Colour codes
How to match your car's paint colour
Your colour code gets you most of the way, but not always all of it. How to read the code plate, why matching by eye goes wrong, and when it's worth bringing in a panel for us to match.
FT Paints
· 6 min read
There are two ways to match a car's paint: by code, using the colour the manufacturer painted it at the factory, or by sample, matching the paint that's on the car today. The code is quicker and works for most repairs. A sample is the better choice when the paint on the car no longer looks like it did when it left the factory.
Step 1: Find and read the code plate
Every car is painted to a manufacturer colour code, and it's printed somewhere on the car. The usual places are:
- Driver's door pillar (B-pillar). Open the front door and check the sticker or plate on the body, between the front and rear doors. Most Japanese and Korean makes, and many others, put it here.
- Under the bonnet. On the slam panel at the front, on top of a suspension turret, or on the bulkhead at the back of the engine bay.
- In the boot. The Volkswagen Group (Audi, VW, SEAT, Skoda and Cupra) prints it on a data sticker in the spare wheel well.
- In the service book. Some makes stick a copy of the data sticker inside the front cover.
We have step-by-step guides for the makes people ask about most: Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Vauxhall, Nissan, Honda and Kia. The rest are in our colour code guides.
Plates are full of other codes: the VIN, engine and gearbox codes, the trim or upholstery code and, on some makes, a long list of option codes. The paint code is usually labelled PAINT, COLOUR, C/TR or LACK, and is often only two to five characters long. If there are two codes on the same line, the first is normally the body colour and the second the interior trim.
Step 2: Match by code
With the code in hand, open your make on our vehicle colour codes page, for example Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota or Mercedes-Benz, and search for it. Each colour's page shows the name, finish and years it was used, and lets you order it as a touch-up bottle, aerosol or tin.
Always search by the code, not the colour name. Manufacturers reuse names across different codes and different years. Ford's Frozen White, for example, appears under more than one code in our Ford colour list, and they aren't the same mix. The years shown against each code help you pick the right one for your car.
Matching by code gives you the colour as the factory specified it. On a car that's a few years old and has been kept out of the sun, that is usually a close match straight from the tin.
Why matching by eye goes wrong
Picking a colour by holding a chart up to the car, or choosing "the silver that looks closest" online, is the least reliable way to match paint. Common problems:
- Screens and printed charts aren't accurate. A swatch on a phone or a printed card can't show the true colour, and it definitely can't show metallic or pearl effects.
- Metallics change with the angle. A silver or grey can look right face-on and noticeably darker or lighter from the side. This is called flop, and you only see it on the car.
- Wet paint isn't the finished colour. Basecoat looks different wet, dry and under lacquer. Judge the colour once it's lacquered and dry.
- The light is lying to you. Garage strip lights, streetlights and dull evenings all shift how a colour looks. Check in daylight, ideally outdoors on a bright but overcast day.
If you want to check a colour before painting the car, spray a test card or a scrap of metal with basecoat and lacquer, let it dry, and hold it against the panel in daylight.
When the code isn't enough
The code tells you what colour the car was when it was built. Several things can mean it isn't that colour now:
- Fading. Years of sunlight fade paint, especially reds, and solid colours without lacquer. Paint mixed to the factory code will be brighter than the faded panel next to it.
- Colour variants. Manufacturers use more than one paint supplier and factory, so a single code can come out slightly lighter, darker or coarser from car to car. Paint mixing systems keep several variants of popular codes for this reason.
- Previous resprays. If a panel has been repainted, it may not match the code at all, and it may not match the rest of the car either.
- Plastic parts. Bumpers and mirror caps are often painted separately from the body and can be a slightly different shade from the start.
On any of these, even a perfect mix of the code won't sit right against the old paint. That's when it's worth matching to a sample.
Step 3: When to bring in a sample panel
Bring in a sample if the car is more than about ten years old or has obviously faded, if a panel has been resprayed, if you can't find the code, or if you're painting a large area next to original paint and want the closest possible match.
- Best sample: the fuel filler flap. It's usually easy to unclip or unbolt, it's painted with the body, and it has been in the same light as the panels around it.
- Other good samples: a door mirror cap, a small trim panel, or anything painted in the body colour that comes off without tools.
- Clean it first. Wash off road dirt and polish the flap lightly so we're matching the paint, not the grime on top of it.
- Bring the code too, if you have it. It gives us the starting point, and we can adjust the mix from there.
At the counter we mix to the code, spray a test card where the colour has variants, and check it against your part before filling. We keep a record of what we mixed, so if you come back for a second panel months later, it will match the first. Our paint mixing service page has more detail on how it works.
Blend in, don't paint up to a line
However good the match, fresh paint butted up against old paint on the same panel will usually show. Painters fade the new colour out into the surrounding paint, and on metallics often into the next panel too, then lacquer the whole panel. The eye doesn't notice a small difference that fades in gradually, but it will pick out a hard edge straight away.
Not sure how much paint to order, or whether you need a bottle, an aerosol or a tin? Our guide to touch-up vs aerosol vs full respray covers it.
Ready to find your colour?
Start with your make on our vehicle colour codes page and search for the code from your plate. If the code's missing or the car has faded, pop into a branch with a fuel flap and we'll match it for you.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I match car paint from my registration number?
- Not directly on our site, but a main dealer's parts department can find your paint code from the registration or VIN. Once you have the code, look it up on our vehicle colour codes page.
- Will paint mixed to my colour code match exactly?
- On a newer car with original paint it's usually a close match, especially once blended into the surrounding paint. Older cars fade and some codes have several factory variants, so for those, bring in a fuel flap or small part and we'll match to it.
- What part should I bring in for paint matching?
- The fuel filler flap is ideal: it's easy to remove and painted with the body. A mirror cap or small body-coloured trim piece also works. Clean it first so we're matching the paint, not the dirt.
- Can I match car paint by the colour name?
- It's not reliable. Manufacturers reuse colour names across different codes and years, so the same name can be more than one colour. Always search by the code from your car's code plate.
- Why doesn't my new paint match the old paint?
- Usually because the old paint has faded, the panel was resprayed, or the colour is one of several factory variants. Blending the new paint into the surrounding panel hides small differences. For bigger differences, match to a sample part instead of the code.
