Questions regarding Body Shop paint services

[The Critic]

All,

I’m posting for a friend who has several questions regarding paint/body work.

1) Is sanding the entire vehicle necessary for paint preparation?

2) Is “spot” sanding and using a sealer sufficient for paint preparation?

3) How many coats of paint are needed for a good quality job?

4) Which is better, “integrated” clear coat or an actual layer of the “clear coat?” Or, would it be advisable to have both?

5) Since the paint process will be part of a collision repair, would it be advisable to blend and paint the replaced sections, or repaint the entire vehicle? Both of the shops seem to prefer repainting the entire car as it is less expensive than attempting to computer match the color. (Its an 03 Corolla)

Here’s the situation:

One shop, Earl Scheib, offers a paint service for $359.95. They machine sand and hand “block” sand the entire vehicle and mask off the trim, windows, rubber parts, etc. (note: mask, not remove) Using an acrylic/enamel type paint, they spray on a “base” coat, which also has a primer/sealer capability. They then spray two additional coats of paint with an integrated clear coat. They also install UV protection (no charge). 6-yr warranty on the entire job.

Another shop, Maaco, offers their in-house, top of the line paint service. They sand only the scratches and nicks, and apply a “universal” sealer. They then spray with a base coat (unsure how many coats), then a separate clear coat. 5-yr warranty on the entire job, which should cost less than $1000 total.

Of course, all of these costs are on top of the costs for replacing body parts due to the collision.

Please, no “cheapo” comments. If the job is not done correctly, it’ll be done until it is. Budget is limited (out-of-pocket due to being hit by uninsured motorist), so the person is resorting to the least expensive option.

Thanks.

[ March 22, 2006, 12:07 AM: Message edited by: Michael Wan ]

 

[chas3]

i am surprised they want to paint the entire vehicle. usually its enough to paint just the body panel unless its a really unusual color (like color changing paint). 2003 is not old enough for the paint to have faded significantly. body seams between panels usually hides the paint differences.

if you are going to paint, you need to sand the underlying surface for better adhesion. paint might stick w/o sanding, but it sticks better with it.

urethane paints are the state of the art (and probably what the vehicle received from the factory). if the vehicle is already painted, you need one color coat and one clear coat typically. no need to prime the metal and you arent changing colors.

i dont know what an integrated clear coat is.

 

[Schmoe]

I don't care what analyzers the use or whatever, but getting paint to match after two years, much less in real sunny areas such as your location, it's almost impossible to get a perfect match. If you planning keeping the car, get the whole thing painted the same color it is now. That way you won't notice things like inside door jams. The first place sounded too cheap. The paint itself will cost close to that. Maaco is almost everywhere, I'd go with that one.

 

[TooManyWheels]

I second the comments from Chas3, with the clarification that neither of the quotes references urethane paints, and it is pretty obvious from the price that Earl Scheib is not using them. Maaco may be, but I would want that to be explicit.

You might also want to confirm with Maaco that they do an overall level of sanding (with a very fine grit) for the pupose of providing adhesion. This is standard practice so I expect they do it, but just did not get that detailed in their communications with the customer.

Also, I would rather they did NOT paint the entire car. A repair facility can not replicate the process which provides the durability of the factory paint, especially in California where, last I heard, they use even less durable paint due to restrictions on volatile organic compound emissions.

 

[The Critic]

I made a few calls this morning and here's what I found:

Maaco does indeed remove all of the trim for prep work prior for painting. They use a Dupoint branded paint, and its an urethane based. One coat of primer, one coat of paint, and a separate clear coat. $1399 was the price, more expensive, but much more "reasonable." Note: They call this their "signature service."

They said that I can get the OEM color if the entire car is repainted, and they can match it if only a partial section is redone.

However, a partial repaint is going to cost nearly as much as an entire repaint, due to the blending, so it may just be worthwhile to do the entire car, I dunno.

Earl Scheib is out of the question. They won't do any body work, so they are a no-go.

 

[Auto-Union]

My Acura dealer owns a Maco and they have a DUPont sign, like you said. I was going to suggest panel-painting. The only extra painting worth doing is the hood if it iis not at all nice. More paint is not better, masking windows and such...the whole thing de-values the car. Earl Shieb is bogus. My friend had his Prelude painter there after we prepped it. The colour was way different than original (gold, no wonder) and the car was delivered with tape and newspaper on it. Yes, we had to de-tape it ourselves.

 

[Jimbo]

If you can find a One Day Paint and Body near your location, get an estimate from them. I have used them and Earl for inexpensive jobs. I never tried Maaco. One Day did a very good job completely repainting my faded BMW for about $500 for the mid-price 5-year guarantee job without separate clearcoat, which I would not recommend for solid colors, but may be good for metallics.

"I'm Earl Scheib. I'll paint any car, any color for only twenty-nine nintey-five. Riiiiggghht!"

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

My experience with repainting, even with insurance paying at a "non-budget" body shop, is that the new paint isn't as durable as what came from the factory. Because of that, I would suggest having only the necessary panels painted.