just use a lot of compound and press hard with the buffer where the marks are and they will disappear. LARRY B,

 

just pick a good shop, when we needed body work I asked my insurance agent where he has sent his personal cars, as his are all really expensive. My sister used his body shop and they matched a mid 90's celica that was red and the match was absolutely perfect. I would not trust Maaco to do this.


Although, as you mentioned it would be a good excuse to look at aftermarked front bumpers

 

Good write-up. I do have one suggestion though, I would use 2K clearcoat as it is catalyzed. Costs about $30 for the spray cans at an automotive paint store. The only hit on it is that you have to be organized enough to use the whole can within a couple of hours before it sets up.

 

you are totally rite that is great paint i have used it before the only problem i had with it is when i ordered the paint for my Isuzu rodeo 4 wheeler and gave them my vin number it was not the rite color my original paint was color shifting from green to blue depending on witch way the sun hit the paint. the paint they sent me wasn't even close.i sanded the hood down to the bare metal and spent hours on it so i was pretty pissed when i got done with it i even ordered the correct primer from the vin to make damn sure it was perfect. all together with shipping cost $75 and waited 3 weeks for the paint and it was not even close so i called them up and they said I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING!! and that they would not help me out.i have been painting and detailing car for over 20 years and have done beautiful paint jobs in my life so i was compleatly pissed at this point and will never do business with them again.!! so thats when i went to dupli color and started all over again and it came out perfect had to blend 2 different colors to make it blend it together in my gun but it was dead nuts it looked great. that my story sorry it was so long just wanted to add all the facts hope nobody has to go though what i did. LARRY B