I have some vague memory of a thread here that mentioned color matched spray cans. I'd like to paint my truck's camper shell to match the rest of the truck but I don't know which brand of paint to get or where to find it. Anyone have some advice?
I have some vague memory of a thread here that mentioned color matched spray cans. I'd like to paint my truck's camper shell to match the rest of the truck but I don't know which brand of paint to get or where to find it. Anyone have some advice?
My local NAPA store will match and put into spray cans.
My recommendation would be to search for a local automotive paint supply shop. They will be able to look up your paint code and mix your exact color. They tend to use higher quality paint, I know my local place uses Sherwin Williams automotive line. You'll also notice that the cans they use are nicer in terms of consistent spray pattern. The downside is that it's not particularly cheap.
I did my engine bay with spray cans just recently and this is how it turned out.
Ultimately it comes down to your prep and technic, but you can end up with a pretty good result just using spray cans.
One vote for the local NAPA body supply store, they are amazing places with all sorts of things you don't yet know you need and tools/supplies to make the job better.
Alternative in Covid-don't-shop-just-order is automotivetouchup.com Always received good products from them.
I have probably mixed a dozen cans this week as I'm currently filling in at a cmax (NAPA paint division location).
Truth be told there are lots of places that can mix up a can of colour match. The questions to ask are what quality of paint is in the can, and how close the match it going to be. Some paint formulas scale down very well and mixing the 4oz required in a can is easy. This means the only variance between what's in the can and the colour on the car will be how faded your car is and the difference in the clear.
I am in Canada so I can't speak to voc laws in any given state. Here we can mix single stage or base coat clear coat in cans. Also using various qualities of paint.
The biggest thing is prep work and using a good product. Paint coming from a can will never be as nice as paint shot by an expert out of a gun...but it can still be very good.
glueguy (Forum Supporter) said:One vote for the local NAPA body supply store, they are amazing places with all sorts of things you don't yet know you need and tools/supplies to make the job better.
Alternative in Covid-don't-shop-just-order is automotivetouchup.com Always received good products from them.
I got some paint from www.automotivetouchup.com/ also after the last thread on here. It was for the front bumper on our short lived SAAB unicorn. I did not get a chance to use it on that car but have sinceused on aonither car and it came out very nice.
I will also recommend local auto paint store. You can buy Duplicolor or some other rattle can at the parts store, but I have found that to be one of the most expensive options with the least satisfying experience. They are fine for something like touching up a little patched rust spot, but their color isn't very consistent and it's in cheaply-nozzled cans.
Remember that it will never be a 100% exact match. Your truck's color has changed over the time it has been in the world, and slight variations in batches means that it will be super close, but not perfect. To 99% of people out there, it will never matter the tiniest bit, but I'm a designer and my eye is pretty picky.
The local CarQuest does paint matching and spray cans. I have always wondered how close the scan gets to the actual color. Its not cheap, but when you compare to the options it is not a terrible deal.
1SlowVW said:I have probably mixed a dozen cans this week as I'm currently filling in at a cmax (NAPA paint division location).
Truth be told there are lots of places that can mix up a can of colour match. The questions to ask are what quality of paint is in the can, and how close the match it going to be. Some paint formulas scale down very well and mixing the 4oz required in a can is easy. This means the only variance between what's in the can and the colour on the car will be how faded your car is and the difference in the clear.
I am in Canada so I can't speak to voc laws in any given state. Here we can mix single stage or base coat clear coat in cans. Also using various qualities of paint.
The biggest thing is prep work and using a good product. Paint coming from a can will never be as nice as paint shot by an expert out of a gun...but it can still be very good.
Depending on where you are located, you may have mixed one for me within the last day or so!
I am trying out a can to see how it will look for my hood, I may need to order an additional can or 2 for full coverage, but given the cars age I'm not 100% sold on doing fresh paint on one part.
Aaron_King said:glueguy (Forum Supporter) said:One vote for the local NAPA body supply store, they are amazing places with all sorts of things you don't yet know you need and tools/supplies to make the job better.
Alternative in Covid-don't-shop-just-order is automotivetouchup.com Always received good products from them.
I got some paint from www.automotivetouchup.com/ also after the last thread on here. It was for the front bumper on our short lived SAAB unicorn. I did not get a chance to use it on that car but have sinceused on aonither car and it came out very nice.
I've always used their stuff and know others that have as well. The spray can I got for my BMW matched better than a body shop was able to do on my fiesta (granted the fiesta is a three stage paint that's harder to match). A coworker of mine has done entire body panels with their stuff and it looks great and seems to hold up to the elements pretty well. For being relatively cheap i can't imagine it's the highest quality stuff possible, but it seems to be plenty good enough for any paint work that you're willing to DIY from a spray can.
I've ordered from automotivetouchup.com a couple times too, and have been happy with their paint. But, I placed an order on 5/4 and they still haven't started it - they're way behind thanks to this whole pandemic thing. Don't expect it to be fast right now.
Awesome, thanks everyone. I didn't know NAPA had paint stores.
you might think about getting another 4oz in a can for later to do touch ups with a brush,
In reply to californiamilleghia :
If you want to do that let the person know up front. The larger the volume mixed the greater the margin for error is when mixing. So adding a 2oz nail polish style touch up to a 4oz can could be a good thing in some cases.
When I was doing one of the Stags I got paint to match my 250 from Tower Paint, 922 Oregon Str, OshKosh, WI 54903. 800-770-6520 / 920-235-6520. I had the paint code from the 250 to refer to.
Oh yeah, I got the paint in a 16oz spray can.
I've used this place a lot with great results.
I’ll vouch for automotivetouchup.com also. Matched the bronze on the S10 and (more importantly) the Shadow Blue on my GTI perfectly.
NAPA paint is Sherwin Williams, just a different label. Rogers and Acme are also SW brands.
Don49 (Forum Supporter) said:NAPA paint is Sherwin Williams, just a different label. Rogers and Acme are also SW brands.
Fun fact NAPA in the us does sell sherwin under a private label but up here in Canada we are Axalta (formerly DuPont) exclusive.
National Coating And Supplies used to, and still may, mix color matched spray cans, sort of. What they do is mix up a batch of paint, and they you buy disposable spray guns. Like this:
The kind shown is a "Precision Valve Preval Sprayer."
I think GRM covered this sort of thing in an article a while ago.
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