Jonathan Martini

Alright, so I recently got whacked in the door with a shopping cart. No big deal, just a small dent and a pretty good scratch. I figure it needs to be filled and then painted. I go to a body shop that a friend recommended today to get an estimate. It's a nice place and it does look like they do good work from the types of cars they had there.

When I finally got the estimate I had to restrain myself from laughing in the guy's face. Over $660 for a dent and scratch. Now I know that they have to match and blend the paint, but come on... between painting, body work, and 'paint supplies' they have this job estimated at near 24 man hours plus paint.

So, I have two questions:
1. Has anyone had any comparable body/paint work done? How much is reasonable?

2. Is light body work (filling and smoothing) and paint matching something I can do myself? $600 will buy a lot of paint and a good amount of tools, I think. If I do it myself I want to try and do it right, no just buy a can of spray paint and hope it matches.

So... let the advice and opinions fly.

mjones944

the body work is not so bad, but blending and painting is very difficult. All paint fades slightly with time, and normally you would paint the entire door for finish consistency. It would always be a bit brighter and shinier. To paint the door you would need a compressor, paint gun, paint and hardener and clearcoat, and practice. It takes practice to learn how much paint to shoot between coats, and how to set the gun; has to be enough to "pool" for a smooth finish,but not enough to run. Best left to proffessionals!

86 944 n/a
(hopefully wednesday) 87 951

TomH

I just had my front fender done. The original dent was about 6 inches across and 3 down, pushed in about 1/2 inch, just above the front wheel. It didn't even impact the crease that runs along the fender. But to do it right, they blended the paint nicely, and ended up painting the right door and entire hood.

The results are amazing. Cost $730. So your estimate sounds right on.

Perry 951

That estimate is correct. It is very hard to blend 10+ year old paint.

luckett

Metallics are much harder to match than non-metallics. If its a small area, you may not need to buy a compressor, gun, etc. Auto paint stores will have setups that allow you to use a small cup/reservoir that screws onto a spray can like compressed gas canister.

Hard to give advice on what you should do without being able to see it. Got any pics?

Regardless, you can do it yourself and save some money, but you will be spending much more time than you expect if you want it to look good.

Go to an auto paint store and tell them you want to try to do it yourself. If they're not terribly busy, they will have a wealth of advice for you, and may even put you in touch with a pro looking for side jobs.

newoldguy

Yeah, its crazy. I had some rock chip damage on the hood of my truck, no filler or dent damage at all. Just sand and re-paint. Cheapest I could find was $400 to do it. So, the price you were quoted was probably ball park. But, I think you should shop around. The more people you talk to the more you're likely to come on a guy who is good but doesn't have as much overhead. Good luck and sorry about the damage in the first place.