Vent: I lost a full day and $400 on a paint job because I trusted a cheap digital color reader

I had a 2017 Civic in for a quarter panel repair and figured I'd save time by using a budget color scanner I bought online for $150. It gave me a formula, I mixed it, and the match was way off, a full shade too green. Had to strip it, block it, and start over after getting the proper code from the dealer. That scanner is now in the trash. Has anyone else been burned by a tool that promised to make life easier but just cost you more?

3 comments

3 Comments

alexlewis1mo ago

Tossed mine in the trash too after it gave me a color that looked like baby poop on a silver bumper. I ended up switching to using paint code lookup apps on my phone and then just buying a formula book from the paint supplier. Honestly, those cheap readers can't account for how light hits the panel or how much the clear coat affects things. They just read a tiny spot and guess the rest, which is useless on metallic flake. Now I only trust my eye and the factory code, even if it takes a little longer to dig up the right data. Sucks to learn the hard way but you'll never rely on a gadget again after wasting that kind of time and money.

sandra7152mo ago

Yeah, river182 is right about those cheap tools. I mean, it feels like everything is like that now, you buy the shortcut and it just makes the job longer.

river1822mo ago

Was it one of those generic bluetooth ones? Those things are basically toys for hobbyists. The good scanners need a direct connection and cost way more than 150 bucks. You paid the real price in labor and materials.