A large number of road transport, unevenness of the road surface, carelessness of the driver and other reasons may lead to the need to paint a car or a separate element.
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To achieve the maximum similarity of the color coating of a used car, it is required to select the color of the car enamel before painting.
What methods can be used to select a shade of paint and is it possible to independently determine the color, knowing the VIN code of the car vehicle, read on.
In what cases is it necessary
Color definition paintwork car you need:
- if necessary, painting of individual elements of the body, restored after;
- in the presence of chips, cracks and other types of damage to the body. Timely painting protects the vehicle body from premature corrosion and other negative consequences;
- if necessary complete replacement damaged body elements;
- if necessary, a complete repainting of a car without entering the relevant and registration documents.
Determination methods
You can select the color of car enamel on your own or with the assistance of qualified specialists.
The second selection method will be more reliable, since special equipment helps to select a shade, not only set by the car manufacturer, but also acquired as a result of natural wear and tear of the paintwork.
So, the selection of the color of car enamel can be done in one of the following ways:
- by the individual VIN number, which is assigned to the vehicle by the manufacturer;
- by contacting a repair organization, including paintwork;
- from the car manufacturer (on the website or by personal contact by mail or online);
- by exploring the car.
Let's deal with each method in more detail.
By wine code
The individual vehicle number assigned by the manufacturer (VIN number) consists of 17 characters.
The letters and numbers of the code are arranged in a sequence defined by international and corporate standards.
The character set allows you to:
- determine the manufacturer and year of manufacture of the vehicle;
- find out the brand and model of transport;
- identify the main specifications auto.
You can also get information by VIN number:
- on the presence / absence of administrative sanctions imposed on the car;
- on the presence / absence of restrictions on registration actions;
- about the history of the car (the number and type of previous car owners and the time of the change of owners);
- on finding the vehicle on the wanted list;
- about the participation of a car in road accidents and so on.
In addition, the number of wines makes it possible to select spare parts for the car, including finding out the color of the car enamel applied by the manufacturer.
To determine the color and other characteristics of a car, you must first find out directly the unique number of the vehicle.
This can be done in several ways:
- by car. Identification plate on passenger cars is located on windshield and the pillar of the driver's door, on truck- on the pillar of the driver's front door and on the beam under the front wheel, on a motorcycle (scooter) - on the steering column tube;
Depending on the vehicle model, information plates with VIN number can be located in other places, for example, under the hood of a car, in the trunk, under the seat, and so on. You can clarify information about the location of the plates from the manufacturer or an official representative of the manufacturer.
- in the documents of the vehicle. The identification number is indicated in and. Additionally, the vehicle code can be found from;
- online knowing the state registration plate of the vehicle. Information can be obtained on the PCA website by filling in the appropriate fields of the submitted form;
- in the traffic police (with personal contact). Information by state bodies is issued upon preliminary request and only to a certain circle of persons, which includes vehicle owners, legal representatives of car owners, heirs, persons injured in a road accident, representatives of other government agencies, and so on.
- the make and model of the car;
- year of vehicle manufacture;
- equipment or VIN number;
- contact coordinates (name, phone number, e-mail address).
- contact the specialists who will decrypt the serial number;
- carry out work on decryption on your own, for example, using special online programs that allow you to obtain the necessary data as soon as possible and without additional financial costs.
- enter the identifier in a special form located on the Internet page and click "Check VIN". It is necessary to enter data very carefully, since an error in at least one character can lead to distortion of the information received;
- wait for the result of the check, which takes no more than 1 minute and find out the color of the vehicle.
- the subject of the request (required for the fastest possible processing of information by the company's specialists). To get an answer about the tone of car enamel, you must choose the topic "Spare parts";
- Full name of the applicant;
- contact information (phone, email);
- region of residence of the car owner;
- vehicle model;
- VIN car number;
- the essence of the question (for example, help to choose the color of the paintwork).
- When y authorized dealer in a serious car dealership, you will find the paint number on the car itself. Most often, a tag with its name and corresponding number is attached to the inside of the trunk or to the inside of the door. Check that this color is also recorded in the warranty card and registration certificate. If the data differs, then this method of determining the ink number is not suitable for you.
- Most car manufacturers indicate on their websites a palette of shades in which a car can be painted at a certain time of production. Thus, having found the month and year of manufacture of your car, you can find out by comparing with the standard samples presented on the official website. In addition, usually large companies are worried about their customers and post full color range... It is standard for almost everyone. The exception is made by such firms as, for example, "Chevrolet". Here, codes are used that include three Latin letters. Their correspondence to the color palette is also published on the official website of the company.
- Despite all of the above, you doubt the correctness of your choice, justifying doubts by the possibility of inaccurate color reproduction by the monitor. Then you should contact a car service. Professionals will be able to identify the paint number of almost any car. To do this, they will need to bring a gas tank hatch. Large auto repair shops usually have a special catalog in which hundreds of different shades are numbered.
- Left car pillar (passenger side) or right pillar (driver's side);
- Hood space;
- Wheel arch from the front passenger side;
- Inner side of the trunk lid;
- A niche where the spare wheel is located;
- Rail;
- A partition under the hood, which serves as a fuse at the time of a fire in the engine area;
- Front radiator bar.
- Search for a sticker on the body;
- Contacting the seller's salon for detailed information;
- Contacting a car service with an experienced colorist;
- Search for information on the Internet by the date of car release;
- "The poke method";
- Specialized programs that are also easy to find on the Internet;
- Sending a gas tank flap to a specialist by mail;
- Search by VIN number.
- Windshield inspection hole;
- Left passenger rack;
- The lower part of the door;
- Hood space (next to the engine).
- Consider lighting during visual verification when adjusting the tone to the desired result;
- Check with the colorist for the number of layers and the nature of the paint spraying;
- Look for an advanced colorist with a spectrophotometer and a perfect eye.
- Color name (paint).
- Weight ratios of pigments.
- Factory classification number.
- The VIN number is punched on each car and cannot be deleted during repair - the code is tied to a very specific car, therefore, the composition and color of the factory paint can be determined using the manufacturer's databases.
- The color of the car can be checked from an authorized dealer.
- Alfa Romeo - plates in the wheel housing on the front passenger side, on the inside of the trunk lid.
- Audi - a spare wheel niche in the trunk or the inner side of the lid (the codes from car enamels to plastic and the main part are indicated through a slash).
- BMW - under the hood lid, on the rail and on the supports (risers).
- Fiat - a partition under the hood that protects the interior of the car from fire, the right wheel arch at the front and the trunk lid.
- Ford - in the engine compartment, on the front radiator strip (to determine the color, you need a number in the “K” line).
- Honda is a pillar on the driver's side, in the space closed by the door.
- KIA - driver's desk (paint number - last two digits).
- Mercedes - passenger pillar and radiator bar under the hood (enamel code is the second digit in the penultimate row).
- Renault - you can find the nameplate on both supports in the engine compartment.
- Volkswagen - the cross bar of the radiator in the front of the hood and the passenger (left) pillar.
A request for a wine code is made in writing after the submission of the appropriate package of documents. The answer can be received in person, by letter sent by mail or online to the e-mail indicated in the application.
Contacting a car repair shop
The most optimal way to select the tone of the paintwork for the car is to contact a car repair shop. The company's specialists select the colors of car enamel using special equipment.
To do this, in addition to the documents for the car, which indicate the individual number, you will also need a certain part of the body (gas tank cap, trunk element, and so on), according to which the currently available tone is checked.
The selection process does not take much time. On average, it takes from 15 minutes to 1 - 2 hours.
The performance of this operation is paid additionally in accordance with the current tariff rates of the repair shop and the time spent on the selection of autoenamel.
From the car manufacturer
Choose the required shade car paint you can, and contacting the manufacturer for help.
You can fill out a request for color selection on the manufacturer's website online or by sending a letter by mail (the time for processing the request and waiting for a response increases).
The written request must indicate:
View on vehicle
Another way to get information about the paintwork applied to the car is to simply compare the body with the color scheme of the enamels.
This method allows you to fairly accurately determine the color of the body, obtained after using the car, and practically does not contribute to the determination of the color of the factory paint.
The color of the car is also indicated in the TCP and the car registration certificate, as it is one of the most common distinguishing features of vehicles.
The procedure for determining the paint number by the wine number of the car
For color determination by wine code vehicle can:
The wine code can be obtained from various Internet resources, for example, on the autoDNA website.
This requires:
It is worth noting that the color corresponding to the wine number of the car and the color obtained after using the vehicle for a certain period of time are slightly different from each other.
Therefore, for a more accurate selection of autoenamel, it is recommended to use other methods.
In the example shown, a 2000 Ford car is painted in Champagne silver, which corresponds to the number TH-114.
How to view online on the manufacturer's website
You can get information about the color of the paintwork online on the website of the vehicle manufacturer. For this, a written request is sent to the manufacturer online (via the “Ask a question” form).
To obtain reliable information in the request form, it is indicated (for example, the manufacturer AvtoVAZ):
When locally repairing a car's paintwork after an accident or due to other mechanical influences that may lead to rust in the future, it is often required to accurately guess the color of the factory paint that is applied to your car. This is done in order to avoid visual differences between the treated area and the rest of the body surface. At the factory, when applying the paintwork for the enamel, a number is assigned, which is the code of the car paint. This number indicates the weight ratio of pigments that are added to obtain the desired tone.
For marketing sales, intricate names for the color of the car body are often used, and when it is necessary to determine the really necessary tone for local repair, then you need to rely on the paint code of the car. Indeed, for the same car model, depending on the year of manufacture, this number may differ and you need to clearly recognize it specifically for your car.
Vehicle paint color matching technology by VIN code
VIN code is a 17-character value. These symbols contain information about the configuration and technical warehouse of the car. It is worth noting that you will not be able to directly find out the car paint code by the VIN code, since it does not give you such information. Here the approach is slightly different. You will be able to find out exactly the model, year of manufacture and equipment of the vehicle. Having this data on hand, you can, according to the manufacturer's catalog or on specialized sites, determine a list of all paint codes that were used for this model in those years of release. But even here there is a problem, if, for example, you have a yellow car, then the probability of finding the exact code is high, but if the car is gray, then there are often many variations and you will not be able to find out exactly which paint color you will be able to do. In this case, you need to go to the colorist at the service station and, using computer selection, determine the desired tone.
How to find out the car paint code?
The search in foreign cars should be started from the door racks; a plate with this data is very often placed there. In addition, depending on the model and brand of car, it can be under the hood. Also another place to look is the trunk. Information about the color of the enamel is usually placed on one plate with the VIN code. Sometimes the keywords "COLOR" or "PAINT" are indicated near the number to make it clear what this designation is.
Where to find this number in domestic cars? In most cases, under the hood or in the area luggage compartment or in service book, but this is provided that the car is not older than 5 - 7 years. If the age of the car is older, then it is better to turn to a specialist for the selection of paint.
By rewriting this number, you can turn to a colorist who can mix the tones in the right proportion and get what you need. Please note that if the car is stored on the street for 5-10 years, then there is a high probability of body color fading and the paint code will no longer match, it will be brighter, in which case you need to make a computer selection.
Here is a table of commonly used codes for different colors.
Name |
Metallic |
||
602 | Aventurine | Silver black | |
425 | Adriatic | Blue | |
204 | Iceberg | White double layer | |
460 | Aquamarine | Silver blue-green | |
503 | Chord | Dark gray beige | |
145 | Amethyst | Silver purple | |
371 | Amulet | Dark green | |
277 | Antelope | Silver beige | |
440 | Atlantic | Blue | |
421 | Bottlenose dolphin | Silver green-blue | |
107 | Eggplant | Purple | |
420 | Baltika | Blue green | |
353 | Balm | Green | |
235 | Beige | Beige | |
236 | Gray beige | Gray beige | |
201 | White | White | |
202 | White | Bright white | |
233 | White | Gray-white | |
480 | Breeze | Green-blue | |
464 | Valentine | Gray purple | |
310 | Currency | Gray-green metallic | |
129 | Victoria | Silver bright red | |
132 | The Cherry Orchard | Cherry | |
127 | Cherry | Dark red | |
423 | Geyser | Light green-blue | |
481 | Blue | Blue | |
180 | Garnet | Maroon | |
150 | Defile | Golden red-brown | |
203 | Jasmine | White-yellow | |
200 | Yellow (Taxi) | Bright yellow | |
230 | Pearl | Milky white silver | |
963 | Green | Green | |
307 | Green Garden | Green | |
245 | Golden cornfield | Gold | |
331 | Gold leaf | Golden dark green | |
311 | Iguana | Silver bright green | |
385 | Emerald | Silver green | |
406 | Iris | Purple | |
128 | Spark | Red metallic | |
453 | Capri | Blue green | |
101 | Cardinal | Bright red | |
118 | Carmen | Red | |
630 | Quartz | Medium gray-green met. | |
352 | Cedar | Dark green | |
116 | Coral | Silver dark red | |
370 | Corsica | Silver dark green | |
798 | Cinnamon | Brown | |
281 | Crystal | Silver yellow | |
435 | English Channel | Silver bright blue | |
675 | Lavender | Gray beige | |
487 | Lagoon | Silver blue | |
445 | Lapis lazuli | Violet blue metallic | |
498 | Azure blue | Silver navy blue | |
133 | Magic | Silver dark | |
120 | Mayan | Silver maroon | |
428 | Medeo | Blue | |
217 | Almond | Beige pink | |
280 | Mirage | Silver yellow green | |
606 | Milky Way | Graphite metallic | |
626 | Wet asphalt | Gray beige metallic | |
403 | Monte Carlo | Bright blue | |
302 | Mozart | ||
458 | Moulin rouge | Bright purple | |
377 | Moray | Blue green | |
223 | Narcissus | Yellow | |
628 | Neptune | Dark gray-blue metallic | |
270 | Nefertiti | Silver beige | |
383 | Niagara | Golden gray | |
449 | Ocean | Dark blue | |
340 | Olive | Yellow green | |
345 | Olivine | Golden green | |
419 | Opal | Silver blue | |
286 | Opatija | Silver orange | |
308 | Sedge | Silver gray-green | |
387 | Papyrus | Silver gray-green | |
152 | Paprika | Red orange | |
404 | Peterhof | Gray blue | |
795 | Pirano | Red brown | |
417 | Pitsunda | Green-blue | |
605 | Prestige | Violet black | |
276 | Prize | Silver beige | |
210 | Primrose | Light yellow | |
448 | Rhapsody | Silver bright blue | |
499 | Riviera | Silver navy blue | |
182 | Romance | Cherry | |
110 | Ruby | Red | |
670 | Sandalwood | Beige-red metallic | |
446 | Sapphire | Silver blue-violet | |
215 | Safari | Light beige | |
671 | Light gray | Light gray | |
640 | Silver | Silver | |
301 | Silvery willow | Light green | |
427 | Blue-gray | Blue-gray | |
373 | Gray green | Gray green | |
447 | Blue midnight | Blue | |
295 | Creamy white | Creamy white | |
690 | The Snow Queen | Light silver metal | |
202 | Snow white | Bright white | |
360 | Sochi | Gray-blue-green | |
399 | Tobacco | Silver brown green | |
509 | Dark beige | Dark beige | |
793 | Dark brown | Dark brown | |
456 | Navy blue | Navy blue | |
170 | Tornado | Red | |
100 | Triumph | Silver red | |
416 | Fairy (Forest Fairy) | Silver blue | |
430 | Frigate | Blue metallic | |
363 | Tsunami | Dark green | |
228 | Tea rose | Light yellow | |
408 | Charoite | Silver. dark purple | |
601 | Black | Black | |
415 | Electron | Dark gray metallic | |
473 | Jupiter | Blue-gray |
As you can see, the VIN code is not the most effective way selection of paint, and often you will not be able to accurately find out the information you need. It is better to look for a special code, which is located on the same plate as the VIN.
He probably does not think how much the service for painting it costs. But in fact, this is important. Often, repainting a car is equivalent to paying half of its cost again. To save money, the craftsmen offer to restore a separate part of the car, which has been found to be worn. Due to the large number of colors and shades that are now used in the automotive industry, a standard numbered palette has been created. In most cases, the paint number for the car can be found here.
It should be borne in mind that each has its own palette. Very often, the colors and shades of domestic cars do not coincide with Western standards. Therefore, if you decide to paint over a scratch on your car yourself, you must first learn how to determine the number of the paint with which it is painted.
Believe me, this knowledge will not harm you, even if today your car has no problems with coverage. No one ever knows where he can, crumple or catch "rubble". There are many reasons why the top layer can be damaged, and they all depend only on chance.
How to determine the color number
There are several different ways definitions of paint by numbers:
Remember that during a long-term presence of the car, it could change the color, or rather its saturation. Sometimes experts recommend painting over not only the scratch itself, but also the entire damaged part (door, trunk, fender). There are also cases when the paint color number is determined correctly, but the painted part is still very different from the color of the whole car. Unfortunately, in this case it is necessary to repaint the entire car.
The video shows how to find out the color of the car:
How to find the VIN number
Another way to find out the color of a car is. VIN-code is a seventeen-digit identification number, in which a large amount of information about a car is encrypted. Each number in it has its own meaning, for example: body type, engine, place of assembly, model number.
This code can be found on a sticker located under the hood of the car near the engine. Sometimes it is also placed at the bottom of the door pillar. This number must be recorded and taken to the craftsmen at the car service. Paint by VIN-code is determined by a special program on the computer, which is entered.
In addition, you can determine the shade by the wine code from an authorized dealer of cars of this brand. After providing the number, after a while you will receive all the necessary information regarding your car and its color. Dealers can be contacted by phone, e-mail or in person, coming to the auto center office. The tone specified by the manufacturer can be safely transferred to the masters from the car service.
As you can see, when repairing a car, you will definitely need to find out the shade and number of the paint. Determining the color by eye means condemning your car to re-painting in advance. This, firstly, will hit your wallet, and, secondly, the repair will take additional time.
Traffic intensity in modern metropolitan areas is fraught with both traffic congestion and lack of parking spaces. Overcrowding of cars leads to accidents, and micro-damage to the painted surface, such as chips from road rubble, scratches and scuffs, have already entered the category of everyday and familiar. Every owner of a personal vehicle one day has to look for an answer to the question - how to find out the paint number of a car, because repainting the entire body due to a minor flaw is impractical.
Sometimes repairs are simply urgent, because the paint performs, in addition to the aesthetic one, also a protective function - it protects the car from corrosion. Delay in such a chepe leads to more serious consequences and, accordingly, more significant investment.
What is the number for and where to find it
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If it is not planned to completely repaint the car, then a partial restoration implies an exact match of shades. Local restoration is much more economical, but requires a professional approach at all stages: from paint selection to final polishing of the body (in 98% of cases). Careful selection of the enamel helps to avoid sharp color transitions. Experts do not recommend eliminating the defect itself, but for a better visual result, they advise painting the entire damage area: fender, trunk door. To get into the right tone, you actually need to find this mysterious number, which loves to play hide and seek with a car enthusiast.
Location of the Vin number in the car
Domestic cars are known for their simplicity of structure and uncomplicated equipment. You can find the coveted code on VAZs, GAZs and other similar draft horses in the warranty card (if available) or on the inside of the trunk lid; when there is nothing in the trunk, then it is worth looking under the hood lid. On models that have already passed into the category of "retro", the tag is sometimes located under the seat, and in some cases - under the spare wheel. Each color has an identification number and an official factory name. The answer to the burning question of how to find out the paint number on domestic cars has been received - it means it's time to turn on the second gear!
Foreign cars are more successful in terms of clandestine places for placing information plates, and their color code is much more intricate. Enamel number can have not only digital, but also letter designation.
So, let's take a look at the salon and try to narrow the search area, having the current information on the most likely placement of labels with paint codes:The paint code on the nameplate usually follows the striking English COLOR. Or, if there is no such mark, you need to pay attention to numbers consisting of three or more characters.
Selection of paint
The enamels that are used in car painting contain several basic components: solvent, pigment, additives and a binder base. Currently, the composition of paints is becoming more and more complicated, and, accordingly, the choice of the buyer is expanding. However, other aspects are also of interest to the consumer: a mistakenly chosen shade can result in not only a waste of time, but also the need for new financial injections, not to mention nerve cells that do not recover.
The presence of a paint number also does not solve all problems, since the color of the car can change over time due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Here are a few different effective methods for determining the color of your four-wheeled friend:
Let's consider the last option and don't forget about the transition to fourth gear!
What is VIN number
Finding this number is quite easy, because in accordance with the rules of the ISO 3779 standard, the metal VIN plate must be fixed in such a way that it cannot be removed without damaging the car body. The most popular places for vendor identification numbers are:
VIN-number is a cipher of seventeen numbers and letters, which stores the most detailed and important information about your car. It is this small plate that contains information about the code of the factory paint, and possession of such data increases the success of color selection several times. The cipher is read by a special computer program.
And finally, some important tips to prevent your car from getting lurid colors:
The main purpose of putting a VIN-code on the body of each car is to protect the car from theft. However, in addition to this cipher, the manufacturer can leave an information plate with technical information: car paint code, release date, tire pressure, engine numbers, chassis numbers, etc. Most often, several such plates are located in different places. Each manufacturer has its own marking system and, if desired, can exclude data on the original color, in addition, it may turn out that the data plate is damaged (removed) during operation (repair). Due to the lack of a unified system, it is impossible to determine the exact sequence of actions - this is compensated by many rules and even precise instructions for cars of specific brands.
general information
For the manufacture of enamel, certain ratios of coloring pigments, base composition, etc. are involved. The manufacturer uses several basic color options, but their shades can change from year to year, adjusted by designers, etc. There are several ways to mark changes in the enamel used for painting a car:
The location of the plate depends on what kind of marking is adopted by the manufacturer. The standard location of the code is the engine compartment, sometimes the doorway (passenger and driver pillars, the doors themselves). The most popular brands are discussed below - if the car does not fall under this classification, you should look at the records in the database of the official website. In addition, there are two more possibilities to find out the paint number, and possibly its recipe:
VAZ and GAZ cars
On older models, the exact paint code information sheet could be located under the seat or even under the spare wheel. You can look at these codes in models of recent years on a piece of paper located under the trunk lid. If the piece of paper is not under the boot lid, it is most likely attached to the inside of the bonnet.
It is impossible to determine the composition of the enamel by this designation, but it contains the correct colors (names) or numbers adopted in the factory classification. You can find out the correct ratios of colors and the type of enamel from colorists, who can immediately give a small amount of enamel for checking. The codes used by domestic manufacturers correspond to the international classification, i.e. can be used when choosing paints from standard catalogs Duxon, Mobihell, etc. Even in the standard catalog there are more than 600 items, so the option with the definition by eye is unlikely to end with success.
Foreign cars
Most modern machines you can look at the information data in the plate on the left (passenger) car counter, although there are exceptions. If it was not possible to find the numbers in this place, you should inspect the engine compartment of the car. Most often, the digital designation of car enamels flaunts under the large inscription "COLOR", in the absence of which you need to pay attention to all combinations of consecutive numbers, more than three characters long. Each marking has its own system, some of the systems are described below, if they are not in the list, you should check the manufacturer's website:
The manufacturer is free to classify the factory enamels in any way, give them abstract names, encrypt, etc. Therefore, you can determine for sure the desired combination of tinting pigments either by contacting the original classifier, or using the help of a specialist. Those. you can find the necessary auto enamels by bringing the found code to the colorist or by consulting the technical documentation, catalogs, etc. They simplify the search procedure for the paint selection program (Spies Hecker guide, DuPont ColorQuick analogues, etc.), although in this case you will have to deal with the same databases but electronically.
Even with a code, it is not always possible to determine the shade with certainty. Tinting machines can make mistakes, small shade variations distinguish machines from different years of production. In this case, you can find out the exact shades of car enamels only with the help of a test fit - you can make it on their own, since the difference in tone can usually be neutralized by adding dark and light shades. On the websites of some manufacturers, you can also find information about what colors of cars were produced in a particular period of time, information about the colors of cars in production. In order to find out the color number in this way, you need to have accurate data on the date of car production.