Have a 97 SS 100% stock and plan on keeping it that way. The car is for the most part in excellent condition with the exception of the nose. Now, I am sure that most of you have similar problems but I can't for the life of me decide if I want to spend the money to paint it. As you can see, from a distance, it looks fine. A quick glance and nothing really shoots out at you. However, when we get up close....




Notice the small gap between the fender and the nose. Also, take a look at the nice sized chip and scratch right where the black meets the red.


Holes from where license plate bracket has been screwed in. Also smaller sized chips and dings.


Stress cracks in paint from God knows what. Not sure if they are noticable from the picture.


Chip in both black and red paint.


I am sure most don't notice, but I look at the car every day and it bugs me. What do you think?

Nick

 

My nose is like that too. Hard to notice from afar, but once you get up close, its there. Being the perfectionist I am, it drives me nuts as well. I'm planning on an aftermarket hood this spring or summer so the nose will get done then too.

 

It looks like somebody tapped you in the nose at some point to cause that bit of misalignment and stress cracks.

If you want to get it painted it is your choice, but it will look a bit darker depending on the condition of the surrounding panels and cost of paint is rising. You might be able to get just the black areas redone or have the entire cover sanded, repaired and redone, but what would happen if you got a chip in it later on?

If you decide to go the repaint route, there are several manufacturers that make a clear thick vinyl/plastic? coating that you have put on the bumper to save it from road debris 3M is one company.

 

My hood and nose looked worse than that from all the rock chips and stress cracks of highway driving. I'm so glad I got it repainted. I used to hate even waxing the nose and hood now there my favorite parts!! Black is easy to match up and I take good care of the rest of my paint so it matched up really well. Red on the other hand will be harder to match and if you plan on keeping it stock and original maybe you can buff out some off the scratches or have a decent body shop do that for you. Nice car by the way.

 

Body guy told me it would run about $500 to paint it. He also does very good work and is a personal friend so I would hope it would be a spot on match to the best of his ability.

The stress cracks do seem like a bump or a lean but after some wax, they are less visable. Only really when the light reflects off it.

Blackblur - Thanks for the compliment. How long ago did you have yours painted and is it still holding up well?

Nick

 

It sucks!

I had my GTO's front re-painted less then a year ago and already it's awful looking with chips and nicks! I even used a bra for most of it and dont tail gate- It's just the cost of a daily driver

I'd get it fixed if your not driving it every day anymore, it will last in that case.

 

I had mine done October 2006 and it looks excellent!! It's really hard staying back from other peoples car to avoid rock chips let me tell ya!! Especially on the freeway!! I say have it repainted....500 bucks is a good deal..mine was 1700 for a front clip paint job

 

I'd leave it alone, my nose is much worse with chips and nicks on a dark color.

Most people won't even notice it on your car.

 

It depends on the body guy that does it....if it were me i would get it redone..500 bucks seems great..but materials alone usually cost that much...the flex additive for the front bumper and the stuff added to the paint and clear to blend i think are close to 200 not to mention clear,primer,paint and then all the other little goodies...but good luck!!

 

blackblur- you paid 1700 to paint the front clip? WTF are you smoking, those are f ing crack prices. Jesus, i was thinking1700 for the whole car intially. Provided you werent changing the color or spraying the inside of the doors and the engine bay.
If you really want the front clip to look better:
Touch it up the slightest bit. Than once the touch up dries 25 min you starting wet sanding it with a block. It will get rid of the excess paint around the chip where didnt sink down into. Sometimes i use compound before sanding to see if i can get away with only doing that, mainly because it saves time when your doing a whole car.
After the touch ups wet sand the whole car or just the front clip with 2000 or 3000. Than hit it with the 3k if you did the 2k first, if not move stright into buffing the car with a medium compound and a cutting pad. Next go light compound followed by a good glaze. Last just wax it twice, once after you finish with the glaze and the next time 24hrs later and after a wash too. The second coat of wax will really help with filling in the microscopic scratches and other in perfections. I really hoping you know how to buff or all this is worth nothing to you. goodluck

 

Somebody definitely tapped your car in the nose. My car has the same problem, and I know who did the tapping... -_-

I wouldn't bother with a repaint unless you're going for show quality and don't drive the car much.

 

That is what I have been telling myself but I know its there and it Irks me. Best thing to do would probably just to get over it.

My body guy did take a look at it and say around $500 but who knows... It could have ended up being more when all is said and done.

Nick

 

There's also no way of knowing whether your body guy would actually make it look perfect either. There are so many different types of paint that could be used (urethane, enamel, acrylic, etc) that the final job may not be a perfect match anyway.

I had portions of my car repainted, and although I had a chevy dealership do it, the paint doesn't match perfectly. It's maybe 98% right.

Maybe your body guy could just get the body panel alignment problem taken care of. I have the same issues on both sides of my car from "taps" but haven't had them taken care of. Not sure what to do, and don't want to mess with it.

 

$500 to paint the nose? thats steep...

i had the nose replaced on my 95 T/A last year due to an unfortunate run in with a bale of hay (and that nose was only a year old cause a car wash had damaged my nose the year before)





and the total bill was $913... and that included the $500+ nose, the $50 emblem, and then paint and install....

im taking my car back to this same shop next week to get a ram air hood painted and installed and have my roof section behind the t-tops painted and its only going to cost $600