Car parts are manufactured and painted in different factories and when assembled the same paint code can show variations.
Alternates are color formulas which are very close to the original paint code, but not quite the same.
The differences in paint color are called ‘alternates’ or ‘variations’ and some paint codes can have up to 9 variations.
Paint manufacturers formulate these alternative color formulas when their research uncover problems with matching original paint colors during auto body shop repairs.
These alternates can cause problems if using the ‘standard’ formulation to match an alternative paint.
There is no way to identify that you have alternate paint until you try to match it.