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White Body color different than bumpers

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by stanleydan, Dec 18, 2009.

  1. stanleydan

    stanleydan New Member

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    Just purchased 2010 Prius (Blizzard) and when we got it home in the sun the next day we noticed a real difference between the paint color on the bumpers vs the body - a little greyer-
    I thought the paint was supposed to look exactly the same on both-even though one is metal the other plastic. Anyone else see this?
     
    #1 stanleydan, Dec 18, 2009
  2. ajc

    ajc Member

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    I have the white and I did not see any difference but I will take a look.
     
    #2 ajc, Dec 18, 2009
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  3. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Mine are a perfect match. If it is real noticable, I would have the dealer take a look and press them to have it fixed.
    Also look in the paint for any rust colored specks. I had a bad case of "rail rust" or "industrial rust". They will be embeded into the paint.
     
    #3 spiderman, Dec 18, 2009
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  4. R2Pre2

    R2Pre2 Feel the Force!

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    There actually is a slight difference in paint color in the Blizzard Pearl between the body and front/rear bumpers. Part of this the material difference of the body and the bumpers. It should not be too noticeable, but is definitely there depending on the lighting conditions.

    R2Pre2 is Blizzard Pearl and have personally seen this very slight difference.
     
    #4 R2Pre2, Dec 19, 2009
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yup. Same effect on our Titanium Metallic (aka silver) Camry and our Tideland Pearl Prius. The Blue Ribbon is probably the one that's hardest to see but the difference is still there. I'd say the Camry's colour difference was the most obvious.
     
    #5 Tideland Prius, Dec 19, 2009
  6. chrisj428

    chrisj428 Active Member

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    Dan,

    I have the same thing with mine. Although, it depends on what viewing angle it's seen under.

    The reason is partially due to materials, but due more to what's called "flop" -- the alignment of the particles which make up the pearl effect itself. The bumpers & door handles (you'll notice the same color differential in the door handles as well) are painted off the vehicle. Subsequently, the "flop", which creates the pearl effect, will give the illusion the colors are mis-matched.

    I have noted, at least on mine, that as I walk around the car, the parts go from not matching to matching, depending on the angle at which they are viewed. It's an unfortunate "artifact" of the pearl process.
     
    #6 chrisj428, Dec 19, 2009
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  7. snowykim

    snowykim New Member

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    This should be same regardless of color or vehicle. You cannot bake plastic or poly urethane bumper to the same heat as your metal body in factory painting process.
     
    #7 snowykim, Dec 19, 2009
  8. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    Same issue with metallic colors, although not as pronounced as pearl finish. And even non-metallic/pearl colors can have a color match issue, since often the bumpers and other small parts are painted on a different line than the main body parts.
     
    #8 stream, Dec 19, 2009
  9. trashcan

    trashcan Junior Member

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    The bumper uses "flex" type of paint and has few more layers than the paint on the metal so there's a little noticiable difference.
     
    #9 trashcan, Dec 20, 2009
  10. Frankblack0503

    Frankblack0503 New Member

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    My doorhandles on my blizzard look darker tinted, depends on the light conditions...
     
    #10 Frankblack0503, Dec 20, 2009
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