[endless402]

Anyone had any part of their EBII car repainted?

My car had to get a front fender replaced due to vandalism. Got it done at a bmw canada certified collision shop. The color match was off the first time because it was too light.

When they wanted to do it again, they wanted to blend a portion of the hood which I refused. They blended the door previously and I was ok with that. The respray didnt work and was lighter than both the door and the hood.

Now they're hiring a paint expert.

Is estoril blue that difficult to match? The car is only 6 months old, stored indoors and has opticoat....

[Cup o' Joe]

The opticoat may have something to do with it. It may be adding more gloss, or making the rest of the car appear slightly darker.

[jhbodle]

I had this problem when I got a scratch on my wheelarch resprayed - the guy didn't have a paint code for the Estoril Blue II paint, only the older Estoril Blue colour. The F series of cars apparently has a slightly different colour than the old.

[justinnum1]

Originally Posted by jhbodle

I had this problem when I got a scratch on my wheelarch resprayed - the guy didn't have a paint code for the Estoril Blue II paint, only the older Estoril Blue colour. The F series of cars apparently has a slightly different colour than the old.

Yea, the old is Estoril bkue, the new is Estoril Blue 2

[claykin]

single stage colors are easiest to spray (such as alpine white and jet black). Two stage colors are more complicated (metallics such as EB). Three stage are the hardest (pearls).

That said, a good shop that knows what they are doing can color match with little trouble. If they are BMW certified they should be using BASF refinish products which are designed to color match the factory finish.

Here's what I would ask.

1) Are they using BASF refinish base and clear

2) Are they solvent or water based spraying? If solvent, then they will have a more difficult time matching since the factory paint is water based. BMW has been pushing certified shops to be BASF water based approved. However this means training, and new equipment purchases. $$$.

3) Are they spraying out the color on test panels to obtain a good color match? Good body shops mix the color then spray them out on test panels to get the color and level of metallic right. This requires having your car on hand and a trained eye. Some shops have digital camera equipment to assist with the matching process.

4) Since you are in CA, do they have a temperature stabilized spray booth? And are they leaving your car/fender in the booth for the entire drying process? Its cold in CA this time of year and lower temps can affect paint while drying.

Blending should only mean blending the clear into the adjacent panel. If they are planning to "blend" base coat then I wouldn't be happy.

Hope this helps.

[endless402]

Thanks for the info. Should have asked those questions beforehand but it's too late now!

Been a nightmare trying to get stuff fixed...not to mention the whole side of the car was full of swirls after they "polished' it.

been without the car for 3 weeks

[BavarianFanatic]

They just don't know how to color match. The body shop at the VPC has a cache of 5-7 shades for every production color. Seeing them all together they look very different but spread out they look the same. You can't simply go by paint code and start spraying. Blending into adjacent panels is OK for quick production work but not necessary when properly matching materials.

[endless402]

Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic

They just don't know how to color match. The body shop at the VPC has a cache of 5-7 shades for every production color. Seeing them all together they look very different but spread out they look the same. You can't simply go by paint code and start spraying. Blending into adjacent panels is OK for quick production work but not necessary when properly matching materials.

exactly. I think they were rushing. They weren't happy when I told them that they were not allowed to blend the hood.

[Bjornizz]

I had to have my back bumper painted when they scratched it on the BMW workshop. First they tried with just one of those paints pens, that looked hideous so I told them they had to try again. I think they realized it was a 2 month car and sprayed it properly... Looks good now.

[DesertSmokeBBQ]

EBII is a blend of about 7 colors. When I had my last bumper re-sprayed I had them blend the hood and it came out perfect

[Kaitain]

My car was hit (her F350 door decided it was pissed off at my door when she slung it open) by a lovely lady that tried to take off after she hit me. My body shop had no issues matching the color. I also had opticoat done 2 days after delivery. My opticoat guy re-did his work and he didnt complain the colors didn't match, so between me not noticing (I am very picky) and him not saying anything, they matched it perfectly. Sorry, get a new body shop if they are not competent enough to do the job right.

[MrClean]

Took my shop three tries to get it right.

[Bernard335]

I had certain of my MPerformance parts colour matched, bearing in mind they also plastic, they came out perfect. No complaints at all, but I did have them fitted and sprayed at shop with a good reputation.

[Bernard335]

Did the front splitter, side sills and bootlid spoiler.

[F30AM]

I had a new from bumper as it was damaged by a dozy neighbour. Original bumper was a perfect match with the metal panels, but the replacement is just a teen-y ween-y bit darker in certain lighting conditions. Does not bother me.

[endless402]

quick update...car has been in the shop the 2nd time for over 1.5 weeks. turns out that they had to replace the gas cap and when they sprayed that, it didnt match with the rear quarter panel....

now they have to remove the trim (which they damaged previously) and paint the whole side of the car

wtf...

[Customize81]

Originally Posted by endless402

quick update...car has been in the shop the 2nd time for over 1.5 weeks. turns out that they had to replace the gas cap and when they sprayed that, it didnt match with the rear quarter panel....

now they have to remove the trim (which they damaged previously) and paint the whole side of the car

wtf...

Wtf.. demand a complete new paint job!

[JJS]

I'd demand a new body shop and the one that screwed up can pay for that.

[teaston]

Do you know it's possible to get a painted bumper from the factory?

[ronin951]

Find another shop pronto. Word of mouth is your best friend. Especially from another local enthusiast (doesn't have to be BMW). l had a panel matched perfectly, but it is a process/art. Especially getting that orange peel thing working.

After my collision I had the car professionally appraised. The only way he could tell was by the thickness of the paint (he used an electronic meter). Yours should be no different and you should expect no less. As a test, take yours to another body shop and ask them to tell you where the damage was. Theoretically they shouldn't be able to tell.

As for EB1 vs EB2. I have an EB1 sitting in the garage. Definitely different.

[cblandin]

What a nightmare. Proper blending can be as much art as science. This, however, sounds like more of a color match issue than a blend issue. Blending generally involves using clear base coat (not to be confused with the shiny clear coat that is used after the base). It can be used with the color to dilute the color in stages and blend or fade to the adjacent panels to trick the eye. On brand new cars it isn't always needed (because the original paint is still in great shape) but a lot comes down to the color, painter, etc.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by teaston

Do you know it's possible to get a painted bumper from the factory?

No.