How to Find and Use Car Paint Codes

Car paint codes – not the most exciting topic, I’ll grant you, but an important necessity when you’re in need of painting an area of your vehicle, or getting the right match for a Chipex paint chip repair system.

When it comes to paint shades, Chipex and professional sprayers will require the vehicle paint code in order to get a 100% perfect match. You cannot simply ask for a colour because there are so many different shades of it.

The Bentley Mulsanne, for example, has no less than 8 different blacks, 16 silvers, 11 greens and 22 blues. And that’s just a few of their standard choices. Okay, that’s a rather special car, but actually Chipex can match their kits to virtually any vehicle regardless of the fact it is rare or exotic.

So, how do you find your car’s paint code? Firstly, there’s the easy route, using Chipex’s ultra-handy ‘How To Find Your Colour Code‘ page.

Start by using the ‘Option 1’ box, try typing in your car’s registration number. If that doesn’t work, move on to ‘Option 2’ colour-code location guide, which may show you exactly where it is on your car. If you have located it, enter it into the ‘Get My Kit’ box, and it will come up.

If you simply can’t find it anywhere, contact the manufacturer directly, and they’ll be able to help out.

Should you not be able to do this, in order to locate the code, there are a few places it’s normally placed. Firstly, it could be on the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) plate or have its own numbered sticker.

On some cars, this can be seen under the front windscreen. On other cars it is on the A or B pillars on the car, where the door hinges or closes. It is also under the bonnet (front or rear depending on model) of the car, and usually attached as a metal plate onto an obvious flat surface.

The actual paint code on the VIN varies hugely, and it’s not really obvious most of the time. It can be made up of a combination of letters and/or numbers, but sometimes the actual interior trim colour of the car can be in there too, so it’s always best to double-check you have the right one before ordering your paint kit.

As mentioned, sometimes there can also be a separate colour-code sticker, which is found separately. If you’re lucky, it’s in an obvious place like the door jamb, but other times the ‘data’ sticker can be in the front of the service book or stuck to the boot floor under the carpet. A bit random, but an internet search should provide you with the answer if all else fails.

Once you finally have your colour code, and you’re ready to order your Chipex paint repair system, a reminder that Chip offer a 100% colour match guarantee, it’s fast, easy, simple and safe to use, it seals and protects the area from rusting, and enhances your car’s value when it comes to re-selling it.

Written by Chris Davies – an award-winning motoring journalist writing for CarProductsTested.com

Photography:
Photo:By The Car Spy (1996 Porsche 911 993 GT2) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Car colours photo licensed from Envato.