Thinking about a Leer truck cap for my F350 for hunting and camping but I was told tri coat is very hard to match up. Anyone have one that can chime in?

 

Yes, very tough to match. They shoot the white base, then the metallic 'pearl' suspended in clear, then a straight clear, hence the 'tri-coat'. The tough part is the metallic coat. Just a little too much or too little makes a big difference. Many body shops won't touch it. I had an ARE Z Series on an F150 and it was a bit lighter during the day but at night it looked darker. When you're buying a shell you get what the manufacturer thinks is right without being able to match.

If you're set on a very close color match you may be better off just buying a white shell and finding a reputable body shop to paint it.

 

Very hard to match indeed and for such a large item, I think you’d really notice the difference.

 

The most important step in matching a tri coat pearl white is making sure that the white base is the correct hue. When you dead panel something on a vehicle it is very difficult to nail it. Fords tri coat pearl white is notorious for being too white with most all paint systems. Find a body shop that uses PPG DBC base coats. In my experience the DBC system formulas are by far the best at matching tri coat bases with very little to no tinting. Because you are trying to dead panel a camper shell, there will be a 99%’ish chance that some base tinting will have to take place. It will never match 100%, but if the painter takes the time to match the base, they can get it very close. Where the pearl coat becomes a problem is if the paint system uses toners in the pearl mix. I have run into it a few times over the years with different paint systems, and different tri coats, and those can me a real problem even when blending.

 

One more thing. Im not sure where you live, but here in texas solvent based systems still rule the roost. If you live somewhere where all they use are water born, color match is out the window. Not a big fan of the water colors. I know some guys love them, but personally i think they suck. Easier to color match dead panel jobs with solvent paints.

 

The above might be your best option. I had a '13 150 platinum pearl white and my Leer topper never cut the mustard. It really pi&*ed me off to have to pay the $150 or whatever the "color match fee" was for Leer and have it not match and nothing they could do about it.

My opinion is it is not worth the gamble and potential frustration especially when considering the amount of money involved.

Good luck, send pics.

 

Very tough indeed. I actually just ordered a Leer topper today for my new truck. “Oxford white” I told the guy, and he said they still need the vin which includes the paint code, as different runs of trucks at different factories have paint from different manufacturers so the hue can vary slightly. And that’s with the most basic of colors that Ford has had *forever*! Can’t fathom trying to get a tri coat to match. Also any body repairs get much harder to match perfectly. But those paints do look amazing, I love ‘em.

Best of luck! Hope it turns out great for you!

 

There was a previous thread that was discussing the issue of paint matching . One guy took off his fuel door and sent it in so they could use it to match the paint . I'm in the same boat as I have the platinum white tri color also . I am in Texas and would be interested in hearing about your experience . Good luck .

 

I had an ARE dealer tell me they'd send in my fuel door if I was worried about the match and they'd get it close. The Leer dealer told me thiers wouldn't be an exact match. Ultimately, I decided it wasn't worth spending that kind of money not to be perfect because I'd notice every time I walked up to it.

 

You don’t have to send in your fuel door

your door sticker has your paint code

i just had a A.R.E. Z series done and paint matches exactly.

 

I have the platinum white on my 2019 F-350 crewcab and recently (July) put a Snugtop Rebel cap on it. Paint is a good match, so I wouldn't sweat it in ordering a cap in that color. Though I was a bit disappointed in Snugtop's shipping protection (the bottom edge appears to have rubbed a bit [not all the way through] and wax doesn't appear to fix it). That was one issue and the other is that I told my dealer I wanted black headliner (as when I ordered it, it didn't say black, so I called him back and he assured me that it would be as he orders them all in black). Lo and behold, I got grey (I wasn't able to look at the shell till after the install). The grey is growing on me given the black/silver on the interior of the cab. And yes, this dealer sells all 3 of the major brands in CA (ARE, Leer, and Snugtop) and assured me that Snugtop was the best. I will be swinging by the dealer in the near future to see if they will make it right...

In hindsight, get the brand/style you like best. None are perfect. I needed one for my dogs when towing our travel trailer...and it works great for that purpose. No leaks and dogs are happy.

 

I have a Snugtop Super Sport on my 2016 F150 and they did as good a job as can be expected matching that Tri coat paint . I wouldn't say its a perfect match but you have to look at it pretty hard to see the difference. In certain light it matches and in a different direction or light it may look a shade darker . In this photo it looks a little darker .

 

 

Bought a Leer 100XQ used but it was black. Had a local body shop paint it. I think it turned out just fine.

 

I bought a new LEER 100xq and sent it back three times to get re-painted Stone Grey. Still doesn't match perfectly, but they ended up giving me a big discount to get me out of their hair. They had is pretty close once, but it had other issues/damage to re-paint, so they started over with a new shell. for $5k with lights, racks and Leer locker, i was expecting it to be a perfect match. I have looked closely at other shells and manufacturers and they all seem to be a close, not perfect match.