Can we talk about the customer who wanted a perfect match on a 15-year-old single-stage red?

This guy brought his 2008 Ford Ranger into my shop in Springfield last month, and he was absolutely set on a flawless color match for the bed side. The paint was original, sun-faded, and he'd refused a blend onto the door. I spent maybe 4 hours mixing and spraying test cards, getting it as close as humanly possible under the shop lights. When I showed him the finished work, he looked at it for a solid minute and said, 'It's still off. I can see it.' Under the midday sun, maybe, but in the bay? It was a 95% match. That moment just stuck with me. How do you even have that conversation without sounding like you're making excuses? Has anyone else had a client who just wouldn't accept the limits of matching aged paint?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tessa3d ago

Man, @pat_fisher24 is right, reminds me of a lady who brought in a single tile from her 70s bathroom.

the_elizabeth3d ago

Oh my god, the single tile thing is so real. I had a guy bring in a chipped piece of linoleum from his kitchen floor, like a 2-inch scrap, and got mad when we couldn't magic up a full box from 1985. The stuff just doesn't exist anymore!

pat_fisher243d ago

Honestly some people just can't accept that a perfect match on old paint is literally impossible.