Incorrect Paint colour

[Barry.b]

Hi guys
I painted my engine bay last month.
I bought fjord blue 037 from a reputable paint supplier.
But I am fairly sure the paint he mixed is NOT the correct colour.
He mixed it from what was on his computer for fjord blue.
He had said to me did I have the car outside and he would use his “paint camera “ to scan it to get an accurate match.
I didn’t have the car with me or any panel from it either.
So I think I will have to try again with him
This time I am planning on bringing in the sunroof from the car ,the original factory paint is still on the underside of it .
Hopefully he can use his camera to get me a better match .
The last batch looks too silvery and doesn’t have enough blue in it .
Has anyone else ever had this problem with fjord blue ??
Or are there more than 1 fjord blues out there and he mixed it to the wrong one ?
I have tried to convince myself now for about a month that I am just not seeing it properly but I had a friend call by yesterday and I shared my thoughts / doubts. And he agreed it’s not the original colour in his opinion either.
It’s a pain now to have to re do the work but , I’d prefer to just take it on the chin now and fix it rather than looking at it for years knowing that it’s wrong.

 

[bluecoupe30!]

That is a tough one Barry. I am sure your initial reaction is the correct one. We all know how much effort goes into preparing a car for a spray, then to get an incorrect colour, crushing. But this stuff does happen. At least you have a supplier who is interested in making it right. Hang in there. You have done so much amazing work already, this small setback is often just a part of the journey. Mike

 

[mulberryworks]

I've no personal experience with Waterborne paint but I've heard that color matching can be tricky. Certainly matching the color of paints from 50 years ago with an entirely different chemistry is sometimes a crapshoot. Some colorants are no longer available because of new regulations.
Using the color system to scan the paint sample you have is the best path to get as close as possible. I've heard that tuning the formula the computer gives and improve the result but you are very dependent on the skill and patience of the person assisting you.
Good luck.

 

[Sal3.0CS]

The color you have there looks more like Polaris, I hope you can get it sorted out. Good luck

 

[sfdon]

I'm lost- you show a coupe engine bay painted Polaris. A can of paint titled Fjord. A pic of a stick ?with wet paint that looks Fjord.

Which is which?

I have 3 fresh Fjord paint jobs in the shop now- do you need pics?

 

[tferrer]

Is that room your painters paint booth? No wonder the paint was incorrect. Anyone with eyesight could see the paint wasnt fjord when they opened the can the first time. They need not have gone any further. Close the lid and tell you its incorrect.

 

[dang]

First, a paint supplier won't know what Fjord looks like. I agree that it looks too silver, and without a metal piece off the car as a sample your best option is the scanner. They should be able to tint the existing paint to correct it. It's good you've stopped after the engine compartment, not that much work to fix.

 

[Drew Gregg]

Barry--I had a similar situation getting the correct Turkis paint on my car. The restoration shop used PPG metallic paints. The formula For PPG Turkis looked too silver in color and took several coats to paint a 2 ft X 2ft metal sample. Forum members Paul and Jon told me to use Glasurit metallic and the color and texture of the metallic was very different and vibrant in color when seen on the metal sample in the sunlight. I suggest you get a quart of the Fjord in Glasurit and paint a metal sample with the correct primer and clear coat. Then you will be able to see if it matches your sunroof. Now is the time to go the extra steps to get a finish that you will be satisfied.

 

[vince]

This is interesting. I had 037 mixed right in front of me for my fjord 2002 that I restored a few years ago. It looked correct when they showed it me but when I went to the body shop after it was painted, I couldn't believe it. The color was more silver and had more lilac in it than what was on the car before and I could definety see a big difference when I got it home next to me coupe. Initially, I was pretty stressed about it. The paint job was nice and I wasn't about to get it repainted, so I finished putting the car back together. It got all kinds of compliments and won two awards at the first show I took it to. It also broke a record on BaT for a non tii square tail light.

1975 BMW 2002 5-Speed

Bid for the chance to own a 1975 BMW 2002 5-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #6,155.

bringatrailer.com

 

[Barry.b]

I'm lost- you show a coupe engine bay painted Polaris. A can of paint titled Fjord. A pic of a stick ?with wet paint that looks Fjord.

Which is which?

I have 3 fresh Fjord paint jobs in the shop now- do you need pics?

Hi Don
The stick and the engine bay are from the same can of paint.
The only difference is that the engine bay also has clear coat on it.
I might be crazy but I think it turned more “silvery” after I applied the clear coats.
Thanks for the offer to supply photos, I think I don’t need them, I’m hoping that once I bring them my sunroof panel they will be able to match that.
Here is a photo taken before I applied the clear coat.

 

[Barry.b]

That is a tough one Barry. I am sure your initial reaction is the correct one. We all know how much effort goes into preparing a car for a spray, then to get an incorrect colour, crushing. But this stuff does happen. At least you have a supplier who is interested in making it right. Hang in there. You have done so much amazing work already, this small setback is often just a part of the journey. Mike

Thanks Mike
For the advice, and yes , I guess this is just another part of the journey

 

[Barry.b]

This is interesting. I had 037 mixed right in front of me for my fjord 2002 that I restored a few years ago. It looked correct when they showed it me but when I went to the body shop after it was painted, I couldn't believe it. The color was more silver and had more lilac in it than what was on the car before and I could definety see a big difference when I got it home next to me coupe. Initially, I was pretty stressed about it. The paint job was nice and I wasn't about to get it repainted, so I finished putting the car back together. It got all kinds of compliments and won two awards at the first show I took it to. It also broke a record on BaT for a non tii square tail light.

1975 BMW 2002 5-Speed

Bid for the chance to own a 1975 BMW 2002 5-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #6,155.

bringatrailer.com

Hi Vince
That is crazy, I wonder if your supplier used the same computer formula that my supplier did
Your car did look beautiful alright
And yet seemed different to what you expect a fjord car to look like.

 

[Barry.b]

Is that room your painters paint booth? No wonder the paint was incorrect. Anyone with eyesight could see the paint wasnt fjord when they opened the can the first time. They need not have gone any further. Close the lid and tell you its incorrect.

Hi
I am the one who painted the engine bay .
I am trying to do most of the work on the car myself.
So far the only work I have not done myself is I sent the block , head and crankshaft out to an engine builder to get , bored skimmed and polished and then recently I sent my brake boosters and brake master cylinder off to a specialist for a rebuild also.
I have only ever painted one other car and that was about 20 years ago.
I think / know my eyesight was definitely better back then
It was my first time spraying a metallic paint, so I was not sure how it would go on and if it would develop a bit while drying
I changed the lighting in my garage last year from fluorescent tubes to now being all led lighting as it’s more energy efficient and I thought it was the led lighting that was causing me to not see enough blue.
It’s funny how you can try and convince yourself of something when you don’t want to hear the true story
I think I also got a bit carried away with the thought of actually getting to see some progress on the car .
Anyway I think the best thing that I have done is to stop and take the time to say to myself the job isn’t good enough and that I need to improve it as I will most likely never be happy with it as it is.
I definitely think from this point on I have learned “Close the lid and walk away “ is definitely an option if you have any doubts when painting a car .

 

[tferrer]

Hi
I am the one who painted the engine bay .
I am trying to do most of the work on the car myself.
So far the only work I have not done myself is I sent the block , head and crankshaft out to an engine builder to get , bored skimmed and polished and then recently I sent my brake boosters and brake master cylinder off to a specialist for a rebuild also.
I have only ever painted one other car and that was about 20 years ago.
I think / know my eyesight was definitely better back then
It was my first time spraying a metallic paint, so I was not sure how it would go on and if it would develop a bit while drying
I changed the lighting in my garage last year from fluorescent tubes to now being all led lighting as it’s more energy efficient and I thought it was the led lighting that was causing me to not see enough blue.
It’s funny how you can try and convince yourself of something when you don’t want to hear the true story
I think I also got a bit carried away with the thought of actually getting to see some progress on the car .
Anyway I think the best thing that I have done is to stop and take the time to say to myself the job isn’t good enough and that I need to improve it as I will most likely never be happy with it as it is.
I definitely think from this point on I have learned “Close the lid and walk away “ is definitely an option if you have any doubts when painting a car .

Well good for you on pushing yourself and doing things yourself. I hear you on the eyesight and led lighting. You can do a good scuff and repaint. It's not the end of the world. Good luck on the color match!

 

[OCCoupe]

Paint has evolved and to some de-evolved over the past 15 years. All the formulas have changed with the changeover to waterborne paint and most are not correct to the original color/formula which is a reason why you see 6 shades of fjord when you go too a bmw meet.

The only way to match paint at this point is by color matching which means that you have to pick your favorite of the six shades you’ve seen and go with it. Colors have also faded over 50 years. Many think that they have a match from an original inner panel but that too has a degree of fade which makes it impossible to match to the original color.

You should always ask your painter to do a spray out before approving the final color.

 

[HB Chris]

And every manufacturer had their own formula, there was never ‘one’ formula unless it was at the factory.

 

[sfdon]

Fresh

Baikal vs Fjord in Glasurit

 

[sfdon]

Csl bought 2 weeks ago for resto

 

[OCCoupe]

@sfdon unfortunately those photos won’t help with color matching. There’s no way to accurately gauge color off a computer screen or your iPhone.

 

[sfdon]

Oh no- not color matching.
My pics show “pansy blue” for our cars and “silver blue for OP.

We have samples for David S. car that Pelly and Cain worked on and likely samples for our last 4 Fjord paint jobs all in Glasurit.
Maybe we can send one out?