Thunderbird blue paint repair

[1958edsel]

My lovely 2002 BlueBird recently had the misfortune of being rear ended by a hit-and-run driver recently. I took the car to a shop that's done great work on my classic and new cars since 1981. Only the plastic rear bumper cover needed replacement - no metal damage (whew).

When the car was finished, I was devastated at the appearance. Extremely glossy and orangepeel free new rear bumper, and PERFECT color match, thanks guys. But the metallic glitter was not matched, no thanks guys! But rather than the coarse metallic glitter of the original paint, the metallic in the repaint is a very finely ground powder, similar to pearl - beautiful but incorrect and mismatched to the factory paint. My painter said that PPG told him that the coarse glitter like the factory paint is not available in aftermarket. How can that be?? This is a 2002 car after all, not some specialty item. I'm aware that my car was painted with DuPont paint at the factory, but PPG is a top supplier and should have the correct stuff. My painter has nothing against DuPont, but he's just more familiar with PPG. OR, is my painter b'essing me about what PPG told him? I'm really concerned because if I ever need to have a door dent repaired or some other spot repair, I have NO CONFIDENCE that the repair can be properly blended. Anyone have an idea on this? Anyone had paint work done on a BlueBird?

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[RACERROGER]

Unfortunately, I have had a small ROCK hit my hood. I too have a 02 Blue Bird. Paint had to be applied to the hood. My local Ford dealer has its own body shop and matched it perfectly. I suggest that you talk to your Ford dealer about this. The plastic/rubber piece around the grill has a chip in it and my Ford dealer is not prepared to fix it. I appreciate their honesty and will look for a quality repair shop in the Spring.

 

[Tundrabird]

Had to have a dent in the trunk lid of our "bluegirl" repaired. The dealer's bodyshop matched it perfectly.

 

[HeelBird]

I managed to rub Amadeus against the lawnmower when parking him a week ago yesterday. He sustained a scrape on the passenger door, and I'm awaiting the results...hopefully will be ready to come home tomorrow. I'm nervous, to say the least, but the repairs are being done by the dealer's body shop.

 

[ktEdsel]

An update on the paint match problem in my original post...

My favorite body shop that did the bumper replacement work for me uses PPG paint - that's their usual preference, and their shop is set up for PPG. After spraying my new rear bumper with perfectly color matched PPG, we were disappointed with the lack of metallic glitter compared to the original factory paint. The PPG rep said that's the way it is, too bad.

The body shop manager decided to give a DuPont mix a try after I told him that the factory uses DuPont. He was very pleasantly surprised with a test spray on my original damaged bumper - it is an EXACT match! So be sure to specify DuPont paint if you need to have a 2002 Thunderbird Blue bird repaired! My Bird is headed back for a free re-shoot.

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[HeelBird]

Picked Amadeus up a week ago last night---can't tell he was ever damaged. Quite happy with the results.

 

[George]

ktEdsel: Based upon the paint suppliers response to your body shop and you, You should encourage the shop to change suppliers or report that guy to the home office.