Color matching paint

[WxChaser]

Hey all,

 

Because I figured it'd be cheaper, I think I'm going to go ahead and paint my door and fender. The previous owner got the door and fender taken off by a tree and he replaced it with another door, and had it spray painted, the completely wrong color.

 

It looks awful, and I'm tired of looking at it. I thought about replacing the door and fender with a matching color one, but it seems that it could be cheaper to paint it myself (with help).

 

What's the best way to make sure I get the correct paint? I heard a friend mention the VIN #... any truth to this?
And then where could I order it from, possibly?

 

For reference, I've got the deep dark green paint on my 93 pathfinder. I think it's the forest green color IIRC.

[tdauria]

Look for your 3-digit paint code on the plaque on your firewall or possibly in the door jamb. I know on my 95 it was on the firewall, not sure if it was on the door jamb as well.

(It will probably be DJ2 or FL1)

 

Duplicolor sells tons of factory paint color matched rattle cans, but if they don't have your color you can check local paint or automotive stores. I had a shop nearby mix up the paint and put it in a spray can for about $30. I would assume an automotive paint or body shop could mix up the paint for use in an air or electric powered gun, but I have no idea how much that would run you.

 

Don't forget the clearcoat! Duplicolor generic clearcoat spray cans worked well enough for my touch-up areas.

[ahardb0dy]

if you can't find the paint code, PM me the Vin number and I can look it up

[nunya]

Off the shelf touch up cans, while close will generally be off a little even when the correct code. You have to remember your putting a "mix to code" paint next to 12 years of fade and wear paint. A local body shop or automotive paint and supply shop can usually match WITH age in consideration (some of them have "guns" they can put against the paint that will tell them precisely how to match your exact pigment) and I know there are kits that supply shops sell tht can actually put it in an aerosol can for you. Though I don't know the price for that...

[WxChaser]

Thanks all. I figured the VIN could tell the story. Yeah I knew that new paint wouldn't match with 20 year old paint correctly so I'm leaning towards having a shop do a color match to see what would work best. Are there any major name shops that could color match to the paint and mix it in a can?