TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:44 am

I recently had a nearby Sherwin-Williams Automotive Division store do a color match for me to a somewhat uncommon VW color: L345 Licht Grau, Light Gray. They did a very good job on the match, and told me that now that this is in their database, it will be available to any S-W Automotive outlet.

If you are interested, this is for a 1975 Single Cab Pickup, and was matched to a part that had never been exposed to the elements: inside the storage compartment door, behind the locking mechanism box.

Thu Aug 08, 2013 4:15 pm

jtauxe wrote: VW color: L234 Light Grau, Light Gray.

I'm sure it was just an over sight, but did you want this number to match the one in your header?

I've got a light grey single cab, that's what drew my attention here.

Chad.

Sat Aug 10, 2013 2:19 pm

Yup. Oops. Fixed.

What year is your truck?

Thu Aug 22, 2013 12:48 pm

Post up some pics of the color compared to the OG panel. Im interested also as my bus is L345 and ill need to blend the bottom and paint the roof.

Wed Oct 09, 2013 6:35 am

I have a Licht Grau Bus too (1960 no less) and would be most interested to hear about a paint that actually matches! Didn't know they used L345 for that long. Anyhow please yes post more details!

Mon Apr 25, 2016 12:29 pm

Well, shoot. I called up Sherwin-Williams to order up some more paint that they had matched so nicely, but they now way they have no record of it, and that they would have to do the color match all over again. Damn. That means taking off the storage compartment door and removing the lock again, and driving 2 hours to their shop, and 2 hours back, and waiting while they do it. That's a whole day, there...

What are computer records for, anyway?

If I do this again, I've definitely going to have to write down the recipe they used. Grr. :evil:

Mon Apr 25, 2016 4:42 pm

jtauxe wrote: Well, shoot. I called up Sherwin-Williams to order up some more paint that they had matched so nicely, but they now way they have no record of it, and that they would have to do the color match all over again. Damn. That means taking off the storage compartment door and removing the lock again, and driving 2 hours to their shop, and 2 hours back, and waiting while they do it. That's a whole day, there...

What are computer records for, anyway?

If I do this again, I've definitely going to have to write down the recipe they used. Grr. :evil:

Far more kmportant than the written mix recipe....ask them to read it with their spectrophotometer and record the Lab # set.

Pigments are never....never....exactly the same twice. Grays are actually the most diffiult behind whites. Too many ingredients and white reflects all colors of the spectrum.

The L*a*b* color reading by the spectro is absolute. It gives a color coordinate in the most widely used color space/universe worldwide......under a totally uniform lightsource and sensor with an NIST cert.

So....if you test spray it on a chip....dry it....buff it to get the right gloss (gloss changes any color by upwards to 30%).....then read it with the spectro and write the number set down.

With the mixture formula in hand.....which tells the jobber what colorants by weight went into the mix......if the new mix....say 6 months down the line comes out different in any way.....comparing the old Lab # with the new one allows the color software to tell them exactly what ingredient needs to be added or subtracted in the mix. Ray

Sun Jul 10, 2016 2:30 pm

Thanks for that education, Ray. It makes perfect sense: We are not actually interested in the specific recipe for a given base, since that is not even reproducible to a high degree. What is needed is the COLOR.

Which is best specified by its spectrum. Do most paint shops use spectrometers? I can't imagine that they have very sophisticated equipment.

So, then what. So, we a certified the spectrum of the paint color. How do the paint shops convert that to a colored paint?

Also, to follow up in this thread, I am disappointed in the Sherwin-Williams Automotive place in Albuquerque. Not only does their customer service suck, but in the end, the paint I have is really just a bit too dark. OK for the engine compartment, but it is a bit off. :evil: