1998 Mountaineer Front Bumper Paint

[Mountaineer302]

We have a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer that has low miles and is in pretty nice shape. One of the few cosmetic issues is the front bumper. I have a paint code, but it is for the Pacific Green. How do I determine what the code is for the gray for the front bumper? I would post a picture of ours, but don't see any way to upload a picture.

 

[Harpua216]

there are 2 codes on the door, on for Body and one for Trim I believe. look at your manufacturing sticker on the drivers side door. they are listed in the middle (towards the bottom) of the sticker.

 

[J_C]

You can upload a pic to a site like http://www.imgur.com and then copy the link from that site and paste into the "image" icon above the text posting box.

 

[Mountaineer302]

I found two codes for paint. It looks like PS Pacific Green and RC Medium Platinum. Is the medium platinum correct for the bumpers or just for the lower body paint?

 

[Mountaineer302]

Ours is identical to this brochure photo.

 

[Harpua216]

i think they usually match. do you have an auto-paint store close by? they would have the knowledge and the paint you need.

 

[J_C]

From all pictures I've seen, the lower 1/4 body paint, bumper paint, running board step, and door bumper guard trim are all the same color. I assume the bumper is also clearcoated, but don't know it as fact. Either way, new paint may not exact match the original on an 18 yo vehicle.

 

[Mountaineer302]

I'm not convinced the bumpers are the exact same color as the lower body paint. I think they are more satin and less metallic. I also do not think they are clear coated. The look more similar to the trim. I also do not know if an auto paint supply store is going to know for sure. I may have to ask the dealer.

 

[J_C]

^ I am not a paint expert, especially not robotic paint application at a car factory, but am led to believe there are a lot of factors that determine the visual color and sheen of the same paint on different surfaces such as whether it was the same batch of paint, humidity, static on plastic surfaces, texture of the plastic, rate at which the paint can be applied, distance of application around sharp curved areas, etc. This is especially true with metallic paint.

More to the point, why would they deliberately make a color very similar yet try to make it any different like it's not a perfect match? That's not what I see on the many different '98 Mountaineer pictures I found online. At most I would suspect that they put some fortifying agent in the paint on bumpers, trying to make it more chip resistant, or a different primer that works better on plastic.

Paint shops can make up test cards for their mix and then they or you can hold them against the vehicle and decide which to go with.

 

[Mountaineer302]

That's a very good point. It is possible that it is the same. It looks significantly lighter.