Styling Back in shape for the Spring..

[SB1500]

Well, the new wing panel is now fitted.

It would seem that 647 Grigio Steel was NOT the only Silver Metallic colour the Panda 169 was offered in, contrary to my belief..

It's more noticeable than I'd like, but at the same time, looks better than the crumpled tinfoil that it replaced. Just a shame it'll probably never blend.

New wheel covers are fitted too, I like them, even though they're Active style.

We also had to tack a rather cracked up wheel guard cover, along with some silicone sealing it's now the strongest part of the car.. I joke

This whole experience sort of makes me want a VW Washing Machine, because 1) I wouldn't care so much if it got dented, and 2) you could probably find a used or new part - even in Rural N. Ireland - the same day , if not same week..
portland_bill massive thanks to you as this couldn't have been done without your help!

 

[koalar]

Good job.

 

[Wee Smurf]

Bum on the colour. But good job. Still looks better than it did previously. It can always be painted to match in time.

 

[portland_bill]

Well done for getting it on at last. Shame about the colour. Save your pennies for some paint sometime. Meanwhile, it looks better than the misshapen one.

Glad to help. The process was easier than expected.

 

[SB1500]

I'm not sure if we ever will get it painted 'to match'. But, does this definitely look like a complete different silver colour code to you all?

Whoever did paint that panel did quite a good job, but you can tell it's not from the factory. We might not be able to make it look any better, so for now, the view it just live with it.

We do have one tin of spray paint in 647 (the right colour) but I don't think it'd be enough

 

[The Panda Nut]

Fiat paint codes area source of true pain.

I had a mobile paint service do a patch on my Bravo for £160 - quite a large patch- and suspect it would be worth getting paint mixed after colour matching as this worked for me. They used a very lightweight sprayer with gravity feed and air propelled water based paint and the finish is excellent.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I'm not sure if we ever will get it painted 'to match'. But, does this definitely look like a complete different silver colour code to you all?

Whoever did paint that panel did quite a good job, but you can tell it's not from the factory. We might not be able to make it look any better, so for now, the view it just live with it.

We do have one tin of spray paint in 647 (the right colour) but I don't think it'd be enough

Yes. But it looks like a very decent job none the less.

 

[TobiasBB]

I you dont wash it for 6 months nobody can see.. I had to fix a hole in the paint on my grandmothers car (either that or watch the rust grow) so got a can of silver which should match but definitely did not, much much darker... but almost half a year later you actually have to look closely to see it.

 

[irc]

Fiat paint codes area source of true pain.

Oh yes... especially if colourblind!
There's at least 3 shades of 199/A red paint. I know. Tried them all. Still not convinced colour match is perfect but son thinks it's OK so leaving it alone now.

Fairly sure there is another shade of silver too... my Eleganza's colour is Grigio Steel and I have parked next to a silver Panda that definitely wasn't the same. The colour was slightly darker and looked less metallic.

 

[portland_bill]

There should be a paint code on a label on the tailgate edge. Open the tailgate, move to the left side and on the edge should be a label with the colour name and code.
These people should be able to help. They will mix up aerosols. As it is a lacquered finish, you'll need paint and lacquer. I think they can match very closely if you send them your fuel filler. Or you could send them the wing you took off, but I'm being silly now!
Other similar suppliers do exist, these are the only ones I saved as bookmark. Not actually used them, so can't comment on service.

You've done well at everything else you've tried, sometime you might like to have a go at paint. You do have a spare wing to practice on.

 

[irc]

... I think they can match very closely if you send them your fuel filler. Or you could send them the wing you took off, but I'm being silly now!

Not so silly! I cut off a chunk from the rear part of the wing and took it with me in order to get my 3rd (best) version of red paint. I would have taken the whole thing but I wasn't keen on manhandling it through the shop part of the paint supplier. Pands wings seem bigger when off the car....
I would be wary of taking my fuel filler flap though, let alone sending it anywhere unless I really trusted them.

 

[DaveMcT]

I would be wary of taking my fuel filler flap though, let alone sending it anywhere unless I really trusted them.

There's also no certainty the fuel filler flap (plastic) will be a good match to the tinwork.

 

[SB1500]

There should be a paint code on a label on the tailgate edge. Open the tailgate, move to the left side and on the edge should be a label with the colour name and code.
These people should be able to help. They will mix up aerosols. As it is a lacquered finish, you'll need paint and lacquer. I think they can match very closely if you send them your fuel filler. Or you could send them the wing you took off, but I'm being silly now!
Other similar suppliers do exist, these are the only ones I saved as bookmark. Not actually used them, so can't comment on service.

You've done well at everything else you've tried, sometime you might like to have a go at paint. You do have a spare wing to practice on.

I was thinking of keeping the other panel around to practice beating the sh*t .. I mean, dents, out of it and then use my spare paint tin to practice but my uncle reckons we should keep that tin for fixing the wheel arches in the summer .. decisions!

A few people said to T-Cut the car in the summer and it might be less noticeable. My Panda has never been T-Cut before.

Portland_Bill, any way you can reach into the vast world of Fiats parts / spec catalogues and see if there was in fact more than 647 Grigio Steel on our Pandas?

 

[DaveMcT]

You could always keep it as it is and fit some of these.

https://www.fiatforum.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=34714&cat=all

 

[Trimdoner]

Not so silly! I cut off a chunk from the rear part of the wing and took it with me in order to get my 3rd (best) version of red paint. I would have taken the whole thing but I wasn't keen on manhandling it through the shop part of the paint supplier. Pands wings seem bigger when off the car....
I would be wary of taking my fuel filler flap though, let alone sending it anywhere unless I really trusted them.

Nearly every colour (on any make of car) will have what's called 'variants' - in other words different shades but all using the same paint code. And the number of shades varies depending on the paint manufacturer. Some may only have formulae for 2 or 3 shades, another might have 15 or 20. (Yes, really!)

And plastic parts - bumpers etc. and that fuel filler flap - are painted separately at the factory so may well be a shade off.

Most paint factors will have a set of colour cards which *should* indicate the closest match. The better factors may even have a spectrometer gadget to match the colour without relying on someones eyesight

 

[portland_bill]

I was thinking of keeping the other panel around to practice beating the sh*t .. I mean, dents, out of it and then use my spare paint tin to practice but my uncle reckons we should keep that tin for fixing the wheel arches in the summer .. decisions!

Choose a part that won't be any use for repairs later, and use that as the colour match.

A few people said to T-Cut the car in the summer and it might be less noticeable. My Panda has never been T-Cut before.

I'm not sure T-cut will do much to a lacquered car, apart form thin the lacquer. When paint was solid, the UV from the sun faded it, especially red, yellow and orange. T-cut or similar would take the top surface of the paint off, showing the unfaded paint underneath.
Most modern cars are now 'clear over base', meaning that the base colour is sprayed on, then a clear lacquer put on top. The paint underneath is still attacked by the UV, so fades. T-cut is applied to the lacquer, so will do nothing for the paint colour underneath. Might be good to remove light scratches. It is good for cleaning windscreens, as it contains no silicones the wipers work well afterwards.

My Panda had faded quite severely, but very evenly, gradually getting darker as it went down. The lacquer was peeling in places, and looked really scruffy, which is why I had it painted last year. Very nicely done, and solid paint was used, so no lacquer.

Portland_Bill, any way you can reach into the vast world of Fiats parts / spec catalogues and see if there was in fact more than 647 Grigio Steel on our Pandas?

I've not found paint data on ePER, so cannot help there. As said above, good paint suppliers have variations of each code. Start with the code on the tailgate, and they'll match a variant if you've got a sample.