Hey guys, I need some help. I'm trying to find paint that will match the color of the dashboard. It's obviously not black. it's more of a really dark gray. This is for my next project.

 

hmmmm...i might know a guy who can match it...any plans for tomorrow???

 

got work until 7, but i should be free after that.

 

if you want your own paint: www.paintscratch.com

theyll match your bodycolor and put it in a spray can

 

There is a way to do this scientifically, but you need some connections. If you know anybody who works in a color sensitive business, ask them if the have an X-rite or a BYK Gardner colorimeter. This instrument is hand held, and I bought my BYK about 3, 4 years ago for work for about $6300. A reading takes about two seconds, but because the dashboard is textured, you should take about five readings and average the results. If you can make it down to Silver Spring, MD, BYK is headquartered there, and I am sure they will be happy to do it for you for free.

There are two types of instruments. Color "sphere" technology, and 45/0 (degree) technology. You want the latter. Sphere is for people who work with absolute colors (dye makers, etc) 45/0 takes gloss into account, because gloss effects color. BYK also makes gloss meters, so you can kill two birds with one stone. But I can pretty much assure you that the gloss level of your dashboard will be "1", or very NON glossy. You do not want glare from your dashboard, although some morons actually armour all their dashboards to a high gloss. Idiots.

Anyway, the 45/0 will give you something like this:

Pure, snow white L=100, A=O, B=0

Perfect, jet black L=0, A=0, B=0

So, you see, the L scale measures lightness/darkness and the number cannot be negative. But the A and B scales can be positive or negative. Here is why: Imagine a box made of square bathroom tile. It is pure white on the top, pure black on the bottom. On another side, it is pure red, and opposing that it is pure green. On the final pair of sides, pure blue and pure yellow. Now here is the hard part. You have to imagine all these opposite colors merging into neutral in the exact center of the cube. And what this means is that every color in the world exists somewhere inside that cube.

If you haven't guessed by now, I know a lot about color. I am a paint expert for my company, and I use this data for weather testing of paint. One of my companys product is Miller Electric welders, and their trade mark is Miller Blue, and the True Blue warranty. Yep, their color is important.

Look around for a miller welder in the back of a truck. You will see one, I guarantee, within 48 hours. Miller blue goes something like this: L=37.88, A= -27.45, B=-17.45. That means it is rather dark, tends more twoard green than red, and tends more twoard blue than yellow. If the negatives were positives, it would still tend to be dark, but favor red and yellow instead.

There is a comnplicated equation that you do not need to know about that adresses color shift. But the idea is you measure the initial color, weather the panel in accellerated testing machines, and measure again. You watch the panels fade, usually the turn whiter due to the sun (increased L value), and when you hit a certain value, it is judged as a color mismatch by the average human eye.

I mentioned gloss earlier. This is important because the EXACT SAME COLOR in a gloss of 30 will appear lighter than a gloss of 90. 90 is high gloss, 30 is low. Wow! bet you know more about color than you ever wanted to know!

Finally, do NOT use epoxy paint. It will fade in the sunlight!

 

defreder370, could you do this for the dash with your reader, and possibly print out some type of color code? Then maybe I cold mail it to BYK and they would help me out.

 

Titan: while ur at it can u also get a match for the titanium trim?
I bet a titanium color around the stereo would look hot.

 

dude are you just trying to body color match something in the interior? just get the same color paint... doesnt have to be perfect shade.

 

I'm trying to match the color of the dash, so i can move my radio around.

 

i think they call it ebony

 

nah bro, it's not I used black paint to try and match the radio faceplate.

 

Tit: Sure, I can do both color and gloss for you, but let's get specific. Are we talking about the top of the dash, the textured stuff? Or are you talking about the flat, plastic stuff in the area of the radio?

Also, I assume your interior is ebony, as is mine. I can do it monday. The instruments are at work. Easy, no problem.

 

dfreder370 : while ur at it could u please also get a match for the faux titanium trim if u have it? thanks

 

Agui: Yes, I can, but there is a caveat here. Look VERY CLOSELY at that titanium trim, and you will se that it is really made up of two colors. The titanium is basically silver, but it has "swipes" of a darker gray in it.

And I am still looking for what SPECIFIC part of the dash we are talking here.

 

Here you go, guys. But do not expect the local guys at sherwin willians to figure this out. They work off of color swatches, and besides, their paint would be all wrong for our cars anyway. This is for you guys who are SERIOUS about doing it right by contacting duplicolor, paintscratch.com, etc.

You should refer to these as L* A* B* coordinates, 45/0 technology.

I measured the face of the little pop out tray on my EBONY interior car and here is what I got: L*=23.09, A*=1.20, B*=-0.49.
60 degree gloss=3.2 (I told you it would be low, didn't I?) and 85 degree gloss=7.5. Gloss is talked about in gloss UNITS. It is not a number between zero and 100. Include both numbers.

Interestingly enough, you guys are probably trying to figure out where to buy paint, probably the local hardware store. But an automotive paint store is probably your best choice, but be careful here. Those are solvent based paints, and they may etch or craze the plastic. If you use that paint, whatever you do, a few or several thin coats is one hellofa lot safer than one thick one.

Suprisingly, check out your local hobby shop! They sell in small quantities, and you don't need much. The ideal tool here would be to find someone with an airbrush. For an airbrush, ideally you want the paint viscosity to be about that of water, certainly, no thicker than milk. An airbrush and a compressor will set you back about $175, so, let's not go there. Female nail salons spray solvent based paints all the time (solvent=acetone), and so do t-shirt painting shops. Either should be able to paint it for you.

By the way, the plastic panels in our cars are not painted. The proper pigments and metalflakes are mixed into the plastic before injection moulding. If you choose a paint you think is right, test it on the BOTTOM of the pop out tray I mentioned.

For whoever asked about the chrome highlights on the doors, here you go: L*=41.35, A*=-0.25, B*=3.58. 60 degree gloss=31 units. You do not need 85 degree gloss, as that is only used under a gloss of 30.

The reason for different gloss geometries is that almost EVERYBODY interested in paint has a 60 degree gloss meter, good for gloss units between 30 to 70, but if you go above or below that, you need 20 degree and 85 degree geometries. You need to know no more than that.

I am a painting PERFECTIONIST for my company. We do a lot of OEM automotive refinishing. And, I swear to god, if anybody posts a pic of their finished work and I can tell you used a brush instead of a spray, I will personally seek you out, no matter where you are, and fling a booger on your windshield! Do a good job, and good luck!

 

Hey bro, taht's for the help. Would duplicolor make this paint in a bottle for me?

 

Probably, for $50 to $100. Check the hobby shop first, they DO have a lot of selection. Consider everything. Color, gloss, orange peel. If you want it to look nice, it matters!

 

What exactly do i ask the hobby shop guys when I go there? IF they can make the paint for me?

 

http://www.pjhbrands.com/vht/penetratingcolordye.htm

I heard this works awesome...they have alot of different colors available, scroll all the way down the page...

 

Tit: What I am suggesting is that a stock brand of paint will match. If not, go to an automotive paint shop. By this time, probably every color in the world has been applied to a car. I am sure you will find what you want.