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Comments
if it comes off (less likely than a large area), shoot, touch it up again.
on metal, it's another issue altogether... you want to insure you paint on clean metal or converted metal (3M Rust Avenger pen or equivalent that makes rust into a bonded synthetic, drops a fractional drop to a big one when you push the tip of its pen into the hole, nice dispenser) and do it and put on the clearcoat as fast as you can. otherwise, you get nasty rust blisters.
after all that time and trouble getting that nice swimmably-deep 2-stage paint on your car, worth keeping it up. the body shop guys have airbrushers who do these things as well, and do it almost invisibly, but sometimes they only come in Thursdays. better to drop a small bit of touch-up in there and let 'em chip it back out to professionally repair a hit, IMHO.
practice on a pie tin or something... the touch-up paint brushes tend to either leave nothing.... or half a quart.... with each touch.
Second incident occured this week...my car was parked on the street for some reason (I always park in the driveway, but for God knows why I parked on the street this night). The elderly mother of our neighbor accross the stree accidentally backed into my parked car, denting the passenger side of the rear bumper and the metal body panel. What a week!
I'm thinking of taking my repairs to Superior Collision Center in Cincinnati. They're a pretty big place, and would like any feedback anyone has. Thanks in advance.
The left rear bumper corner is crunched in, but there is no damage to the sheetmetal, and the paint is not (yet) broken on the bumper.
How hard is this to have fixed? Am I looking at a new bumper or can something else be done?
Oh - the car is non-metallic black.
Thanks.
Second question: where can I find this "clearbra" stuff? Can I use it on that section of the car that runs underneath both doors? Can I use it on the bootom "half" of both doors to keep road grime and salt from scraping and scratching the paint because of the snow here in the DC area?
Any information would be helpful. Thanks.
Don't wash with water. If you want to remove light dust, fingerprints, etc., use a California Car Duster and/or a quick detail spray. Both are available at any auto parts store in the nation. Lightly sweep the duster along the car to lift dust and use the detail spray to remove any other crud. Buy some microfiber towels to use with the detail spray. They're much softer and absorbent than cotton terry.
Do a web search for Paint Protection Film. There are many companies selling kits for various cars. You can cut it to any size and shape you want. Look for companies like X-Pel and Invincashield.
As far as coverage is concerned, you can cover everything if you want, but it will be pretty expensive. Most kits, cover the mirrors, the headlights, bumper, front of hood. Some people also run it over the front of the fenders, along the top front of the roof. The rocker panels (beneath the doors) isn't a bad idea either. But a good installer can make recommendations and you can get an idea of your budget. JW
The local detail shop wants to use some sort of acid followed by clay and waxing.
I would appreciate any comments or suggestions.
Thanks-
For the first time in many years I went to a pro-detailer that used clay w/lubricant and possibly acid or actually vinegar - did a great job - I was very relieved.
thanks again
Is there any issue having a pro detailer try to buff out these scratches, given the pearl-white paint? Thought I'd ask the pros here before checking with a couple of detailers. I still think she should contact GM about this...
Thanks, in advance,
--Robert
I had forgotten about it until I saw your post. I can only see where the damage was if I look for it.
This spot did not come off with any of the obvious methods - and I do not have any idea what to do next. Ideas? Is there a chemical that will take this off ? Thanks.
Thanks again.
Coke is an old southern favorite to get the greenbugs and slop off cars. it would be nice to rinse afterwards.
I was very happy that the spot came off with vinegar, and the operator of the garage was even more so. ;-)
e
Today I was able to clean the paint (it appears to be latex based) off of the windshield with WD40 and a Brillo pad, followed with a strong ammonia/water wash. The windshield appears to have no more paint and is clean. I was a bit worried about the WD40 streaking the windshield, but it came out fine.
Now for the obvious question. How do I get the paint splatters off of the clear coat? I did wheel the finish two years ago with 3M swirl remover, but I don't want to over do it. Should I clay-bar the finish, will WD40 hurt the finish, or is there anything else that I can use.
Any suggestions from the experts??
The clear coat on my trunk is starting to check. So why can't I sand it off very gently with a mighty fine wet/dry paper and get down to the original flat color, and then have the trunk re=shot with clear? I should get a perfect color match, right?
What's wrong with my picture, if anything?
body shop insists we have to strip the trunk to bare metal, blah blah blah, for $800 or more.
I suspect they're saying the color coat will be skinned and might peel, certainly it won't look swimmingly deep.
is it possible that both coats are coming undone from the primer under the checking, something you might not find out until respraying clear? checkered or alligatored house paint is usually shot down to the bare wood.
I'm wondering if it's hard to learn how to do for yourself. Does it take a lot of practice so it's impractical as a DIY? Is the equipment terribly expensive so there would be no payback? Is it better to just find a body shop who might do it, instead? Is there someplace online I could learn about this?
I don't want pictures of naked ladies with dorsal fins on my car, just a neat and seamless way to patch the stone chips every year. TIA, JW
also, auto paint is fairly expensive. computerized formulas make it possible to blend many colors from the stock pigments down to a couple ounces of final paint. if you don't have access to a dealer with that equipment, get a pint or half-pint can of paint, some solvent for the paint chemistry being used, and maybe even some "blending vehicle".
the blending additive is really cool. consider you have a bung-up about fist size in the middle of a door in the paint. you've had the color fade, maybe it's a middle blue type of color notoriously hard to match. use the airbrush to put a spot of fresh color over that bald center spot after doing the proper surface preparation, sanding and priming and dewaxing and such. now put some more paint in a standard spraygun, mix in some blend, and thin to specs. spray over that area, and past it a little bit. add a little more blend, stir it up well again, and expand the painted area. repeat until you have essentially no paint in the spray and are shooting blender and thinner.
you may have a color mismatch, but it's in the center, and it oh, so gradually goes back to the rest of the car's color. the results are very hard to tell from hinking around and painting all your fingernails trying to get the perfect color match, assuming you have a body shop's access to all the color pigments in the system. I've seen a mopar blue blended into a GM green on a trunk lid done this way so you can't point at a color change.
this may be a lot more than you asked about, but illustrates that if you have the tools and skills (which I don't) you really can hide the dings. being kind of non-subtle in movement, I do best buying dark colored cars and using the touch-up bottle with a rag of alcohol in the other hand, wiping it all off before it starts drying, until I stop putting ugly blobs on and get the chip filled in right.
Thanks in advance
One obvious difference is that the body shop says you have to re-rustproof under the dent once it's been PDRd-- but, this only comes out to $30, so it's not the main reason. (But what do you guys think-- does it need to be re-rustproofed after PDR'ing?)
Another possibility is that the PDR guy didn't realize how many parts he'd have to remove, even under the trunk, to get to the metal. The body shop guy looked up my car in a software program that seemed to have every detail, so he clearly knew about these, while the PDR guy just eyeballed it.
Anyway: I don't want squeaks and rattles (or rust) if the PDR isn't done right (with respect to, say, putting parts back on after the PDR), but I do want to go for the best value. So... any thoughts on which is more likely to do a good job, or how I can tell? I will be getting more estimates, btw.
in my humble personal opinion, a known reputable body shop is the way to go if you give a rip about what the value will be more than a week down the road. it will cost more. it also costs more to have a heart surgeon do bypasses than the guy who babbles under the bridge when he's not passed out.
As for PDR, I spoke today to a guy at another body shop. He said that the danger is that a few years down the line, if PDR isn't done right the paint could start to crack in the hot sun (is this what you mean swschrad?). He recommends that if I use it I get some kind of insurance against the paint cracking (presumably a guarantee, which would mean the local body shop?). Anyone know anything about this?
This guy's shop would use traditional, pre-PDR methods. It would cost three times as much. They don't seem eager for the business; they only do hail damage estimates between 7 - 8 AM, and charge $35 for them. Must have found themselves spending their whole days doing estimates last week.
I've used PDR several times myself (not a new guy but one who has been in business in the area for a number of years, btw) but my own opinion would be that it is best 1) on a single or very minor dent, like in a door. When it's on a hood or on the top of the car it is VERY hard for PDR to get it all, and they should tell you upfront that it won't be perfect (back to the question: how do you want the car to turn out!); 2) on a vertical panel which doesn't catch the full light, again like a door panel or the side of a fender, etc. Again, a hood or trunk or car top is asking more than even the best can be expected to be able to accomplish to a high degree of success -- even a top level body shop will have to struggle with this job, if I have the correct picture in mind.
For your area: call the local POrsche club, or an independent mechanic who deals with highline cars, and ask who they recommend for good body work. You may pay more, but it should be a right as it can be. JW