The short answer
A bodyshop starts with your car's paint code — a manufacturer reference usually found on a sticker in the door shut, under the bonnet or in the boot, and verifiable from the VIN. The code gives a base mixing formula, but real cars fade and vary, so the shop reads the actual panel with a spectrophotometer (a colour-reading tool) and may make a test sprayout card to fine-tune the mix. For metallics and pearls especially, the repair is then blended into the surrounding panels rather than sprayed to a hard edge, so any tiny difference is invisible. Matching is part formula, part measurement, and part skilled blending.
A factory colour code is only the starting point. The art of colour matching is reconciling that formula with how your specific car has aged, then blending so the eye cannot find the join.
Colour matching
- Start pointPaint code on a sticker / from VIN
- Reading the carSpectrophotometer measures the real panel
- Fine-tuningTest sprayout card before the car
- Tricky coloursMetallics and pearls need blending
- GoalRepair invisible against adjacent panels
Finding your car's paint code
Every factory paint colour has a code — a short manufacturer reference that maps to a specific mixing formula. Finding it is the first step in any colour match. It is usually printed on a sticker or plate in one of a few common places:
- In the driver's or passenger door shut (the frame revealed when the door is open).
- Under the bonnet, on the slam panel or inner wing.
- In the boot, under the floor near the spare wheel, or in the fuel filler area.
The label often sits alongside the VIN (vehicle identification number), and a bodyshop can also look up the colour from the VIN through the manufacturer's data. The code tells the shop which factory formula to start from — for example a specific metallic silver or a particular pearl white. But a code alone is rarely the whole answer, because two cars with the same code can look slightly different after years of sun, weathering and washing.
Measuring the real colour and testing it
Because paint fades and varies, professional bodyshops do not just trust the formula — they measure your actual car. A spectrophotometer is a handheld device held against a clean panel; it reads the colour from several angles and produces an adjusted formula that matches how the paint looks now, not how it left the factory. This is especially important for metallics, where the angle the flake reflects light at changes the apparent shade.
The shop then typically:
- Mixes the adjusted formula and sprays a test card (a sprayout), letting it dry and lacquering it so it reads like real paint.
- Holds the card against the car in good light to check the match, tweaking the mix if needed.
- Checks the colour from multiple angles — face-on and at a slant — because metallics and pearls shift with viewing angle.
Only once the sprayout matches does the actual repair get sprayed. This test-before-you-commit step is what prevents a panel ending up a noticeably different shade from the rest of the car.
Blending: why repairs disappear
Even with a measured, tested formula, a small mismatch can be invisible thanks to blending. Rather than spraying the new colour to a hard edge at the panel join, the painter fades it out gradually into the adjacent panel, then lays lacquer over the whole area. Because the transition is gradual and the eye has nothing sharp to catch, any minute difference in shade is lost. Blending is particularly important for:
- Metallics — where flake orientation and density affect how light bounces, so a hard edge would show.
- Pearls and three-stage paints — which have a colour-shift layer and are notoriously hard to match dead-on, making blending essential.
- Faded older paint — where the surrounding panels have drifted from the factory shade.
The table summarises how matching effort scales with colour type.
| Colour type | Matching difficulty | Typical approach |
|---|---|---|
| Solid colour | Most straightforward | Code + measure, often spot repair |
| Metallic | Moderate to tricky | Measure, sprayout, blend into next panel |
| Pearl | Trickier | Sprayout from several angles, blend |
| Three-stage / special | Hardest | Multiple test cards, blend widely |
Indicative guidance only — actual approach depends on the colour and the panel.
What you can do to help the match
A few practical things make a good match more likely. Knowing your paint code in advance speeds things up — it is worth noting it from the door-shut sticker. A clean panel helps the spectrophotometer read accurately, so a wash before the assessment is useful. If your car has heavily faded or has been previously repainted, mention it, because the shop may need to blend more widely to disguise the difference. And accept that on difficult colours — pearls and some metallics — a degree of blending into surrounding panels is normal and is the sign of careful work, not a problem. If a shop offers to spray a single panel to a hard edge on a tricky metallic without blending, it is fair to ask how they will avoid a visible difference. A good bodyshop will explain its matching process, show you a sprayout if asked, and stand behind the result.
It also helps to understand a couple of terms you may hear. A variant or alternative is a factory-approved tweak of the same colour code — manufacturers themselves issue several slightly different versions of one colour because of production differences, and a paint supplier's system will list them so the painter can pick the one closest to your car. A let-down or sprayout panel sprayed in stages lets the painter judge how the metallic looks wet, flashed off and lacquered, since the colour shifts at each stage. None of this guesswork happens on the car itself — it is all settled on test cards first, which is exactly why a measured, tested match is so much more reliable than spraying straight from the code. The whole point of working through codes, variants, spectrophotometer readings and sprayouts is to remove the risk before any paint touches your car, so that when the panel is finally sprayed the result is a foregone conclusion rather than a hopeful guess.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find my car's paint code?
Look for a sticker or plate in the driver's or passenger door shut, under the bonnet on the slam panel, or in the boot near the spare wheel. It usually sits with the VIN, and a bodyshop can also look the colour up from the VIN if the label is missing or unreadable.
Why does the shop measure my car if it has the code?
Because paint fades and varies with age, sun and washing, so two cars with the same code can look slightly different now. A spectrophotometer reads your actual panel and adjusts the formula to match how the paint looks today, not how it left the factory.
Why does a repair sometimes blend into the next panel?
On metallics and pearls, even a near-perfect mix can show against an unblended edge because of how flake and pearl layers reflect light. Fading the colour gradually into the adjacent panel under one coat of lacquer hides any tiny difference, making the repair invisible.
Sources & further reading
Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific car and damage. They are guidance, not a quotation.