TechnicianVision · Knowledge base
Color Match: Blending And Tinting
I-CAR · April 25, 2025
Summary
This article outlines the complexities of automotive color matching, highlighting the factors that cause color variances and the tools available to address them. It emphasizes that blending and tinting are distinct, non-interchangeable processes, and that technicians must tint to achieve a blendable match when a standard formula does not suffice.
What to do on the job
Address color matching early during the blueprinting process, and always tint to achieve a blendable match rather than using blending to mask an unacceptable color mismatch.
How to use it
Use this document to justify the labor time required for tinting and creating sprayout panels during the blueprinting phase. It serves as authoritative industry consensus (from I-CAR, SCRS, and major paint makers) that blending cannot substitute for tinting, and that tinting to a blendable match is a necessary step when standard formulas do not align.
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