The color of the car according to the wine code. How to find out the exact color of the car - gradation of shades and search in the documentation.

To carry out a local or full painting of the car, in order to ensure a complete hit in the body color, you need to know the paint code. To paint an area damaged in an accident, it is impossible to determine and select the color of the paint by eye, since each manufacturer creates its own shades. The selection of a suitable shade can be done by a colorist in a car service or you will be able to independently select the necessary color scheme, the main thing is to know how this is done.

Selection of car enamel color

You can find out the color number of the vehicle on a special factory label. It can be located in different places, depending on the manufacturer and model of the car. For new domestic models, the car paint code is located on the trunk lid.

A special information sheet, glued by the manufacturer, contains the name and brand of paint, color number in accordance with the generally accepted catalog (for example, 202 white). In vehicles of domestic production, the label with, in addition to the trunk lid, can be located in the spare tire niche, in the glove compartment or under the brake light on the spoiler (if any).

If you still have problems finding the label, you can contact your dealer or specialist shop to find out the necessary information and determine the color code. In the case of buying a car at the car market, from the hands, contact the colorist at the service station. Car service specialists will always help you choose the right color for car paint. The colorist will be able to determine the desired shade using computer program or directory.

For those who do not know, it will be interesting to know that the color of car enamel is always indicated in the warranty card.

On what elements of the car can you find the VIN code?

To independently make the selection of autoenamel, you need to find out the vin code of the car. VIN identification numbers, in accordance with the standard, must be located on those body elements that cannot be removed without damaging the vehicle. Manufacturers sometimes place an identification plate with the vin code in several places.

  1. If your vehicle is new or used but has not yet been overhaul, then under its hood it will be possible to find an etiquette indicating the brand of car and the number of the color of its body coating. Open the hood of your car, the label should be located to the right of the engine.
  2. If there is no information sheet under the hood, open the driver's door and visually inspect the bottom of the pillar to locate the label. In vehicles of some manufacturers, the labels that indicate the color number (for example, 202 white) are not under the hood, but on the door pillar.
  3. IN Toyota vehicles The vin plate plate indicating the enamel code can be attached in several places: usually it is the lower part of the front door pillar, or under the engine hood (040 - white, 202 - black).
  4. Look at the wine label for the enamel code. The color shade is always indicated by the code. Write down the factory color number.
  5. Provide the found vin code to the colorist of the car service. With the help of a special computer program, by entering the VIN code, the specialist will select exactly the shade of color that your car was originally painted with.
  6. The selection of a car color by vin number can be done according to the service bases of manufacturers and dealers by going to the official website and entering the vin number.
  7. You can contact the official dealer directly, providing him with data on the make of the car, vin code, on the basis of which he will make a paint selection.

You can find out information by visiting the office, as well as contacting the company by phone or e-mail.


Many drivers face the need to paint a car. And the reason for such a body repair is not always an accident. This can be clouding or erasing of the paintwork, color fading, the appearance of a large number of chips and scratches. In many cases, there is no need to paint the entire body, it is enough to refresh the paintwork on only one or a few parts. And here arises the main problem for each car owner - how to find out the color of the paint. Picking up a shade of paint by eye is not an option, because you can easily make a mistake, and a difference of even one shade will be noticeable.

Features of searching for VIN-code and paint number

In order for the shade of the old and new car enamel to match perfectly, you need to know how to determine the car's paint number by the VIN code. During the manufacture and release of each vehicle, the paint used in its painting is assigned a unique number. This cipher contains information about the weight ratio of the pigments that make up the enamel. It is these numbers that are the enamel code. Ford does not use numbers as codes for car enamel, but names, some of which may seem strange. This is the only exception, all other manufacturers use numbers exclusively.

To find out the color of the paint by the VIN code, you can use the following methods:

  1. Carefully, paying special attention to the pillars, windshield, engine compartment and space under the trunk. In one of these places, information of interest to us will definitely be located, which will allow us to find out the color of the enamel.
  2. We visit specialized sites that may contain services for searching for composition by cipher. Some of them may have a special field for entering the year of manufacture of the car and model. Search engines of such sites allows you to find out the cipher of the composition.
  3. We turn to the official dealer, who may have information about the correct cipher.
  4. From the data sheet, you can only find out the name of the shade, but looking at the paint code by VIN in this way will not work.


How to deal with foreign cars

Finding out the paint code by VIN code for cars of foreign origin is somewhat more difficult than in the case of domestic models. The main difficulty lies in the location of the cipher. There is no single requirement in the world regarding the choice of the place in which the color number will be located. Here, manufacturers have unlimited opportunities, and then the car owner has to puzzle over finding the necessary information and thoroughly study his car.

A common place for the location of the cipher is the door pillar or engine compartment. But in one, manufacturers are unanimous - the color is indicated on a large plate along with the VIN code. Some Honda models are an exception. They have a separate plate on which the color is indicated. Information about the paint used is usually found next to the words "paint" or "color".

You can find out about the location of the plate from the official dealer, specialists who, on the forums or on the manufacturer's website.


What to do with domestic cars

If you own a car from the domestic auto industry and are going to find out the paint code by VIN, then there will be no difficulties at all. The plate with the paint number must be looked for either on the trunk lid or under the hood. The third is not given, as they say. You can do even easier and carefully study the warranty card, which must indicate the color. The paintwork code contains information about the color of the used car enamel, its brand and number, which corresponds to the generally accepted catalog.

There are cases when domestic manufacturers come up with mysterious names, so do not be surprised if the color of your car is called crystal or milky way. In this case, directories are provided that will allow you to decrypt such values.

Color search by VIN code

For more than three dozen, the VIN code has been used. Now this number is the international standard for the classification of car enamels. , which consists of 17 characters. It uses both letters and numbers. It's not just a bunch of random characters. This cipher contains information about the car, including its equipment and the code of the car enamel used. The cipher symbols are divided into 3 groups. The first group contains 3 symbols, the second - 6, and the third - 8 symbols. To find out the paint code by the VIN code, you need to be able to decipher it. It includes the following information:

  • WMI is the first two letters in which the geographical location of the production of a car is encrypted. For European countries characters S–Z are characteristic. The third character is a number that can be used to identify the manufacturer.
  • The next group of VDS symbols contains information about the identification of the vehicle. By these symbols you can find out about the model, its modification, body type and brake system.
  • The VIS group is given 10-17 places. By these symbols, you can determine the enamel code, the year of manufacture of the vehicle and its serial number.

Now, how to find out the paint number is not a big problem for you. There may be ambiguities, but you know how to clarify them. The chances of choosing the perfect shade, which will exactly match the native paintwork, increase significantly. And this means that there will be no color transition on the restored body.

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Every day in the world there are numerous traffic jams and accidents on the roads, due to which car owners can lose paint on their iron horse. Do not forget about microdamages, such as scratches and scuffs. If you like the color of your car and do not want to repaint it completely in a different palette, you must find out the unique paint number for your car.

If you do not catch yourself in time by painting over the damaged areas, the consequences in the form of corrosion will not keep you waiting long. In addition to replacing the damaged area on the car, in addition, you will also have to rid the car of metal corrosion, and this can more than hit your budget and precious time.

Where can I find the paint number of the car

If you don't want to change your car color, you need a small restoration with the same color applied. This is where color matching plays a big role, otherwise the car will look multi-colored and spotty.

At restoring the original color of the car with painting over certain areas, polishing and competent selection of enamel are always needed. Professionals in this field recommend painting over the entire damaged area, and not a single point. For example, if the paint on the side of the hood has peeled off, you need to repaint the entire hood, etc. Finding the paint number for your car is not difficult, as it might seem at first glance.

Having a domestic car, the paint code does not need to be searched for a long time:

  • it may be in the warranty card,
  • under the tailgate
  • hood cover.

Classic "Retro" style cars have special codes elsewhere, under the seat and under the spare tire. Find the treasured paint code - means to find a unique number and of. factory name rolled into one. Owners of foreign cars are less fortunate, they will need to look for a digital and / or letter designation at the same time.



For foreign cars, paint codes can be located in the following places:

  • car side racks
  • in the space under the hood
  • in the front right side of the wheel arch of the car
  • under the tailgate
  • under the spare tire
  • in rail
  • on the bulkhead under the hood
  • on the radiator front

Drivers can find the desired code on the information plate after the word "Color", and in the absence of this word, take into account the numerical designations from three characters. The numbers found are the desired code. As you can see, there should not be any difficulties with the search, you just need to carefully inspect your car so that nothing escapes your gaze.

Additional difficulties of car painting

Enamel for painting a car is based on additives, a pigment, a base, and a solvent. You need to look carefully at the chosen shade, because by choosing it incorrectly, you can get a two-tone car and waste money from your budget. On this, the difficulties of the driver have not yet left, but, on the contrary, are added. Due to prolonged exposure to UV light on the paint, the color of the car may change and you should already look for the original color that was applied at the factory.



The original color scheme of the car can be determined:

  • finding a sticker on the body
  • with the help of consultation with the seller in the salon
  • with the help of a professional colorist in a car service
  • by turning to the Internet to search for special programs
  • by finding the VIN number

What is a VIN number

Finding such a number is not a problem, it has the ISO 3779 standard. The metal plate with the VIN is fixed on the car body and cannot be removed from there without deforming it. You can find a black metal plate with various designations, including the coveted number, at:

  • passenger's left pillar
  • bottom of doors
  • next to the engine in the space under the hood
  • in the hole in the windshield



The VIN number you need will not only improve the selection desired color, and also has all the necessary data about the car that may be required in the event of its sale or overhaul.

The VIN number is nothing more than a paint code from the manufacturer's factory, containing a code of 17 letters and numbers that cannot be removed. After reading the cipher with special equipment, a specialist will select the necessary paint for your car.

If you have difficulty finding numbers and codes, there are specialized automotive sites on the Internet, thanks to which you can select a car of the brand you need from a large list, and then find out where the plates and codes you need are hidden on the body.

  1. when fitting the desired shade, it is important to consider lighting
  2. the colorist needs to specify the number of layers of paint when spraying
  3. the more experience the colorist has, the better the job will be done

During the operation of the car, its owner may be interested in the question of how to find out the car paint number by VIN code. There can be quite a few reasons for this. When using the car, even with strict and strict observance of all the rules of maintenance and operation, a situation may arise when it is necessary to tint its body, it is not necessary that the reason for this was an accident. It is enough to hit a small pebble so that a chipped enamel appears, requiring its immediate removal.

How to find out the paint number of a car by VIN code It will be useful for owners who buy used cars to know, since new cars usually have a small jar with a supply of "native" paint, or at least have a designation of the enamel used in a prominent place. Determining the color by “eye”, even by a qualified master, does not always guarantee the correct choice. Such a mistake can lead to repainting the body, and this is an additional cost and time.



What is a VIN code?


Its appearance on all manufactured cars began in 1980, but a few years earlier, such a code appeared on cars manufactured in America and Canada. Before that, an international standard was adopted, to which the code fully complies. It consists of 17 characters, it is Latin in large format and Arabic numerals.

The entire code is conditionally divided into three groups, which denote WMI, VDS, VIS. The first group includes only three characters, the second has six, and last group there will be eight. Let's take a closer look at these notations.




Decryption is always from this group. The first two characters inform all interested parties about where, in which geographical area, the car under study was produced. As an example, it can be noted that letters are assigned to European manufacturers S to Z. For Africa, provided symbols from A to H, for Asia left the letters from J to R.

The country, manufacturer of the machine, is encrypted with the second character of the WMI code. In some cases, it may have two characters for unique identification. Cars from America have numbers from 10 to 19 in the designation, Germany is allocated from W0 to W9, Canada is designated as 2A and up to 2W. National organizations countries of machine manufacturers are assigned the third character of the WMI code.


Next comes the notation, which is the descriptive sections of the identification numbers. He owns the characters in the string from the fourth to the ninth place. With their help, they learn about which model this cipher belongs to, its modification according to the design documentation. If there are less than six such characters, then the right side is filled with zeros.

It is determined by the first character of VDS which type of engine is installed, indicated by the second character, and the model of the car is learned from the third designation. Subsequent letters and numbers report the mass of the car, its body, brake system and other data.

VIS. The numbers and letters that are in the identification cipher from 10th to 17th place belong to the vehicle's VIS code. The last four characters are necessarily indicated only by numbers. The year in which the car was produced is indicated by the first character, the factory is assigned the second character, and the remaining characters are intended to indicate the serial number of the manufactured car.




Where is he located?


International standards do not clearly define the place where the machine identification code should be located. Most manufacturers choose a place for it on the pillars from the driver's door, and it is also found under the windshield on the left side of the car. Some manufacturers place it in the engine compartment on the right side in the direction of travel, or the floor in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe passenger seat becomes such a place.

There are places for setting the code that manufacturers do not cover and they are found in the most unexpected places, such as the trunk lid or the inside of the wing, and other places. It can be applied on plates or certification labels specially adapted for this purpose. The ways in which these symbols are applied to the plates also differ, embossing can be used, and sometimes a laser is used to burn the code. There is a rule according to which the number is applied in one row, but maybe two, but without breaking the characters.



How to determine the paint number?


This issue is most simply solved when buying a new car at a dealership, since the paint number can be found on the car itself. The tag with the enamel number can be found on the trunk lid, on its inside, or on the driver's door. Paint color is indicated in technical passport on the car, but her number is not there.

Owners of cars who bought them not new find themselves in a difficult position. There are usually no nameplates with paint data and they don’t know what to do. Most of these owners, if it is necessary to carry out painting work, remove the gas tank cap and go with it in search of the right material. In most automotive stores where you can buy enamel, the selection is carried out according to the catalog of shades.

The seller, together with the client, carefully examines the gas tank cap and the pictures of the catalog in order to choose the right shade. This method works, but not always. It is well suited in the case when full painting is carried out. If you need to put enamel on some part, problems often arise.



Some cars have plates with a VIN code that has the string COLOR, which indicates the paint number used to paint this body. This line is written. If such inscriptions are not visible on the plates, there is only one method left, this is the search for the paint number through special program. There are quite a few such programs on the World Wide Web. They can be downloaded from official companies, and there are also “hacked”, but quite efficient ones.

As a disadvantage of these programs, they note the fact that they do not have information about all brands of manufactured cars. Therefore, in the event that information is not found using such programs, still try to contact the dealers of the manufacturer of your car. Today there are no particular problems to contact such representatives. Tell them the VIN code of your car, and in return you will receive a paint number.

Any car owner does not really want his “darling” to fall into the hands of car painters, but no one is immune from such a case. You now know how to find out the paint number of a car by the VIN code, and we hope that you will not have problems finding the right material after reading this article.

On the back of any car, a VIN code is affixed - a kind of protection against hijackers. But in addition to these data, the device may also have an information plate that contains other technical information:

  • Engine number.
  • Date of issue.
  • Tire pressure.
  • Car paint code and more.

But every car manufacturer has own system marking, and therefore information about the color may not be. And what to do if the plate has not been preserved or has become unreadable as a result of the operation of the car or its repair?

Vehicle color information

Enamel for cars is made from various pigments, which are taken in a specific ratio. In a car manufacturing plant, as a rule, several basic colors are used. However, over time, their shades can be changed or adjusted by designers.

How to distinguish changes in enamel? This can be determined in the following ways:

  • The name of the paint or its color.
  • Paint number according to the manufacturer's classification.
  • The ratio of base pigments.
  • A table that contains the car paint code.

Now about the location of the tablet. It is located depending on the marking adopted by the manufacturer. Standard - the code is under the hood. In other cases - in the doorway. If there are no signs in these places, information can be obtained on the official website of the manufacturer.



Two more color options:

  • According to the VIN number that is on each car. It is not removed during repairs, and the code is tied to a specific vehicle. We conclude that it is possible to determine the exact color and composition of the original paint using the manufacturer's databases.
  • The exact color of the car can be obtained from an authorized dealer.

Paint number for VAZ and GAZ cars



In older models of VAZ and GAZ cars, a sheet with a paint code could often be under the spare tire or under the seat. In modern models, the leaflet can be found under the trunk or hood lid.

The designation that is indicated does not make it possible to determine the exact composition of the enamel. But the correct color is written in it - the name or number that is used in the classification of the manufacturer. And you can choose the necessary type of enamel and the ratio of colors with the help of colorists.

How to choose a paint color for a foreign car by VIN code



As for foreign cars, the location of the data plate depends on the specific model. Consider them:

  • Alfa Romeo: The plate can be found on the inside of the trunk lid or on the front passenger side, in the wheel arch.
  • Audi: a cover on the inside or a spare wheel niche (enamel codes for the main part and plastic are written through a slash).
  • BMW: you should look for the plate on the supports or rail, or under the bonnet.
  • Fiat: front right wheel arch, inner side of luggage compartment, baffle under the bonnet that serves as a fire protection for the passenger compartment.
  • Ford: front grille, under hood (look at the numbers in the "K" line to determine the color).
  • Honda: pillar on the driver's side, in the space that is closed by the door.
  • KIA: driver's side pillar (last two digits are the enamel color number).
  • Mercedes: Passenger side pillar, under hood radiator strip (2nd digit in the penultimate row will be the paint color code).
  • Renault: the plate can be located in the space under the hood on two supports.
  • Volkswagen: pillar on the passenger side on the left, as well as a transverse radiator bar in front of the hood.

The classification of the manufacturer may be different, have their own codes and names. For this reason, to determine the required combination of paint pigments, it is better to seek the help of a specialist. There are also special programs for the correct selection of paint.


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