My 928 and advice on repaint ?

928Rob

New member
Greetings,



I have posted once before, but here is the latest image of my baby in front of the office park where I work. The car is a 928 S4 in Silver Metallic and everything is fine except the finish on the nose is showing it's age. There are some clearcoat problems and in one spot there is a quarter sized paint chip down to the flexible bumper. What I would like to know is that do most paint shops like or dislike owners involvement in the prep process ? I would like to do as much as I can myself (to keep costs down as well as to learn) but not if it would hinder the paint pro. What are your thoughts on this ?



One other item, the fog / driving lights inset into the bumper have seen better days. To replace them would be around $250 each. What is the best way to polish glass ? Is there a way ?



Thanks for a great site and great information.



Rob
 
Rob,



Wish I had seen you post sooner...



Because CA freeways beat the heck out of my cars, I frequently have a car into the paint shop to have the front painted. I've never had a problem with a painter not wanting me to do some or most of the prep work, including:



1. Removing trim, lights, etc.



2. Repairing chips, dents or broken parts.



3. Initial primer



No matter what prep work you do, a paint shop will clean (prep sol) and possibly block sand the area to be painted. They must lay down a coat of the proper primer just prior to applying the color coat.



Every hour they're not working on your car will be a $70 to $100 savings to you.



db
 
Thank you for the response.



Are there any sites out there that a newby can get more information on automobile painting ? Kind-of like this site only for body work ?



The good thing is that I am pretty patient and the car is a weekend driver only so however long it takes to get it right will be OK for me. My other major hobby is scale modeling so working with an airbrush is like second nature to me. I was even thinking of getting an amount of paint and clearcoat and trying to shoot it myself. The areas with problems are not very large in size and the airbrush just might do it. At the very least, I will learn a great deal.



I got the courage to maybe try this after I read the thread regarding the father who bought that Prelude for his son and painted his car with some spray cans and then did a very good job of polishing it out. If I mess it up, I can always go crying to the pro's.



Rob :wavey
 
Painting is not a difficult task to master. You should start with solid colors, though, as metallic paints can be a pain. If you shoot the color too heavy, the metallic will sag and run; too thin and it won't have the punch it's supposed to have.



I recommend finding a book or two on the subject as a good place to start.



db
 
Back
Top