Why Are Bentleys So Difficult to Colour Match?
Bentleys are notoriously difficult to colour match, and standard camera-based systems used by most bodyshops simply don’t work. At Bentley Bodyshop Manchester, we frequently see spectrophotometers return either no match or formulas so inaccurate they’re unusable — sometimes even suggesting the closest match is from a completely different manufacturer like Mazda or BMW. This is because most bodyshops rely on PPG, Nexa or MaxMeyer paint systems, which don’t fully support Bentley’s OEM colours or pigment structures. Bentley uses BASF/Glasurit at the factory, with unique tints, pearls and low-bake clears that cannot be interpreted correctly by PPG-based camera systems. In this blog, we explain why Bentleys are so challenging to match, why Glasurit is essential for accuracy, and why achieving a flawless finish requires not just the correct paint — but the right booth conditions, equipment and Bentley-specific experience.