Paint matching

Red is one of the hardest colours to match. It is very sensitive and the use of the correct primer is as important as the paint. Ferrari uses pink primer for all red cars and a different (not sure exactly) colour for all the others. It is possible to match colour and orange peel accross panels but it does require blending. If the new colour is cut along a panel gap, it will always be visible. In this instance you will want to have the rear quarter re-painted and blended into the door and rear flying butress ('c' pillar). It is possible to have the invisible repair but it requires a very good painter. As I always tell people, in choosing a painter look for gray hairs. Good luck with the project.

BTW welcome to F-chat and please take the time to fill out your profile. We all appreciate to know more about each other.

 

I had heard that the problem with colour matching the plastic parts of a car to the remainder often relates to the need to add a plasticizer to paint when painting areas that are likely to be subjected to significant flexure. The plasticizer or other additives will affect the shade slightly.

I notice this on many brand new factory fresh vehicles where seldom do the bumpers (sorry can't recall what you guys call them) match the vehicle 'exactly'.

Second the problem with red generally, there is a scientific explanation someone one told me as to why its such a b'ea'tch to match but I can't recall and not sure I understood it fully when I was being told.

 

I'm not sure on the pink primer. I got some rock chips doe=wn to the metal. My primer looks white. I'm glasurit rosso corsa 300/9

 

And on my 1976 308 GTB Fiberglass, the primer is yellow under the Rosso Chiaro paint.

 

Barry is correct, in that the older F-Cars were shot with a yellow filler primer... Final color not dependent.

Now I have not seen every Ferrari stripped to the primer, but...
In my experience I have found that red F-Cars with pink primer,
are cars that have been re-painted, where the shop had color tinted the last coat of primer.

 

Right, Jeff.

Brent, if you want to repaint the fender, bring it to a qualified shop. They'll match the paint to the rest of the car perfectly.

I have my car serviced at Classic coach in Elizabeth, NJ. They are a factory-authorized coach repair facility. I have seen several new Ferraris arrive there that have been damaged enroute to dealerships in North America for repair. When they are finished, it's impossible to tell that they've been repaired. Indeed, even at the Ferrari factory, some cars suffer damage during their road testing and are repaired prior to shipping.

So you can rest assured that if you want to repaint the fender, it can be done properly. Just bring it to a reputable and qualified shop.

Barry

 

A good painter should be able to hit the color correctly. But, there can be variables,ie: shade difference under street lights, under flourescent lights, etc. So sometimes it can be more noticeable than others. The shade difference can be result of a number of things, not the least of which the raw color can be off a hair. This can be as simple as an extra drop of black was in the mix. But, this is not as common as once was. shop currently doing some custom paint work on my boat just invested 16K into a computerized paint mix room. So the technology is out there. Unfortunately, technology does not compensate for lack of attention to detail by the person mixing.

Usually if straight panel, ie: fender, there is usually no need to extend the blend into the adjoining panel, ie: the door. However, sometimes it is necessary to color fade into the adjoining area, then clear over the whole area.A quality shop should be able to hit Rossa Corsa on the money easily. If it was silver, or almost silver shade, it is much more difficult to hit the correct color, as the number of factors that effect the shade increase.

 

In the last 3 years I've had a local Dupont auto body supply shop mix me 3 different batches of ChromaOne red that was computer color matched to my 308's current color.

Interestingly enough, the dupont computer reports it to be an exact match for Ford paint code 2R - Bright Red

It matches under daylight, flourescent, & halogen lighting. I've successfully done spot touch-ups that are indistinguishably blended into both the original paint & a prior custom mixed batch.

(BTW, flourescent & Halogen are the toughest lights for exposing color matches, I've seen spot repairs show up under flourescent or halogen that were invisible in daylight).

Do NOT count on paint mixed to the formula for your original color code to match your car's current color. Red changes color with age. Modern pigments are a lot more color stable than the ones used in the '70s & early '80s.

BTW, while a really good color man can consistently mix a pint to the recipe provided by the computer, I've had two of them tell me it's a lot easier to get a quart or more & get it dead on. Every once in a while he has to toss a pint because the machine dispensed an extra drop of some pigment.

The pigment dispensing machine's accuracy are constantly being improved. If possible find a good supplier/shop with a new color mixing system.

 

Have you had the rest of the car cut polished and waxed? Polishing the balance of the car would probally help. If the rest of the car is a little dull and you get one fender painted it might stand out.

DrewH

 

I'll find out Monday. Will be picking my red/nero 308 up from the body shop!