Color clustering technique for matching refinish paints

摘要

A process for refinishing or repainting a damaged paint area of a vehicle or part thereof using a computer-implemented method to determine a refinish paint formula that can be matched to the color of the original paint; in this process: a) the color data values of the original paint to be matched are determined; b) the color data values are entered into a computer containing a color cluster data base and color clusters each having a centroid and a refinish paint formula associated with each centroid; c) the color data values of the original paint are positioned in a color cluster via computer implementation and a refinish paint associated with the centroid of the color cluster having color characteristics close to the color characteristics of the original paint is obtained; and d) spray applying the refinish paint of step c) to the damaged paint area using conventional techniques thereby matching the color characteristics of the refinish paint to the undamaged original paint of the vehicle.