Hello All,

As I fall into the depression of the northeast winters (which separate me from my S), I'm mapping out this spring's work to be done. She's in fantastic shape mechanically and interior, and the exterior is in good shape. Overall, the paint is good and all original panels (zero accidents), but the front bumper is completely rashed up from 120K miles of road time, and there's a lot of chips on the hood. Also, behind the front wheels and in front of the rear wheels is pitted up as well. I'm considering getting it painted in the spring to restore it's Laguna Blue awesomeness - just the necessary panels and blended, not the entire car. But... I realize aftermarket painting is never the same is factory. So... thoughts on pros/cons?

I'm not really concerned with resale since it's mine until I die. After paint, I would get the entire car polished and ceramic coated, have some wheel rash addressed and then admire her. Looking for community advice and any recommendations on stellar paint shops in northwestern NJ.

 

Obviously since it’s your car and you aren’t planning on selling I’d say do what makes you happy. Your tolerance for the rock chips every time you approach the car before driving are going to be subjective and different to everyone else.

I also have Laguna with a decent amount of chips but I’m going with a Cr bumper and lip and holding on to my original stuff in original condition. I’m stuck trying to determine whether to paint the oem fenders and hood. I have 40k miles but looks like more just because of the driving I do and lots or rocks around here. I do plan on eventually selling the car.

I bought oem side strakes to cover up the rear area before the tires. I didn’t want to get into repainting the actual unibody but I’m fairly confident a good shop could paint match the Laguna for the bumper and fenders etc.

Add a few pics to help us out with your question!

 

Since you will be keeping her forever then just do it, you will be happy that she is a 9 instead of an 8!

 

IMO, there are two ways to approach this. Both are based on NOT doing a major paint job (blending or otherwise) because it will not match, period.

You can do it yourself, training yourself and taking a lot of time to properly fill the pits and buff everything out.

You can find a top end detailer who knows how to do this the right way and deal with each chip and scrape so you won't even know what happened.

 

Well I was in your situation some time ago. I ended up repainting the entire car at a reputable shop. It cost me thousands of dollars. I had the car for a week before I ended up totaling it (lost control). I got another S2000 and the paint is 9/10 except the front bumper has already been replaced (painted). I have a few chips in the hood. I plan to see what kind of OEM parts Honda comes out with and may decide to replace the bumper with either OEM or Amuse R1 and then repaint again and have hood chips touched up. However in light of my first experience I probably will wait till I have third car, so that I don't have to drive my S on the highway (thats where most of my damage was acquired). I have ignored this problem for some time now and it gets less annoying over time and I try not to stand too close to the car. Also makes new chips easier to digest. At the end of the day IMHO this is a not a classic Ferrari. Easier to drive a less than perfect car without too much tension.

 

I went with a Honda approved body shop at a Honda Dealership when I got into a minor accident last year. I was afraid that the bumper and driver side fender wouldn't match the hood and the other fender so I paid out of pocket to get the whole front repainted and the paint and oem orange peel was a perfect match with no blending. When comparing the original paint on the doors to the new paint on the fenders side-by-side, I couldn't even tell that it was repainted other than the swirls. The only complaint was some dirt nibs that I sanded down and buff myself. My S2000 now looks brand new! After letting the paint cure for about a month, I got a clear bra for the whole front bumper and headlights then 24 inch coverage for the hood and fenders. I would recommend you do the same too after repainting.

 

Don't see any real reason a Laguna Blue Pearl, or any other color, bumper can't be refinished by a top body shop. Especially in an area with lots of expensive cars.

I bought an OEM front spoiler in 2014 or '15 in factory Silverstone. Test fit it to the car and all the stone chips in the bumper made it look horrible. Put it back in the box until 6 months ago (2019) when I had a well regarded body shop remove, repair, and repaint the front bumper and fit the spoiler. All 5 surfaces (both steel fenders, aluminum hood, plastic bumper, and plastic spoiler) match as far as I can tell keeping in mind that the same paint on different surfaces can look different even when new. Only repainted part is the bumper and I personally masked the VIN tag so it's there. Body shop removed all the faux scoops and grill before refinishing and repainting (I've seen the vents painted over on other cars).

Find a paint and body shop specializing in high end cars.

-- Chuck

 

How do you remove the faux vents on the front bumper ( I already removed the grill - I just can’t figure out how to remove the vents ) ? I thought they are part of the bumper - and therefore not removable

 

They're not removable. People cut them to run brake ducting. A good body shop will mask them off, which is how it should be because they look terrible painted.

 

Maybe the body shop didn't remove mine 2006 and simply did a stellar job of masking them? I wasn't there. Maybe different depending on early and face-lifted bumpers.

-- Chuck