Paint and Body Care

1…1819202123

Comments

  • joe166joe166 Member Posts: 401
    In my opinion, $3000 is about right for a pretty good paint job. Not a custom job, but probably good enough. The problem is that no matter what kind of repaint you get it will negatively affect your resale value. No one will believe that you had the whole thing repainted for "yellow spots". I am quite particular about my car and I had it repainted because a minor dent repair resulted in poor paint matching. When I went to trade it in a couple of years later, I got about 60% of what the book said it was worth. It looked great, but you could see in a couple of tell tale places (weather stripping, door jambs, etc.)

    As to your insurance premiums, what do you think? Insurance companies love taking your money, they hate giving any of it back. If they can legally do so, they will raise your rates. I don't think just the fact of a claim is enough, but it might be. Maybe they would claim you are a bad risk because you park under chemical trees. They could always just not renew you as a pain in the rear and then you would have to find a new company and the fact you were not renewed would count against you. I doubt that the increase in premium would even come close to equalling the $3000 they have paid you. I think you lost any way you look at it. Take the money, keep it, don't paint it, trade in the car (at night? ) and run.
  • pflaupflau Member Posts: 4
    Get the Dupli-Color Flawless Scratch removal kit. Get hobby airbrush and paint polish kit (any good hobby shop will stock these items). Use the sanding stick to remove the rust. Get touch up paint (and clear coat if needed) in a spray can. Spray paint in small glass bottle for use with airbrush. Use airbrush and correct size nozzle to spray paint thinly over area. Use multiple light coats. Wet sand with polish kit 3200 grit sanding cloth after every two coats. When chip or scratch becomes invisible, sand one last time. Spray clear top coat using airbrush. Spray about three coats, make sure to cover entire area where sanding had occured. Sand and polish using polishing kit. Done. If repair is done properly you absolutely cannot see the repair, unless under very specific lighting condition where you see the edge between the old paint and the new paint.

    The idea is to use car model builder's painting method to paint your chips and scratches. I used this method to repair some pretty bad paint damages on my car and the repairs are all but invisible.
  • Marty684Marty684 Member Posts: 17
    What's the best way to go about to have impeccably clean windows? What are the best tools of the trade and techniques?
  • britton2britton2 Member Posts: 305
    I like to use equal parts of distilled water and white vinegar - just use a lint-free white paper towel (fold it into a square) and dip into this solution (you don't want to get any on the paint)...this works great and it's cheap too! For store-bought cleaners I like Stoner's Invsible Glass - this costs $3.50 a can at Pep Boys...don't use any window cleaner with ammonia in it.
  • bretfrazbretfraz Member Posts: 2,021
    Clean windows takes two key elements:
    1. Perfect window towels.
    2. The best glass cleaner available.

    It's taken me 20 years to find this stuff. I'll give you the inside scoop free.

    Glass Cleaner - Eagle One 20/20. I've also used the glass cleaner from Henderson Glass (for those of you in Michigan) and it's excellent. I have not used Stoner but heard good things. Also the glass cleaner from Griot's Garage is terrific.

    Window Towels - Griot's Garage blue polypropelene towels. By far the best item of its kind I've found. Expensive but worth every penny. Order from Griotsgarage.com. If you are a car lover ther Griot's catalog is a "must have".

    If you want an easy One-Two punch, buy the Griot's glass cleaning kit and enjoy perfection.
  • britton2britton2 Member Posts: 305
    I've used Griot's Garage Speed Shine and their carnauba wax - both excellent products - will have to try their window towels!
  • nasdaqernasdaqer Member Posts: 3
    Hi all -- many thanks to all who have posted the great info found on this board. I tried to figure this out by lurking, but finally had to ask.

    My wife accidentally scraped the right rear fender of her 2000 Honda Accord SE against a concrete pillar. Luckily, she was going quite slow. Assuming the fender is about a 180 degree arc, the scratches start at about the top and run along the fender to near the bottom right. Also, just a small one on the door. There are places that are completely untouched, and others that are just to bare metal. There are no dents at all.

    One body shop I took it to said that I would need all new sheet metal (well over $1,000), since "rust will always come back." A friend of mine who knows cars said that perhaps a detailer could take care of it.

    I would like to just take the easy route, and try to do it myself, or maybe just stop the rust that is starting to form. Do I have to mention this when the lease is up (13 mos)? Is this something that someone fairly comfortable with cars can do themselves? Can I just take care of the rust with something and then carefully prime it and have a body shop do the rest?

    Thanks for all your help, everyone. I look forward to hearing what you all have to say.
  • bretfrazbretfraz Member Posts: 2,021
    If the scratches are to bare metal, the only proper repair is a repaint of that panel. No amount of buffing by a detailer will "remove" the scratches.

    Sanding, maybe a touch of filler, priming, and repainting the panel is prolly a $300-500 job.

    Do you have to mention it when the lease is up? No, because they'll notice it anyway. When you turn in a lease your car will be inspected prior to maturity date. Inspection will be done by a dealer or a third party. They'll find the scratches alright.

    It's kind of a judgement call for you. I had two dents with serious scratches on the hood of a leased Infiniti. I decided to leave them. An inspector checked out my car before lease termination. I was charged only $160 for the damages, a lot cheaper than body shop prices. Of course, your mileage may vary. But you will pay for it one way or the other.

    Hope this helps.
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    You should really only attempt your own body shop repairs when you're very experienced and practiced at it or if you don't care if it looks great as long as the sheet metal is not exposed. Most people never realize how difficult it is to make repairs look good until they have to have a body shop repair their repairs.
  • headers8headers8 Member Posts: 23
    I thought that waxing a new car would give it an initial protection that would go a long away protecting the body from weather, rust and othre corrosion...
    However I heard that waxing a new car is not a good idea as the wax is "too strong" for a new car's paint, and it is better to do so after 6 or 8 months. Is there truth to this???
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    The paint is baked in at the factory and has had plenty of time to cure by the time it's in your hands.
  • pacinpelopacinpelo Member Posts: 142
    Some one backed into my left front fender today. No visible paint damage only the dent the size of a palm of your hand above the wheel.
    Dealer body shop wants to redo the entire fender...
    Anyone had experience with dent removal jobs in the past? I do not want to re-paint the panel if dent removal will do the trick.
  • joe166joe166 Member Posts: 401
    Most of the paintless dent removal guys really do nice work. You should look in your yellow pages for the nearest one, look at some work they have done and ask for prices. I had a couple of small dents removed and you couldn't tell at all. The key is that they have to be able to reach the back of the dent in most cases. If they can, go for it. What is the downside?
  • adam68adam68 Member Posts: 59
    Wondering if anyone has any experience with this product...

    Thanks
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Works so well on my cars I bought the dash duster too.
  • joe166joe166 Member Posts: 401
    There has been a lot of discussion on this. Do a word search for it. Most of it was favorable.
  • adam68adam68 Member Posts: 59
    Tried doing a search on Ca Car Duster and was not able to come up with anything..
  • bretfrazbretfraz Member Posts: 2,021
    Been using it for years. It's great.
  • lex430lex430 Member Posts: 52
    maybe I am using it wrong then, I always get streaks on my car. The car may look clean/shiny at first, but if you look closer at the paint body, there are very tiny streaks everywhere, and i feel like it's leavin some of the wax stuff that's on the duster.

    I do shake it out very well each time before and after each use.

    any suggestions?
  • nmaliknmalik Member Posts: 1
    I just bought a 1993 Ford Explorer. It is in excellent shape except the driver side door does not shut properly. After replacing the door striker that was worn, I discovered a certain amount of play in the door hinge and the door is actually sagging about a quarter inch.

    Is there an easy and cost effective way to fix this? If I take it to the local dealer, I am sure they will propose a cost prohibitive solution.
  • fedlawmanfedlawman Member Posts: 3,118
    I recently had a scuffed plastic bumper cover on my Buick Rendezvous replaced and painted by a local body shop. The original lower cladding and bumper paint is a dark grey which contains tiny metallic flecks colored purple and green. In the sunlight, the flecks glisten beautifully and really look great.

    When I got the car back the first time, the grey was a slightly lighter shade and the flecks, although the correct color, weren't bold enough (there wasn't enough fleck and the paint looked dull). I pointed this out and they agreed it didn't match and promised to fix it.

    The shop explained that they matched the color from a book...by eye the first time, since no paint code from the manufacturer was available. They explained that for the second attempt, they would use a special camera to analyze the paint, which is a lot more accurate.

    When I got the car back the second time, the bumper color matched perfectly, but the flecks are simply silver (no purple or green). I cannot tell exactly where the green and purple flecks stop and where the silver starts, but the shop obviously removed the cladding over the rear wheel well and did a "fade" somewhere.

    It is only obvious during daylight, and only up close.

    My question is this. Is it reasonable to expect that a body shop should be able to perfectly match the paint, flecks and all? What are the industry standards? Do I have a beef, or is this within normal tolerances?
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Door hinge pins and bushings are available for many vehicles, check with your Ford dealer.
  • joe166joe166 Member Posts: 401
    If you can't tell where the repair ends and starts it sure sounds like it is good enough, but it is your car and if you are not satisfied, you should talk to the management. Matching is a pretty clear definition and if the metallic is a different tint then it is not matched. I think if it were my Rendevous, I would try one more time if at all since the more work you have done the more trouble you may have. I don't see too many people looking at bumper cladding closely.
  • adc100adc100 Member Posts: 1,521
    How the heck do you lubricate the hinges in the door. What type of fluid?? Where do you direct the fluid?? Aren't they origionally greased?? I have been using a relatively oil just under the head of the pin and hope it runs down. You'd think after 40 years of vehicle maintenance I would know this answer.

    Thanks
    Al
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Some guys use engine oil and others swear by 3in1 oil. I like LPS Rust Inhibitor 3 or Curtis Met-L-Gard. Both are thin and runny when they spray on, but become waxy as the solvents evaporate. They don't smell the greatest but seem to work for me. And I ALWAYS spray door and trunk lock cylinders after washing the cars. Door locks don't get much use with remote openers being so popular and the tumblers like to turn into solid blobs.
  • tomtravtomtrav Member Posts: 5
    only use on a cool surface.it works well.
  • acelinkacelink Member Posts: 106
    Can somebody please tell me the step by step process of REPAINTING an entire car? I had to paint the right side of my car at a body shop(burgundy, clear coat), which later developed bubbles. The repaint was not baked(?).

    How much should I expect to pay for the paint job that equals or betters the factory paint job? And will the baking process of the paint prevent bubbles from appearing? Thanks in advance.

    P.S. I was told that my burgundy red is more expensive than other colors. Is this true?
  • edwardh5edwardh5 Member Posts: 130
    Is there any way to repair a small tear in one of these type bumpers?

    "Bondo" won't work since the bumper is flexible.

    Thanks
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    First, expect to spend AT LEAST 2-3 thousand dollars for an entire repaint if done fairly well, probably more depending on how thorough of a job you want done.

    Questions to ask: Does the body-shop pull off all trim, decals, stripes, and anything else attatched to the body before the repaint and then re-attatch it all after, or do they just tape off everything. Removing it all decreases the likelihood of overspray, or getting paint on things like weatherstripping and body-cladding or other places where it's not supposed to be.

    Stripping the body is more expensive but will pretty much eliminate over-spray.

    Where do they dry the cars off? I've seen some places that just sit cars outside to dry after repaints. Totally unaceptable. To make sure nothing contaminates the paint before it hardens, make sure they dry it inside, ideally by baking it.

    Bubbling paint: More than likely caused by poor surface prep, such as faulty primer(the stuff that goes on before the paint so that it sticks better) or insufficient cleaning of the surface and removing of wax residue prior to painting. How long ago did they paint it? IF the work is warrantied I'd either ask for a refund or have them redo it if they dont give refunds.

    The steps to repainting a car(way oversimplified to keep this short but to give you a general idea)

    1 Removal or masking of all trim, wheels, tires, windows, etc...

    2) Removing old wax

    3) Sanding down of the old paint or removal by some other means such as chemical paint-remover. Some body shops will go all the way to the sheet metal, some will try to leave sections of primer if they're still healthy.

    4) Remove or repair all imperfections such as dents, dings, rust, etc...All those little things that can cause big imperfections in the new paint or problems after if you just paint over them.

    5)Re-apply primer

    6)Re-apply paint

    7) Re-attatch or unmask trim after paint has dried.

    You could pay 400 dollars for a mediocre paint job if you just want to cover up the sheet metal and keep the car from looking totally ugly, or you could pay upwards of 5 thousand dollars for something that looks better than factory and will shine and hold up to the elements for years to come. Some people pay upwards of 10 thousand dollars for a paint job. There is really no perfect price because people have different expectiations depending on how old the car is, how long they plan to keep it, how much they can afford to spend, etc... The problem is lots of times they think they can get a great million dollar paint job for 400 dollars and then when expectations are not met they get angry/disappointed. It all depends on how old the car is and what you want to sink into it, but you will get what you pay for.
  • acelinkacelink Member Posts: 106
    Thanks for the info. If they use the baking facility, is it safe to bake the repainted car without effecting its dash board, leather, plastics, and etc?

    You said, "2-3 thousand dollars for an entire repaint if done fairly well." Among that 2-3 thousand dollars, how much would you say is for the labor? With proper equipments (how much are they?), is this something you can do in your garage? Thanks again.
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    Yes paint jobs are baked all the time, you dont have to worry about the interior. I dont know specifically how much of the price is labor, except to say probably most of it. Actual spraying of the paint on the car is the easiest part of the job. IT is the surface preparation that costs the most, and the main reason many people think it's worth the expense to let a pro take care of it.

    Have you ever done any painting at all? If not, I do NOT recommend you attempt a total repaint. Completely repainting the vehicle you drive everyday is not the place to learn for the first time. It is much harder than most people ever realize, and if you have no experience you'll probably find the job taking much longer than you expected because of all the areas you have to redo and all the mistakes you have to fix.

    Little surface imperfections that you think are small enough to ignore will show up through the new paint three times as badly. Screw up on a panel and lay the paint on so thick that it runs and you've got to wait for it to dry, sand it again, and start over. And I guarentee that you will do this if you've never held a spray gun before.

    Here is a partial list of necessary materials just to give you an idea.

    Power sander, chemical paint remover, or both, along with lots of sandpaper.

    Exhaust fans: These suck the air away from the car to decrease the likelihood that dust and lint will get trapped in the new paint and also help suck away those toxic paint fumes.

    Masking tape: To cover up windows to prevent overspray.

    An old raincoat and some plastic bags to go over your feet: Otherwise you might find when you're done that your shoes and clothes are now a new color.

    Spray gun: 100 dollars minumum for a good one.

    Paint

    Primer

    Clearcoat

    An extra $3000 on top of what you spent on materials so you can go to a bodyshop and have them fix your paint job.

    In case you don't get it, I strongly recommend against you painting your own car unless you have experience doing so, and the fact that you had to ask me about materials indicates you do not. If many bodyshop pros have been doing it for years and STILL produce shoddy work, what does that tell you?. If it's an old car and the paint work doesn't have to be top notch, consider just sanding the car down and then paying Maaco or Earl Scheib to run it through their paint booth, which will probably only cost a couple hundred dollars. Sanding down the old paint is what requires the most work, but it's not something that is as dependent on technique and experience.
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Does this mean I shouldn't use the exhaust side of my Shop Vac to apply the paint? ;o)
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    And if the power sander's too steep, you could probably remove the ol finish with a tooth brush.
  • suvshopper4suvshopper4 Member Posts: 1,110
    I got a good video on car painting. It is called "Spray Painting 101" and is still available from autobodystore.com. It was around $30 - $35.


    http://www.autobodystore.com


    The owner, Len, also has a bulletin board, and he (and other knowledgeable posters) answer a lot of questions there.


    I'm not saying you should try painting your car yourself. eharri3 is right. But you might want to know more about it, and, who knows, try it yourself on a dent repair sometime.


    Good luck.

  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    And yeah, trying your own body work on smaller areas on older cars where the repair doesnt have to be perfect is a great way to gain some experience and learn the right technique.
  • bigfurbigfur Member Posts: 649
    Go in to an auto parts store and as for a poly fill. similar to bondo except its felxible, usually looks kinda like a light greenish color before you mix it with the hardner.
  • joe166joe166 Member Posts: 401
    Maybe with a roller? Seriously, even "experienced" painters at some body shops screw up once in a while. Painting a car is much more of an art than a science. It takes a special touch. Some people would get it easily. Some (like me) would probably never get it. I would want to do a lot of other spray painting before I tried to do my own car. I doubt that I have any place available to me that is dust free enough to repaint a car. Just a piece of dust can be magnified by the process to look like a major bump which can probably never be fixed. It used to be fairly easy (but a lot of hard, dirty work) to paint a car with a lacquer that was then rubbed out to remove imperfections. With modern paints, there is a lot less sweat, but a lot more technically difficult work. Don't do it unless you don't really like your car or you have a very loose definition of pretty.
  • jcaboosejcaboose Member Posts: 5
    I noticed a couple of spots on the hood of my brand-new Pathfinder where the clearcoat has chipped, disappeared, or was never applied. What should I do?
  • pjyoungpjyoung Member Posts: 885
    I agree 100% with Joe166...I had a friend who several years ago painted his 68 Firebird. It looked good from a couple of blocks away. But up close it looked like, well, like he painted it himself.
  • kourykoury Member Posts: 225
    Has anyone used either Mother's or Meguire's clay bars? I've used Clay-Magic and been happy with it, but can't find it anywhere.

    Thanks in advance.
  • urchin34urchin34 Member Posts: 70
    I had lots of time and no money when my 3 year-old metallic silver Toyota oxidzed through to the primer. I did all the prep work of taking off moldings, rough stripping etc. I took it to a paint shop where they allowed me to tape it all off and they finished final prep and painted. Total cost to me would be equivalent to about $600 today. Paint still looked good after 12 more years of sitting in Arizona sun all day.
  • jsylvesterjsylvester Member Posts: 572
    Many body shops are hesistant to let an rookie do his own prep because if the job comes out poorly, they take the blame. The want total control over the quality of the job because their reputation is on the line.

    A good body man is hard to find, takes years to learn the nuances of doing it right.
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    Like removing srippings, sanding, etc...
  • kgrayson1kgrayson1 Member Posts: 2
    I bought a Honda Accord. Honda sells a product "Touch of Class" which gets applied to both the interior and exterior to keep the car looking good. It's $100 for an application or $500 which includes a warranty. Someone I know who waxes cars professionally said that the product tightens the paint job, which in the long run can actually hurt the paint job. Does anyone know anything about this?
  • pjyoungpjyoung Member Posts: 885
    IMHO is nothing more than a glorified wax job. I think they use a polymer that will last a bit longer than wax, and I think it's geared to people who don't want to wax their cars. This is only my opinion, but I'd save the money and wax it myself, or, if you're not into waxing yourself, pay a detailer to do it every so often and gain more protection than any one time application will do.
  • protegextwoprotegextwo Member Posts: 1,265
    I agree with P J. If Honda's "Touch of Class" was the "real" deal, I think you and I both know, every new auto dealership in North America would be offering this product. IMHO, Honda's "Touch of Class" is nothing more than dealer profit. I.E. rape the buyer/sucker!

    -Larry
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    500 dollars for a dealer wax job, or fifteen bucks for some wax and a cloth...
  • dhanleydhanley Member Posts: 1,531
    Even if you don't want to personally wax your car, you should be able to get a good detail for $100. So that $500 should get you 3 years of 6-month detail jobs ( with interest ).

    Just too much money.

    dave
  • pjyoungpjyoung Member Posts: 885
    Here's my thinking on those deals...a lot of people lease cars for 3 years. $500 would do just what dhanley said - 3 years worth of wax jobs every 6 months (since it was "guaranteed"). Just curious but is the $500 for the life of the car or for a specific number of years?

    IMHO, save the money, pay to have it detailed twice a year, and they'll most likely use something better than the "miracle lifetime paint protectant" that is called "Turtle Wax" at your local Walmart.
  • kgrayson1kgrayson1 Member Posts: 2
    The $500 for Touch of Class is a one time price for the exterior wax and interior "treatment" and the warranty. They say it should be reapplied every five years.....So after the initial $500 the following treatments are $200. But it sounds like you guys think this product can't be any different from any other good wax.....so I think that's the direction I'll go.

    QUESTIONS: So.... would you wax a brand new car? And would you put anything on the leather seats for protection?
This discussion has been closed.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles

Your Privacy

By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our Visitor Agreement.