Does your factory paint match?

[kkim]

I'd like to know from owners of older formula red cars if they can see a difference in the shades of red between the bumper and fender.

I'm looking at a 91 formula red car and the bumper seems to be a shade off from the fenders in some photos. Present owner says the car has never had any paint work done, but he explains it as the panels coming like that from the factory. He does admit that there is a shade difference.

I know there can be some variation of color between panels from the factory, especially plastic and metal ones... is yours so different that it is noticeable?

Am I wrong to be concerned over this variation?

Other than this, the car looks to be in pristine condition.

 

[latzke]

It is is different enough to be noticeable on mine, if you're looking for it the bumpers seem to be a little darker. Car is 1991, 43k miles, original panels/paint, spent nearly entire life in garage so very little UV exposure. I understand the difference may be due to the flexing agent they use in the paint on the bumpers/plastic.

I can't tell you if you should/shouldn't worry, cause I don't know this car...but I do think this is normal to some degree.

 

[01a4man]

Paint in general shows differently on metal vs. plastic. It has a lot to do with the way the paint bonds to the material that it is being applied to. To answer you're question no, if it varies a little it is nothing to be worried about. If it is a totaly different color than you may have something to worry about.

 

[kkim]

In some pictures (in bright sunlight) the paint looks to match perfectly, under different lighting, it seem to be "off".

Here is a picture of one such case...

 

[DRIFTER]

I would be careful sounds like a repaint, red is a hard color to mach especially do to the fact the car is a 91 the older the paint is the more it fades. I had this problem with my Audi A4.I had some stone chips that I wanted repaired but when I got the car back the hood and bumper did not mach the car. When comparing the car to a new Audi the bumper and hood matched but the rest of the car was faded. Long story short I had to repaint the whole car to get the color/shades to mach.I even tried to buffing the paint up but I just brought the shine up in the paint, the color was still off. Look in the in side of the gaps where the two panels meet check for over spray or a buildup of paint a lot of times the body shops don’t go through the extra time to remove the parts to paint them. Run fingers over the gaps and feel for discrepancies in the finish. Just something to check. Good luck The NSX is a Great Car:biggrin:

 

[L5-S1NSX]

Greeetings from Seattle , your car looks nice , however looks like a repaint ? different color ? , there are some pictures of my car in the members photo area L5-S1nsx , I would post , however not sure how ....

Ken
Seattle 91 red/blk
all orig paint
comptech suspension
18/19

 

[latzke]

...sounds like a repaint...

...looks like a repaint...

What information do you two have, or what do you see in that picture that I don't, that enables you to come to the conclusion that it's a repaint?

I can't say it is or isn't a repaint, especially given that this would be normal with original paint.

Here are some pictures to illustrate the different effect light can have on a formula red NSX...

Sometimes all looks matched:
http://latzke.us/photo/2006-02-25-NSX-Detail-Workshop/HPIM0621 (mine in back)
http://latzke.us/photo/album05/HPIM1205 (not mine)

The illusion of different shades/tones due to different angles of hood/bumper causing different reflections:
http://latzke.us/photo/album08/HPIM0609 (mine)
http://latzke.us/photo/album08/HPIM0612 (not mine)
http://latzke.us/photo/2003-05-03-Colorado-NSX-Gathering/DSC03483 (middle and right not mine)

The plastic parts look different than the rest of the car (like in picture kkim posted):
http://latzke.us/photo/2003-05-03-Colorado-NSX-Gathering/DSC03492 (mine)
http://photobucket.com/albums/f398/clr1024/IMG_1034.jpg (not mine, from post in NSXPrime Gallery)

This one is neat because instead of the bumper looking out of place (with hood and fenders matching), the hood looks out of place while the bumper looks to match the fenders:
http://latzke.us/photo/2001-07-21-to-22-NSX-Ride-the-Rockies/2001_07_21n22_DSC01761 (mine)

This one is also neat because the light is right to make just one headlight look wrong: http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5741&d=1074142632 (not mine)

There are plenty more pictures (not mine)...
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/p895efc38fe54c27b52f7f307de00d30d/fb165c90.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/pa894ec91252733aa07ee6a7436ec4f08/fbf87dec.jpg
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4388&d=1069330465
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4387&d=1069330334
http://a1.cpimg.com/image/9B/80/16439451-e0f4-02000180-.jpg
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5734&d=1074141828
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7159&d=1080846589
(and more I won't bore you with)
...to illustrate this in the "unofficial formula red thread":
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25745

 

[latzke]

In the end it's probably good to look for other evidence (overspray, texture of paint, etc) as DRIFTER suggested and try to gauge the honesty of the seller and vehicle history. Those are likely more-reliable indicators than disappearing/reappearing shade differences that may or may not be present on both factory and resprayed NSXs.

 

[kkim]

latzke- Thank you very much for your response. I have searched the gallery and have seen the variations in panel color levels. The problem is that I don't know if the cars that have the variations have had resprays of the questionable panels.

Being new to NSXs, I wanted to hear from owners who know that their cars have not been resprayed and to hear that these variances can happen on cars that have not had paint work done.

I gather that it is indeed possible for these cars to leave the factory with what appears to be color mismatched panels. So, the onus now is to determine if the present owner is telling the truth. From all indicators, he is a great guy and is very upfront and honest... my take, anyway. Funny thing is, he and I both have paint shop backgrounds and we both loath repainted cars and he swears there is no paintwork done at all on the car.

I think the only way to tell is to have someone personally inspect it, then have a through PPI done including scrutinizing the paint.

I feel a bit better now that I've heard from long time owners.

Mahalo!
:smile:

 

[Tony Montoya]

I disagree. It looks perfect match in the photo you showed us. only one tiny bit of the bumper is the same as the fender but that is enough to say it's good and the light and shadow is the problem. You need to see it in person to be sure.

 

[Tony Montoya]

The paint on early cars was perfect match of all panels. Even red.

 

[brandonsan]

Any metallic in the paint will cause a variation in the paint. When the car is painted (unibody) at the plant the unibody has a positive charge in it which will cause the metallic to "stand up" on the paint. The bumper covers are painted off of the car so it will not have a positive charge on it causing the metallic to "lie down". This is where the slight variation comes from on metallic finishes.

 

[Shumdit]

Another issue is that red is the most unstable of all pigments, and will discolor at different rates on the metal and plastic surfaces (I have seen many mid to late 80's Preludes with pink bumpers and mirrors, but red paint everywhere else). Why the paint would look darker in the pic I am not sure unless it was the angle of the surfaces and the lighting.

 

[mattd]

Mine has very slightly noticeable difference in front bumper under some lighting. I have only noticed a few times. And it has not been repainted. I think it is probably due to the flex agent added. 1993 17k miles garaged

 

[Cincinnati Scott]

In some pictures (in bright sunlight) the paint looks to match perfectly, under different lighting, it seem to be "off".

Here is a picture of one such case...

What kind of wheels are these? They are very sharp!

 

[kkim]

What kind of wheels are these? They are very sharp!

Racing Hart C4 18/19

 

[clr1024]

I'd like to know from owners of older formula red cars if they can see a difference in the shades of red between the bumper and fender.

I'm looking at a 91 formula red car and the bumper seems to be a shade off from the fenders in some photos. Present owner says the car has never had any paint work done, but he explains it as the panels coming like that from the factory. He does admit that there is a shade difference.

I know there can be some variation of color between panels from the factory, especially plastic and metal ones... is yours so different that it is noticeable?

Am I wrong to be concerned over this variation?

Other than this, the car looks to be in pristine condition.

Think shade matching on plastic versus metal has more to do with when the parts were painted, i.e different pressure on the gun when sprayed, flex agent in paint etc than material alone. A good source of information on this would be Pbasso. I have seen some original factory painted cars who's bumpers do not match the hood etc, including NSX's. I wouldn't conclude just yet that its not all original paint.