What is the difference between a generic paint and professionally matched paint? I need paint code 904 midnight blue and I found midnight blue here: http://www.paintforcars.com/aep_midnightblue.html which is significantly cheaper than the professionally matched paint here: http://www.automotivetouchup.com/auto_paint.asp which also requires clearcoat. Any opinions?

I do not have experience with auto paints but do have extensive experience with other types of painting.

In my inexperienced opinion as long as the paints are of the same quality the color matching is not a factor in the real world. At best they are matching the paint when it is brand new and even this is being done by a standard formula. They are not matching what your paint looks like today after being exposed to years of weather. And even when new dye lot/batch difference can be noticeable to the professional eye.

If you are buying for touchup then I would lean towards someone who has more experience matching the factory formula. But for whole panel repainting you are going to have to custom mix the paint anyway to get it to match the rest of the vehicle. If you are doing a complete repaint then it doesn't matter anyway.

On top of the change of color from weathering, there are variances that occur online.

Color matching is not as an exacting science as people would like it to be. There are variance color chips made for each car based on process variation. If you are critical about the color, use a store where they can assist you with this.

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