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Charger Port Door Color Difference

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by rogerv, Mar 19, 2012.

  1. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    In direct sunlight, the charger port door on my Winter Gray Metallic PiP looks like a different shade of gray paint was used. It doesn't show except with the sun shining directly on that side. Has anyone else noticed this, either on Winter Gray or any other color?
     
    #1 rogerv, Mar 19, 2012
  2. denali

    denali Junior Member

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    Isn't the charge door plastic? Now that you mention it, I noticed it looks a little "off". I thought it was just because it was plastic vs the surrounding metal, but perhaps the coloration isn't an exact match?
     
    #2 denali, Mar 19, 2012
  3. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    I hadn't considered that, and that may be the reason. But that begs the question: if the gas fuel door is metal and painted the same color as the body, why not the charger port door? The rear hatch is also plastic, along with the bumpers, and they all seem to match the body. Thanks for your suggestion.
     
    #3 rogerv, Mar 19, 2012
  4. Allannde

    Allannde Just a Senior

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    My understanding is that the body parts are painted separately and assembled after the paint is dry. Remember that most body parts are painted on both sides and in the cracks where they are joined. It would be almost impossible to have ALL of the paint ABSOLUTELY identical. They actually do a pretty good job of color matching, but perfect? That would be a lot more expensive, and is when it is done. That is one of the reasons that a Lexus, which looks a lot like a Camry, is a lot more expensive.
     
    #4 Allannde, Mar 19, 2012
  5. iRun26.2

    iRun26.2 New Member

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    My 'Clearwater Blue Metalica' tends to look a slightly different color, depending upon how much sunlight is shunning on it. Thus, I would expect the charge port door to look like a slightly different color simply because it is probably always at a little different angle to the sun compared to the body of the car.

    (I guess I just haven't noticed it on my car)
     
    #5 iRun26.2, Mar 19, 2012
  6. fjpod

    fjpod Member

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    The bumpers on my 2010 Prius are a little off from the body in certain light. Colors come up differently on different materials.
     
    #6 fjpod, Mar 19, 2012
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  7. Erikon

    Erikon Active Member

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    I think Kia ran into a similar problem several years ago with the fuel door turning out a very different shade than the body, even though it was the same metal and paint. If I remember correctly it turned out that while the body was painted from front to back on its way through the paint booth, the fuel doors were painted from top to bottom on a seperate run! Apparently the "grain" of certain paint formulations can cause that off look, and just reorienting the doors as they went through the paint process fixed it!
     
    #7 Erikon, Mar 19, 2012
  8. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    This was a problem when the Gen III first came out, everyone was saying how their bumpers looked a different color than the psint on the body. If the door is plastic that could be a cause... I'll have to take a look at mine and see if it also different.
     
    #8 Paradox, Mar 20, 2012
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  9. lensovet

    lensovet former BP Brigade 207

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    #9 lensovet, Mar 20, 2012
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  10. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    Yep, I see that now too. I wonder if a supplier was involved in painting the charger port doors rather than having them painted with the car.
     
    #10 rogerv, Mar 20, 2012
  11. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    You can see in the factory photos that the body's painted separately from everything else - the fenders, doors, hatch and hood are all painted separately, as far as I can tell.
     
    #11 Rebound, Mar 20, 2012
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