queens207tl

Due to some circumstances I had to get my bumpers replaced. I opted to convert to the 2012 front and back at the time of the repairs. When I picked up the car, I immediately noticed the rear bumper color looked way off. First guy at the shop told me that was normal for it to be off due to the bumper being plastic and the other parts being metal. To me it looked way too off, so I informed the manager about my concerns. He then told me it was due to the quarter panels not being blended, which was not included in the insurance quote. I left with the car thinking I would take it up with the insurance to get the quarters blended. When I got home I noticed the front bumper color was off just the same as the back, just not as noticeable as I had a front spoiler installed so you don't see the entire front bumper. In addition, the front spoiler doesn't even match the new bumper, and the spoiler was supposedly painted as well. The entire front end was done (bumper, spoiler, both fenders), so everything was just freshly painted. You would think everything would match in the front, but the fenders, bumper, and spoiler are 3 different shades of white. I believe the shop did a shitty job of color matching the car. I'm not an expert, and I have heard WDP is hard color to work with. So I would like opinions on whether the job they did was acceptable considering its WDP or did the shop just do a bad job on the car. Below are some pics of the car. If it was a bad job, what recourse do I have. Do I try to have them fix it or would they just make it worse? Thanks

potmilkz

not suprised, white is really hard to work with.

color blending will probably fix that..

although you are probably the 1st one i have seen with oem 09-11 headlights with a 2012 front bumper..

queens207tl

ha ha.. Trying to be different than the other converted TL's. Upgrading the lights is the next mod. It actually doesn't look bad with the original headlights.

As far as the paint job, you think that is fine. The entire front end was painted (bumper, spoiler, fenders) excluding the hood so there's nothing to blend, it should match perfectly. The front was just as off as the back.

I've also read that blending is not necessary when just painting bumpers. The shop should be able to match it closely to the original paint with out blending. Is that not true?

potmilkz

well, that is why its called blending... you blend your new paint into your old paint color so that you dont see a difference between the bumper lines

thePearl

Was the body shop an insurance recommended shop? If so, most of the time if you are not happy with the work they need to repaint it.

queens207tl

I understand blending. As I said earlier, I've read that it's usually not needed when doing bumpers. Not sure if it's different when doing hard colors like WDP. Also, blending doesn't explain the front end. What would need to be blended if everything was just painted in the front?

No, This was a shop I chose on my own that supposedly did good work. I wasn't aware about repainting if not satisfied when using a recommended shop.

mynameisjacob

Under direct sunlight... I too can notice the difference in gray color shades on my car between the plastic bumpers and metal panels. My car is polished metal metallic btw.

queens207tl

I get that there will be a difference between metal and plastic, but the color is way off. The difference is noticeable whether there is direct sunlight or not. You see it right away. It's as if my car was pieced together from different cars. Also, the front spoiler and the front bumper are both plastic and were both painted, yet they don't even match.

echodigital

I think you should get it blended. It looks way off. A monkey with a wrench could have done better. I had my front lip (aero) for 2009 TL (navy) replaced and the color was a pretty good match but it was the same color year. I suspect the white from 2009 is a bit different from 2012. Would a pre 2012 fr/bk white bumper look perfect? That would be the question I would ask the shop.

queens207tl

Me using 2012 bumpers should not be a factor. The bumpers were brand new and came unpainted. The color on a 2009 bumper would off too if it was painted the same way. The spoiler however, does comes pre-painted, and for 2012 the white is BWP and not WDP. They supposedly painted it WDP, but it's much lighter than the front bumper.

echodigital

They should have blended it.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Acura white is one of the toughest to match.....

queens207tl

I see some ppl saying blending was needed. I can maybe understand how that would help the rear, but really don't understand how that would have helped the front end. The front was all new parts and just painted. Wouldn't they match the paint when the parts were being painted? Are you saying after they just painted the parts, they would go back and then blend the same parts they just painted?? Can someone please explain??

That's what I heard. Just trying to figure out if this was a bad job or if it's just the way it is for WDP.

potmilkz

the job wasnt bad, they just didnt blend it.

echodigital

potmilkz

sure, teach him how to do it so he can paint his own car himself.. lol


just go back to the shop, ask them to blend it.. if not, work with the insurance and ask them to if you can take it to another shop that does color blending.

thePearl

reading some horror stories about white acura's, im glad i got a different color even though white was my top choice.

thePearl

and yes, many shops that insurance recommend tend to give you that warranty.

2010GrigioTL

I'd take it back up with the insurance company if the body shop is unwilling to fix it. Most insurance companies will let you take it to another body shop if the first place did not repair it back to OEM standards. That's what my insurance company said after I destroyed my front end on a deer. I just took it to a preferred shop though to save myself the headache.

jaxkxx

To me color match looks way off.

aIRpeACE

iTrader: (2)

if you guys look closer, it's not the color that's off but the gloss. looks like they only paint one layer of clear coat instead of three layers

aleo12

The match looks off, might be the gloss?

mylove4cars

Hard to believe, this is a poor job.

Tekniq

Ask the body shop if they know what a supplemental is. If they require more $ to complete the job they call the insurance co and get more.

No if you had the body shop "hook you up" meaning you got cut the check and used the money to buy the newer TL bumpers and just wanted them to paint them, then thats what they did.

ron3.7

I've seen this a million times on all kinds of cars with different colors and white and gold cars are the most noticeable or should I say tan cars you just have to get the whole car sprayed or go fight with your insurance company have someone come out and look at it

fsttyms1

A quality shop would have taken the time to mix the paint and spray test panels to get the proper coloring before painting it. All they did was take the paint code and sprayed the parts. I wouldnt have left the shop with the car until they resprayed it. That is a horrible job

fsttyms1

And you can tell the # of coats of clear from a pic

Type of clear can also effect color. Some clears have more of a slight yellow hue changing the color outcome, especially on white. Direction of spray effects the base, flash coat, tri coats, how many of each were applied. There are WAY to many variables. Not matching is just laziness on behalf of the painter. Ive matched 15 year old reds in my garage with just a little extra work figuring out the right amount of coats, direction to spray and a few extra min mixing to match and not just using a paint code.