This site contains paint codes for just about every make, model, and year of car that you can imagine.

Paint Scratch web site

If you need to order touch up paint, then this is probably your site.

-- Melissa

PS Standard disclaimers apply -- I'm not affiliated with them in any way, yada yada yada....

 

Dear Melissa,
I checked out the site. The shades appear a tad different to my colour charts. Code 550 is very different to what is actually 550 on a 964. However I sort of expected this. Some of the colour codes are new to me. I have not seen them before. However quite a nice site and very helpful and thank you very much for bringing it to the bulletin board.
I would be interested if anyone has actually used the paint from this supplier for their Porsches and the results,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

 

Damn you're resourceful Melissa! Cool website, I wondered where else I could get a touch-up bottle besides the dealership...you know, that ultra-rare GP White that us lucky owners have?

Adrian, the company states that the shades shown may not be accurate, they insist on owners checking their paint codes. Besides, everyone's monitor is setup differently, most of the colors represented should give the owner a good idea of what they're looking for...after all, their GP White looks a little grey! (on MY monitor anyway)

Good job again Melissa!

 

Thanks Jeff for that explanation. I just run down the shop and purchase some eggs (just kidding),
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

 

Jeff,

Actually, I found out about the web site in the Rennlist 911 mailing list. I thought I would pass it along here. It sounds like they offer good quality touch up paint -- freshly mixed.

I bought some of that rare Grand Prix White touch up paint from Automotion back when they were still doing business in Santa Clara (prior to the Performance Products merger.)

Adrian,

I see that Jeff explained the colour discrepancy. Sounds like the colors they list for each year don't necessarily line up with the research you did for your book. Is that true?

-- Melissa

 

Yep it is pretty difficult to specify colors using RGB or HSL definitions on a computer and have it match something in real life. Computer monitors use projected colors for the standard white light color spectrum and usually use a additive color model based on values of red, green and blue ranging from 0 to 255, black being =(0,0,0), giving 16,581,375 possible color combinations.

On the other hand, print usually uses a subtractive color model called CMYK, which is based on light being adsorbed and reflected by paint and ink. Its primary colors cyan, magenta and yellow are mixed to produce the other colors (all three mixed produce black.) However, because this is imprecise, a fourth color (black or "K") is added to produce true black for printing.

I looked at the Paint Scratch Company's web code and they use RGB definitions. The colors are actually specified in hex notation (in my case Amazon Green Metallic is 1A5E35, R=26, G=94, B=53 which doesn't even come close to my car on my monitor).

Trying to match that projected additive RGB color model to up to a real CMYK-based subtractive model color for a paint chip on a piece of paper is virtually impossible, much less matching to an actual car color.

Then there are the issues Jeff brings up...

-all you might ever want to know about color models and you never asked!

jon