Paint mismatch on rear bumper?

[APBonABP]

Hi all,

Picked up an Apex Blue Pearl Type S about a month ago now, and for all the reasons I'm sure everybody's gone over here before, it's an amazing car. However while washing, I noticed that the rear bumper seems slightly mismatched from the rest of the vehicle. I've asked a few people and the responses have been mixed on whether they notice it.

I should note that to me, it appears in most lighting conditions and on both sides of the vehicle in the same location (where the bumper meets the rear quarter panel).

Edit: I also know that some difference is expected as bumpers are typically plastic and the rest of the vehicle is generally metal, but I don't see nearly as much of a discrepancy between the front bumper and the front quarter panel.

Does the paint look mismatched? Has anyone noticed this on their own vehicle? Would there be any recourse to get it corrected if it is out-of-spec?

Appreciate any insight anyone can lend - thanks!

Sponsored

 

[whtciv2k]

This is pretty common. Can normally see it on white or silver cars most commonly. This usually has to do with the surface that’s being painted. If you look carefully, the front bumper will also look a little off. No worries tho, as this is normal

 

[optronix]

The bumpers are painted separately from the rest of the car. It's kind of luck of the draw, as the factory isn't hermetically sealed and conditions inside the factory can vary on a day-to-day basis. My car for example is great, all panels match well. I've seen others though that weren't so lucky. It is more apparent on light-colored cars; although Tiger Eye has some pretty egregious examples people have posted online.

Savagegeese's initial review goes into the assembly process. They do show the factory very favorably with the quality control built in to the process, but clearly there is still room for improvement.

 

[APBonABP]

This is pretty common. Can normally see it on white or silver cars most commonly. This usually has to do with the surface that’s being painted. If you look carefully, the front bumper will also look a little off. No worries tho, as this is normal

Thanks! I should have included in my original post (I did edit it now to add) that I know it won't be perfect on any car, but the rear bumper is definitely far worse than the front. I can't tell the front is different unless I'm really scrutinizing it (which has generally been my experience with other cars) but the rear I can tell from some distance that it's different.

The bumpers are painted separately from the rest of the car. It's kind of luck of the draw, as the factory isn't hermetically sealed and conditions inside the factory can vary on a day-to-day basis. My car for example is great, all panels match well. I've seen others though that weren't so lucky. It is more apparent on light-colored cars; although Tiger Eye has some pretty egregious examples people have posted online.

Savagegeese's initial review goes into the assembly process. They do show the factory very favorably with the quality control built in to the process, but clearly there is still room for improvement.

Excellent video, thank you! I think this is definitely the worst I've seen on a car I've owned, and I had a Tesla in the past so I'm familiar with shall we say... variable... quality control, lol. That said, any chance for correction, or should I learn some new OCD coping skills?

 

[Mr. LargeCoffee]

Unfortunately, as other posters mentioned, it’s pretty common. Mazda has a color called Soul Red, I’ve seen a bunch of Miata’s at club meets where the match isn’t even close. Not a color I’d pick for that reason.

I did want the blue when I was buying the car but the nearest one with a black interior was over 150 miles away. Went with the LCM and the bumper color match seems good. I purchased the splash guards and the color match is good on those too.

 

[optronix]

Thanks! I should have included in my original post (I did edit it now to add) that I know it won't be perfect on any car, but the rear bumper is definitely far worse than the front. I can't tell the front is different unless I'm really scrutinizing it (which has generally been my experience with other cars) but the rear I can tell from some distance that it's different.




Excellent video, thank you! I think this is definitely the worst I've seen on a car I've owned, and I had a Tesla in the past so I'm familiar with shall we say... variable... quality control, lol. That said, any chance for correction, or should I learn some new OCD coping skills?

Yeah unfortunately short of a respray there isn't much to be done. The only thing I'll tell you is I had to really squint to see any different in the images you shared, it is far less noticeable on the darker colors, but as you imply a heavy dose of copium is pretty much your only available treatment. Not to try to suggest it's "all in your head", but chances are 99+% of other people won't notice anything and think the car is gorgeous.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Yeah unfortunately short of a respray there isn't much to be done. The only thing I'll tell you is I had to really squint to see any different in the images you shared, it is far less noticeable on the darker colors, but as you imply a heavy dose of copium is pretty much your only available treatment. Not to try to suggest it's "all in your head", but chances are 99+% of other people won't notice anything and think the car is gorgeous.

I believe what I've learned is "what you notice about your car in the first 5 min of owning is what everyone else will notice about it for the rest of your ownership".

On one front quarter of my car, I can count 6 different reds... Calipers, mirror, door, fender, hood, and front bumper... All slightly to very different. My wife can't see it, even as I point it out .

At least it's not as bad as a Tacoma or highlander... Their bumpers look like horrendous orange peel that on a black vehicle almost looks matte black. It would drive me mad, but no one I know that owns a Tacoma even notices...

 

[APBonABP]

Unfortunately, as other posters mentioned, it’s pretty common. Mazda has a color called Soul Red, I’ve seen a bunch of Miata’s at club meets where the match isn’t even close. Not a color I’d pick for that reason.

I did want the blue when I was buying the car but the nearest one with a black interior was over 150 miles away. Went with the LCM and the bumper color match seems good. I purchased the splash guards and the color match is good on those too.

Funnily enough, I was originally looking for a blue/orchid combo, but they were all pretty far away - I've ended up really loving the black interior, though, especially as it's a nice contrast to my other car with a lighter interior. Also glad for the note on Soul Red because I always told myself if (maybe that's "when") I get a Miata, that's the color I'd choose, so maybe now I'd look at Machine Gray instead (or that sand-y color).

Yeah unfortunately short of a respray there isn't much to be done. The only thing I'll tell you is I had to really squint to see any different in the images you shared, it is far less noticeable on the darker colors, but as you imply a heavy dose of copium is pretty much your only available treatment. Not to try to suggest it's "all in your head", but chances are 99+% of other people won't notice anything and think the car is gorgeous.

I believe what I've learned is "what you notice about your car in the first 5 min of owning is what everyone else will notice about it for the rest of your ownership".

On one front quarter of my car, I can count 6 different reds... Calipers, mirror, door, fender, hood, and front bumper... All slightly to very different. My wife can't see it, even as I point it out .

At least it's not as bad as a Tacoma or highlander... Their bumpers look like horrendous orange peel that on a black vehicle almost looks matte black. It would drive me mad, but no one I know that owns a Tacoma even notices...

I think these are fair takes. Although the picture doesn't seem to show it quite as much as I feel I notice it, I've definitely asked a few people in person and their response has been pretty mixed on whether they see it, leaning more to the side of "I didn't notice it until you mentioned it, but now I do a little bit".

Glad it doesn't seem overwhelmingly noticeable/bad, and a big thanks to everyone for sharing, I appreciate the input!

 

[STi from DSM]

Its funny when you post a pic that like that some folks can see it right away and some really not so much. I could notice the difference. I wanted Apex Blue but the one I got was Liquid Carbon as it had been at my dealer for a decent amount of time with several other examples selling and this one just sitting there. (They had every color pass through the dealership, 1 Red, 1 Blue, 1 Silver, 1 White, 1 Black and there were only 2 of them left from the original 7 that they had. 1 Silver and my LCM). I like the LCM, it looks good in the sun and has a nice toned down quality about it. My old car was so flashy that I wanted something that would blend in a bit.

 

[s219]

Don't look too close at the paintwork on the ITS if you want to enjoy the car. I've never owned a vehicle with so many different paint flaws combined together. It's like they wanted to make a tutorial on paint defects for a training course or something.

I have noticed subtle mismatches in paint color on most of the ITS palette, and for sure it varies from car to car and also with lighting. I would say it's typical though. Ironically, though my Apex Blue ITS had assorted paint issues, color match was not one of them. It was pretty good in that regard, with only a very minor difference in color on the bumpers and mirrors. Texture was another story though -- orange peel was very inconsistent from panel to panel.

@APBonABP , I'm curious, you talk about a mismatch between the rear bumper and quarter panels, but what about between the rear bumper, wheel arch trim, and quarter panel? The wheel arch trim is also plastic and painted separately just like the bumper, so having that part right there against both the bumper and quarter panel should provide a good comparison of the three paint applications. What's your take when comparing those three different panels?

I don't notice anything drastic in your photo, certainly not out of the ordinary based on my experience with an Apex Blue ITS. It looks OK to me.

Re: Mazda Soul Red Crystal, I had a 2023 Miata with that color, and it's amazing. It's a very complex multi-stage color, and hard to color match if any paintwork/repair ever needs to be done to the car by a body shop. But at least on my car, the factory paint match across panels was remarkably good. Even the accessory trunk spoiler, which I installed myself later on, was a darn near perfect match to the factory paint on the car.

Years earlier, Mazda offered an older Soul Red color (minus the "Crystal" suffix) which had slightly less glow to it, and to me that didn't have as good a color match across panels from the factory. Most people don't realize there have been two variations of the color, but I saw one of each with older/newer Miata NDs parked side by side, and the newer Crystal variant really pops a lot more in sunlight. Makes the older color look dull.

 

[APBonABP]

Its funny when you post a pic that like that some folks can see it right away and some really not so much. I could notice the difference. I wanted Apex Blue but the one I got was Liquid Carbon as it had been at my dealer for a decent amount of time with several other examples selling and this one just sitting there. (They had every color pass through the dealership, 1 Red, 1 Blue, 1 Silver, 1 White, 1 Black and there were only 2 of them left from the original 7 that they had. 1 Silver and my LCM). I like the LCM, it looks good in the sun and has a nice toned down quality about it. My old car was so flashy that I wanted something that would blend in a bit.

So I think viewing devices and interoperability are definitely playing a role - when posted here and converted to .webp, the picture seems to lose a lot of the dynamic range that makes it much more obvious when I view the original on my phone or laptop. Reality I'd say lies somewhere in between; it's not quite as obvious as it looks on my phone, but it's more obvious than I'd say the pictures here let on.

All of my previous cars have been fairly neutral colors (white, beige, white, gray, and black) so this is definitely "flashy" for me, but I do think it's a great color with all of the fine details and angles and curves on the ITS.

Don't look too close at the paintwork on the ITS if you want to enjoy the car. I've never owned a vehicle with so many different paint flaws combined together. It's like they wanted to make a tutorial on paint defects for a training course or something.

I have noticed subtle mismatches in paint color on most of the ITS palette, and for sure it varies from car to car and also with lighting. I would say it's typical though. Ironically, though my Apex Blue ITS had assorted paint issues, color match was not one of them. It was pretty good in that regard, with only a very minor difference in color on the bumpers and mirrors. Texture was another story though -- orange peel was very inconsistent from panel to panel.

@APBonABP , I'm curious, you talk about a mismatch between the rear bumper and quarter panels, but what about between the rear bumper, wheel arch trim, and quarter panel? The wheel arch trim is also plastic and painted separately just like the bumper, so having that part right there against both the bumper and quarter panel should provide a good comparison of the three paint applications. What's your take when comparing those three different panels?

I don't notice anything drastic in your photo, certainly not out of the ordinary based on my experience with an Apex Blue ITS. It looks OK to me.

Re: Mazda Soul Red Crystal, I had a 2023 Miata with that color, and it's amazing. It's a very complex multi-stage color, and hard to color match if any paintwork/repair ever needs to be done to the car by a body shop. But at least on my car, the factory paint match across panels was remarkably good. Even the accessory trunk spoiler, which I installed myself later on, was a darn near perfect match to the factory paint on the car.

Years earlier, Mazda offered an older Soul Red color (minus the "Crystal" suffix) which had slightly less glow to it, and to me that didn't have as good a color match across panels from the factory. Most people don't realize there have been two variations of the color, but I saw one of each with older/newer Miata NDs parked side by side, and the newer Crystal variant really pops a lot more in sunlight. Makes the older color look dull.

I think this is what I find interesting - the fender flares, doors, and side sills (which I believe are also plastic) are all very consistent with one-another on both sides of the car. It really looks like the rear bumper alone is its own color. The hatch appears to pretty closely match the bumper, though, and I don't see much obvious difference between the hatch and quarter panels like I'd expect if the hatch was the same color as the bumper.

Re: Soul Red - I think Mazda used a technique similar to one Lexus developed for the 4th-generation LS to create the color; I recall both touting at various times that they'd developed a robotic painting method that was intended to emulate human brushwork and the results definitely speak for themselves (on both vehicles, really).



In all, it definitely won't stop me from enjoying the car and it's certainly my favorite ever by a long mile. I only have one issue that actually affects driving, and even that one's fairly minor in the scheme of things.

 

[NoelPR]

All I see is different angles that produce different shades of blue.

The camera position doesn't help at all.

It should positioned in a way that two different surfaces have the same angle to the source of light (sun).

Sponsored