Had to choose between a paint match or a full respray on a weird old van

This 80s Chevy van came in with a huge side scrape but the owner wanted to keep the original two-tone, which was this faded teal and cream. I mean, the paint was so old I knew blending would be a nightmare, but a full respray would cost him like three grand. I went for the match, spent two days mixing and testing on panels, and it looked perfect in the booth. Then we rolled it outside and in the sun, the new teal looked like a totally different color next to the old. Has anyone else had a color look right inside but totally wrong in daylight?

3 comments

3 Comments

hall.joel5d ago

Wait, you tried to match paint that was THAT old and faded? That sounds like a total nightmare from the start. Sunlight shows every single tiny difference the booth lights hide. I would have been so mad after all that mixing work. Did the customer even notice how off it was outside?

charlescraig5d ago

Man that's brutal. Did you end up having to redo it, or did the customer just live with it?

wood.eric5d ago

Had a similar thing happen with a deck stain last summer.