PaintScratch.com Frequently Asked QuestionsVisit this link if you are unsure which products you need for your paint repair. Questions on paint problems and ordering/shipping? Read these links if you are having problems using our paint or have order questions.
Answer 1 A shipping charge of $4.95 is added to the first touch up bottle or paint pen ordered. A shipping charge of $7.95 is added for the first spray can ordered. Additional touch up bottles, paint pens or spray cans are $1.00 each. For complete discussion, follow this link. Answer 2: This is our MOST common question. The name of the paint can change but if your color code matches, this is the correct paint. For example, you know your vehicle was painted in "Sandstone" either from the window sticker, the plate of the vehicle or maybe the dealer told you another name like "Heather Mist." Your color code on your vehicle says "YR-509M". You look on our site and for YR-509M it says "Granite Silver Metallic Clearcoat." This is your correct color! The color name is not important, just the color code. Answer 3: If your code matches the one shown the screen, this is your color. We mix the paint by the color code formula, not what is shown on the screen. However, we appreciate any feedback to improve the accuracy of the colors shown. For many exotic vehicles (Rolls Royce, Ferrari, etc.) and some pre-1980 colors, there are no color chips so what you see on the screen was our best guess. Answer 4: You can't order two colors at the exact same time. The reason for this is that you may want a spray can in one color and a paint pen in another, etc. Select the color you need, order the products for this color and add them to your shopping basket. Continue shopping by selecting the next color and adding those products to your shopping basket. The entire order will be combined when you checkout. Answer 5: Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and Jeep all put random letters in front of the paint codes. For example, the GW7/W7 code could be listed on your vehicle as PW7/W7 or QW7/W7, RW7/W7, etc. The actual color code is W7. We don't know why they did this, but it sure causes confusion for our customers! Answer 6: When your color is a tricoat, our order form will only let you order the basecoat and midcoat together. These come in two separate containers. Tricoat paints need a clearcoat over the midcoat to make them shine. Answer 7: If you ordered spray cans, we ship these via UPS and you will receive an email when your order is shipped with your tracking information. This email will come from San Leandro Color, the name of our paint supplier. The paint pens, 1 oz. and 2 oz. touch up bottles are shipped via the mail so there is no tracking number. Answer 8: If you have any problems with your order, for example, you got the wrong color or you feel you should have received your order by now, let us know immediately. For lost orders or incorrect paint match, visit our customer service page. For all other inquiries, please contact us. Our address and telephone number is also listed at the bottom of our home page. Our policy is to replace damaged or incorrect orders and to re-ship orders that never arrived. Of course, there is no charge for this. Answer 9: Yes! Our paint is mixed upon receipt of your order so it is fresh. Any professional in the collision repair business will tell you fresh paint is much easier to use and makes for a better repair. Also, often the dealer cannot exactly match your paint. For example, the color code W7 has a different formula then W6. Because they are both similar, the dealer sells the same touch up bottle for both. However, these colors are actually different so when we mix these different paint, you receive an exact match from us. This is very common practice as they do not want to stock thousands of paint colors. Answer 10: Because we custom mix each order, our costs are higher and our paint is freshly made which makes for a better repair. The paint is also delivered straight to your door and this avoids the time and effort to obtain the paint elsewhere. How To Order==> To place an actual order, please start at the Home Page! <==Answer 11: First, enter the Year, Make and Model of your vehicle from the drop down boxes and press the GO button. Notice that by changing the Year, different Makes will be displayed so always select your year first. You will be shown a list of colors on the screen corresponding to your year, make and model. You can choose only one color per order and it is always a good idea to verify your color code. Below is a sample form. Notice above the "2005 Audi A4 Convertible"
Notes: Make sure you read any notes accompanying your year, make and model. If there are any, they are always located just above the year, make and model shown. For example, above "2005 Audi A4 Convertible", you can see the notes for this make. Different makes will have different notices. Order more than one color?: Select your first color, order the products you need for this color and add them to your shopping cart on the order page (shown below). Continue shopping by selecting the next year and make and follow the same ordering procedure. Locate Color Identification Plate To the right of the year, make and model, you will see a link that brings up a diagram of where you paint color code is located on your vehicle (this is the color identification plate). Use this to find and verify your color code shown below. Enter Factory Code For Hondas and Acuras, you may have a factory code. Click on the link Please read!!! (shown below) to find out more information. If you have a factory code, select it from the drop down box shown by Enter Factory Code. Selecting Colors Simply place a check to the left of the color you wish to order and click the Proceed to Secure Order Page to order. Can't find your color? Use the link that says, "If you can't find your color or color code listed above, fill out this form. Upon receipt of your information, we will conduct an extensive search and let you know if we can make this color. This is usually pretty quick, so don't hesitate to let us know if you can't find your color listed! Proceed to Secure Order Page Click the Proceed to Secure Order Page button and the next page will look like the form below:
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Fill out the information as needed above. Basecoat This is the actual color of the paint and can be ordered in various sizes as shown above. Note that the primer and clear are on the same line as the size of paint you wish to order. Paint Kits You can select a paint kit from the drop down list that automatically fills in the order form with products recommended for the type of repair you are doing. Once you select a paint kit, you can add or delete individual items on the order form simply by changing the quantities. VIN Number The Vehicle Identification Number can help us decide which paint formula to use when there are several to choose from. It only works for 1997 and newer vehicles and is not required to order paint. Ordering Paint Make sure you enter numbers i.e. 1 instead of "one" for the quantities above. Every time you enter a quantity and go to another selection, the total will be calculated. Tricoat (Midcoat) Paints If you are ordering a tricoat paint, you will automatically receive the basecoat and midcoat paint in two separate containers. Tricoat paints have the word "Tricoat" in the paint name. Single Stage Paint If you have selected a year prior to 1987, the top of the order form will look as follows:
If you select the option "Please make this paint in Single Stage only. No clearcoat is required on single stage paints." we will make the paint for you in single stage which does not require a clearcoat. Please note that you will often get a better match with the basecoat/clearcoat combination. Add Items to Cart Once you have ordered the items you need, click on the "Add Items to Your Cart" and you will be directed to the following page:
Your Shopping Cart This page lists the items ordered along with the correct shipping total. If you continue shopping, the additional items will be displayed and the shipping will recalculated. You can also Add/Edit or Delete each individual paint color order by selecting the buttons by each paint color. Continue Shopping This lets you select the next year and make to begin selecting another color or you can search for paint codes are paint names. Your orders will be combined to save on shipping. Checkout When you have completed all your paint orders, you can now proceed to Checkout by clicking on the Checkout icon. The page below will now be displayed:
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Billing Address This must be the same billing address where you receive your credit card statement. Shipping Address This is where the order will ship to. Note the box you can check to make this the same as your billing. You should use the Check Your Address button to verify your address with the USPS and to get your nine-digit zip code. Email Address Make sure you enter your correct email address. (Our most common problem.) Please rest assured, you will NEVER receive spam from us! We only use your email address for our confirmations and for you to track your order. Enter Promotional Code We have arrangements with certain vendors for discounts so enter any promotional code given to you by one of our partners. Additional comments Finally, enter any additional comments or information in this space such as special delivery instructions. Please note we cannot ship overnight or 2-day air. Credit Card, Money Order, Phone or PayPal Enter your credit card information on the order screen. If you want to pay by Money Order, simply follow the instructions given on the screen, mail us the order form along with your money order and upon receipt of your payment, we will process your order. Sorry, we no longer accept personal checks. You can select Phone Order and we will call you for your credit card information. Finally, you can use PayPal and once we receive notice of your payment, we will process your order. Security Code Enter the security code from your credit card. Click the Security code link for more information. Sales Tax If you are a Nevada resident, sales tax will be charged and show on the Confirmation Page. International Orders If you live outside the United States, an additional $5.00 charge will be added to the shipping cost and this also will appear on the Confirmation Page. Confirm/Review the Order After you have filled out the order form, you are given a total and now can click the Confirm/Review Order button. Make sure everything is correct. When you confirm your order, a message is sent to PaintScratch with all the information you have entered so far in case there are any problems. If you need to make corrections, use your back button and make the corrections and simply confirm the order again. You are not charged until you click on the "Complete the Order" button. Complete the Order If you are paying by credit card your order will now be processed and your credit card will be charged. If you are paying by PayPal, click the Confirm Order and on the next page, you will see a link to PayPal. Click this link, make your PayPal payment. You will receive a confirming email with your Invoice number. Make sure you read the entire email as it gives instructions on checking on your order. In addition, you can make modifications to an existing order unless it has already shipped. If you are paying by Money Order, Confirm the Order and you will receive a form which you can print out and mail to us with your payment. Answer 12 Use the link, Add to Order to add to your existing order. You can only add or change your existing order until 9:00PM (PST) on the day you placed the order. Your credit card will only be charged for the additional items. Answer 13 We do not save credit card information. In addition, your credit card number is never emailed across the web. The entire transaction takes place on a secure server and we only receive back the approval code. Answer 14 For our complete return policy, follow this link. Have any questions or comments? Please Contact us. To place an order, start at our Home Page | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||