PaintScratch FAQs

Watch the following video for an overview how to order touch up paint from PaintScratch, or see the screenshots below:

1. Select Your Vehicle:

First, enter the Year,  Make and Model of your vehicle from the drop down boxes and press the Find Your Color 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.

2. Select Your Color:

You can choose only one color per order and it is always a good idea to verify your color code.

Notes:

• Make sure you VERIFY your color code! Do not order based on the colors shown or the name. Most of the colors shown are just approximations.
  
• 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 "2014 Audi R8", 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 a Select Your Products button 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!
• Use Regular Order Form
  This will take you to our standard order form where you can enter the products you need.
• Guided Order
  This  lets you select what you want to repair and the computer will make recommendations.

3. Select Your Products

Our Guided Order Form looks like this:

Our Regular Order Form looks like this:

• 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
  Choose either the kits above or fill in the order form with what you need.
  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, you can select Single Stage Paint. 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 shopping cart.

4. Your Shopping Cart

After adding items to your cart, you will be taken to your shopping cart:

• 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
  

  Use can checkout with Paypal or Secure Checkout. 
  - Selecting Paypal directs you to Paypal where you complete the purchase.  Once you have entered Paypal payment information, you will be directed back to our site to approve the transaction.
   - Selecting  Secure Checkout lets you use your own credit card.

5. Secure Checkout

• 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.
• 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 or Phone
  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.
• 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 $9.95 charge will be added to the shipping cost and this also will appear on the Confirmation Page.

6. Review & Confirm Your 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 Your 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. In addition, you can make modifications to an existing order before 6:00PM (PST) 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.

A shipping charge of $7.95 is added to the first touch up bottle or paint pen ordered. A shipping charge of $15.95 is added for the first spray can ordered. Additional touch up bottles, paint pens or spray cans are $1.00 each. International orders are charged an additional $9.95 for shipping. For complete discussion, follow this link.

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.

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.

You can order different paint colors for as many vehicles as you wish.

Steps 1) Select the Year, Make and Model and paint code you wish to order. Now select the products for this vehicle. Now add these products to your shopping cart.
2) Choose Continue Shopping and repeat the process, again adding the products to your cart.
3) When you are done, go ahead and fill out the payment information. Each vehicle and paint code will have a unique invoice order.

The entire order will be combined when you checkout.

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!

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.

You can get your tracking information on our website by checking your order status and clicking the Track Your Order button. If you ordered spray cans, pints, quarts or gallons we ship these via UPS. Paint pens, small touchup bottles ship via the Postal Service.

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.

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.

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.

For more information, use this link, Add to Order.

We do not save your credit card information.

For our complete return policy, follow this link.

Yes, there is only one clearcoat for all paints including our water based paint.

We have numerous warnings on our site about ordering pre-2005 colors. we do not remix this paint or offer refunds, even if the paint does not match. A good option is to send a part in for custom matching.

We cannot guarantee a paint match for these makes because we do not have color chips. However, in most cases our match is excellent. There are No Refunds and we recommend you send us a part for custom matching. We will not remix this paint even if the color does not match.