Question for you guys on paintwork. From running my car on the track, the hood and front end have taken a beating. I am thinking of having them resprayed but I am worried about achieving acceptable results. Anyone have experience with this? The car is a '00 and is Black. I know black is the worst so that is why I am concerned. Also, does it make more sense for me to remove those parts or deliver the whole car to the painter? How would you guys go about finding the right place to have this done. Any ideas on the price range to have it done right? Thanks in advance.

 

I just put on new front bumper same year/color (standard) as yours and had the painter use PPG paint (I have the paint # if you need) it is a perfect match and it was off the car, however it depends on how much your paint is faded. I should imagine a good body shop can do it with the parts on but take it down to them and see I looked at some of there finished work to see if it was up to snuff. It was around $400 to get the front done.

 

I would definitely leave the car with the body shop. You have 10 years of fading on that paint. Any experienced shop should be able to blend in the new paint seamlessly with the old. Otherwise it may look really obvious that the car has been repainted in areas.

 

they'll have to respray parts of the adjoining panels to get a good match from fade, etc.

 

Black is the easiest.

 

I have also heard black it easy to match and blend... my car goes in soon for touch up from my fender bender, I am asking them to hit the nose and clean up those rock chips too... we'll see - GL with yours (have a shop do it)

 

To clear a couple of points up...non-metalic black is probably the easiest color match out there.

However this color also is easiest to see when shotty prep or paint work is performed as it'll stand out like a sore thumb. You should be more concerned with making sure the prep work is done to a high standard than with color match. Finding sanding marks under your paint that cannot be removed is a real bitch. The front bumpers are no charm to paint...esp the aero bumpers. It's particularly difficult to finish around the corners of the radiator inlets in the front so pay particular attention to those areas when inspecting after the work is done.

If your old paint work lookes "faded" after black paint is done it's due to poor upkeep and should match perfectly after a proper detail to the remainder of the car.


Andy

 

Yes, Andy, that is a better answer.

 

Thanks guys, It all is a little clearer now. It is an aero car so I will keep that part in mind. To take it a step further, does anyone have a recommendation for a northern NJ shop that they trust?