Fixed a paint mismatch on a blue Honda Civic today, felt like a champ

I was working on a 2018 Honda Civic in that dark ocean blue pearl color. The customer had a fender bender on the passenger side, and I got the new panel prepped and painted. When I brought it out into the sunlight, the new paint looked a shade lighter than the rest of the car. My heart sank because I thought I mixed it perfectly from the code. I ended up wet sanding the blend area and adding two more coats with a little more tint. After baking it and polishing, it matched like it was never touched. The customer picked it up and said he couldn't even tell which panel was replaced. That moment of relief after fixing a dumb mistake is why I love this trade. Anybody else ever have a color match that made you sweat at first?

3 comments

3 Comments

felixhenderson3d ago

Totally hear you on that heart drop moment, I've had it more times than I care to admit lol. Nothing beats that sinking feeling of seeing it in natural light and going "oh no." But man, when you finesse it back and it disappears into the car, that's pure satisfaction right there.

alicer533d ago

I get what you're saying but honestly I kinda disagree about the "pure satisfaction" part. For me it's more like relief mixed with "I can't believe I almost messed that up again." Maybe it's just me but I feel like if I have to finesse it that hard it means I didn't do it right the first time lol. I mean sure it's nice when you can save it but that moment of panic always stays with me longer than the fix feels good. Idk I might be overthinking it though, I tend to be hard on myself about these things.

emma963d ago

Man that's a brutal sinking feeling when you pull it outside and it looks off, I've been there a few times myself. Always a relief when you can save it with some extra blending and tinting though. Glad it worked out for you in the end.