Hi guys,

I have 1 Month old Focus in candy red or red candy and due to a stone chip and a few scratches have had to have bonnet resprayed, by a body shop (Honda Approved, Fords too pricey). I am certain he sourced Ford Candy red, and painted it as such......but!..... in daylight it matches perfectly, in any other light its a lot lighter because the new paint is a mass of metallic flakes the original paint has very few if any. I know there is a different between metallic and pearl in paint, and a different in two pack or tri-coat..........and there is a difference in Ford Candy red, with a U6 paint code and a FZ paint code.... how do i find out which i have?

I have gone to the ETIS site with the following results. (see below)

Primary Features
Build Date: 11.09.2013
Vehicle Line: Focus 2011-
Body Style: 5 Door Saloon
Version: Series 75
Engine: 1.6L EcoBoost SCTi 160/182PS-Sigma
Transmission: 6 Speed Manual Trans - B6
Drive: RHD FWD
Axle Ratio: 3.82
Emission: Stage V Emissions
Air Conditioning: Manual Air Conditioning
Territory: (+)"GB"
Paint: Red Candy Tint CC
Interior Fabric: Rack/Gecko / Charcoal Black (H-C)

So here it is Red Candy Tint CC....no mention of pearl or Metallic, and nowhere on the car can i find any paint code...U6 or FZ......can anyone find it on their car?

I have seen somewhere a Red Candy Metallic is this different from Red Candy Tint or indeed Candy Red Pearl?

Primary Features Build Date: 11.09.2013 Vehicle Line: Focus 2011- Body Style: 5 Door Saloon Version: Series 75 Engine: 1.6L EcoBoost SCTi 160/182PS-Sigma Transmission: 6 Speed Manual Trans - B6 Drive: RHD FWD Axle Ratio: 3.82 Emission: Stage V Emissions Air Conditioning: Manual Air Conditioning Territory: (+)"GB" Paint: Red Candy Tint CC Interior Fabric: Rack/Gecko / Charcoal Black (H-C)

Ok i have found the U6. Still there seems to be two versions of this paint, a Metallic or a Pearl. As above my car is described as Red Candy Tint CC. Has Ford now started painting in Non Metallic U6 (darker) as opposed to the lighter Metallic (U6)?

I believe your paint to be pearlescent.

Hi, yes i agree my car is Pearlescent, as thats the option i chose. The paint code on the car is U6 - which is red candy tint CC, no mention of metallic or pearl. Now if you go to ford.co.uk and choose the candy red colour the only option is candy red metallic.... Not Pearl. So my car has been painted in U6 pearl, my bonnet has been painted in U6 metallic, and the only option now is U6 metallic it seems. Has Pearl gone from any of the options for good and how do i get paint if i should need it in the future?

Candy red paint is still made and in pearlescent . With regards to your issue I think it's going to be a trip to a ford body shop to get the matter resolved .

Martin how did you get on with this?

ford paint is a pain as there are usually different variations of the same paint with the car being a year old the sun has got to it and as such it will be slightly darker than when new when getting paint you get different shades so you can match the paint to how it is now not when the paint was new a decent painter would do this im not saying the honda dealer wasnt decent but its an amateurs mistake.

i would have sourced the paint direct from ford myself it may be possible to buff it difficut to tell without seeing it

Got this sorted by going back to paint shop and getting him to try a different supplier. Car was a month old at the time, not a year. Seems mica is added to pearl paint and not the metallic, so original supplier was using wrong mixture.