During Custom Match colors are not coming close to the measured sample. Use the check list below to ensure that your system is performing at its very best!Keep your instrument clean!
Never measure WET paint! The smallest smudge of paint inside the measurement port is guaranteed to degrade performance. Inspect this opening often and ensure that it is always kept perfectly clean.
Verify that your paint databases are up to date
Contact our Software Division at 1-800-572-4626 Opt. 4 with your CBO number to verify that your software is up to date.
Calibrate often!
Remove the black plastic cover from your calibration reference plaque. Inspect the white surface. It should be meticulously clean and free from scratches, fingerprints, or any other imperfections. If this surface requires care, clean with a soft, damp cloth. In the worst of cases use a small amount of isopropyl alcohol. A damaged calibration plaque will result in a trip to the repair center.
Care for your dispenser!
This tool too must be in perfect trim if you are to assure good first shot matches. Take the time to inspect each nozzle removing dried paint as required.
Check your colorant levels!
Ensure that you have the right stuff and enough of it to do the job. Check each cylinder. Note that you should take care in filling so that air bubbles are minimized. Suspended air bubbles can cause severe dispensing errors.
Ensure that your colorants are from the same vendor and of the same product description. Colorants from vendor "A" are almost guaranteed to differ from thesame item of vendor "B".
Prepare samples carefully!
Samples should be prepared on a smooth, flat surface. Sample size must be large enough to completely fill the measuring window. Application of the paint must be sufficient to provide for complete hiding. Before measurement the sample must be dried. As noted above, wet paint inside the spectrophotometer is a guaranteed trip to the repair center.
Measure with great care!
Make certain that your sample is properly positioned in the measurement window. The prepared sample MUST completely fill the opening. If even a tiny part is left open the results will be far from satisfactory.
Carefully dry your samples!
Two reasons: [1] we don't want to get paint into the measuring device and [2] wet "looks" different. Do this experiment - - Place a drop of clear water on a tabletop or counter. Notice that the wetted area "looks" darker. Wet pavement looks darker too. The smoother the surface (wet vs. dry) the darker the appearance. If you are trying to match a paint to a fandeck or a customer sample you MUST dry the paint to realize its final color.
Temperature, Humidity and such...
This may be out of your control but it's science none-the-less: hotter surfaces are MORE colorful! Can't be helped it's pure physics and there's a fancy two-dollar word for the effect - "thermochromism". Roughly translated - "Hotter is brighter". This effect is quite strong with some pigments and dyes and rather weak with many others. To be on the safe side... let your sample cool (if you've been force-drying it with a hair-dryer).
Lighting (Illumination)
Color formulation systems can produce recipes to match colors for a variety of different scenarios; daylight, incandescent, and fluorescent for example. If you have asked for an INCANDESCENT match - - make sure your visual appraisal is also done in these conditions. This is a common oversight and the cause for many a (unneeded) remake.
