So..did you just have the hood painted? The body shop I was going to use is suggesting that I leave the truck and have the fenders blended. I don't think that is necessary, but they said they can't guarantee it will match. Your thoughts??

 

IMHO--depends on the condition of your paint. If it's new, I'd find a different body shop. My painter said he can take your vin and use it to get a perfect match to the factory paint batch that was used on your particular vehicle. So--if the paint is an exact match, we are now talking about the skills of the painter when he mixes and sprays it????????
Jay

 

If your truck is a few years old, and has some sun fading, it might not be a bad idea. but if it is new, you shouldnt have a problem. Theyre probably just looking for more business IMO.

 

Talked to my buddy who owns a body shop... his take was that if it is a darker color it probably will be fine, depending on the light. On lighter colors smaller variations are very obvious (you can tell the difference in paint between my grill and hood on my white '11 sport). Depends on you, but I would go with the blend.

 

Variations come out of the factory on door handles, mirrors, bumper covers etc, because they are all painted in different locations using different processes sometimes. I would let them blend it then you will look as if you have a fresh paint job, make sure they buff and polish the rest of the truck too.

 

All depends on the surroundings. If the car has some fading it will need the fenders blended. If it is a car that has been garaged / car ported / car covered, the trunk by itself should be fine.

 

Any decent painter will want to blend it in to the surrounding panels. Even with "exact" match paint there is still variation. You already wasted a bunch of money on a hood, might as well make it look decent.

 

That was basically my point, even if you use the exact paint code on an after market part it will look different: it has a basic different reflectivity, different prep and will be painted using a different process. You are going to get a finished product that looks different.

The only way to make it look right is to blend. Again darker colours are less obvious in most lighting conditions, but under the wrong light even they stand out if they are not blended.

The guys who are saying that fade makes it worse are also right, it does make it worse, but the underlying problem is the same either way. It is impossible to match factory paint using just paint codes.

 

I see all your points, but why then do they not blend the truck bed when you get a fiberglass tonneau cover? I'm so torn because I just don't have the funds or feel it's necessary to have the whole front end painted.

 

Blending should cost way less than repainting the whole front end. I believe the answer with the tonneau has to do with the panel gaps and the way the panels flow together. Your eye will accept a small change in colour across large gap or if there is a change in angle from the viewer to the two surfaces. If the two surfaces are parallel or form a continuous arc and the gaps are small your eye will see colour variations more easily.