So, looking for some opinions on a little dilemma I've got -
Would love to hear thoughts from any that may have body shop experience, or had rio yellow (or other hard-to-match color) paintwork done on their cars.

My car has had a blend job done for a repair in which they replaced the drivers side fender, at a very reputable shop in my area. The car looks good in sunlight and under artificial light at night, but at dusk or dawn, or any overcast day, the blend line is visible across the hood, and the bumper-fender, bumper-hood body junctions show color differences. The newly painted area looks too "orange-ish", the original factory paint definitely has more green in it. I can't stand looking at it anymore, it drives me nuts in the lower light conditions.

I was quoted $5,000-$6,000 for a full vehicle respray (w/out door jambs or engine bay) in the same color, and that is a lot more than I'd like to spend on this particular issue.

So - I'm considering a front-end repaint (bumper, hood, and both fenders), but am not sure if that is the best way to go - How well can these tougher colors be matched? In this case, the front end repaint to the original paint in the rear of the car. I really would like it to look like it did with the original factory paint. Does anybody know my best option for a fix here? Any suggestions would be awesome!

 

wow. i'm having a amuse widebody kit installed and repaint for only 3k. and thats going back with same color. sounds high.

 

How long ago was the respray completed? If they're a reputable shop and want to keep their reputation, it might be worth you while to bring the car up there and express your concerns and complaints.

 

^^ Good point. It was about 1 year ago. I requested after it got hit (before repairs started) that they repaint the entire front end, then the insurance proceeded to do (and pay for!) only what they wanted - a driver's side fender blend job. I let the shop know right after it was done, and it wound up in insurance's hands again - I challenged it, and ultimately it was ruled to be "industry standard" quality. Apparently "industry standard" is not "pre-accident condition." So, ultimately, if it is going to be redone, it has to come out of my pocket

$5K-$6K seemed high to me too. The lowest of 3 places I got was $4,800 - maybe I should look around some more.

Some of the ideas I have had are: 1) Repaint the front end, blend into doors (slightly worried about this); 2) look for original paint rio yellow fender + hood - I'd like to do the hood vent mod on another hood anyway (it's a gamble); 3) Repaint the whole car (optimal, but expensive).

Didn't know if anybody has had any exceptional matches with paintwork in this color. That would influence my decision a lot.

 

For a full repaint/ colorchange it varies DRASTICALLY on your location. I live in SW Missouri. I recently had my yellow S fully repainted to a Lexus pearl white; jambs, engine bay, everything. My total out the door was $2800. Although I did bring him the car COMPLETELY gutted to a metal shell....

 

Also, when looking for full repaints. Dont look for purely the lowest price. All paint jobs are NOT equal
I actually contacted the owner of the body shop, sat down with him after work, toured his shop, and looked at several other cars he'd done. Don't be afraid to be over the top with research. If you decide that route find quotes within the range you're comfortable with and concentrate on those businesses.

 

Remember the more exotic the paint the more expensive, this mostly consists of metallics, candy and pearl based paints. Also the color makes a difference for some reason red is one of the most expensive base paints.

 

My experience really doesn't mean much but I assume this is typical for Rio. The body shops I used were both excellent shops and it doesn't match 100% under the same lighting conditions that you mention. Luckily, the differences on mine aren't in the same spots as yours and it really doesn't bother me.

Won't help as your paint has faded (all paint does) which is an additional complication in matching.

 

Ive had parts , bumpers by many high end reputable shops and not one matched.. Then I started getting it painted by a buddy and noticed his paint looked alot better than any of them and he even charged 1/3 of the price.. Best bet is to respray the whole car or just deal with it

 

Thanks guys - getting the info on how yours have turned out helps a lot.