Lude Generation

Hi,

About a year ago I bought a front lip but didn't fit it straight away as it needed painting with being a different colour. Then recently I bought a bonnet spoiler, again a different colour. I had a reasonable quote from Ratty to spray them for me, but decided that with my bonnet and bumper both being far from perfect (coupled with the fact that I am tightfisted ) it would be overkill, and almost pointless, to have a pristine spoiler and lip.

A few months ago I bought a couple of rattle cans from Paints4U so thought why not have a go.
This told me the paint would be very similar if not a perfect match...


Unfortunately that does not seem to be the case!!


I do sometimes look at my car and think the bonnet looks a little different to the rest, but the recently painted spoiler doesn't look anywhere near anything. I think the photo even makes it look closer than it actually it! it was probably a better match when dark green before being painted

I also want to address the rust that's coming through on my arches so could do with recommendations of someone that can supply B83M that looks like the B83M that Honda used! One day I might get some professional help and get a full respray, but until then accept things wont be perfect. Though I think a silver lip and spoiler would be better than blue, and silver patches on the arches will be better than rusty ones.

You will never get a perfect match, Not even i will get a perfect match. You could get the exact paint Honda used back in the day if they had any left over and it still wont match.

Paint fades and weathers. Different production lines might state the same colour but the varients of that colour will be different.

Foe example
Iceberg silver
I have 4 varients
- No1
- Angled lighter flop
- Yellower
- Redder

For Milano red
I have 48 varients. Not listing them all but i have
- Bluer x 1
- Blue x54
- Darker x3
- Darker x84

With spray cans and silver paint you are simply not going to win. SPray cans do not offer a good enough spray pattern or atomisation for the metallic particles to fall propperly. Never works.
Solid colours and spray paint in a can, can look ok.

On a side note in use a varient of VW reflex silver to spray most silver cars since it matches better than the AUdi/toyota or vauxhall paint on that car.

I'm not surprised that there are varients of colours, but certainly surprised to hear how many. I know I'll never get a perfect match, but had expected to get something not too dissimilar.
I appreciate how well you know your work so don't doubt that an acceptable match to you would be much better than what would be acceptable to me. I'm sure you would immediately see differences where most of us never would, for example.
My lip is off a newer lude so is crystal blue rather than iceberg silver. It of course looks darker and more blue than my car. Though when comparing the lip to the recently painted spoiler I would say the lip is lighter and less blue! The new paint is certainly closer to crystal blue than iceberg. That I didn't expect.

Guy who painted cars for me years ago says silver is the hardest of all colours to match.

I did consider going black spoilers and kit. Maybe I should have done!

I've never had mis-match of colours that badly from spray cans before, even with metallics - that's bloody awful!

Wrap your spoiler in Carbon Fibre or Hydro-dip it in CarbonFibre?

consider that the silver on your car as been in the sun for 12-15 years mate.

Think how much blue pigment will have been destroyed amongst all the silver and just how unlike an iceberg silver it looks now.

And then look at the new paint, compare and think about how it might have looked all those years ago

On the bright side If you go to a professional spraypaint supply shop they generally have a machine that will sample your paint and get you a match to the colour you actually have, rather than the colour code you have on the door.

I use middleton paints in glouester but where ever your local sprayshops go to get their paint will sort you out.

Don't really like the carbon fibre look nitin. Would rather just go for a black, but will try and get a silver matched up a bit better.
James, I appreciate my paint will have aged but to be honest can't imagine it was ever like my spoiler is now. Even the areas not subjected to sunlight very often (doors etc) are nothing like the spoiler. I know they will have aged somewhat but would think to a lesser degree. Good call with the paint matching rather than using the code. There's a motor factors near my work that seem to specialise in paint. They either mix or get it mixed for them. I'll call in and see if they can sort me out.

i have walked in with a piece of cardboear with a splash on before and got spray and brush that was seamless. Also a piece of fabric.

I think there is a big difference in the quality of the pigments used in different brands and the biggest difficulty getting the iceberg right is how big the flakes are. In factory the car was positively charged and the paint negative. That means all the flakes behave themselves and the paint adhears very well and very uniformly. When spraying in your garage or something they will just higgldypiggle ontop of each other and show a lot more depth/contrast. you cant sand it and then you lacquer it and its just obvious as funk.

I know your pain. My first lude was a lesson in how not to repaint the rear of a car

I sold it at night in the rain.