Meet Your (Car Paint) Match

 Meet Your (Car Paint) Match

 

Automotive You got a nasty scratch on your cherry 1965 Mustang—how is the paint ever going to match? Unlike many other things on your car, the paint job can be seamlessly replaced or repaired no matter the age, how severe the damage is or whether it’s a custom paint job. Thanks to computerized paint matching, scrapes and scratches aren’t the nightmare they used to be. Have a custom car color? That’s not a problem when you have a spectrophotometer. It’s a machine used by the most reputable auto body shops to perfectly match paint no matter how “unique” it may be. The actual art of paint matching is usually free, but of course you’ll be charged for any paint repairs. How can a computerized paint matching machine achieve what the best artists cannot? With a lot of high tech approaches. Spectrophotometer Basics Understanding how this machine works first requires understanding how color itself works. Color is created via light wavelengths, which is a part of the electromagnetic

 spectrum along with X-rays, ultraviolet, infrared, microwaves and radio waves. The machine uses visible light to match your paint using the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet (or ROY G. BIV for art school students). These seven colors are the only ones visible with the naked eye. The spectrophotometer is made up of a readout device, detector, interference filters and an illumination source. Without getting too technical, the computer works by matching a color sample, filtering it and considering wavelengths. Imagine if you directed a white light onto an orange—the fruit would “absorb” any other colors, only reflecting the color orange to your naked eye. The machine does the same thing, reflecting back the exact color of the paint. Extra Considerations Getting the right paint match is just part of the process—quality still counts. You’re going to get a better match and a better

 end result if you opt for mid-range or higher quality OEM paint. Of course, the skills of the paint technician also come into play. Paint matching computers are designed to make the job easier, faster and more efficient for the real talent, your auto body mechanics. They can’t take the place of technicians, so you still need (and deserve) a qualified professional to get your ride back to show room status. See the repair gallery of any auto body shop you’re considering to really gauge the skills, talents and abilities of the shop. Having the best spectrophotometer machine on the market doesn’t mean anything if you’re dealing with subpar techs. You and your ride should get the whole package.