Tuesday 1/2 blog
Posted by Dr Diecast at 5/6/2008 4:10 PM and is filed under uncategorized 
Im typing this now because I hope to get some feedback by late tomorrow morning on this.
Here is the deal. I just got an email from my customer with the Atomic Orange 07 Corvette. He states the color is wrong and that it has too much Brown in it. I will post this picture as large as I can as I would like those of you who follow this to give me your honest impression of the color match.
When I contracted for this I was not given any pictures just the color. I pulled the code (418P) out of my reference book and mixed it per the Dupont formula.
Here is whats in this color........
Green Gold
Flop Control
Transparent Maroon
Red Orange
Copper Pearl
Gold Pearl
and binders which are clear.
Now im not sure if there was a lighter or darker version available from Dupont but when that happens I always use the standard issue formula unless told other wise.
So..... if you dont know...... Black and Orange make Brown. Black and Red make dark Maroon. Transparent Maroon is basically like clear red and this formula has a trace (.05 oz) in the 3.1oz total mixed. So..... how this can have too much Brown is beside me.
This leaves me to the question, what now ? He wants to know we can do. I personally think the color matches fine. You tell me based on the bright area on the picture. When I look I compare the back end of the diecast to the rolled part of the fender...... looks like a match to me.
Im not sure what he wants...... I do not want to repaint this and then have the same problem again. I will not refund this money if thats what he wants. I think...... and this is just me talking out loud that because I got bitchy with him about his bullshit attitude that now he wants to be a problem. Remember I never got any pictures of the real car...... I mixed the color per the Dupont code... I really don't know what else to do.
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Here is the deal. I just got an email from my customer with the Atomic Orange 07 Corvette. He states the color is wrong and that it has too much Brown in it. I will post this picture as large as I can as I would like those of you who follow this to give me your honest impression of the color match.
When I contracted for this I was not given any pictures just the color. I pulled the code (418P) out of my reference book and mixed it per the Dupont formula.
Here is whats in this color........
Green Gold
Flop Control
Transparent Maroon
Red Orange
Copper Pearl
Gold Pearl
and binders which are clear.
Now im not sure if there was a lighter or darker version available from Dupont but when that happens I always use the standard issue formula unless told other wise.
So..... if you dont know...... Black and Orange make Brown. Black and Red make dark Maroon. Transparent Maroon is basically like clear red and this formula has a trace (.05 oz) in the 3.1oz total mixed. So..... how this can have too much Brown is beside me.
This leaves me to the question, what now ? He wants to know we can do. I personally think the color matches fine. You tell me based on the bright area on the picture. When I look I compare the back end of the diecast to the rolled part of the fender...... looks like a match to me.
Im not sure what he wants...... I do not want to repaint this and then have the same problem again. I will not refund this money if thats what he wants. I think...... and this is just me talking out loud that because I got bitchy with him about his bullshit attitude that now he wants to be a problem. Remember I never got any pictures of the real car...... I mixed the color per the Dupont code... I really don't know what else to do.
Damn good match John...and anyway,if he agreed to go by the color formula , then it's his problem for not specifying exactly what he wanted or supplying a photo....Carl
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Looks like a good match to me. Joe
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I am assuming John that you don’t have any major dealerships near by to double-check the match. I just came in from outside checking all three vehicles I have in the yard and if you were doing a repaint to match one of those units this is what I would have done. Firstly the serial number plus paint code if available and pictures. Secondly, because I would want you to get it right, I would have taken either a door hinge bolt, inner fender bolt, hood hinge bolt or trunk hinge bolt out using a cloth and socket so not to damage the paint, then send the same to you. Of course I would replace the bolt with a plain one until you sent the painted one back after matching the paint. This would leave out any second-guessing on your part or mine. This is how I think and maybe I’m wrong.
It looks like not the best lighting and picture quality, but my old eyes with reading glasses on see for the most part a match. Well we’ll see what the rest of the gang has to say.
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John, the car matches. I guess with this formula, depending on the light, you can capture different hues. But the model looks spectacular. It will obviously not be displayed on top of the real car, most likely on a shelf or a desk, and without the direct comparison, it is going to get nothing but accolades from the customer's friends.
There are several things that could cause slight variations in the paint, none of which you had any control over. Perhaps the actual car color was not mixed according to the formula, although if this is a factory color and the paint has been taken care of and the car has never been outside, then that is less likely. Can the customer guarantee that the car has never been in an accident or repainted? Does it sit outside, or under a cover? All of these things and more can affect the color properties, as you well know.
If he was so interested in perfection, why did he not send a color chip, or a part off of the car so you could make an exact match?
And frankly, miniatures of anything are going to have a difference, especially because the lines are different, the texture is different, and the way we look at it is different. We hold a model in our hands and inspect it from inches, we stand by a real car and inspect it from yards. Models are generally lit by artificial light, Cars sit in the sun. Pigment sits differently on small shapes rather than big shapes. Big differences.
I believe you did everything in your power to make a replica. However, if he insists that he wants the color changed, then he should take a part off of the car and send it back, along with the model a new contract for a repaint. He should pay the fare.
you have fulfilled your obligation.
Its not that cool of a car anyway. Its just a Corvette. Jeeesh.
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Regarding the color, I am assuming the customer sent the photo to 'prove' his case. I took his photo onto a color calibrated computer, sampled spots in three places on the model and then on the real car and got the same color values for each comparison. I emailed the sampled photo to you. I took samples off of the model and did a smear in the places where I sampled off of the real car in the photo, so you can see the matching closer. John, the color is the same.
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