JimMueller

iTrader: (9)

The car is a '98 NBM Z28 w/ RS package installed at the factory. I was in a rear end accident last November. Because the clear coat is fading on the spoiler and it has some other minor damage to be touched up, I wanted to add money to the insurance payment and have it all re-painted. But I don't really want to take the time to paint the engine bay, door jambs and other areas which perhaps wouldn't be noticeable.

I don't really like the purple color change in the NBM factory paint, if it was just the metallic blue I see at night under a spotlight I'd keep it. Since it's getting re-painted, I want to lose the purple color, but I don't want to get into a complete re-paint due to trime and cost. Perhaps I can avoid painting the engine bay, door jambs and other low profile areas if the replacement color is close enough? I'm going to drive around to dealerships today to look at some other factory colors, such as:

Chevy Imperial Blue Metallic
Chevy Lemans Blue
Chevy Electron Blue
Ford Kona Blue
Lexua Indigo Ink Pearl
Ford Sonic Blue Pearl

Basically looking for a deep, rich navy blue metallic. I don't want a color change and I don't want it to look black in low lighting. It should blend well with the existing paint in the engine bay, door jambs, etc. I also thought of maybe fading the paint to black where it nears the exterior rear view mirrors, which are also black, instead of the factory transition.

Suggestions on which colors might come close to meeting those criteria? It's not a show car, but I'd like the paint job to not be any worse than it was from the factory. I was told I should look for front/rear bumpers which were never in an accident before, as repainting over the spider webbing in the current bumpers will cause it to spider web again with very minor pressure against the body panels. Because it's the RS package, the factory used to offer templates to add the rocker panels to the normal panels, but the front template is no longer available. The RS parts are fine, it's just the fenders themselves which are damaged.

Anything else I should consider during this process?

JimMueller

iTrader: (9)

All the cars I looked at were sitting outside, so they had at least a bit of dust I liked the IMB. I thought the Ford Kona Blue had too much purple and not as metallic. Lexus Deep Sea Mica was close, but not as metallic. I also saw a used '08 Lexus GS350 whose color was merely listed as 'blue'. It would seem that color is called Black Sapphire Pearl; it was a bit too dark but otherwise OK. Chevy's Blue Topaz Metallic looked nice but the blue was too light.

Can you buy factory paint or must you custom mix it? If you can buy it, what quantity would I need to repaint the entire vehicle?
The other colors I didn't get to see today.

Edit: Porsche Lapis or Metallic Blue might look nice too.