Respray or detail?
07-27-2015, 10:53 AM
#11
I am having a small dent in my front fender repaired this week... I had a full PDR cleanup job done last week, but couldn't PDR this particular dent because the paint had cracked and exposed bare metal... It's completely isolated to the left fender panel towards the front of the car (near the headlight).
I got the following quotes for the job...the pricing was all over the place... In the end, I chose the second most expensive option:
1. $250.00 - Repair dent and spot blend the fender corner and spot clearcoat
2. $400.00 - Repair dent and spot blend the fender corner and clearcoat the entire panel on the car (mask off the other panels and headlamp)
3. $800.00 - Repair dent and spot blend the fender corner and clearcoat the entire panel - Remove the panel and paint the fender off the car (clearcoat will wrap around the lip of the car)
4. $1,200.00 - Repair dent and paint the entire fender and feather/blend into the adjoining door. Clearcoat panel. All painting done off the car (panels removed)
Options 1 & 2 were at a small garage specializing in small/medium body work. They don't have a lot of overhead, the place is in a small industrial mini-mall full of small car mechanics, smog test and car audio companies. I didn't like the idea of having the clearcoat end at the masking point. They said they could take the panels off the car and do it off the car, but that the price would go from $400.00 to $650-$700.00.
Options 3 & 4 were at a well established body shop. They would never even give me the 1st two options because they didn't feel comfortable that it was a lasting repair.
I decided to go with #3. The extra $400.00 from option #2 gives me a nice clearcoat that wraps around the lip of the fender, I get service from a full service body shop, and they throw in a full interior and exterior detail as a standard part of their service (which they, of course, build into their pricing model). They are also going to polish out one of my weathered headlights and do some general touch up paint work around the car.
The original plan was to have the PDR guy pull the dent and have the body shop touch up the bare metal corner and clean up the car for free... I have taken my cars to this place for a while now, and they were going to do the work gratis... But in the end, I decided that the touch-up would stare at me everyday I got in the car and decided to get the work done properly...
I got the following quotes for the job...the pricing was all over the place... In the end, I chose the second most expensive option:
1. $250.00 - Repair dent and spot blend the fender corner and spot clearcoat
2. $400.00 - Repair dent and spot blend the fender corner and clearcoat the entire panel on the car (mask off the other panels and headlamp)
3. $800.00 - Repair dent and spot blend the fender corner and clearcoat the entire panel - Remove the panel and paint the fender off the car (clearcoat will wrap around the lip of the car)
4. $1,200.00 - Repair dent and paint the entire fender and feather/blend into the adjoining door. Clearcoat panel. All painting done off the car (panels removed)
Options 1 & 2 were at a small garage specializing in small/medium body work. They don't have a lot of overhead, the place is in a small industrial mini-mall full of small car mechanics, smog test and car audio companies. I didn't like the idea of having the clearcoat end at the masking point. They said they could take the panels off the car and do it off the car, but that the price would go from $400.00 to $650-$700.00.
Options 3 & 4 were at a well established body shop. They would never even give me the 1st two options because they didn't feel comfortable that it was a lasting repair.
I decided to go with #3. The extra $400.00 from option #2 gives me a nice clearcoat that wraps around the lip of the fender, I get service from a full service body shop, and they throw in a full interior and exterior detail as a standard part of their service (which they, of course, build into their pricing model). They are also going to polish out one of my weathered headlights and do some general touch up paint work around the car.
The original plan was to have the PDR guy pull the dent and have the body shop touch up the bare metal corner and clean up the car for free... I have taken my cars to this place for a while now, and they were going to do the work gratis... But in the end, I decided that the touch-up would stare at me everyday I got in the car and decided to get the work done properly...
07-27-2015, 11:09 AM
#12
Much like i did with my AP2. The whole front end was re-sprayed. Hood, Fenders, Bumper and Lip. Paint was blended close to the door. Hood and Bumper were removed and the rest of the panels were sprayed. Head lights were also re-clear coated with a special UV protectant. Car Looked good as new. The rock chips were driving me mad. Total cost was $1200.
Without removing the fenders, will the clearcoat be able to wrap underneath the panel where the headlights meet the panel? Are you at all concerned with the clearcoat peeling with age if you don't wrap it around the panel?
07-27-2015, 11:12 AM
#13
Originally Posted by blueprint' timestamp='1438020788' post='23694512
Much like i did with my AP2. The whole front end was re-sprayed. Hood, Fenders, Bumper and Lip. Paint was blended close to the door. Hood and Bumper were removed and the rest of the panels were sprayed. Head lights were also re-clear coated with a special UV protectant. Car Looked good as new. The rock chips were driving me mad. Total cost was $1200.
Without removing the fenders, will the clearcoat be able to wrap underneath the panel where the headlights meet the panel? Are you at all concerned with the clearcoat peeling with age if you don't wrap it around the panel?
If a reputable body shop does the work you shouldn't be worried.
07-27-2015, 12:15 PM
#14
Originally Posted by MikeekiM' timestamp='1438024140' post='23694575
[quote name='blueprint' timestamp='1438020788' post='23694512']
Much like i did with my AP2. The whole front end was re-sprayed. Hood, Fenders, Bumper and Lip. Paint was blended close to the door. Hood and Bumper were removed and the rest of the panels were sprayed. Head lights were also re-clear coated with a special UV protectant. Car Looked good as new. The rock chips were driving me mad. Total cost was $1200.
Much like i did with my AP2. The whole front end was re-sprayed. Hood, Fenders, Bumper and Lip. Paint was blended close to the door. Hood and Bumper were removed and the rest of the panels were sprayed. Head lights were also re-clear coated with a special UV protectant. Car Looked good as new. The rock chips were driving me mad. Total cost was $1200.
Without removing the fenders, will the clearcoat be able to wrap underneath the panel where the headlights meet the panel? Are you at all concerned with the clearcoat peeling with age if you don't wrap it around the panel?
If a reputable body shop does the work you shouldn't be worried.
[/quote]
Thanks blueprint...
BTW, I was mistaken... The body shop is actually only going to remove the front bumper and the headlight so that they can get around the lip of the fender in those areas... The other areas have enough gap that they can manage to paint and clearcoat without creating a hardline.
07-29-2015, 05:29 PM
#15
Hey All,
Thanks again for the discussion. The respray option quotes listed here are great to keep in mind.
Just as an update, it turns out that the owner backed out of the sale after we had already agreed verbally over the phone to the sale and price. She claims that she decided to keep the car, although the timing was very suspicious (I had just booked a PPI and scheduled it with the owner...).
Anyway, I found and bought a Silverstone AP2. It also has some paint defects but not as bad as the Berlina Black car...and it's silver so defects hide well. I guess I should be relieved in a way.
Again, thanks for the help.
Thanks again for the discussion. The respray option quotes listed here are great to keep in mind.
Just as an update, it turns out that the owner backed out of the sale after we had already agreed verbally over the phone to the sale and price. She claims that she decided to keep the car, although the timing was very suspicious (I had just booked a PPI and scheduled it with the owner...).
Anyway, I found and bought a Silverstone AP2. It also has some paint defects but not as bad as the Berlina Black car...and it's silver so defects hide well. I guess I should be relieved in a way.
Again, thanks for the help.
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