How do I Match Exterior Car Touch-Up Paint?
Rock chips, door dings and scrapes on your car's exterior are just a few reasons to need touch-up paint for your vehicle. But finding the right touch-up paint that matches your car can sometimes be a challenge since there are so many different colors of cars. If your car is an original factory color, the hunt for matching touch-up paint may be as easy as going to your local parts store, or even Walmart. If it's a custom color, or your car has been repainted, the search for touch-up paint that matches could be more difficult.
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Instructions
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Matching your car's exterior for touch-up paint
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Take your car to your local auto parts store. Stores like Auto Zone and Advanced Auto Parts sell touch-up paint. If your car is the original color, an auto parts store is going to be the best place to look for your factory color. If you don't know if your car's been repainted, going to a parts store is a good place to start because they will usually have the knowledge to tell you if your car came in its paint color originally.
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Check the paint section of the store which usually stocks interior paint, engine enamel and touch-up paint. Pick out the touch-up paint that is made for the make of your vehicle. Different car manufacturers use different tints of colors for their car paint. While basic colors like black and white may seem easy to match, there are different shades of these colors that are used on different vehicle makes. To make sure you have the best match to your car's paint, going with the same manufacturer of car paint is your best bet.
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Contact your car dealer or car manufacturer's service office to find out if there is a specific paint order number, parts number or paint name for you car model. It might be possible order the touch-up paint you need directly from your car dealership or car manufacturer. You can also find car paint vendors online (see Resources).
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Check the touch-up paint next to your car. Most parts stores will let you take the touch-up paint out to put up next to your car's paint to see if it matches. Colors can look very different out in the sun than they do in the store. If the color doesn't match, chose a different shade that may work better. Match the paint until you find the best fit.
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Tips & Warnings
If your car hasn't been repainted, another way to match touch-up paint is to look up the VIN for your car and get the paint code. You can order paint by this number online or through your local dealership.
Contact the place that painted your car if it's been repainted for touch-up paint. Especially for custom colors, the painters may be your best luck at matching your car's color.
Some car paint may be impossible to match, especially if it were repainted in a custom color. To get the best match, go to a store or car painting company specializing in automotive paint and they can photo match your car's paint color as best as possible.
Due to fading over time, touch up paint may not match exactly even with factory colors. Pick the touch-up paint that best matches. If it is used sparingly, touch up paint will not be easily spotted even if it's a slightly different shade.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit car wheel image by Tammy Mobley from Fotolia.com
