Bumper Paint Match - Advice Needed

[sarah_a3]

Morning everyone,
I had my bumper repainted to get rid of some lacquer crazing at the Audi approved bodyshop in Leicester at the end of Dec. They had a problem with paint reaction at the end of last year so re-did the job on 17/3. Although the crazing can't be seen any more, the bumper is now a darker shade of blue (its mauritius blue pearl) than the rear quarter panel and this is most noticable on the drivers side. The guy at the garage has (i assume accidently) admitted that they have only been smart repairing the damaged area (strip under boot lid) and then lacquering edge to edge.
I'm having major issues with their non existant customer service, coupled with the fact that they keep putting scuffs and scratches on my car every time it goes in and have now overtightened the rear light cluster so I can't remove it!

I'm basically wanting some advice on whether this many sets of lacquering is causing the colour change. On top of the original factory lacquer, the bumper has now been lacquered edge to edge on 3 more occassions that I know of and just looks obviously repaired as well as being darker. The body shop is giving the old plastic/metal substrate excuse and ignoring the fact that the colour matched perfectly both originally and also after their 1st repair attempt so I know it can be done!

Surely the substrate excuse is irrelevant as they have admitted to only painting the one strip and then lacquering the whole bumper? My quote said repaint the bumper and didnt make any reference to smart or patch repairs of any sort.

I would appreciate any advice you guys have on this. Thanks, Sarah

[MalcQV]

I am not a panel beater or paint sprayer. I don't believe blue an awkward colour to match but you mention pearl.

I would say there is a limit to how close they can match paint. I had a red car and painted a couple of side vents/grills from black to red. The paint shop took my petrol cap and used it to mix/match the paint, using a machine I believe.

The car was a classic and about 22 years old at the time. It had been repainted sometime in 1997 which would of made the paint at the time about nine years old. The match was perfect IMHO.

I think you may have to accept a slight colour difference. I assume they have painted only a small area of the bumper but lacquered the rest in. This is a normal procedure to "blend" the colour in on the panel. I guess it may give a slight colour difference to adjoining panels but it should not be much as this is the reason they do it that way and not spray the whole panel with colour.

[sarah_a3]

Thanks MalcQV,

I know what you are saying and I gather red is quite a difficult colour to match too!
What is really causing the problem with this is that I was told the whole thing would be repainted and have now been told that only this strip under the boot lid has had the colour coat. So if they are telling me the side of the bumper hasn't had the metallic blue paint then it must be the many coats of laquer causing the problem. The bumper is darker and this can be seen when the car is dirty and the sun isn't out. Once the sun hits it, the bumper looks purplely blue!

My issue is that the bumper now looks suspiciouly like it's had major damage when it was only some laquer crazing before! And really when you pay for a full bumper respray costing in excess of £200 then surely I shouldn't have ended up with a dodgy smart repair and a bumper caked in lacquer especially from the approved audi bodyshop!

So frustrating - think I will take it to some other places for some opinions.

Thanks for your thoughts though!

[MalcQV]

Sounds like there is a big difference in colour there Sarah. I am going to pick my Passat up today from a body repairer. I have had my front wing small dent removed and my bumper repaired. I do hope the match is good.

A second expert opinion does sound like a very good idea. I am not sure the whole bumper being repainted is the best solution though :(

[Embisix]

There is absolutely no excuse these days for poor colour matching, flat, metallic or pearl effect, unless of course the person carrying out the repair is not up to the job.

I had a number of smart repairs carried out on my car when I first got it (admittedly by a smart repair genius!) and the blending/matching is spot on!

My car is Silver/Grey, one of the trickiest colours to match and the repairs were carried out on various surfaces (bumper, wheel arches and door handle), so the substrate line is complete and utter nonsense.

A smart repair is as good as a complete panel re-spray, if carried out correctly by a competent technician. It should not require lacquer edge to edge. Lacquer can be blended just like any other coat.

It seems that your 'approved' bodyshop are a bunch of muppets. Totally unacceptable!

I would agree that the darker shade is most likely due to the 3 coats of lacquer and would definitely recommend you get a second opinion. Then either demand a full bumper respray, or preferably, your money back so you can take it to someone who knows what they're doing.


Good luck.