Clear coat changed color ?

F

Felix

Hello everyone, newbie over here, I was wondering if you can help me.

I took my motorcycle to a paint shop to repair damage on the fuel tank and they gave it to me like the below photo.

You can notice the difference in color, they told me they sprayed 4 layers of clear coat and that's causing the color difference, is this possible? Now they want to spray all the fairings of the Motorcycle with more clear coat to color match the whole bike, is this the right way?


Thanks in advance.
 

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Color is way off imo. 4 coats of clear wouldn't cause that much of a difference. I've painted bikes before and it's difficult to get an exact match for factory bike color. The bike manufacturers usually don't give out their color formulas because they want you to buy the paint from them . And it usually is pricey.
 
Hello everyone, newbie over here, I was wondering if you can help me.

I took my motorcycle to a paint shop to repair damage on the fuel tank and they gave it to me like the below photo.

You can notice the difference in color, they told me they sprayed 4 layers of clear coat and that's causing the color difference, is this possible? Now they want to spray all the fairings of the Motorcycle with more clear coat to color match the whole bike, is this the right way?


Thanks in advance.

They are feeding you 100% pure complete B.S.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: If they actually believe that they are incompetent. If they are just telling you that for whatever reason, they are unethical at best, and are lying to you.

Like the others have said color is not even close. Probably something they had left over. If you agreed to it, after they cleared it they would then say another lie/excuse and then tell you that you have to repaint all the fairings too. Take your bike someplace competent. Forget these guys.
Most shops either have or have access to via their Jobber a spectrophotometer that will analyze your existing paint and then find a match (or closest match in the color library). Sometimes you'll get several choices. Then the shop will perform a sprayout on a card and compare that to your existing finish. That is what is going to be needed here if you have no paint code. Look for a quality collision repair shop as they have the most experience in matching color.
 
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Hello, thanks for all your comments,

To be fair in the shadow doesn't look so different, here is a picture of the motorcycle in the shadow.

I agree.

What damage did they fix? Did it involve spraying base coat as well?

They just had to repair some minor scratches, I don't know if they sprayed a base coat to be honest.

Shouldn't let them spray clear coat on all the fairing to color match the Motorcycle?
 

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You got any before pics, and also pics of the damage? If they fixed scratches then yes odds are they had to apply color. How much color did they blend in or did they just color the entire tank....well that depends on the damage.

Also, what brand of base did they use? Not all brands are created equal when it comes to matching paint codes right off the number. The camera deal isnt an exact science either. Personally I've had little success with the camera setup at the local jobbers I have access too. There is just alot of variables to this honestly.

What was the second pic of?
 
Is there any pearl in the color that you know of? Sometimes these metallic colors have pearl in them. It adds a beautiful look to them without being too over the top.
 
Judging by your 2nd pic that side of the tank wasn't damaged? Saying that because of the "ninja" sticker on that side versus the other side without one. If that's so then yes that side will look close because there was no color(base) sprayed on it. Only clear.

Clearing your fairings is not going to change anything color wise. The fact they said that to you is a red flag to me like I said in my above post.
I have a lot of experience matching/bending over the years and I have never seen clear change any color to any significant degree. I have heard some of the Shop Mangers I've worked for over the years say that to Customers though.:mad:

So it's back to color match. If I was doing the job for you, I would have only a couple of options to get a color close enough to blend. First would be to try and find the factory paint code for that bike. Call the dealer first, and see if they have it using the VIN of your bike. Then see if the paint manufacturer I use has a formula for that code. If they do then chances are that will be what we call a "blendable match" as there is not as much color variation (different shades of a single color aka variances) in bike colors as there are in Cars. Plus you have the frame rail as a break so if you can get a close enough match it will work.
If I couldn't get the factory code or there was no formula for it, you are left with using the camera (spectraphotometer) or matching the color via sample chips.
The current generation of cameras work very well. We got a new one (Axalta) at the last collision shop I was at, when we switched lines from PPG to Axalta, and it was light years better than the PPG Prophet that I had earlier experience with. So that would be my choice and chances are the current generation of cameras would give a blendable match. I take multiple shots with the tool over several areas. Then mix and spray out (on a card) the color options it gives me. Compare it to the bike and go from there.
Like I said above find a good quality collision shop. They will have the most experience matching and blending color.
 
i have painted literally hundreds of sport bikes. some will have 20 coats of clear on them done 4-5 coats at a time with sanding between sessions and not once has clearcoat altered the color. totally agree with chris, either they resprayed some poorly matched base or they used some kind of crap clearcoat that was milky. i have seen crap clears and they are usually yellow. never saw a milky one but who knows.
 
I guess I dont understand all the blend talk becasue if the damage was where the knees go on the tank its pretty much gonna be a butt match to the adjacent panel.

Motorcycle factory colors have always been a pain for me going off the code. Not all paint manufactures hit the mark on them IMO. And if their system didnt offer a good match....well you get what you got.
 
What you could do, and what I would do(if I wasnt a painter) is I would call a larger Kawi dealer in your area and see who they use for paint when they have to have things repaired. You may get lucky, most of the larger outfits in my area have quality paint shops they use for repairs.

Also, if you dont mind sharing, but what were you quoted for this tank repair?
 
Thanks for all your comments again, I'm going to try to answer the best I can

You got any before pics, and also pics of the damage? If they fixed scratches then yes odds are they had to apply color. How much color did they blend in or did they just color the entire tank....well that depends on the damage.

Also, what brand of base did they use? Not all brands are created equal when it comes to matching paint codes right off the number. The camera deal isnt an exact science either. Personally I've had little success with the camera setup at the local jobbers I have access too. There is just alot of variables to this honestly.

What was the second pic of?


Here is a before picture of the motorcycle, the colors match, I don't have a picture of the scratches but they sprayed all the fuel tank to repair them.

I don't know what brand of materials they used, the only brand that I hear from them was the clear coat, it is supposed to be Sherwin Williams.


Judging by your 2nd pic that side of the tank wasn't damaged? Saying that because of the "ninja" sticker on that side versus the other side without one. If that's so then yes that side will look close because there was no color(base) sprayed on it. Only clear.


They sprayed all the fuel tank, the side stickers are supposed to be new.

What you could do, and what I would do(if I wasnt a painter) is I would call a larger Kawi dealer in your area and see who they use for paint when they have to have things repaired. You may get lucky, most of the larger outfits in my area have quality paint shops they use for repairs.

Also, if you dont mind sharing, but what were you quoted for this tank repair?


Thanks for the advice I'm going to call the main Kawi dealer in my area.

I'm from Chile so the cost of the job may vary a lot but it was around USD 150
 

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