i need to get both my front and rear bumper painted should i have them paint match it? or just tell them to paint it the color code?
opinions on the 'color matching' methed.
also i plan on putting these bumpers on myself and would rather not even leave the car at their shop so do you think the color code will be enough to match my 2006 le mans sunset factory color?

 

Doesn't matter those two pieces on the care will always vary.

 

it wont be perfect either way. its easier for them to make it look good by color blending, which will blend the paint from one panel to another to make it an easier transition of color on the eye. thats your best bet.

 

An experienced painter will want to have the car to paint the bumpers. Nothing beats "tweaking" the color a bit like experience.

For paint code and bumpers only you get what you get.

 

This. Blending is the best way to make absolutely sure that the paint matches, an experienced painter will blend it so well you wont even know.

 

Unless you're painting it yourself, why not ask your intended painter/shop their advise? They are the ones responsible for the results. By having them just paint the pieces and not having the rest of the car there to match to, you're going to get what you get. By leaving the car, and explaining what you're after, you'll likely get a better overall matching result

There are variations even within paint codes, depending on who makes the paint. Again, this is stuff your body shop worries about, not the individual

 

The worst part with painting is that the materials are different. Even if you color match with the code or with a laser, the bumper will always come out darker. One technique is to spray the bumpers with a lighter primer than the body, then use a sealer with it. Color matching is about 98 percent perfect these days. Just make sure they add Urethane to the paint. I had a guy paint my front bumper and he missed this step... paint cracks like no tomorrow on a Polyurethane bumper

Also to add, the le Mans should not be that bad. The worst colors are the silvers. They are impossible....

CORRECTION: Getting Color matched paint is 98 percent perfect

-NissanTracker

 

i feel like the painter will always say he has to tweak everything to make his job seem harder. He would never say oh yeah its super easy the bumper comes preprepped with smooth sealer (which it does) and you just spray the color in the can for 15 minutes, let it dry and it will fit on perfect with factory bolts that'll be 1000 dollars. its like the 8hrs of prep they charged me on my estimate, i guarantee if i watched them do my car it wouldnt take an hour.

im getting both bumpers painted for 700. i dont trust that any painter except the most high end expensive places to be competent enough to make any decisions on their own, including eyeballing whether they should tint it darker or not. most likely they will tint it and have it match worse than if they had just left it alone.

I cant stand the thought of blending panels together. why would i have them touch my fender and trunk around my bumper to even more that doesnt match and i have even less factory paint. great idea. not. just paint paint the bumper dont touch the car. a faded two tone effect on the front or rear of the car would look worse than any bumper mismatch and be much harder to fix.

i think im just gonna have them paint it the color code and not even let them see the car. Ive never seen anyone do anything right in my life, so im gonna try to take as few chances as possible and make it as easy on others as i can.
if you want it done right you gotta do it yourself. thanks for all the sincere responses guys, I appreciate it.

 

bumpers are different materials than the rest of the body
so color will vary.

we always suggest to have the car there and blend it when possible but first we will vary the tint before adding more work

 

One person blended the car without even asking me... i made them repaint the entire car... that is the only way to color match silver. My Z is chrome silvver... imy bumper to body difference is not noticeable in the day... but at night i'm very @*(#$(*#$# off... i can tell from a mile away. I told them to use a lighter primer but..... shops, what can you do. If you want it perfect, then you just do it yourself


-NissanTracker

 

So you're admittedly not a painter, but you know what he's going to say automatically? Hopefully it works out for you - you may get lucky, or you very well may waste whatever they charge you. Just seems odd to ask the question asking for people's opinion, if you already have your mind made up. Unless someone reading this has your color car, and used your body shop. And even then, the type of paint used, the conditions under which it's painted, the gun used, the pressure being used to feed the gun, all affects the results. So if you're looking for someone to say "yes, it will come out great", that's an impossible thing for anyone to say. Even matching it off a removable panel, like the gas cap, is hit and miss, particularly when metallics are involved. That is why blending is done, and why good shops do a seamless job at it.

 

Pull off the gas door and give that to them for matching purposes. At least then they'll have something to work with. And, btw, the bumpers don't even match from the factory. That whole different substrate thing. If the painter is gonna buttmatch the color, he can do some sprayouts and get pretty close.

 

I am paying over 20g's to go to school at wyotech to become a real trained certified (rare) painter. so i will be able to redo it myself within a year.
til then i will have them paint it A17 le mans sunset. If the factory bumper doesnt match now than no one can tell, and the bronzish orange must be pretty hard to tell.
ive told all my friends that apparently my bumpers are a little off right now, they say there is no way they are at all off now and the shops just tell people this so when their paint doesnt match they can say neither did the factory job. but they all lie. all of them.

 

^^^then why not just wait to do it yourself, save the money and the possible hassle.

 

Blending is a pita! I have an 06 silver alloy, and fixin to paint my amuse bumper and black hr hood! I know how to paint and all that stuff, but I'm still dreading the blending part...but on the other hane I may just go full color change to purple!

 

DO IT silver is soooo boring i cant even say silver or gray without my eyes shutting. do a non factory color.
so i found a guy with a garage im gonna give 200$ a bumper to paint it the color code. I cant stand my stock front bumpers look for another whole year so i will waste a few hundo on a different one. my rear bumper has a license plate indent, will also blow hundreds to make it look better for one year.

 

I have lemans and recently got my kit painted. He told me straight up the different materials will take the paint differently. So the hue can become slightly different from Frp to metal. It's just a fact that it will not come out EXACTLY the same but I seriously dare you to try and tell the difference if you leave the car with them for a day to match. And you get what you pay for so go over prep method and what you do and don't want from them. it shouldn't be cheap if you expect good work. You pay ****, it will look like ****.

 

lets get some pics hulk. how much did you pay? pm me if you want

 

The bumpers have to be painted separately. You have to use a flex agent on the bumpers.

Silver is not a color. It's metal chips suspended in clear. You can change the final color by air pressure. The higher the pressure, the more the particles will stand on end and reflect more light. A GOOD painter can match the body if he cares to take the time.

 

+1000