Had a pearl white respray go wrong last Tuesday

I was fixing a 2020 Honda Accord rear bumper in my shop outside Seattle. Mixed the paint exactly like the formula said but it came out looking slightly yellow compared to the quarter panel. I had to stop, let it flash, and recoat with a pinch more blue toner. It matched after three tries but man that was a tense 4 hours. Anybody else had pearl whites fight them like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

willow_ellis3mo ago

Gotta disagree with you there, jake191. Pearl whites are genuinely some of the hardest colors to match, especially on newer Hondas. The metallic flakes and the way they catch light make it way more than just a simple single coat job. Calling it "custom distressed pearl" sounds like a shortcut that would come back to bite you when the customer sees it in different sunlight. I've seen too many pearl jobs look fine in the shop but terrible outside. Three coats and four hours sounds like someone actually caring about the final result, not wasting time. A quick single coat might fool someone for a day, but a proper spray lasts years.

janac595mo ago

Four hours for three coats? I'd have just told the customer it was "custom pearl.

jake1915mo ago

Haha man that's genius. @janac59 you nailed it, I've done that exact same thing when a customer was being way too picky about the finish. I just called it "custom distressed pearl" and they ate it up lol. The whole time I was thinking how I could have done it in half the time if they hadn't been breathing down my neck. But honestly, you gotta save face sometimes when they're being unreasonable. Four hours for three coats is just ridiculous, that's like detailing a Toyota with turtle wax. I bet the car didn't even look that different from a quick single coat job. I've learned that naming something fancy makes people feel like they got a deal even when you cut corners.