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Proper way to paint for 156 Rosso Alfa - 130 B/B

4K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  Fruity 
#1 ·
Hi All, been away for ages. My better half had to work in another city with our little one for some time, with far worse winter conditions than my Bella is capable of with its Koni sport kit. Drove a Xantia Hydractive II for more than a year, with Bella resting in the garage. Brilliant car the Xantia Hydractive by the way.

Anyway, I am planning to get some parts painted, at least the severely discolored hood, but previous paintjobs (done before I got her) were too bad. The roof looks a somewhat faded Rosso Alfa, boot lid looks orange-ish in comparison under certain lights, and front wings are yet another tint of red. Subtle for the untrained eye and cameras but bothers an Alfista a few times a week.

The problem: The paintshops claim they can just enter the paint code and the paint will be correctly mixed. But I'm sure the previous shops claimed and did the same, yet there are differences. I want to know the proper way and keep to it in the future.

- I heard that 130 B/B basecoat was painted over a "pink" primer for the 156. Is that correct? Anyone knows the code for the primer, if any? Or would a regular (white?) primer work?
- Paint *brand*. Was it from DuPont? Is it critical?
- The clearcoat, nothing special?
- Anything to watch for, apart from these?

Thanks in advance to anyone looking here with or without input.
 
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#2 ·
The paint should be a good match but it depends on various factors.

The primer is nothing special and over time, some of the colour leeches into plastic panels and it goes slightly more purple. (The 159 used special primer.) Another thing is that the lacquer which is clear becomes more yellow over time so much of the car may take on an orange hue. Often bodyshops attempt to match the colour as is so the paint they spray matches the age discoloured finish. That often works for a while but once the new finish starts to fade, it all looks wrong. It is worse under sodium street lights.

As the 130 is the early rosso, (there seemed to be a different rosso 2002-2003 which was more purple) none of the colour will be original (look at door shuts where sunlight does not shine) for the most original colour.

Unfortunately there is no cheap and easy way to correct things, I think. I doubt a body shop would be prepared to simply remove the lacquer and only repaint lacquer on original factory finish bits along with repainting the non original paint. I think that may be too difficult and risky so a respray of all the exposed parts is probably the only way to achieve satisfaction.

All the cars I have seen state Herberts paint on the sticker which may be a subsidiary of Du Pont. It is possible paint from different manufacturers fades differently.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Ah, thank you Fruity for the great insight. So my orange hue may not be a color difference but the clearcoat going yellowish. Now that makes sense, especially with the tip about sodium street lights!

I intend to keep the car so I'm rdoing restorations bit by bit while keeping things well looked after until their time comes. The paint is, apart from the hood which had a bad polish adventure back when I only had the car for weeks, is in almost the same condition as it was when I bought the car four years ago. So I am optimistic about keeping the new paint well preserved.

So you believe, assuming it is a complete respray without any regard for color-matching between panels, the ordinary white primer and the correct color code will be nigh-indistinguishable from the original factory paint, at least right after the paintjob and except for professional eyes?

If this is the case, then I'm prepared to get the hood done with utter disregard to a color match with the wings. The plan was of course have the car stripped and resprayed completely but with Turkey's current economic conditions, I'm trying to stay on the safe side. Maybe I can have the other panels done in one or two years time, while keeping the hood under constant paint protection.

Edit: Yes, Herberts turned out to be a subsidiary of DuPont since 1998. They acquired Herberts for $1.89b, my car left the factory in July 2002 (it's a Mk1.5). I assume initial color will not be that different; would only differ in how they fade over time though.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB90966787788771000
 
#4 ·
So you believe, assuming it is a complete respray without any regard for color-matching between panels, the ordinary white primer and the correct color code will be nigh-indistinguishable from the original factory paint, at least right after the paintjob and except for professional eyes?
Yes, the match should be good. I'm not sure if paint is still matched by hand now or if fully automated but the theory is it should be virtually as a car just out of the factory. Mismatches should only occur on older cars.

The paint used is a water based colour and an acrylic (I think) lacquer hardened with isocyanates. That is called 2 pack. It is similar to metallic finishes.

Strangely, some newer cars have reverted back to a single stage solid colour. I think they have epoxy based paint.
 
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