So, you’ve decided you want to change up the look of your ride with a new color. You have something unique in mind, so original that you’ve never seen anything like it on your type of car. But how do you know if it’s going to look right before you dive deep into an expensive color change? After all, a color chip in a paint book (or worse, a picture from the internet) is hardly the most accurate prediction of what may be.
I’ve struggled with this very question myself as I hunt for a more original color to repaint my daily driver. The problem is the car is an older Porsche Boxster – and it’s silver. But not the ubiquitous Arctic Silver that was applied to seemingly half of all Boxsters of that era. Mine is the considerably less common and decidedly warmer shade called Meridian. But to most people, it’s still just another silver Boxster.
I was searching Porsche’s historical color offerings for something more original to combine with an interior overhaul. With a new upholstery fabric already in mind, I was looking at moody blues to compliment it. I came across Graphite Blue, a muted hue that is at once blue and gray, as its name suggests. But every picture of a vehicle painted that color looked different from each other.
Surprised to see the color available in Eastwood’s OEM Select lineup of factory-matched automotive paints, I ordered a can. My plan was to spray out the color (Porsche paint code M5G) to see it in real life. A single aerosol can would suffice for the test, but it took three different sprayouts to truly envision the project.
Here’s what I did:
Sample 1 – Test Card
As we recently examined, paint spray test cards (also known as Leneta cards) are a great way to confirm color. I sprayed out the Graphite Blue paint on a fresh test card and let it dry before applying clear coat. Once dry, I was able to walk the card outside and see it in natural light.
From some angles a hint of blue was evident, but overwhelmingly it just looked like dark gray primer. It was tough to process the color from such a close range, holding the card only an arm’s length away. Taping the card to different panels and looking from other angles helped a bit, but just barely. To be honest, I wasn’t sold on the color based on the first sprayout.
Sample 2 – Speed Shape
What I really wanted to see (and couldn’t with the card alone) was how the color played across different surfaces. Paint shops often use “speed shapes” to produce more accurate sprayout samples. Often available either in molded plastic or stamped metal, speed shapes typically resemble a generalized car body with multiple contours.
These unique forms allow you to experience the full spectrum of a paint color from highlights to shadows. After spraying out the second test on a steel speed shape, Graphite Blue started to grow on me a bit. But I still wanted to see a more accurate depiction.
Sample 3 – Scale Model
Shortly after buying the Boxster a couple years ago, I picked up a cheap die-cast model of one for my bookshelf. I was standing in line at CVS to pick up a prescription when I saw it there for seven bucks. For that price, why not, right? I originally had no plans of stripping it down and refinishing it, but now it seemed I had to.
With a tiny Philips screwdriver in hand, I disassembled the 1/24-scale replica and stripped it down to bare metal. After allowing a coat of aerosol epoxy primer to dry overnight, I changed the once red toy to Graphite Blue. A couple coats of Diamond Clear added a bit of depth and shine.
The following day, now fully dried and reassembled, I walked the gray-blue Boxster miniature out to the parking lot. This was exactly the tool I needed to be convinced. I now had the full picture in front of me, and I liked what I saw. I had my new color and I was happy not to have given up after the first sprayout.
Of course, not every custom color decision needs to be this complicated. What I discovered was each of these three tools – test card, speed shape, model – offers different degrees of information. The more complicated the color or vehicle shape, the more information may be required. But it’s worth exploring every option at your disposal before spending big on custom paint.