The Best Repaint Procedure?

[mobezo2]

Hi All,

I just graduated from college, and unfortunately several years of living in student neighborhoods have wrecked havoc on my 1995 Es300's paint. On two separate occasions, people have scraped the side of it quite badly while pulling into the cramped parking lot behind one of the places where I lived. I've got another serious dent on the door where one of my friends knicked a telephone pole while rounding a corner (last time I let anyone borrow the car). This damage, in addition to the normal dents acquired over the lifetime, make me want to get a new paint job. The car is in good mechanical shape. It has been maintained by a dealerships for most of its life, and the previous owner had to replace the engine due to an oil gelling problem. The new engine only has about 45,000 miles on it, and the rest of the car is riding with a cool 130,000. I just feel like it would be worthwhile to get it painted, since anything as classy with mileage like this will cost me quite a bit.

So I'm planning on getting this sucker repainted. My plan is to get the dings and dents fixed by a local guy known as the "ding king"; remove all the trim, mirrors, etc; sand down to the primer; cover windows and then take it somewhere to get painted.

So I have a few more questions I need answered before I proceed.............

1.) How does a high end body job do a repaint job? I know one of the big differences between a Maaco job and a real class act paint job relates to prep work, but is there anything else special that they do, such as number of sprays, clear coats, etc?

2.) Does anyone have any experience or words of advice about prepping a car or repainting in general?

Thanks for your help!

[spalkin]

I worked for a few years in the parts biz. That means I went to all the local body shops, ordered all the crash parts, delivered them, stood around yeppin' about everything and learned a lot.

How much the estimate would be is something you can find out easy enough. You've got scratches and dents, and scratches with dents. You can try to fill/fix these on your own in your prep work but I don't recommend it. These guys can fill a dent and have it ready to shoot in a minute. That's if they can't pop it first.

The best thing to do, IMHO, is take it to a good, privately owned, semi-busy shop and talk to them. Ask them all about what you can do to help them save hours and you money. It doesn't need to be sanded down to the primer, only scratched up, colored than cleared. The paint from the factory is a nice seal on the bodywork. Roughing up the paint is all that's necessary to get it ready to hold paint perfectly. The color coat can feel like sandpaper and often does, but the clear coat is the one that gives the smooth, glossy shine.

Try to stay away from huge, corporate shops because it can take a while to get in and the price is no lower. Also the work goes through many different employees hands before it gets done. They have the most comebacks, meaning something's wrong with the car when you pick it up.

Macco will show an add for a cheap paint job but when you go in, you find out that that's just the paint coat! Every tiny piece of the job is separated and priced. By the time they're done estimating, the price is high.

Actually dealership shops are good. They're funded by the deep pockets of the dealer so they have good equipment and employees that go by the book. Try a Honda dealership or a Toyota. It doesn't matter what make it is. All body shops can fix all cars.

One way to save money is to buy any trim pieces or parts on your own before you take it in. In order to get a car ready for a full repaint (which yours may not need anyways) means taking off a lot of parts. The shop may insist on doing this and you can't drive your car around without bumper covers, headlights, tail lights, trunk lid etc.

You car's worth it to get all that stuff fixed and as long as it hasn't been rolled after a football game, it may not need a full re-shoot.

Just go to a good shop with good guys and talk to them. They'll tell you all the options.

Good Luck! Cheers :)

[byf43]

Great post, above!!!!!!!!!!!

I had an '89 Blazer that the paint was flaking on. GM wouldn't do anything about it.

I found a guy locally, that worked out of his home. (Partially disabled.)

Now, this Blazer had NO dings, NO scratches. The body was PERFECT! The paint was peeling off in sheets.

This guy stripped the truck down to bare metal, scuff sanded, epoxy primered it, poly primed it, shot it with 6 coats of color, wet sanded it up to 1500 grit, then clear-coated it with 8 coats, then wet sanded to 1500 grit, again.

Paint guarantee for life.

Price. . . . . $2100.00

[SW03ES]

If you really want a good job, you need to let the shop do the prep. The prep is very important, and prep that is not properly done will make the car look like you painted it with spray cans in your driveway.

A good paint job from a shop is going to run you $4k easy.

[mobezo2]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll take it to a few local guys and get their input. I didn't realize it wasn't necessary to get down to the primer. I am still going to pull of the bumper, taillights, etc. as I have access to a truck and a trailer.