Accurate colour samples

600 new colour samples created every year.

An essential element for accurate colour matching is a colour database, regardless of whether it comes in digital form or as a classic fan deck. But updates are needed when new colours and variants appear.

“Many professional refinishers like to compare colours directly on the vehicle with a fan deck.” Monika Weil, Axalta Colour Marketing, Wuppertal

Fan deck updates

The Color Box colour samples are updated several times a year. Additions are made twice a year for Standohyd Plus and three times a year for Standoblue. Each update contains between 100 and 200 chips.
Deviations to the standard colour occur when colours have been in OEM production for a long time or between vehicles painted at different production sites. Colour can also be affected by environmental influences.
The standard edition of the Standoblue colour variants documentation today contains several thousand colour samples.
Including a new variant in the Standox colour documentation can come from the market submitting car parts. Sometimes it can be the due to feedback from the market that existing formulas do not match vehicles any longer. Colours on car parts may be lighter or darker, coarser or finer.
Based on this information, the Axalta Color Lab develops a new variant mixing formula.
The newly-created mixing formula is applied to the substrate using original Standox paint and standard application techniques. This colour sample is then provided to bodyshops as an update.
Technological advances have meant that the use of digital spectrophotometers is on the increase, but Color Boxes and their updates will continue to have a place in many bodyshops.