Difficulty In Matching Paint - Sonic Titanium

DJP · August 11, 2015

I picked up some damage from the motorway and the insurance policy I bought with the car approved the repair, done by their roadside technician.

Damage

First repair was to the sill only as the office hadn't approved the door, so he touched it in pending a return visit

After return visit

You can see a sort of shadow, which I now know is called a 'halo' effect. It was difficult to see and took a while to get a photo as clear as this one.

The technician, who was excellent throughout came back and has spent all morning re doing the job.

The shadow is from the crazy paving, not the finish on the door. This type of paint has tiny glass fragments in, and they are slightly different shapes and cuts, which gives the paintwork that gorgeous look.

He was a lot more technical than that but most of it went over my head. The purpose of the post is just to give a heads up that if you need any 'minor' paint work done it might not be quite so minor.

Having just had the wheels done the car looks a million dollars. Best leave it on the drive then!!

Sent from my iPad using Lexus OC

dave1 · August 11, 2015

Glad it has been repaired to your satisfaction but what was the difficulty matching the colour?

DJP · August 11, 2015

It's to do with the blending of the paint with the "phantom silver" base I think. He produced three small plastic swatches (for want of a better description) using different blends of the base and the colour with the mica glass fragments before he was happy the match was right. I'm afraid I've not explained it very well but he said it was one of the most difficult colours to match. I'm sure there are others here who will be able to explain it better than me, but I guess it's partly why the car can seem to be different colours in different lighting conditions.

I guess it's not dissimilar to the difficulty with the F Sport wheels, the whole wheel has to be done.

The repair was done by Shine on behalf of Smart insurance, I took the policy out via the dealer when I bought the car.

Bodmeister · August 11, 2015

Wow! The IS looks stunning in Sonic Titanium! I have the NX in Sonic Titanium and am having the same problem as you. There is a small stone chip on the front bumper and the local dealer has said he will sort it out. In your personal opinion, how good a job have they done?

DJP · August 11, 2015

The car does look superb I agree, the wheels set it off nicely as well I think. The NX is on my short list, do you think the car is well suited to the colour?

To answer your question Shine have done an excellent job, took him ages but he was determined to get it right. It looks like new, although it's impossible not to keep looking at it and thinking, is that quite right can I see a shadow? Of course that's the beauty of the colour, it seems to be changing all the time!

Bodmeister · August 11, 2015

Sonic Titanium suits the NX beautifully. The only thing that affect it are black wheel arches👎.

Most of the brochure pics are in Sonic👍

DJP · August 11, 2015

Yes, the wheel arches are a negative I agree. When I bought the IS my dealer, who I know quite well, suggested Sonic T was going to be one of the more sought after colours. All very subjective of course.