As you can see from the pictures below, I've bought a brand new bumper which I've had painted to Bianco White allegedly!!

The new bumper doesn't match the existing car. The car is a December 2011 car, which obviously could have been made a year earlier but even if it was four years old, the replacement second hand rear bumper from a 2011 car matches perfectly, this brand new one is just rubbish as far as the colour match is concerned.

I'm talking via email to the supplier, who I have just sent these two photographs to.

To my mind, this is not commercially acceptable, I would very much appreciate your views.

The colour will always be different as they use a plasticiser in the paint on the bumper.

That's quite a way out I wouldn't accept it, but....

I would have waited till all the work was done and taking the whole car to a body shop for them to match it up, that's the problem with buying mail order parts supposedly colour matched, as a result I don't know what kind of comeback you will have? Probably at best expensive carrier bills

306maxi said:

The colour will always be different as they use a plasticiser in the paint on the bumper.

Click to expand...

Yeh on my electroclash the front bumper is noticeably darker then the body and the rear is lighter! More noticeable on metallics I guess as the reflectivity is altered. I was originally worried that it was just my car but I've seen it on others too not only fiats. Is it that the primer is different on the plastic?

He did say when I moaned that the paint would look different as its on plastic rather than metal and suggested I T-cutted the wings. A bit of a long shot.

I bought it from a company advertising on Ebay, so I have already started the "return process" and they have emailed me a postage label which doesn't cost me anything, although I'll need a big post box.

I've sent him the pictures now so wait until he comes back.

The rear bumper was a used one and that matches perfectly, maybe I should have just waited until a front one became available which I guess I will have to do now.

typecastboy said:

The rear bumper was a used one and that matches perfectly, maybe I should have just waited until a front one became available which I guess I will have to do now.

Click to expand...

Take a close look at 500's in car parks - the bumpers are often quite a way out, particularly once the car is a few years old. Also there are subtle differences in the shade of white on individual cars; you might notice this if you see two white 500's parked next to each other.

As has already been said, the plasticisers in the paint used on the bumper affect both the colour and the way the paint ages; if you wanted a perfect match, you should have taken it to a decent bodyshop for them to match the paint to the car.

T-cutting the wings won't help as, like most modern cars, the finish is solid colour + clear coat & all you'll be doing is cutting the clear coat. The place you bought the bumper should have known that - it's pretty basic stuff - so trying to fob you off with that suggestion isn't a good sign.

Getting an acceptable match from a secondhand bumper is down to the luck of the draw; I'd say you've been lucky if the rear one you bought matches perfectly.

I think a used bumper from a car the same sort of age stands more of a chance of matching. As I said, my used rear bumper is a perfect match.

I'll put it down to experience if I have to, but not happy.

I agree about the T-cutting and I think it was a stupid suggestion for him to make, seeing as he's supposedly in the trade.

Every time I've gone to my local paint supplier I go armed with the paint code but always take the car with me.

He then comes out with a bunch of colour cards (all the same code) but there's maybe 10 to 12 different shades.

The "middle" one will be the exact paint code whilst the others are very slightly different.

He then mixes the best match.

Could at least part of this be that the original 2011 paint has bleached to some extent? Hence why the 2011 made bumper is a pretty good match?

Presumably this is part of the reason why Russ' paint supplier has a range of "the same" colour?

:yeahthat:

RussH said:

Every time I've gone to my local paint supplier I go armed with the paint code but always take the car with me.

He then comes out with a bunch of colour cards (all the same code) but there's maybe 10 to 12 different shades.

The "middle" one will be the exact paint code whilst the others are very slightly different.

He then mixes the best match.

Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

When you paint a million cars there can be a huge difference between one car and another of the same code

The bumper in the picture above/beginning of the thread is very yellow/cream certainly not white, so in my view it needs repainting, generally a camera won't pick up the subttle changes in paint colours like the human eye will so the fact it's so obvious in a photo means it's probably even worse in the flesh

Its a good camera and is a good representation of the difference.

I understand that paint may fade/bleach but the car is only just 3 years old and its white. Colours like red are normally the ones to fade.

If he doesn't accept a return, I shall just have to put it down to experience and get a used one when one becomes available.

I have been occasionally spraying for myself in an amateur way over the last fifty years. Paints have changed over time, I still prefer using old fashioned cellulose paint. The prepartation, type of undercoat, how much you put on and the conditions (temperature and humidity) when you are spraying all have an effect. I have sometimes achieved extremely good matches without special effort but it is not a forgone conclusion. A friend had his BMW keyed down the side and when he went to pick it up from the paint shop he walked past his own car as he just didn't recognize it. They had baked it after the repair and changed the colour of the whole car, oops! Paints can change very quickly and results can't be guaranteed.

I see you have the same issue as me with the bonnet not being correctly aligned! Same side as mine too!

AdyG said:

I see you have the same issue as me with the bonnet not being correctly aligned! Same side as mine too!

Click to expand...

Twisting the night away has helped. Taking it for it's first MoT soon so will see if they can do anything with it for now. My twisting as suggested here has helped, but still a way to go.

I don't want to be there when they abuse it.

Looking for a new bonnet though.

typecastboy said:

I don't want to be there when they abuse it.

Click to expand...

A friend with an almost-new Merc took it back to the dealer with a badly aligned passenger door. It was back out of the workshop before she'd even finished the complimentary coffee, fitting perfectly.

"What did you do?", she asked.

"You don't want to know" was the reply.

UPDATE ON THE PAINT JOB
--------------------------------------
Been talking to the supplier via Ebay messages, and he's discovered that he has painted the bumper in Bosonova White, not Bianco White. He says they are both 268 colours but one is 268/A, and he's picked the wrong one.

I'm sending it back and he's repainting it.

A pain really, but hey ho, these things happen.

Hmmmmmm. The 500 is Bossa Nova White though.....

I rather suspect it's Bossa Nova White.....

No, mine is Bianco White which is 268/A, he's painted it in Bosonova White which is 268.

typecastboy said:

No, mine is Bianco White which is 268/A, he's painted it in Bosonova White which is 268.

Click to expand...

Bianco White and Bossa Nova White are just two names for the same colour. Fiat use different names for the same colour in different markets; it's usually the Italian name that's on the paint label, regardless of which market the car is destined for.

BNW has been produced in several different shades, hence there's more than one colour code for it.

Both 268 and 268/A are Bossa Nova/Bianco White.

You should always order paint by colour code, not paint name - and ideally only after comparing a set of paint dealer's colour swatches against the actual car in good daylight.

BNW is notoriously difficult to match perfectly; there've been quite a few posts about this on the forum over the years. IIRC Fiat sell more than one touch up stick for BNW as well and you need the car's paint code to get the correct one for your particular car.