My uneducated guess is A. plastic color difference from painted metal. B. maybe improper primer?

 

The -XX code specifies supplier and paint type. -16 meaning BASF, water base plus 2C (2K) clearcoat.

Source: Pocket Data Book (P1, P2, P3) 2009

Also are you 100% sure it’s 481? According to the PDB that’s a China only color (though there are mistakes I’ve found in this so it could be wrong 😑).

EDIT: realized your post contained the info about supplier. Also something I forgot to add, paint fade/discoloration is definitely a concern as well.

 

Paint fade had occurred to me - I'm the fourth owner, and have garaged the car but reasonably sure the third owner didn't (lived in Boulder and Austin). My experienced mechanic knows several experienced body shop painters who should be able to rule out (or in) the paint fade, surface and application issues. I'll ask him to check with one of them.

Also sure about the paint code on the sticker. It did take a while to figure out where that sticker was on later Volvos but I found a video by Erie Vovo which showed that it was in the passenger door well, not the engine compartment or driver door well. Stickers can be wrong, but Cosmic White looks like the closest match according to the sales brochure I found here:

https://ia801705.us.archive.org/34/items/volvo-c30-car-brochure-2008/2008-Volvo-C30-brochure.pdf

And even though the color resolution of the brochure isn't great, the only other possibility is the Silver Metallic, and this car doesn't look silver - the Electric Silver we tried wasn't even close. But for the C30, at least at first, Volvo allowed extensive customization options for their Fly and Drive program, so maybe the color was changed at the last moment but the door well sticker wasn't?

Any other ideas? I think having my mechanic check with a painter is my best option - I've used his favorite painter before to shoot the trunk lid of my E30, and it was a perfect match. And then there's the Chameleon Blue option.

Thanks,
Doug

 

I think that it is paint fade and/or lighting. some other users here mentioned how Cosmic White has a green tint in the sun/shade. Maybe your painter can mix a batch with slightly less of whatever gives it the green tint?

On a s60 - Reply #12: https://www.swedespeed.com/threads/s60-colors.147038/

On a 2011 xc60, reply dated Aug 23, 2011: Xc60 r design spec and colour [Archive] - Volvo Owners Club Forum

And honestly, this C30 in cosmic white I feel like I can see a green tint: https://www.swedespeed.com/threads/....com/threads/2013-c30-r-design-at-74k-cosmic-white-metallic-bay-area-ca.662395/

Cosmic white xc60 discussion: https://www.swedespeed.com/threads/...om/threads/wanted-pic-of-cosmic-white-exterior-beige-off-black-interior.148701/

I mean even just looking at pictures online I can see a hint of green.

Was the paint dry when you compared? did it have clear coat/wet sanded? was the can shaken well enough to distribute the flake? (or whatever give it the green hint.)

This is on the edge of reasonably likely but if you are truly convinced it doesn't match see if Paint code 614 matches? Granted it would be conspiracy level stuff that the car was repainted and they replaced the panel information but 🤷‍♂️ Or you can take it to a dealer/anyone with VIDA and check the VIN for what code it originally came with from Volvo and not just based off the info panel.

 

I'm reasonably sure that my mechanic shook up the paint ;-). And the paint was dry - painted a few days before. The lighting was daylight, and to be clear, it was the painted plastic headlight washer top/cap that looked greener than the car. So it could be the plastic, especially with a metallic paint.

But I also found this:

Volvo Cosmic White Metallic 481 Touch Up Paint

We've got Cosmic White Metallic 481 touch up paint for your Volvo. Color match guaranteed.

touchupdirect.com

where someone is doing exactly the same thing I'm trying to do, and his paint matched exactly. So maybe the brand of paint? Or perhaps the age or TLC of the car - mine was built in 2007, with four owners and has lived in IL, MO, CO and TX. For a 2013 build, single owner where the car has mostly been garaged, the color match would probably be better.

The picture of the C30 in cosmic white from this site in your post matches the look of my car. I don't think it's ice white (paint code 614) which I've always thought was a non-metallic more or less pure white.

I don't think my mechanic has VIDA (he mostly works on BMWs, Hondas and Toyotas) but he knows the local Volvo specialist in Austin so can probably get some access to it. But I've fed the VIN into a Volvo VIN decoder online, and it didn't provide detailed information about installed options or exterior or interior colors - does VIDA do that?

I think it's probably paint fade, but will check with my mechanic tomorrow about the primer and clearcoat application. I'd be surprised though, if that wasn't done right.

Thanks again,
Doug

 

Postscript: So I decided to just live with the somewhat off paint match. I don't think the color of my car is Metallic Silver, which is the only other possibility. So either the mismatch is due to paint fade or the paint that my mechanic used (pix attached) isn't a good match. But he's been doing this awhile and he doesn't ever use off-brand parts, so I'm guessing paint fade. Functionally it works fine, and the color match is close enough for a 17 year old car that's been in Texas for 6 years.
Thanks,
Doug

 

using the cosmic white paint from touch up direct was a very good match for me.
I tested on a bumper plug

and used it to paint new headlight washer covers among other parts.

but in the interest of comparing how the paint ages you can see in this shot the difference between two examples.

 

Yep, I'm thinking that it's more likely to be paint fade rather than a difference in the accuracy of the two touch-up paints, and that last picture reinforces that. The only other possibility is that I'm not sure if my mechanic primed the headlight washer cover first - is it necessary to do that with a new plastic part, or is it effectively pre-primed?