Color difference flaw Mustang S650

[S650 GT]

There is a color difference on some panels on the new S650.

You can notice this flaw very well when comparing the color of front bumper with the hood.

The first time noticing this was a few months ago, when the European Yellow Splash was presented in Belgium and later on was sent to Germany as a show model.

The Belgium Mustang collector said that the reason of color difference is that the front bumper is made out of a different plastic, and the hood is made out of metal. That makes the same color look differently when painting it on different material.

He also stated that Ford will fix this issue for production cars.

Well, unfortunately it is not fixed and people with especially bright colors like Grabber Blue and Yellow Splash will notice this the most.

At first, I thought it could be the lights/shade/sun etc. make this look like a color difference on the picture, but after seeing more vehicles like that, it is not an optical illusion.

I was thinking of going with Race Red, but after this I think Vapor Blue is the more safe color.

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[93-Oct Mayne]

I can see it on the yellow car, but that's a negative on the grabber blue

 

[S650 GT]

I can see it on the yellow car, but that's a negative on the grabber blue

That's why Ford did not fix it and allowed this "small" flaw. Because not everybody sees the difference.

 

[Jrws1014]

That's why Ford did not fix it and allowed this "small" flaw. Because not everybody sees the difference.

As someone who ran a paint company it also can be caused by different paint batches. All the parts should have a primer that the paint adheres to so the underlying material would have little to do with mismatched color beyond a mixing of batches or poor quality from the application (not equal layers)

 

[RJV15]

IDK if its a color flaw. Most bumpers dont 100% the body color. Its only obvious in certain lighting conditions and colors

 

[JAM486HP]

Could be lighting condition, body contours in those photos. If it is a flaw we will find out real soon here, I highly doubt it.

 

[Carter1776]

There is a color difference on some panels on the new S650.

You can notice this flaw very well when comparing the color of front bumper with the hood.

The first time noticing this was a few months ago, when the European Yellow Splash was presented in Belgium and later on was sent to Germany as a show model.

The Belgium Mustang collector said that the reason of color difference is that the front bumper is made out of a different plastic, and the hood is made out of metal. That makes the same color look differently when painting it on different material.

He also stated that Ford will fix this issue for production cars.

Well, unfortunately it is not fixed and people with especially bright colors like Grabber Blue and Yellow Splash will notice this the most.

At first, I thought it could be the lights/shade/sun etc. make this look like a color difference on the picture, but after seeing more vehicles like that, it is not an optical illusion.

I was thinking of going with Race Red, but after this I think Vapor Blue is the more safe color.

Unfortunately, there isn't anything they can do for it, I work at a Honda assembly plant where the Civic Hatch and CRV are made, in the Paint/Plastics Department. The reason I say this is because we have the same exact "issue" on our cars, especially the White and Dark Grey. The paint for the bumpers is a water-based paint whereas the body paint is a solvent-based paint. Thats where the discrepancy lies. It's kind of an industry standard for painting plastic with water based and using a completely different type of clear coat on plastic as well. If they were to use the same for both, they'd have bonding issues.

I can see it on the yellow car, but that's a negative on the grabber blue

If the grabber blue was inside at a mid-light level, it would be really easy to see it.

 

[CaesarX]

this is a well known problem, not only in Mustangs... also happened in previous generation

 

[Ericc B]

I saw the yellow GT in Belgium as well in real life and I can confirm that the color difference between the hood and the front bumper was massive. At the time I thought is was just due to it being a prototype that had perhaps been through a manual partial respray.

My guess would be that it has to do with the fact that Yellow Splash is a metallic. Metallics are much harder to match between different materials than solids. I have owned two different 2016's in Triple Yellow which is a solid paint and their match between painted plastics and metals was excellent.

 

[Skye]

S550s can suffer from the same issue. While nothing new, there is no fix. Nothing to fix. Kind of the nature of the beast. Along with types of paints and materials being used, the use of metallics like flakes in colors makes it still more difficult to match.

For original S550 production models, it has not been much of an problem. For accident repairs and getting these pieces re-sprayed, that's when the issue most often identifies itself. From the threads and pics I've seen, it's best to seek someone who is good not only at painting the factory hue, but paint matching as well.

Edit: Depending on what conditions you drive in, how often you drive, might be a good time to consider PPF on the front-facing sections of the car, rocker panels, wheel well lips. Areas most frequented by rock strikes. I can't say how many paint chips I would have had, but I've taken six strikes (seen by marks left on surface) in the last year, one of which left a bit of the road debris embedded in the PPF itself. Contributing factors: 1) winter sand/debris leftovers, 2) aged (sh!##y) roads, 3) construction equipment (a lot), shedding hauled materials in what appears to be greater amounts than what they deliver.

 

[young at heart]

this is a well known problem, not only in Mustangs... also happened in previous generation

It‘s older than that, going back to the late ‘60s when Pontiac put the Endura bumper on the GTO. You just got used to it, no big deal. Some colors were worse than others, like the Verdoro green. Heck, it was ugly to start with.

I figure if the problem hasn’t been fixed in 50+ years there’s a good chance it won’t be.

 

[S650 GT]

It‘s older than that, going back to the late ‘60s when Pontiac put the Endura bumper on the GTO. You just got used to it, no big deal. Some colors were worse than others, like the Verdoro green. Heck, it was ugly to start with.

I figure if the problem hasn’t been fixed in 50+ years there’s a good chance it won’t be.

Is it something only American cars have?

 

[Aramis76]

Plastic parts are painted in a totally separate factory with the same paint "number" so there can be a slight difference i guess.
Also, base coat for metal and plastic are different so that can make a slight difference.
Normally a good body shop knows how to handle that, but at this scale, you would think they got it right... one would hope...

 

[BlackFerret69]

I have had the same issues on previous new cars. The biggest flaw was when my True Blue Metallic 2001 GT was delivered, it had an incident that required a replacement fender, it was always off just a little bit, but as the car aged, it blended in and wasn't near as noticable.

Good thing I got the "Color Shifting" Blue Ember. It is designed to be different colors, hues in different lighting and viewing angles.

Now, if I can only get Ford to build and deliver it, that would be amazing to see!!!!

 

[steveo1960]

TBH I think i would be more concerned with the body panel gaps. Could be the angle and lighting though.

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