Color Mismatch

8186 Views 17 Replies 15 Participants Last post by htrdgrma, Jun 14, 2009

ItsaBuick?

Discussion Starter · Jun 1, 2007

Has anyone else noticed after cleaning the Enclave that the rear panel above the bumper and below the taillight from the rear wheel arch, does not match the rest of the wonderful paint quality?

Make sure your car is clean and in the sun before you answer.

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

GreginMD

· #2 · Jun 1, 2007

It's really tough to tell the difference with the Ming Blue paint. As you can see in the image there is a lot of angles in that area. I could only photograph the panel next to the rear hatch this morning.

If that panel is a slightly different color I can't detect it.

Greg

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SOM

· #3 · Jun 1, 2007

Is it really a different color, or perhaps the lighting and angle? I mean, perhaps the color (cocoa, right?) has the mettalic flecks in that area and they are situated in such a way that it looks different in color (from reflecting the light differently). I know on my truck, the angles and light play tricks on me, and it is orange (sunset orange metallic)!!! ;D

Anyway, the only other thing I could come up with was that it was repainted in that spot for some reason (damage). Is it plastic there, or metal?

fenwah

· #4 · Jul 13, 2007

MuddyZ said:
GM says "in the sun you will never notice the difference". The problem if Plasteck, the company that builds the fascias has a hard time matching out paint and on some colors it looks really bad i.e. the white that everyone loves. Yet another issue to be resolved over the two week shutdown.

GM needs to understand that if someone is going to shell out $30-$46k on one of their vehicles, then there needs to be zero defects with the paint quality (as well as many other things). If I'm shelling out $9k on a death trap Aveo...then I don't expect everything to be perfect...although it should...afterall, the car is new.

Just one more reason to go over your new car at the dealership with a magnifying glass BEFORE you sign any paperwork.

BuicksRbetter

· #5 · Jul 14, 2007

This is not a Buick or GM problem...it's an entire automobile industry problem. I work at a body shop and often run into this problem. Sometimes it's almost impossible to get it to look good. The problem is that the bumpers are plastic. For some reason plastic painted parts always hold the paint differently than metal. That's why I prefer darker colors to the lighter ones. It's usually the lighter metallic colors and the pearl 3-stage paints the are a nightmare to match. When you drive around in a parking lot, just pay attention to all the mismatched rear bumpers. This is really common on beige Camrys and Accords. Now I just wish they could get the belt mouldings to line up properly on the Enclave. Most are so horrible I can't believe they made it to the lot looking like that.

hno: :sosad:

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comiccolec

· #6 · Jul 14, 2007

BuicksRBetter what do you mean by "belt mouldings"?

BuicksRbetter

· #7 · Jul 14, 2007

comiccolec said:
BuicksRBetter what do you mean by "belt mouldings"?

Those are the chrome exterior mouldings right below the windows. There is also a little filler piece by the mirror that never seems to line up.

jenclave

· #8 · Nov 1, 2007

You are right! For whatever reason the bumpers do not always completely match the rest of the panels and it's not just limited to the Enclave. Just look at almost any other GM car and you will notice the paint is a different shade on the bumpers.

caddycruiser

· #9 · Nov 1, 2007

jenclave said:
You are right! For whatever reason the bumpers do not always completely match the rest of the panels and it's not just limited to the Enclave. Just look at almost any other GM car and you will notice the paint is a different shade on the bumpers.

Again, watch what you say there--it is NOT just GM, but most manufacturers, in truth. A lot of the time, people just don't notice it, depending on color, shape of the plastic vs. metal parts, etc.

And it is a lot more common than one would assume, just like the tech said, because paint always is different on plastic than what it is on metal. Usually very minor, if done properly, but always still somewhat of a difference--even if it's microscopic.

mrbuick

· #10 · Nov 1, 2007

On my Red Jewel, if I really look close, I notice a very slight difference in shade from the metal to plastic painted parts. I would have never noticed if it was not mentioned on this forum.
NOT a problem for me.

caddycruiser

· #11 · Nov 3, 2007

MRBUICK said:
On my Red Jewel, if I really look close, I notice a very slight difference in shade from the metal to plastic painted parts. I would have never noticed if it was not mentioned on this forum.
NOT a problem for me.

Precisely :thumb:

4kids

· #12 · Nov 3, 2007

I noticed this same exact thing on my blue-gold yesterday. I thought it was just my eyes since my blue-gold sometimes looks grey and sometimes light blue..but, I noticed the difference of the shade on the bumper/back side. thought it was me..

rick418cars

· #13 · Nov 26, 2007

The mis-match problem is caused because the plastic has a different
static "charge" and sometimes when the metallic paint is applied the
plastic causes the metallic grains to lay differnt than on metal it can be the same paint , painted at the same time and still not match. About the only way to combat this is to keep the back of the plastic part wet with water when paint is applied and this is near impossible to do in a production situation
or otherwise.

FLYINMIKE

· #14 · Nov 27, 2007

Yes Yes Yes!!! Mine is the Opal White, my section over the rear bumper had a slightly pink tint under the clear coat. The dealer was advised prior to acceptance and painted the section to match. The sales person never noticed it. To all, "take time to inspect your car alone and take notes".

caddycruiser

· #15 · Nov 27, 2007

FLYINMIKE said:
Yes Yes Yes!!! Mine is the Opal White, my section over the rear bumper had a slightly pink tint under the clear coat. The dealer was advised prior to acceptance and painted the section to match. The sales person never noticed it. To all, "take time to inspect your car alone and take notes".

Good that you had a dealer able to "fix" it to match, but it's still a natural tendency as said above for the same paint color & process on metal and then on plastic to naturally be different. But there might have been something else "off" with yours that it looked pink.

Matter of fact, I just talked about this with my brother the auto body tech, and he said: "You don't know how many times we repair people's cars only for them to see this same kind of a thing in the right light afterwards. No matter how it is explained to them, particularly with the fact that it was likely the same or much more noticeable before, some still demand another repaint only for it really not to be much different--but they think it is because of the doubled time and cost put into it."

chmlengr

· #16 · Jun 14, 2009

I noticed it on mine the other day! I have a 2009 CXL in QuickSilver. Definitley noticed!

2MuchCoffee

· #17 · Jun 14, 2009

★ :welcome: to the Forum, chmlengr!

We found that the composition material of the lower panel "takes" the paint differently. As we understand it, from having a panel replaced because of bad alignment, the temperature when applied is a factor and the light and temperature when dry are factors. Our replacement panel in certain light and temperatures is a perfect match for the upper metal panel, but is off (looks lighter in tone) at other times. I suspect the exotics like Quick Silver can be even more troublesome to match 100% of the time. This may not help you like what you've seen, but may help understanding of why it shows the way it does.

2Much

htrdgrma

· #18 · Jun 14, 2009

My Blue-Gold Crystal looks like a different color everytime you look at it in different sunlight situations. There is a slight difference sometimes in the panel vs. the back depending on light situations. I guess this color hides alot of possible mismatch. Still looks good.

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