Paint Damage Opinions Sought-Pics

[doitmyself]

Long story short. Three weeks ago our car went in to the dealer to have a defective window weatherstrip replaced under warranty. Back at home, everything looked good. Two weeks later, I noticed a dimple and cracked paint in the center of the door panel. The dimple is convex. It came from the inside. The dealer tech. denied doing it. PM me if you want to know why I am not forcing the issue.

I'm looking for opinions on what to do. The car is 2 years old, low mileage, BITOG maintained, mint condition(was). We intend to keep it long term. It is our only vehicle. Would be a no brainer if older and/or beater status.

One PDR guy told me he couldn't help me (paint cracked). Three body shops recommend repair and repaint of the door (cringe) for about $400.

Options:
1. Do nothing. See if the body shop guys are correct that freeze/thaw/salt will start corrosion and the damage will grow.
2. Find a PDR guy that will massage the dimple/deformity out. I would then treat the cracked paint as a 3/16" diameter chip: clean,prime, color, clear. Buff out.
3. Body shop: repair damage. Then, essentially repaint the door. No blending of adjacent panels required due to dimple location (I can explain more).

The dimple is only 1/8". The cracked paint is about 3/16". The surrounding metal is deformed out about the size of a quarter.

The body shops guarantee/claim quality satisfaction (color/texture match), and lifetime warranty the job for defects (peeling AND fading, etc.).

Thanks for any thoughtful advice. The photos don't do justice:

 

[Nick1994]

Have a body shop fix it right, in Michigan it'll start rusting at some point.

 

[The Critic]

Body shop.

And $400 is an awfully low price, but may be typical for your market.

 

[double vanos]

Just throwing this out there for the heck of it: I wonder if QUIXX would do any good. I've never used it but it is based on the theory of paint deformation to fill the scratches, then the area is buffed out to a shine. I offer this idea because your area of repair is so small. If nothing else the YouTube videos look good.

Shot in the dark....

 

[Trav]

Easy fix, the body shop can do a simple blend job without painting and clearing the whole panel. That will start rusting quickly if nothing is done.
I use a very small gun like an air brush on a small area like that then use DuPont blending clear to blend the new clear into the original.

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

@doitmyself:

I have some advice, Do NOT let that go untouched, like others have said, it will likely eventually rust if the primer behind the paint has been compromised, which is very possible...

However the damage is so small that I would simply get a small touch up bottle of clear top coat paint and just touch it up. After you touch up you can gently polish it so it blends, you will still see a bit of the star burst pattern however it will be much less noticeable. Also repaints are almost NEVER as good as the original factory paint when it comes to durability, so I would not have the entire door repainted. Make sure you do a thorough job and completely fill in the cracked painted areas so they are completely sealed from the elements, before you paint wipe the area clean with a mild solvent like prep sol or similar so you get good bonding with the paint.

Just out of curiosity what kind of car is it? Subaru Outback?

 

[larryinnewyork]

OK, crazy idea here.
What if you took 'Super Glue' (it's thin enough) and applied it with a tooth pick.
That would (hopefully) Seal & Glue all the paint cracks.

Then, Touch-Up-Paint and sand (600 grit) to blend.
Then Paste wax.

 

[DuckRyder]

I doubt that anyone would use a blending agent on that, too easy to clear the whole panel, but if they did use a blending agent it WILL eventually show.

Honestly, I would seal it with a bottle of clear touch up and watch it closely. The only other real option is to paint the panel, since it appears to have room around it they should be able to color match within and clear the whole panel. Make sure they are going to "detrim" the door if you go that route.

 

[doitmyself]

LOL, we are all in "agreement" about the options. Thank you. It is small, but the metal is deformed enough to be quite noticeable.

Duckryder and Trav - the body shops said they would detrim the door, repair the area, color/blend the area, then clearcoat the entire door (I think). This was in reply to my inquiry about "blending".....can someone teach me more about this? I assumed they repaint the entire door (color/clear).

They do lifetime warranty the job, which eases my mind some. But, like some here, I like the idea of keeping the original paint as much as possible and attempting some type of smaller repair...PDR the dent and somehow fix the paint. Too bad it's in such a conspicuous area, the center of the door panel.

I am quite skilled at diy chip repair. However, our last two Caravans had dealer collision repairs and the panel repaints were amazingly excellent.

Thanks again for the input. We're planning to address this first week of June.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
... Also repaints are almost NEVER as good as the original factory paint when it comes to durability, so I would not have the entire door repainted...

I agree with this. The option of repainting should be off the table.

Find some way of sealing that spot, like with a dab of clear lacquer. After five years or so, it'll look a lot better than any repaint job.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
...in reply to my inquiry about "blending".....can someone teach me more about this? I assumed they repaint the entire door (color/clear).

...


First you have to remember most automotive finishes used today are basecoat/clearcoat.

The "base" provides the color, the clear coat the gloss and durability. Blending is used to achieve at least the illusion of match in the base coat by spreading (fanning, fogging, feathering whatever term you want to use) the new base into the old over a space of around 12-18" typically.

After this the clear is typically applied over the entire panel unless there is some way to break it (a moulding that goes end to end or some thing like that). There ARE blending agents that "melt" the new clear into the old, these are normally reserved for use where a much larger area would have to be painted and there is a relatively narrow area where they can be used such as a quarter panel sail area when the entire roof and other quarter would have to be cleared otherwise. Even the paint companies will tell you the blend will eventually show, it might be 5 years or 10 years, but eventually it will show.

Very basically that is "blending".

 

[doitmyself]

Thank you, DuckRyder.

Duh, after asking the question, I remembered that Youtube has EVERYTHING! I watched some fascinating videos that makes one appreciate the value of a skilled technician/artist vs. a hack.

Much has changed since I did a few hack single stage, solvent based paint jobs with a Sharp gun many decades ago. One bodyshop told me that through the VIN, they can access the factory paint info and learn of the paint batch anomalies to help match? They then paint a few test cards to check the match before proceeding. The whole "spot/block" techniques are fascinating.

In the old days, it was said that OEM paint was better because they could bake them at high temps.. Today, I wonder if chemistry technology of water borne paints makes a repaint "almost" as good as OEM?

A question about the adhesive "badge" letters - would it be better to let the paint cure for 30+ days before installing them?

Thanks everyone. I am going to let a PDR guy inspect the damage in person and get some more ideas of options.

 

[DuckRyder]

A PDR guy could probably improve it a bit with a nylon knockdown punch.

One question, do you know what is behind it, because it almost looks like a screw was run in from the backside which is worrisome because it will have removed the e-coat from the inside of the skin and if it is still there any attempt to knock it down will make it worse.

Mk5 Jetta's are sort of notorious for this if someone mixed up the door panel screws or over tightened them. (they have bolt on outer skins).

 

[doitmyself]

One of the body shops suggested your screw theory. I took a peek inside from above with the window down and could not see anything that might cause that dimple. It's really a bizarre situation. Almost like someone slipped with a phillips head screwdriver into the door.

I will have my Krown rustproofing guy pay attention to that area during my annual respray.

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

As for concern about behind the door panel having the primer coat compromised by an object like a screw....

Go to the auto parts store and get a car of spray primer and use
a straw to apply some to the area. It will keep it from rusting without any problem.

I still say don't bother with respray on this job.