littlebigfish

Some of you might recall that I inadvertently scratched my car with a coat hanger.

Well I decided to take it into a body shop that came highly recommended from a fellow p-car enthuisiast. There was a two week backlog for service, so I thought that was a good sign. However, when I arrived they didn't have my appointment down in the book so I had to reschedule.

Here's my concern. When the guy took a look at the car, he said that once they fixed the scratch they were going to have to paint and clearcoat the entire contiguous panel that the scratch exists on. This is a mighty big panel!

When I asked why they would need to do this, he remarked that if they made the repair locally only, that I might be able to notice the difference paint color or clearcoat. I responded that if I was going to be able to tell the difference locally, then having an entire contiguous panel stand out from the rest of the car would be worse.

Anyway, now I'm very nervous and not likely to go back. Am I overreacting?

Stephenkng

Depend how good the body shop is. They should be able to match the paint color without too much difficulty. Again, depend on the price, I would rather they repaint the whole panel. Good luck.

The B

I had a similar experience, after much deliberation and shopping I got the same story in my situation. I had one shop show me the alternative, from a cheaper repair job on a late model sedan,(the local fix)...not better IMO. Maybe someone could show you the examples.

I then found myself an "adult beverage" and convinced myself it's just a car.

littlebigfish

This is my point though. If they can match the paint well enough, then doing the job locally should be no different than getting the whole panel done. It makes me nervous, because implicit in their approach is the idea that something will appear differently. I still do not see why doing the whole panel should be any different than doing the job locally.

littlebigfish

Thanks for the reply. Yes, please show me pics if you have any.

The B

No, no pics...for me it wasn't an experience I wanted to remember. I meant that when you are shopping auto shops have them show you examples of diffrent types of repairs.

boolala

Do a simple repair. If you don't like the result then go all the way. If you repaint the whole thing from the start you won't have the option of just doing the scratch. IMO a repaint is NEVER as good as the original paint job.

gravedgr

Just like with surgery, get multiple opinions.

SilverSteel

My E55 was scratched on the passenger door and they had to paint the drivers door and rear quarter. They don't necessarily paint the entire panel, but fade from the painted area and clear coat the entire area. Stuart's of Dallas, authorized Porsche and Ferrari painter, the best paint work I've ever seen does it this way. Trust them, they know what they're doing. Let them do it and you won't be able to tell. My advice...

wross996tt

My 2 cents...do what they recommend...my paint guy would paint the whole panel (unless it is black). They have to blend to match the rest of the car (as already stated). BTW boolala, my paint guys paint job is significantly BETTER than OEM!

Stephenkng

If they just repair and print the local area, they only can sand and put color and clear only on the area being repair and blend into the nearby area. There is alway a chance that the blending does not match 100%. However, if they do the whole panel, they should send the whole panel down to the matel and reput primer and then color and clear coat. Again, a very good body shop should be able to match color pretty well. I just get my whole hood re-paint and you will not be able to tell the different. However, it is not cheap to do the whole panel. The choice is yours and I will definitely do the whole panel. However, make sure the shop have a very good workmanship on Porsche. Good luck.

boolala

OK but I don't see how that's possible. The factory paint is baked on at high temperatures. Something that is simply not possible once the car is assembled. The quality of the paint job is not just based upon how it looks but also on durability. Even if it were true that the 'aftermarket" paint job is better wouldn't it stand in contrast to the factory paint?

By the way, i once had the hood reapinted on my SL and the body shop did a crap job. YMMV.

djantlive

Which panel are we talking about? If it's the door, do the entire door. If it's fender or rear quarter panel, the majority of the panel should be painted leaving only the c pillar to be blended into the roof. Paint needs to be applied with a sweeping action and a decent amount of repaint is needed per panel. If the panel is small like a door, you can't really do 1/3 of it with even paint thickness.

I think you should do what the shop tells you. BTW, is insurance paying?

Bigwave

Here is a question for you. I had the qtr panel painted after a got a door ding in it. The body shop said to wait 90 days before they do a final buff and not to wax it for the 90 days. They claim the paint takes that long to cure. This is old school don't you think. I thought modern paint was cured in a week +or- The clear coat has a milky look to it and needs a lot of buff to fix. I am not happy with this shop. Typical bs from them on how they are the best but deliver the car with a poor finish and then stall you for a while.

littlebigfish

The scratch is directly above the driver's side door (in between the roof and door). This is actually part of the rear quarter panel.

What a mess. If they screw this up I'm going to lose it.