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Remember when we used to mix paint by eye at the shop?
I was at a big trade show in Chicago back in 2018. Saw a demo for a new color matching camera system. The rep scanned a fender and the computer gave a formula down to a tenth of a gram. We used to spend an hour tweaking a quart of basecoat. Now my mix is right in under five minutes. Miss the old craft sometimes, but you can't argue with the accuracy. Anyone else make the switch to these digital systems, and do you still keep a tint bank for touch-ups?
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terry_wood515mo ago
A tenth of a gram is pushing it. Most of our scales at the shop only read to half a gram. The system is crazy accurate though. We still keep the tint bank for small jobs the camera can't read.
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the_piper5mo ago
Yeah, it's like everything got that same treatment. My dad used to adjust our old TV antenna by hand for a clear picture, now the smart TV just finds the signal itself. The new way is better, no question, but it takes a piece of the skill out of your hands. We still keep a few basic tints for the weird stuff the scanner glitches on, but it feels more like a backup plan than real know-how.
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the_max5mo ago
@terry_wood51 that half gram thing is real. We had to swap our old scales for ones that read to a tenth just to keep up with the system. But like @the_piper said, the new way takes the guesswork out. We still keep a tint bank for the weird metallic flake jobs. The scanners hate those. Makes me feel like I still know what I'm doing when I have to mix by eye for a tricky Honda pearl.
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