Did you know your C5 black paint has 8 shades?

[Mike Todd]

Did you know your C5 black paint code has 8 shades?

Did you know there are 8 different shades of black under the same color code for the 97 vette? This is very important information to know if you need to repaint. Your body shop will pick the wrong black unless you specify!!

When I bought my vette last year I noticed the driver side door had been repainted and was about two shades darker than the rest of my car. Once I noticed this, I checked with a local body shop to see if I could repaint the door to match the rest of the car. They told me the door was the correct color, however the rest of my car had faded due to over wet sanding. I believed this until I recently had an accident and I needed to have the front quarter panel repainted. Two of my estimates told me my quarter panel would look like my door, too dark. The third one I took it to, who the owner is a C5 owner, researched the problem and found there were 8 different shades with the same color code. My car had a much bluer tint than the standard code. They painted a swatch and it matched perfectly. Should get her back soon.

Has anyone else run across this problem? If so I would like some input.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[01TriBlack]

Oh brother. I would've been sooooo....... ticked to see the color difference. I just had to have a new door put on my black '01 and was assured by the body shop that GM's black was black was black - I specifically asked the question about different "tones/shades" of black. No shading/tone differences, according to them. I was lucky: No difference in the end result. (I'm glad I didn't read your post beforehand - I would've been totally anal to work with at the body shop.) I can see where paint may fade/oxidize and make a difference - but I've never heard of black being one of the colors there are problems with, though.... reds, silvers, greens are pretty common to see poor paint matches. I sure hope it works out for you.

Mary

(Hehehehee...in answer to your question posed in the Topic - NO! And I'm glad I didn't.)

 

[Pac-man]

Had the rear clip and nose painted and they are a totally different shade of black, looks ridiculous. They offered to fix it so after the summer I will let them.

 

[Tom73]

I always thought that good paint shops did not worry about the color code, they just matched the paint with what is currently on the car (this allows for fadeing and for varaitions in the manf paint mix). Most good shops have a sensor that will tell the the proper color mix and they go from there.

tom...

 

[jay50n]

my little black corvette

I was told that there was 18 shades of black by my local dealer. How do i know this you ask????......well let me tell you................
I bought my 2004 corvette C5, to my exact specifications. All black with black glass, heads up display, memory package.....yada...yada....yada, you know the score when you are buying a new vette.
Well one day i was giving her a good polish when i notice that just under the drivers door handle, the paint was a mess, you could see primer through it. This was only visible in very strong direct sunlight. So i rushed it to the dealership who reluctantly agreed with me and said it may have been damaged in the factory (absolute crap) Well the booked it in for a respray. great i thought. wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my door came back to me looking very brown. this is when they told me there is 18 shades. it told them i dont care if there are 1000 shade...........match the color up. so she went back for paint job number 2. this time when she came back the paint matched fine.........but it had dirt and bits of hair in the paint, they sprayed top coat on my hood and nice new alloy rims. the side vents that are meant to be a mat black plastic was now a shiny corvette black...........my god these idiots were ****ing me off. so in for paint job number 3. went to get it it.....the side vents were good, the hood was good, but now has swirls in it, they resprayed the whole side of the car and got over spray where the rear of the vehicle meets the rear fender, the paint job was just as bad...............and the best thing was..........the paint shop manager told me he had cleaned all my rims....................and he did........with an abraisive cleaner, he scratched the **** out of em.
needless to say we got on to GM and told them the problems we were having, and took it to another dealer who had the wheels refinished, and the paint job done right, but it still took them 2 attempts.............................phew
after all this the vette is looking great but is a ***** to keep clean........

 

[cavettefan]

...after all this the vette is looking great but is a ***** to keep clean........

Sounds like the first body shop didn't know how to properly prepare the door handle for painting.

Separately, on keeping the car clean, black paint, while, beautiful when clean, is a real challenge to keep clean. In the spring, when the pollen is out in force, I have to immediately roll the car into the garage before drying after a wash. Otherwise, I will have a yellowish tinge to the paint from the pollen. Then when I drive the car, on returning home, I have to use a dusting mop to dust off the pollen.... As I said, black looks beautiful when clean; it is just such a challenge to keep clean.

 

[Mike Todd]

I will post all of the shades of the codes as soon as I get my vette back. It is the darndest thing. On a cloudy day or in the shade you can not tell the difference. Only in direct sun and at the correct angle does the paint show not to match. Even though most people would not notice, it drives me crazy!! I am so glad I had the body shop call me to approve a color swatch before they painted my car. If you listen to most body shops, black is an easy color to paint. It is hard for me to believe this. As you know, every variation in the paint will show.

I love the C5 in black, it is a great color clean. Keeping it clean is another story.

To help with the pollen problem, I also use a hand held dust mop (around $20) and dust my car off every time I drive away from home. This is a must for a black car! I do not believe it scratches the car. I also use the California squeegy to dry my car. It works great as well.

Any one that has issues matching black paint please let me know, your remarks have been helpful

Thanks,
Mike

 

[TheBlueVette]

I had a little mishap with my '97 coup at the de3alers, and expressed concern that they would be able to match the black paint. Stewarts (the dealer) told me that black is the easiest color to match, and there would be no problem

I'm still waiting to see the repairs. It would be fair to say that I'm suspicious.

- Dave

 

[AmosF16]

My understanding of the reason for all the color blends is that they don't clear the lines when the change colors in the paint booths at the factory (info from a painter at a dealership). So your black car might have some blue/red/white/yellow in it if it were painted near a change in colors. Stop by a dealership's paint shop and ask to see the color palette for the blended colors--there are something over 200 as I recall.
Cheers, Andy

 

[Mike Todd]

I had a little mishap with my '97 coup at the de3alers, and expressed concern that they would be able to match the black paint. Stewarts (the dealer) told me that black is the easiest color to match, and there would be no problem

I'm still waiting to see the repairs. It would be fair to say that I'm suspicious.

- Dave

Let me know how it comes out. I get mine back today.

In my case, there is an actual deviation number that goes with the code on my car (#5). I will post it soon after I pick up my car. I will use this for future reference.

 

[Mike Todd]

Here is what they are telling me about the different shades. My repair shop contacted their paint supplier who provided them with all the different shades of my paint. If my car doesn't match any of these then a new color swatch is submitted to the paint manufacturer and in about 90 days a new shade is added to the list. It is possible to have 200 shades if 200 cars using the same formula code are not the same, according to them. Each shade may be very, very slight and may not be detected under normal lighting conditions. This
My advice to anyone is to bring this out in the open before any repair and approve a color swatch prior to paint. And make sure on black, to match it outside on a clear summer day...I believe most body shops do not care the way us owners do.

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[Nevets2004]

Let me know how it comes out. I get mine back today.

In my case, there is an actual deviation number that goes with the code on my car (#5). I will post it soon after I pick up my car. I will use this for future reference.

OMG! You guys are scaring the crap out of me! This is my first Vette and also my first black car. Yeah, it's tough to keep clean but well worth the effort. Actually one of the thoughts goiing through my mind when I bought this car was that black should be easy to match, I had no idea.

Anyway, Mike, where can I find the deviation number? Can I get it online or do I have to visit my dealer? I'd like to keep that number in the glove compartment with my maintenance records just in case.

- Steve

 

[MoeJr]

Reminds me why I am reluctant to own another black car.

 

[silver 80]

one black one was enough for me.

 

[cavettefan]

...Anyway, Mike, where can I find the deviation number?....

I wonder if a deviation number will matter after a couple of years and the paint fades ever so slightly. At that point, you are looking at a custom matched paint job.

 

[cavettefan]

Reminds me why I am reluctant to own another black car.

I am similarly reluctant. My next daily driver is going to be white. I can't wait to bless all of the birds--t stains, door dings, dust/pollen, etc. problems out of my life. I will still keep the black Coupe - right after it is washed it is incredible; but no more black cars for me.

 

[SLICKMAN]

I love the C5 in black, it is a great color clean. Keeping it clean is another story.

I agree!! I just had mine at the shop to have the right rear qtr done. He matched it right on.. I also had all the orange peel sanded and polished out. Don't know if I'll ever own another black C5, its a PIA to keep looking nice.

 

[C5Richard]

Did you know there are 8 different shades of black under the same color code for the 97 vette? This is very important information to know if you need to repaint. Your body shop will pick the wrong black unless you specify!!

When I bought my vette last year I noticed the driver side door had been repainted and was about two shades darker than the rest of my car. Once I noticed this, I checked with a local body shop to see if I could repaint the door to match the rest of the car. They told me the door was the correct color, however the rest of my car had faded due to over wet sanding. I believed this until I recently had an accident and I needed to have the front quarter panel repainted. Two of my estimates told me my quarter panel would look like my door, too dark. The third one I took it to, who the owner is a C5 owner, researched the problem and found there were 8 different shades with the same color code. My car had a much bluer tint than the standard code. They painted a swatch and it matched perfectly. Should get her back soon.

Has anyone else run across this problem? If so I would like some input.

Thanks,
Mike

Sorry to tell you this but you guys are simply hearing a bunch double talk from people and shops that lack knowledge and experience. Most likely trying to cover up for dumb mistakes. The most common codes for black in GM are 19u and 41u. Each is followed by a WA# like WA990A and WA984A respectively. There are no variations for these two codes. There's about six GM blacks codes altogether that cover older cars. Someone simply used the wrong code if the parts didn't match and offered double talk to cover the mistake. There are about about eight different WA#'s that follow code 41U and the same for 19U. These are not variants buts simply different colors all together. ON GM one has to match via the WA# located on the codes sticker not the U number. Black is the easiest color to match period.

Richard.

 

[Nevets2004]

I wonder if a deviation number will matter after a couple of years and the paint fades ever so slightly. At that point, you are looking at a custom matched paint job.

I gotta agree with you on that point. Sounds about right.

 

[C5Richard]

I gotta agree with you on that point. Sounds about right.

Modern day myth. Cars with basecoat/clearcoat it's the clear that dulls after more than several years not the color. Life expectantcy of 7 years if kept outside for the bulk of that for a normal production paint. 10 years with ICI. Nearly forever if kept inside.

Richard.