Paint

I want to paint the rear bumper of Hay's red Hyundai i10 with Hyundai Electric Red.

I visited a local car parts and tool emporium on our High Street, knowing in advance that they stock Holts spray paints, but I know from previous experience that it's almost impossible to match up their colours with known paint codes. Holts, for some reason, use their own nomenclature for paint colours, unlike Hycote, who use manufacturers' paint names and codes.

The shop owner does have a folder that lists manufacturer codes and suggests Holts paints that match, but when you go into a shop for a can of paint you don't want to be searching through a database, not that there's any colour amongst the myriad Holts reds that matches Electric Red anyway.

You'd think this would affect sales and they'd react accordingly, but no, and I can't understand why. Anyway, I went to another emporium in Yate that stocks Hycote paints and got what I wanted within 6 seconds - however, I wanted 2 cans and they only had 1.....

According to Chat GPT: 

"Holts does not use manufacturers' paint codes directly on their spray cans because their system, known as Paint Match Pro, is designed to simplify the colour matching process for consumers. Instead of relying on specific manufacturer codes, which can vary widely, Holts uses a proprietary matching system. This allows them to offer a broader selection of colours without needing to replicate each car manufacturer's exact coding system.

"The primary reason for this approach is to make the process user-friendly. Manufacturer codes can sometimes be confusing or difficult to locate on vehicles, so Holts simplifies this by focusing on colour match accuracy rather than the use of manufacturer-specific codes. Holts ensures that their system provides a high level of accuracy in matching colours through a large database of over 6,000 paints. This system is aimed at both professionals and DIY users, making it easier to find the right colour without needing specialised knowledge about codes."

Well, it doesn't. If you have a piece of car with you, I dare say the MkI eyeball could come up with a match, but I'd rather have the exact colour, rather than an approximation.