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Exterior Visual Mods (Spoilers, Body Kits, etc)

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Comments

  • cheerrycheerry Member Posts: 2
    I Have a big dent on the right fender and acid burn on the roof from vandelism on my 2003 Corolla. I got the cheapest estimate from Earl Scheib Paint & Body of $661 with 3 years warranty on the paint job. With the clear coat, it will be additional $99 and they will extend to 6 years warranty.

    Do you think it's worth getting that clear coat. OR Will that Clear coat protect the paint of car longer? Do you think Scheib is a reliable shop? Will their paint job chip and peel or fade quickly after a few years?

    Thank You for your help.
  • bigfurbigfur Member Posts: 649
    Clear coat is what is already on your car, you absolutly want to put the clear coat back on the car again. The clear is what gives the paint its shine.
  • cheerrycheerry Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the reply. Since I originally have a clear coat on the car, would it be a bad idea to have a clear coat done again on the whole car at Earl Scheib. Is it going to peel after a few years?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I don't think having Scheib paint a car this new is a good idea.
  • itritr Member Posts: 3
    image

    I wold recomend somthing like this picture

    body kits, sat nav, performance tuning parts alloys
  • zimmypzimmyp Member Posts: 1
    Hey itr,

    That pic you have posted, who makes the bodykit?? its killa I love it!!

    Really considering it for my supra
  • biscayne6702biscayne6702 Member Posts: 2
    their are a few things that you are saying that are just not true, you said a good painter should not have to buff his work it should come out perfect.........i dont think their is such a painter on the face of the earth, their is alwys something slightly imperfect with every thing that gets painted, be it excessive orange peel, dirt, fisheye, the list goes on, buffing a repair is a necessary step in the process, end of story. Second you say their is no excuse for oragne peel???? are you serious??? every car that is manufactred has some form of orange peel, some more than others but all have peel, if you were to totally sand out the orange peel of the panel you paint it would not match the rest of the car, and it would look horrible! Not to insult you, but do you have any autobody experience whatsoever?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    never said that about buffing, sorry if you misunderstood something.

    Orange peel is a defect in workmanship. It can happen, sure, but it must be corrected before the car is delivered to the customer. Orange peel is not "normal" or "acceptable" to any kind of person who takes pride in his/her work.

    here's a good site that explains why orange peel is a "mistake" and what causes it.

    http://www.sherwin-automotive.com/reference/troubleshooting_guide/orange_peel/in- - - dex.cfm

    But you're right, sometimes you'll see orange peel right from the factory....but on a Subaru, not a BMW...

    Also you're right, orange peel can be corrected if it's not too bad.

    My body shop (s) would never deliver a car to me like that.
  • davedrivedavedrive Member Posts: 1
    On a completely separate note I am looking for a body kit for my car, and a friend referred me to this site,

    http://www.autodirectsave.com/parts/Body_Kits_&_Conversions

    What you guys say, or any other resource you can pass to me

    Thanks for any help from anyone
    Dave
  • robbo369robbo369 Member Posts: 1
    im just trying this as summit new once you have paint on to the body work im guessing that there has to be some form of varnish over the top just wondering what sort ??? thx
  • julianajuliana Member Posts: 2
  • julianajuliana Member Posts: 2
    Hello!

    I'm looking for a body kit for my Elantra and found this site http://www.autodirectsave.com/parts/Body_Kits_&_Conversions I'm thinking of ordering from this site. What do you guys think?

    thanks!
  • airplanepnutzairplanepnutz Member Posts: 1
    Can I see the pictures? because my 99 Mustang is needing a paint job as well
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    You guys (and gals) should check out the Paint and Body Maintenance & Repair discussion too.
  • benztunerbenztuner Member Posts: 76
    I wanted to give everyone some info about paint work. I own a Mercedes-Benz certified collision center and we use Glasurit paint/clear. Mercedes-Benz shoots Glasurit at the factory, in fact most high-quality luxury manufacturers use Glasurit in the factory and reccommend that any paint work done to the car be completed with Glasurit products. Now Glasurit is a BASF product, and is one of the best materials out there, which is reflected in the cost but you pay for what you get. Now I agree with Biscayne, in a perfect world there you shouldnt have to buff after painting but most times that just isnt possible. However there are some things you can look for to make sure you're getting a better job.
    A down-draft booth is essential in producing a good paint job. Im not saying it isnt possible to have a good job in a different booth but its much harder. Also if you know anything about paint/paint prep you should ask the sanding steps they take. Some places are slack but others are very professional. This depends upon what bodywork was done but the steps should be about: 180, 320, 500, Red Scotchbrite w/ sandfix or wet-sand w/ 2000. If you take steps like this then you ensure a better result. Depending on the state of the car when its brought in determines how many steps you should take. Also in my opinion there should be NO single panel painting. If you wreck your car, a new hood and bumper is put on it then the entire front end needs to be painted. Paint the hood and bumper and at least blend the fenders. A good shop will do this, but a lot dont.
    Now if you're looking for something special, I would reccommend House of Kolor or Carizzma, it is a BASF product. Also, Glasurit has a new ceramic clear out that is really cool. The clear is self healing, in other words if you scratch it with your finger nails(Ladies) or keys or anything and it is a minor scratch, when the clear gets hot from the sun the clear fills the scratch in and then once it cools the scratch is gone. It is very cool to see. Now again this is for MINOR scratches, I am almost positive that it doesnt work if it scratch is into the paint, but it might help it.
    Pricing, well this varies from shop to shop and it can be rediculously low or reasonable. What I call reasonable is probably very high to other people. In order to correctly repaint an entire car you have to be very skilled. We typically de-trim the entire car, take all of the glass out, take everything apart, fix any dent/dings. And you'd be suprised that people who think they're car is dent free, once you start looking hard you usually find them everywhere, but sometimes they're hard to find if you dont know what you're looking for and arent in the correct light. Then after the various sanding steps and taping everything up you shoot the car and then put everything back together. It is a very long process, and takes skill to do it right, which is why the price is so much higher than other places. If you are serious about wanting a paint job and you want it done right, you need to forget about these Chain Paint Shoos, like Macco etc. They wash your car with thinner and barely tape the windows and shoot it with the cheapest paint available. When they're done the car is repainted, usually so are the moldings, wheels/tires, glass, lights, wheel wells, wipers, door handles, etc.
    Bottom line, if your looking to get a paint job do some research on the shop. Ask them some questions about their booth, do they cure/bake their jobs? do they have a down draft booth? what kind of paint/clear do they use? do they have a warrenty on the paint and/or work? how long will it take (if it can be done in a day or so, you need to look elsewhere), etc. A little extra money now could safe you money down the road, and if you could possibly sell the car that is a good selling point, you had a complete paint job done by a credible shop with a good material. Consider all of the options, but dont quickly deny a shop because they're higher than others.
    We recently painted a W140 S class for a customer, it was painted RED. It is the only RED W140 S class in the world, because Mercedes didnt make that color. It looked good, the car is 11 years old and it made the car look brand new which is what a paint job is supposed to do.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    So what was the color of the Benz before you painted it? How did you deal with the color change vis a vis engine compartment, etc.
  • benztunerbenztuner Member Posts: 76
    The color was Black originally, so it was a big switch. We took pulled the engine and painted everything, door jams, the body A pillars, everything.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Wow! That probably cost him more than the car was worth...a very odd decision, but I'm glad you got the work!! ;)
  • benztunerbenztuner Member Posts: 76
    We originally changed the color when it was new 11 years ago. There is a long story behind the car and the family, and the car is being given to another family member. Well normally we wouldnt change the color of any car due to the amount of work, but these were special circumstances which made us happy to be apart of the tradition. Thanks.
  • itritr Member Posts: 3
    image

    Hey zimmyp

    Sorry man i dont know who makes it, just a pic i found on the net.

    davedrive try this resources you might find some good body kits Car-Body-Kit-Accessories.com
  • wdicksonwdickson Member Posts: 1
    Who do you think you are? I'm a painter at Maaco in Santa Rosa, CA. We have a double wide downdraft booth, we take parts off cars and there is never paint on windows, door handles, tires, wheel wells, or wiper blades! We NEVER wash cars with thinner! We use House of Color at times and in fact right now we are doing a $15,000 paint job on a Mustang Eleanor. We do cheap jobs too, but you get what you pay for. With all the pratice i've had i'm sure I could do better then any of the painters that paint for you... and I could do it with the cheap paint!
  • benztunerbenztuner Member Posts: 76
    Im not from CA, and therefore I dont know about CA. But I am in NC, and the Maaco's here only do cheap jobs. I know everything out west is much different than here, as far as rates, insurance owned shops, etc. and I was speaking for NC, Im sorry if i didnt come out and say NC. The Maaco's here only do cheap, crap paint jobs, thats it. It is a well known fact that if you want a cheap paint job go to Maaco, now they may offer nicer paint jobs but Ill tell you now they dont offer anything like what you're talking about. Im not saying you guys dont do nice work or offer high-line work, but the Maaco's here surely dont. Im sorry if you got upset but what I said were things Ive personally encountered. Im not going to get into a argument with you about who can paint the best, ive got better things to do. But just so you know, we do show cars like the Swisher H2, and everything in between. So just so everyone out there knows I meant the Maaco's in NC do cheap paint jobs. I am curious though, why would you choose to work at a place where they do great paint jobs like the $15,000.00 job you mentioned and do jobs that are only $1,000.00 or lower? I know how much talent it takes to be a great painter and my guys would never put their name on anything they wouldnt have themselves, they've got too much pride for that, so I was curious why you would choose to work there? And another thing thats got me, are you paid on commission or are you salary, I only ask because the boys at Maaco here are salary? I appreciate your reply.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Is similar to NC. $99 paint job! It's one step above Earl Schribe :)

    -mike
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I could agree that a real expert with a spray gun can make cheap paint LOOK good when it goes on, but he can't make it last very well over time.

    And as for prep work, that's pure human sweat. So unless you are paying some slaves $1 an hour, seems to me that you can't possibly prep a car adequately with spending a boatload on human labor.
  • az2az2 Member Posts: 1
    Anyone have tips on how to get hired in a paint shop? I've got lots of spraying/fine finish experience in residential, but it seems that all the body shops only consider people with automotive experience. Is there a secret password or something? ;)
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    You could try a truck accessory shop and get your foot in the door painting truck canopies to match. Then borrow the paint booth over a holiday and paint your own car something special - and then you can drive your resume around.

    Dealers send a lot of pickup shells out for painting before delivery to the customer, so painting canopies may get you an in with a dealer, who may recommend you to their body shop friends.

    And take donuts with you when you deliver the pickups back to the dealer. ;)
  • benztunerbenztuner Member Posts: 76
    Not to insult you but this is apples and oranges. Spraying residential surfaces is nothing like painting a car. The idea is the same, but everything else is different. I will tell you that a great painter is one who can fix problems that happen during the paint job, before everything is cured and dry. I would consider taking some classes at a local tech school in order to get the fundmentals down and get some practice, otherwise I would be very suprised if someone gave you a chance with no experience. After all you have to consider how much money in material and labor time is lost if you would mess a job up and it would have to be re-done by another painter. Also prep work for cars is different. Many painters have specific likes/dislikes about how they want the prep work done. So again, if you're really interested take some classes at a tech school and try it out, who knows it might not be all you think it is.
  • renegadesrenegades Member Posts: 2
  • xaetaxaeta Member Posts: 8
    there is a Supra design available from Veilside. It's expensive but the look of it is excellent!
    image">
  • dave8697dave8697 Member Posts: 1,498
    I have a 1996 car with 158k miles that started peeling this winter. The top facing surfaces over most of the car have what look like deep scratches, and the surface eventually gets cracks and then flakes fall off. The trunk lid is really peeled and it's about to peel on the hood and roof in one corner of each. I found out the materials are over $200 just to fix the trunk and the rear quarters. I went to the dealer who sells these peeling cars and they offered a few % off a $4000 repaint. Then I looked at new cars and got offered 1500 trade for my '96 at two different places. The car gets parked near a chemical factory and the daily drive is through a windy and sandy highway. I looked at cheap repaints before I bought this car so I know how they ruin a car when they don't tape off the black molding around glass, etc. One friend said to just take off the trunk lid and use a spray can. I will turn 200k mi on this car in less than 2 years en route to driving it into the ground, so is that OK advice? For as long as I park near those chemical plants that make antifreeze, while at work, should I not bring my best cars? Can the driving through clouds of sand kicked up in front of me at 65 mph for 25 miles a day be harmful to my paint? Most of the scratches run from front to back direction on the car, but the trunk is the place with the worst peeling. Before this past winter, the paint was fine.
  • j4nierj4nier Member Posts: 2
  • drydrawsdrydraws Member Posts: 1
    I recently had to replace my damaged Sarona bumper for my '04 Nissan Maxima.
    I purchased one online from KGS Engineering and had it installed by a good customizing shop.I was better off with the damaged Sarona bumper on it!
    The purchased bumper was molded shoddily and taken out of the mold too soon and left to warp..it is a piece of junk.DO NOT BUY ANY PRODUCTS FROM
    KGS Engineering!I learned this too late.I made two mistakes.(1) I thought I was dealing with a company that would deliver a quality product(2) I thought I was dealing with a company that would stand behind what they sold!
  • cx5txcx5tx Member Posts: 2
    I'm looking for a 1/4 inch (high) chrome trim that can be easily cut to size and applied to a flat surface just above the front grill.

    Any recommendations for a product for this use? There's a couple of flexible vinyle / mylar trim in the market. Are they any good?

    It needs to be durable enough to last four or five years under the hot sun and not easily fade or fall off.
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