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Paint and Body Maintenance & Repair

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Comments

  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    When reading Jipster's reply was beginning to question my reading ability. Glad it wasn't me.

    Maybe it's your poor grammar you should be questioning? :P
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • easypareasypar Member Posts: 191
    I've never had such rotten luck as with my '03 Nissan Maxima. I've got 5 or six decent size rubs in the rear bumper, two on the passenger door and 3 bad spots on the front clip. I did good prep, got them cleaned up with 1500 and 2000 grit. But I absolutely could not get either paint on without horrible looking brush marks. I tried both the Nissan 1/2 oz bottle and a 2 oz bottle mixed for me by a local shop.

    I tried both the brushes that came in the lids and a very fine brush (stolen) from my wife (artist type) supply, no luck with either one. Really hacked me off because I was doing my car and her Lexus at the same time and her car looks great.

    I broke down today and ordered a 12oz aerosol can online from one of the touch up suppliers but thought I'd better check in here in case there's something I'm missing.

    The color is "Titanium", Nissan code WV2, kind of a dark grey (ish) metallic. I've done touch up on 3 other "silver" toned cars, Chevy, BMW and Lincoln and had much better results than this.

    Any advice?

    Thanks in advance.

    easypar
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    Don't forget to order some clearcoat to spray over the touchup paint.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    There's also a chemical called a "leveller" that you might be able to apply after you brush. A lot depends on the color you are working with as well. And over-brushing can be a no-no. It requires a lot of patience. Mine came out looking bad, too, so you are not alone.
  • hammer2000hammer2000 Member Posts: 1
    I have a mustang with a low hanging front facia (black) that is scrapped (hit a concrete parking space block). It has a few minor gouges and scraps. I'd like to avoid taking it into the shop, so can it be fixed by hand?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    If you take it off and buy the right filler you might be able to smooth everything out, but getting new paint on there to actually look good is going to be tough unless you have the proper equipment. It's possible you could do the body work part and then take it somewhere to be painted. I don't know your skill level, or the year/condition of your car, so it's hard to advise you.

    If there are any serious cracks, that's a big problem. You should also price out a new piece and compare that to all the hassle.
  • acecarsacecars Member Posts: 1
    Oh my. You're trying to repair damage larger than 2" on a silver car with touch up paint or an aerosol can?

    Two rules about auto body repair:

    1. Anything larger than 2" is not DIY.
    2. Anything light metallic (silver, gold, light green) is most definitely not DIY.
  • tankbeanstankbeans Member Posts: 585
    Hello everybody. I'm new to this forum and as such have not had much of a chance to read many previous posts so I'm sorry if I'm asking a question that has been answered.

    Anyway, about a month ago I scraped my front fender (passenger side) and acquired a minor dent with some paint chipping. My friend got the dent most pulled out and now the issue that I'm having is that the touch-up paint is starting to slough off and I'm getting minor surface rust. The area is about 2.5in by 1.5in. I'm assuming by your answer to the previous poster I should take it to a body shop.

    My question is, would that be the only option? If so how much might it cost and how long would the car be out? I only ask because I just got my car back from being repaired after a minor accident and don't want to pay a ton of money now. This scrape wasn't part of the accident, but do you think I should take it to that shop and see what they might charge?

    My car is a 2003 Accord Coupe silver. I don't need it to look brand new, it's 7 years old after all, but I don't want it to rust out either. Any tips or ideas.

    Also I have a long scratch 18 inches, it's not very wide (pin-point maybe). Is this something I might be able to fix myself? I'm not looking for perfection since any 7 year old car is going to show some age and in MN it can be hard to avoid minor damage since ice and snow are a given.

    Thank you all for humoring me. I don't like spending a ton of money.
  • carstrykecarstryke Member Posts: 168
    edited March 2010
    dealership paint + fabric protection

    Is it worth it ?? what is it exactly?? and did you get it ?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Once the scratch gets down to the primer, your chances of a DIY looking good get less and less. There are some "scratch kits" which claim to do a good job and I'd certainly try one of them. BE sure to take your time. Don't rush the job.

    As for the large dent/scratch, that sounds like at least $500 bucks or more to get a nice straight fender and a good paint match. Where I live it would probably be $800.

    I seriously doubt your car will "rust out" on a vertical surface. Rust perforation usually occurs only where water can get trapped and collect.
  • srs_49srs_49 Member Posts: 1,394
    No, not worth it.

    Probably just some cheap wax and Scotch Guard (tm).

    No.
  • tankbeanstankbeans Member Posts: 585
    Thanks for the tip about the rusting on a vertical surface. I ended up having the fender done professionally, but the long scratch is still there. Since it isn't extremely obvious that it's there (except for me) I'll just wax the heck out of to make sure nothing can get in there. The scratch has been there for about 1 year and a half, and through almost 2 winters (in MN) and it hasn't started rusting at all.

    I'm learning new things all the time.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Unless the scratch completely wipes out the primer underneath, it's not going to start forming iron oxide. Some of these scratch kits look credible.
  • tankbeanstankbeans Member Posts: 585
    I know the paint (car is silver) is gone and the portion that is visible is black (must be primer) and has so far been good. I'm happy that it's held up as well as it has up in MN after 7 years. I'm the second owner and there was very minor damage when I got it.

    I've had a couple unfortunate missteps, but have fixed them promptly and the car looks almost showroom new.

    I know I'm going to be looking for these scratch kits because I have some surface scratches on the roof, it almost looks like low hanging branches have created swirling.

    Thank you for your help.
  • fergusthedogfergusthedog Member Posts: 4
    Would like to change the color of my Black Element new Honda color called Omni Blue Pearl. It is a very light blue and would create a two tone look. Since the Element only has 12,000 miles and several upgrades I would prefer to paint however a few folks think it makes more sense to just buy a 2010 Element. Any advise or thoughts would be appreciated.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I'm sure doing a two-tone paint job on your Element won't be cheap, but if you keep 1/2 the existing color and just create a second line of color (presuming there is some logical way to "break" the two colors") that would still be way cheaper than buying an entirely new car.

    Now if your plan is to strip the original Element all the way down for a full-on paint job stem to stern, well, that's going to get *very* pricey for a quality paintjob and you might think that over.

    In any event, I guess we're lookin' at $3,000 to $8000 depending on what you want to do, and what CAN be done.
  • kvfilmskvfilms Member Posts: 1
    Hi All,

    I’m sure some of you have heard it all before, and if not, you probably know things that I’m yet to discover, probably the hard way about DIY body work repair.

    Anyway, the other week a van or lorry very kindly decided to scrap the passenger side of my Polo, break the mirror casing too, despite it being folded in.
    Money being in short supply, I thought I'd have a go myself, having read up on it all, from paints, sandpaper grits, blending, cutting, step by step guides etc etc. I'm now at that point of buffing, polishing, bringing out the shine etc.

    However, one thing I can’t improve is the colour, sadly, if it wasn't for the slight colour difference, I'd be quite chuffed with my efforts for a first attempt so far. The wally that I am, I chose to use an aftermarket pre mixed paint, and guess what, it didn't match! Something I didn’t discover until it was a bit late, annoying really, as I did offer the colour code and was told he didn’t need it, as there was only one VW Indigo Blue :(

    As I'm sure you'll understand, the more I look at it, the more it bothers me that the colour is slightly off, more purple than the Indigo Blue that it is meant to be. Anyway, my question to you lovely people is:
    What is the easiest way to undo what I've already done and start again (with the right paint this time)?

    Do I simply take some course sandpaper to the area concerned and sand it back to the primer and use that as my base and start from there?

    Do I use paint thinner (as one person has suggested? as that will remove some of my efforts, but not the surrounding original VW paint as that is a different blend/ mix
    Any other ideas?

    Where’s the best place to buy a perfect match (made to match colour code) in a spray can, Halfords?

    PS the area concerned is patches around the passenger side doors, basically a straight line scrap/ v.small dent + the mirror case, which when replaced needs paint to match car colour.

    I’m sure it would help if you had some pictures, which I will upload soon, but in the meantime, any help or advice you can offer would be really helpful.

    Cheers
  • dlin13dlin13 Member Posts: 3
    All,

    Very quick question for you all: Do you have any suggestions for finding a paint shop in Chicago? I've searched here manually and via search, used Google, and even checked Car Talk's mechanics' files. But no luck on finding a list of reputable/reviewed paint shops.

    To give some background, the area right above my back left wheel was scratched when someone turned into me in an intersection. It requires some touch-up paint, at the very least. It seems pretty simple, but I want to make sure someone gets the right paint, etc.

    Any thoughts on specific shops or a website with a list of shops would be appreciated!

    Thanks!
    Dave
  • colin_lcolin_l Member Posts: 591
    Broaden your search; just look for good body shops. Paint is a big part of a body shop and if they don't do it well, they won't have a good reputation.

    That said, computerize color matching makes the job fairly easy. Proper application of the paint is a learned skill, for sure, but when you do it every day it's just not that hard.

    BTW you will almost certainly need to prep and re-spray the area to fix the car properly. Touch-up paint is nearly useless. It can't cover anything larger than a thumbnail and even then it's likely to be very obvious because it rarely matches well, even when you buy it in the right color from the dealership.
  • tallman1tallman1 Member Posts: 1,874
    Word of mouth is the best way to find a good body shop... and a bad one. You might try asking around. Another way is to find a couple of good, professional detail shops and ask them for a recommendation. People who take great care of their cars usually know the best body shops. Good luck.
  • driver8njdriver8nj Member Posts: 1
    I felt compelled to post here because of how thrilled I am to have my 2009 Chevy Impala back. After getting cut off and veering into a divider, I thought my car would be totaled. However, the good folks at Proline Body and Chassis in Elmwood Park saved me from having to look for another car.

    I was shocked to see how good it looked when I got it back a week later -- it was like I bought it new between the quality of the body work and the paint job. When I went to my long-time mechanic, he said he never would have suspected I had been in an accident. That's probably the best endorsement anyone can give for a body shop.
  • dlin13dlin13 Member Posts: 3
    Colin and Tallman

    Thanks for the responses! I didn't realize anyone had posted until I saw the most recent post. Appreciate the help.

    -Dave
  • k5thbeatlek5thbeatle Member Posts: 2
    Can someone in the know please tell me about this process? I am told it is superior to having a paint protector placed on new cars but I know little about it? Is it worth it to have your car "Minged"??? I'd appreciate hearing the good, the bad, & the ugly about "Ming".

    Thanks
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
  • k5thbeatlek5thbeatle Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the link obyone, appreciate it. There doesn't seem to be much info as to whether MING is a good process apart from what the MING people put out? Anyone else have any experience with this process, good or bad?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Sounds like voodoo to me.
  • tallman1tallman1 Member Posts: 1,874
    I agree with Shifty. In fact, I'm surprised that Ming is still around. I'm always suspect when a company says that you should only use their "special" car wash product.

    They also recommend that you never wax your car or take it through a commercial car wash. I hand wash all my cars but that may be a deal breaker for some.

    I did a quick Google search and found several detailing websites that trash Ming. I'm of the mindset that if you want your paint protected, use a quality wax every 3-4 months or a quality paint sealant every 9-12 months.
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    Funny what you described about using only their car wash and not taking it through car washes sounds like Zaino. Course you need to observe what type of brushes that the car washes use as they come from very firm to soft depending on how long the operator wants them to last. The better car washes which usually costs more have a soft fabric. Since I can't stand scratches in my clearcoat I wouldn't take any of my vehicles to a car wash.
  • tallman1tallman1 Member Posts: 1,874
    Funny you should mention that... I was walking through a parking lot today and the sun was hitting the hood of each car I passed at just the right angle so that the swirl marks were obvious. Even the white cars looked bad.

    Huge difference when I got to mine. :)
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    The more I read the Ming "rap" the funnier it gets. I wonder how Ming magic gets to "bond" the paint when there's a clear coat on top of it? Does it leak through it? X-rays?
  • tallman1tallman1 Member Posts: 1,874
    How about a special formula that can penetrate the clear coat.... super tiny molecules. ;)
  • rjp3526rjp3526 Member Posts: 2
    I have a very large dent in the drivers side rear quarterpanel (side panel) - since its a brand new truck, and finished in pearl-coat black paint, I thought it would be best for the body shop to replace the entire body side panel. The first shop I got an estimate at agreed, said it would be much better than drilling, pulling the dent out, filling and sanding. I really want this repair to be invisible as its a brand new truck. But today I was discussing a 2nd estimate with the body-shop manager at the Dodge dealer where I bought the truck, (he has not actually looked at the large dent yet) and surprisingly to me atleast, he said its not always best to remove the entire quarterpanel (sorry I know that may not be the correct term) - but rather, since the factory welds on the side panel to the truck bed, and its such a difficult process to cut off the entire panel, put a new one on, and reweld it perfectly, he said sometimes it makes a much better job to leave the dented panel on the truck, pull the dent, fill it, & sand it. I was very shocked to hear him say this. Can any experienced body people on this forum please give me some advice & insight on who is correct here? Is it better to cut off the entire quarterpanel, weld a new one on, prime & paint, - or as the 2nd bodyshop guy said, does it sometimes make for a much better final result if they just drill, pull & fill the large dent ? Btw, the dent is just ahead of the rear corner tail light, right smack in the middle of the panel (about where you often see the "4x4" emblems on the rear sidepanels of pickups - and its maybe 2" deep of a dent, and about 10-12" square (roughly) in size. I can email you excellent pics of the damage if you want to see them, just provide your email ID - Thanks Very Much for any advice on this - I want this truck to come out as perfect as possible, it was almost 40k new just four months ago, and it was my "dream truck" of my life - this whole thing has been very upsetting for me.
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    Funny you should mention that. I got side swiped and took the car in for repair. The car has been zaino'd since day one. Couple of days later the shop owner calls me and says the the paint doesn't want to stick and what kind of wax do I use. He had sanded through the clear coat but not to the metal. Does Zaino actually penetrate through the clearcoat?

    Told him to wash it with Dawn and it should be ok. He thought I was nuts.
  • rjp3526rjp3526 Member Posts: 2
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  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    No--- Zaino is miraculous, but it doesn't go through clear coat---at least I HOPE not...

    the paint under the clear coat is actually relatively dull when applied at the factory---the clear coat is what gives paint its real shine.

    You might have noticed that you don't get paint color on the rag when you buff a newish car?
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    I thought the body shops blend the paint and the clear so as to only shoot it once and not having to sand twice. That's after the primer of course..

    I think he ran into problems when "blending" the paint perhaps not sanding enough to remove the zaino off the clear coat.
  • bigfurbigfur Member Posts: 649
    There are ups and downs to doing it both ways. Of course to replace the box side you have to take the entire bed off the truck drill out all of the factory spot welds and try to reweld all of the box back together. The repair if done right will look more factory correct if they just pull and lightly fill the dent. After doing body work for a while it sounds like if you want the best factory look when you are done, have them pull and fill the dent. And as far as drilling, most places now use a stud welder to weld what look like little nails onto the metal and pull out the dent a little at a time with a slide hammer. I will state it is ENTIRELY up to you as to how you want the repair to be done. Pulling the dent will be faster cheaper and with a good tech and painter look great. Replacing the panel can in some instances lead to the gaps for the tailgate and things not lining up quite right. My personal opinion is when ever possible leave the factory pieces in place.
  • anon3anon3 Member Posts: 147
    There are few absolutes in life and few rules that always apply, but one that I follow is: "never, ever, ever take your car through a wash that has brushes or anything that makes contact with the paint." That is if you care at all about the appearance of your vehicle.

    Those "soft cloths" and brushes collect abrasives (dirt, sand, etc) in their fibers that will without fail leave fine scratches and swirls in the top layer of paint or clear coat. It's like washing your car with a Brillo pad or steel wool. As Tallman1 mentioned, walk through a parking lot when the sun is low in the sky and the light is reflecting at an angel. You'll see the swirls and scratches, especially on dark paint. That is almost always from car washes (or in some cases, the owner has used an abrasive cleaner wax or applicator pad).

    Just yesterday, I saw a nearly new black Porshe Panamera Turbo that had so many swirl marks that it looked like someone had washed it with a brick. That should be a crime.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I hand wash my cars frequently and never wax them. Even waxing is an abrasive process. I suppose if you are going to show your car or some such, or sell it, waxing might be a good idea but I can't say my cars don't look good just the way they are. I've very careful how I wash the car, though, and never let anyone "help" me.
  • tallman1tallman1 Member Posts: 1,874
    Another trick I've learned is to use two buckets when washing a car. One with the soap/shampoo and one to rinse the mitt/cloth/sponge. It is amazing how dirty the rinse water can get even when the car is relatively clean.

    If you use one bucket, all that grit goes back on the paint.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I use the hose to pre-soak the car and float off dirt before I even touch it with a wash mitt.
  • nasridinenasridine Member Posts: 11
    I got some scratches on my car. One of them is quite deep, I can see the black color (my car is blue). Is it primer layer or metal layer? Others are just light scratches. It is still blue, only lighter than the original color, you can feel the toughness in that area (wax?)

    I did some research and here is the list of what I'm going to get for the touchup
    1. microfiber cloth (to clean the surface first)
    2. sandpaper with different grit
    3. primer
    4 basecoat with the correct color (spray can)
    5. clearcoat.
    6. mask tape
    7. Rubbing compound

    My questions are:
    1. do primer and clearcoat have color? If so should I get the same color as the basecoat?
    2. For the deep scratch, should I apply primer first then basecoat and clearcoat at last?
    3. For the lighter ones, I don't need the primer, right?
    4. what does rubbing compound do? Do I apply it after the clearcoat. Does it fix minor scratches without any paint?
    5. What grit sandpaper to use for deep scratch and light scratches ?
    6. Do I need any wax or polish for the final touch?
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    edited November 2010
    Just curious what kind of car and what do you expect to achieve?
    0. use claybar to clean the paint
    1. primer can be different colors though most of the time it''s grey. Clearcoat is exactly that. clear.
    2. start with 600 grit sand light then prime, paint, clearcoat.
    3.lighter scratches I would recommend 3M rubbign compound used with a random orbital buffer.
    4. depends on which brand of rubbing compound that you use, you could strip the paint to bare metal.
    5. deep scratch start with 600. light scratch use 3M rubbing compound with random orbital buffer.
    6. wax and polish would be good to protect the time and effort you are about to spend.

    Are you sure you want to try this?
  • nasridinenasridine Member Posts: 11
    It is a blue 2010 Subaru Forester. Got some scratches lately. See pictures below. Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to fix them respectively
    The first and second pics shows a long scratch. Not very deep, probably only clearcoat is damaged. Can feel the toughness of wax by touching
    image
    image
    This one is kind of deep, can see the metal.
    image

    Also there is a long thin key scratch.
    image

    Thanks
  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 22,562
    Just bought a 17 year old car which has had a really cheap re-paint. On a sunny day you can see all sorts of sanding marks under the paint. Looks like the car went through a briar patch and has faint scratches all over.

    My question is if there is any cheap way of making the cheap paint job less noticeable. I know that short of a proper re-paint there is no way to make it perfect.

    This is a $1200 car and not worth a lot of expense. Am I on a fool's errand or do the pros have some magic?

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    Save your time and money. Other than polishing it out, there's not much you can do to a cheap paint job.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Er.....the problem with cheap paint jobs is that they use CHEAP PAINT. So it just doesn't respond to most techniques.

    You could try "color sanding" if you want to read up on it, but it's a fair amount of work.
  • bigfurbigfur Member Posts: 649
    Dont waste your time or money on trying to fix the paint. Once someone screws it up with a cheap paint job its pretty well over. Best thing you can do is to keep it clean and hope it lasts as long as the car runs.
  • httobyhttoby Member Posts: 1
    Mazda CX7
    2007
    rear door has been hit.
    I want to save a little money by getting the dent out.
    How do I remove the inside the door panel?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You might consider having one of those mobile dent repair guys come take a look. It really depends on the dent you have. If the metal has been stretched out in any way, you won't be able to push it back out from the inside.

    so I'd suggest that before you take the panel off and maybe even make it look worse (unless you are prepared to do bodywork and paint the door), have a "dent pro" look at it, and for a lot less than a bodyshop, he might be able to make it look a lot better.
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