Having car painted, need advice
 

The car is black and so it always looks hideous even 5 min after washing. I have a new front bumper (genuine GM) to install and the hood is covered with chips and the paint is very badly pitted (I have no idea what would have caused such a thing). The rear bumper has faded somewhat and is now more grey then black so it also needs painted. I bought the car used with these problems and have done my best to treat/cover them but I've got some cash to blow now and am thinking some paint work is in order.

The rest of the car is covered with the usual fine scratches and the pitting I mentioned earlier but doesn't seem to be as bad. Polishing and/or buffing won't take this stuff out. I'm curious as to if I should have the whole car repainted or if I should see of the pitting can be wetsanded out and just have the car re clear coated.

Any advice would be much appreciated.. also if anyone know what would cause pitting that would be great.. I just can't figure it out..

If you guys need pics I can get you all some on wednesday or thursday (ordered GF new 4 megapixel digicam for birthday :D )

Best advice I can give is to take it to a good paint shop (IE not MAACO!) and tell them "I want the entire car to look brand new".Then get an estimate from them on what they need to do. A complete paintjob can cost around $5000 but they may only have to paint the hood and front bumper and may be able to buff or wetsand the rest.Good luck man!

5,000 seems awfully steep.. I'd like to keep it below 2,500.. it is after all black - not that hard or expensive even and I don't need door jams and engine bay painted.

I posted in the FL section asking about good paintshops in the tampa, orlando, bradenton, sarasota area so we'll see what that turns up.

What I really want to know is, is it possible to wetsand (buffing wont take the pitting out) most or all of the clear off and then simply re clear the car? Or is that something that's just not done?

Also, what brand should I request the painter use? Dupont, PPG? I've heard the painter is what's important though.. not the paint.

If you want it under $2,500, take it to MAACO but remember you get what you pay for...

You gotta be kidding me.. maaco charges like $500 - $800. I've had several shops in the area quote me prices in the 1,800 - 2,200 range. I'm not looking for showroom quality as this is a daily driver.. I just want the car to look new.. like it's never been touched.

I've heard too many horror stories about maaco..

trying towet sand out the pits will do you no good your jsut going to end up going through the clear and will need a paint job. if you want it to look like it probally did from the factory just get it re painted. i wouldnt expect it to cost 5k either unless you have a lot of body work that needs to be done. i wouldnt expect to pay more than 2500. As for what paint as long as its a reputable body shop i wouldnt worry most use dupont,ppg,or sherwin william, glasruit all good paints thers a couple other not mentintion but if a reputable shop uses it i wouldnt be worried.

5000 is steep for basic repaint unless there is bodywirk to be redone. I am looking at 7000 to do a complete colorswap.

FWI, Black is not an "easy" color to paint. The bodywork and spraying has to be perfect. Dark colors show all the flaws.

That's why I said under $2,500. Maybe I should have said under $500. ;)

actually black is easy as hell to paint its a solid nothin to it. its only a pain in the ass to clean cause you end up always seeing swirl marks in the clear. of course you want the bady work straight but as far as applying the paint no prob, its tri coats, color changing colors metalics and pearls that make things harder

Theres nothing wrong with Maaco, just depends where you go, each Maaco is individual owned and operated, so not all of them suck or use cheap paints :rolleyes: My car club is sponsored by a Maaco and they have done excellent work for us.. Here are 2 examples
(1)
(2)
We have two others in the shop right now, and mine will be going in soon too..

-Lost, if you're interested PM me and i might be able to get you a discount.

Personal experiance on getting a black car painted.
Of course when we had our car painted it was just the hood & the back hatch area. It cost us $3k (of course we had some speciaty work done on our car)

Black cars are easy to paint. Best bet is to DRIVE the car to some paint shops. Tell them you would like a Estiment on how much it would cost you to get the car looking like new. Paint what they have to paint & see if they can do some sanding & polishing to get the rest of it looking new.


NOW DO not EVER go to a detailing shop with a black car. They charge you up to 40% more for them detailing out your car because of it being BLACK.

My car is red and needs entire paint job, rear quarter replaced, rear bumper cover replaced, and a few dents fixed and I was qouted 2000.00 and that was including changing the color. So 5000 is way off....

Where do you live, Taiwan? $2000 is going to be a pretty lousy quality job for a color swap. $5000 isnt a bad price for a complete color swap.

I live in TN and the guy that quoted me that price does all of the bodywork and paint for the local chevy dealership. So quality is not going to be an issue

Last time a GM dealership painted my car, there was overspray, orange peel everywhere, the inner fenders were put back in wrong, my nose was hanging because they didnt put the plastic retainers in, and the hood and headlights didnt line up right.

Dealership does not equal quality