kent

From my experience, the vinyl wrap can cover the chips nicely, but not for the dent.

nick49

Black is a pretty easy color to match if not the easiest. You don't say, but I'd assume the chips are on the front bumper cover and hood. What I'd do to maximize the results and minimize the expense is remove the front bumper cover and hood and have them repainted. Any other really bad areas, say the trailing areas of the fender wells, have them spot painted and blended. Try for paintless dent removal to do a quick, cheap and minimally invasive repair. Remove the hood and bumper cover yourself. Have a reputable shop do the repairs. Ask some better used car dealers for recommendations, doesn't matter what they sell. There is not necessarily a correlation between price and quality of work. Many high end shops do worse work than lesser known independents that paint beaters. You should be able to do it all for under $2K and have a very good job. It will all come down to you finding the right shop. Stay away from shops that typically paint high end cars as they will tack on the Porsche tax which will typically end up costing 2X to 3X as much. Sheet metal is sheet metal. I'd forget the wrap as it will be an expensive way to go, $2k-$4k every 2 years or so. Hope this helps, I know, I'm in a related business.

halik

This is factually incorrect; repainting the car doesn't mean sanding to the car to the metal that would compromise the galvanization of the sheet metal. Paint sticks well to paint.

FlatSix911

Another option ... PlastiDip spray the entire car ...
http://www.allsentra.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=3491

sempaipaul

Get a well reputed paint-less dent removal guy to take a look at ALL your dings - he should be able to get most of them out. This will run you about 500 or so dollars... then take it and get it wrapped a unique color. You will love it and it would run you about $1000-$2000 (depending on if you want your jambs done)

how do I know? been doing this for 4 years.

-Paul

Macster

If to remove the dents or take care of gouges/deeper scratches filler is needed the paint would be sanded to bare metal.

Years ago, I helped a car painter paint (prep) cars. The first thing I learned was unless it was absolutely necessary avoid respraying a car.

If it was necessary, unless the paint job was just to make the car look better prior to selling the car, to seek out the best painter/paint shop around.

However, this means that while the paint job will be (should be) very good, it will also be very expensive.

Sincerely,

Macster.

halik

Nowadays the standard is epoxy primer and filler on top of it. Filler tends to be hygroscopic, so I definitely wouldn't want it sitting on bare metal. Either way unless you're pulling with studs, there's no need to sand to bare metal.

Mickey356

^^^ Exactly.

I don't get all this wrap crap; when did this become a recommended alternative? It's just silly.
It's a great idea for advertising, but other than that, it doesn't belong on a car.

Paint and painters vary in quality, but prep is essential. If you know how to prep the areas properly you can take it to just about anyone and end up with a half way decent result (a hell of a lot better result than a wrap). And as someone mentioned, doing a wet sand cut and polish will bring paint up nicely.

sempaipaul

The vinyl is great in case you wish to try something new, however - still have the opportunity to go back to original. When guys wrap their $100K+ vehicles its a MUCH smarter alternative than to repaint... why? you can still go back to your regular factory finish which may be VERY valued on a Ferrari for example

-Paul

theporscheguy

I would shop around for a reputable facility that will do the job right and warranty for as long as you own the vehicle.

Mickey356

Paul,
With all due respect, youve made my point perfectly.

Capt. Obvious

Paint and body work are definitely a "you get what you pay for" type of thing, but there are ways to help reduce the cost of getting the work done while still ending up with a quality end product that lasts. For the paint/bodyman aspect, ask around to local people you know who have custom painted cars. Most custom work gets done by smaller shops. You average major repair shop avoids custom work or small one-off projects because they can ship 10 insurance jobs through the door in the same amount of time.

Another option is Craigslist. There are lots of very talented paint and body guys out of work right now due to the economy who have their own personal shop at home and would be more than happy to have your business. Ask to see examples of work and they usual homework on them, of course.

Another good way to keep costs down is the do the prep work yourself. Stripping out any interior panels that need to come out, removing weatherstripping, trim, emblems, etc. is something you can do that adds up to several hours of work you don't have to pay for.

halik

Totally on the last point, though I would be weary of paint-at-home guys. Odds are they won't have proper air filtering system in whatever booth they have and certainly won't have a baking set up. You don't want mosquitos and solvent pop in your clearcoat.

dcdrechsel

Since it's not a color change -it isn't that big a deal .The key to a good job is in the prep .Two aspects dings and dents and removing pieces so that there are no masking tape lines .If it's a cabrolet the big pieces that should come off are the front and rear bumper covers,door handles ,rubber on top edge of door by the glass , the cover for the top and all the lights .For a really good job seperating the black rubber/plastic in the front bumper is also a good idea . .Some shops won't like having all those pieces to deal with .
The only downside I have seen is that respray paint tends to chip more easily .Don't know why .