VW Caddy 2018 Indium Grey - Do you have to Blend/Fade? HELP Needed badly

[VWCaddy2020]

Hi Guys, I am not in the trade and would like to draw on someone that is and there experience, I have a 2018 VW caddy panel van that is Indium grey in colour.

I researched a lot of guys and selected a local man to paint the front wing bonnet and back door for me as i was involved in a crash.

After going to have a look at the van the last day the panels do not look correct and when you look down along the van passengers side (side wing was painted) you can see a clear difference between what was painted and what was not painted. The man in question has told myself and my father that the paint shop said that this color didn't need to be blended into other panels, but its clearly not matching the other panels.

Any advice as to what we can do or what do people suggest would be greatly appreciated?

The van is extremely clean (25,000 km) on the van currently but these new panels do not look right?

Would I be correct in saying that there could be multiple shades of said indium grey out there and what was applied isnt the correct shade?

Note: when selecting said painter we went with the person that we got the most good reviews on NOT the cheapest.

Thanks in advance.

 

[chopolds]

There's multiple problems with getting the right color paint on a car. More now than ever before. First, there are color 'variants', for many colors. Different batches of paint that the factory used, are slightly different shades. No way to tell, either, by using the paint code, it's trial and error. More paint suppliers will furnish the most popular variant. if it doesn't match, they will mix a different variant. and so on, and on.
Next, is application. Yes, you can actually vary the shade, and amount of metallic look, ut using different pressures, or gun settings. Environmental temperature can also affect the way paint lays out, and therefore the shade.
Also, certain colors fade more than others as they age. Silvers, grays, red, copper colors seem to change more as they age, or esle it's just that much harder to get the color right.
SO depending on the time the painter has to play around with all these variables, and how many times he can respray the parts, you can see that there's a point where it doesn't become profitable to do more work trying to match troublesome colors!

 

[VWCaddy2020]

@chopolds Thank you very much for your detailed reply, it turns out there are 17 different shades of grey in this one paint code so obviously the painter has not spent long enough matching up the correct shade with the rest of the panels and as a result has made a dogs dinner of it, whereby the wing stands out blatantly obvious that it has been resprayed. The amount of orange peel and specs of dirt and grit which is stuck in the paint on the back door is another aspect altogether. How common is it for guys that are respraying cars/vans for a living i.e. charging good money for this service to be painting cars in a shed where the van was sanded and bondo applied??, I am no expert but I would of presumed this would be a spray booth job seen as the van is so new..... am I wrong?

 

[chopolds]

Not trying to justify your painter not doing a great job for you. Just explaining the problems on his end. A shop has to make money. Time is money. There's a point where you can spend way too much time on a job, and lose money. May be the painter, may be his boss keeping his time on one job to a minimum. Resprays are very expensive, looking at the hourly labor charge in a good shop. Plus the problem with putting on too much material. If you don't sand off all the previous paint, the paint keeps building up to the point where early failure is imminent. Sanding all the old paint off is time consuming, also.
Bits of dust and dirt is not a problem, either is a run or 2. Sanding and buffing can fix it. Again, how much time? Is the customer in a rush to get the parts or car back. I like to wait a long time (weeks to a month) to sand a buff a car. Most shops do it the next day, to save time. But an oddly shaped, complex part like a spoiler takes more time, and with all the edges, is susceptible to buffing the paint right off, if not careful, and you ar doing it the day after. Even in a spray booth, dust and dirt nibs occur. They come from everywhere, even off your clothes! Not just in a dirty environment.
I think most shops get away with "not so great" work, because most people don't care. People don't love their cars as much as they used to. They are a replaceable, transportation appliances, now. Not too many people take pride in them any more. So the work can be a bit sloppy and 90% don't care. If the remaining 10% complain, they usually suck it up and fix the problem, and are still able to make a profit in the long run.

 

[VWCaddy2020]

I totally agree with you, All I would say is this man works for himself and was not put under any time constraints quite the opposite we always told him take as long as he needs or wants to get the job down to high level. When first visited one of the things the painter in question said was that he wouldn't let the van out without us the customer being 100% happy with it... We were left sorely disappointed when the van was given back in a sub standard finish, I agree with regards that dirt can just as easily come from within a spray booth but unfortunately thats a concern of the man carrying out the job not mine, buffing off git that has been base coated over is going to end one way and one way only and thats not a good look. What we are going to do is go away and get a price to get the van correctly spray and fixed and minus this away from the previous painters bill. You cant expect a customer to pay for a job twice.

 

[TAZ]

If you plan on getting this done again, definitely check out a true "auto body shop". Just don't look for a painter.
All legit shops will have at least one spray booth.
Most individuals don't.
In our area, you have to have a spray booth if you are painting.

What we are going to do is go away and get a price to get the van correctly spray and fixed and minus this away from the previous painters bill. You cant expect a customer to pay for a job twice.

I highly doubt if you'll find a shop that will write an estimate, then minus the previous painters bill.

I would suggest taking it back to see if he would repair it, but if it's just a painter you found online, and doesn't even have a spray booth, I wouldn't think the job would come out any better.

there are 17 different shades of grey in this one paint code so obviously the painter has not spent long enough matching up the correct shade with the rest of the panels

I think the most I've seen is 7, 17 is outrageous. I take it you called the supplier?
Also, the painter may have chosen the variant closest to your van, but the supplier may have been a tad bit off in mixing the paint, thus throwing the color off. It's still up to the painter to do spray out cards and tint it to match close as possible. Then blend it in the adjacent panels if needed

Dirt specs easily wetsand and buff out and are not noticeable as long as they are in the clear. He should have at least done this.

Just curious since it's a newer van and that it was wrecked, why it wasn't covered insurance?

So my suggestion is just find a reliable shop with a spray booth and a good reputation and have it done. and move on.