BuddyK

Front Right Fender - kid dropped bike on it and dented it in 2 places. Thank goodness I didn't fix it because 6 months later I dropped a coleman cooler on it myself, making another dent!

Bumper - stone chips mainly - might as well respray it too.

I told the autobody shop to just do their best on the fender and bumper - I told them I did not want them to "blend in" to the hood and passenger door - I felt that I'd rather keep the original paint as much as possible. Just take the dented parts off, and fix them and re-install. They said OK, they could do that.
Colour is Arctic Silver Metallic.

Car is being worked on and will be done, maybe by Wednesday next week!

I can't wait - I know this autobody shop does good work, and I am just letting them do their best try at fixing by removing the bumper and fender and re-installing them. They mentioned that silver can be a problem to match up, but whatever, I'm not that picky - I hope it looks OK, and I'm sure it will. More important to keep the original paint on the rest is what I am thinking rather than refinishing the door and hood as well.

OK - that's the basic background of the situation.

Here are my questions:

1. Now that I will have new paint on the bumper and right front fender, how long should I have to wait before any random orbital polishing? I usually do it in spring and fall. So I will be doing a major polish for winter protection here anytime this month I hope. I seem to remember reading before (when i was less interested in repainting etc), that it's best to wait a a few weeks or something like that - can anyone advise on this? Maybe it won't need any polishing since it's new paint? But on the other hand, I might want to equalize the finish a little bit if it's needed?

2. Now that I'll be having a freshly painted front bumper, and we have so many bugs and rocks on our roads here, I was thinking about putting a clear plastic wrap thingy on the front. Can someone let me know what is the best plastic bumper coating to get, and whether there is anything to be concerned about as far as putting in on new paint? My car gets dirty in winter - so if I have this plastic wrap, is there any chance of getting any moisture underneath?

3. Will the freshly painted areas be nice and smoothe like a freshly polished car? Or will there be lots of bumps? I'm not sure what to expect. Do they spray on a clear coat, I am thinking they do, but I hope it's no orange peel job like I have seen others get when they repaint their cars.

Attached are 3 pictures. One shows the bicycle dents on fender and bumper, and the other one is an autocross picture that shows the newer dent on the same fender from the coleman cooler drop. The rest of the car is in tip top shape. The third one shows how dirty my car gets here in slushy winter - it's pretty bad in March-April . Powerwashing is a must here, there is no way to clean the car with a bucket and sponge usually. I wash twice a week when it's slushy.


Thanks in advance for any advice.

ricster

Ok first.....dont powerwash your car unless you want to really damage your finish. Second you want to wait after the curing process of that paint...min 60 days before putting a clear 3m film on it. The way you drive your car I would recommend it but you might want to just repaint the front end of your car fully...hood, fenders and bumpers and mirrors. Then everything will be fresh. If you dont car that much dont do anything. Looks like a driver and its not a car that is going to be a classic or go up in value.

BuddyK

OK, 60 days cure time - that's good to know, that's kinda what I thought so thanks a lot for confirming that.

Yeah, regarding the washing - I do use a good power wash place, but I keep the wand far away from the paint, I only really blast underneath and on the rocker panels and wheel wells and the insides of the wheels.

The rear of the car and the doors can really get caked with dirt, and sometimes in winter I have to use the "foamy brush". First I spray the foamy brush off for about 20 seconds to clear it of any bad stuff, then I feel it up a little bit to see if there is any grit, then once I am mostly satisfied, I turn the foam on and do the doors and rear end, and then I'll have to brush it off - in this way I get a clean car. After that session, I do it again for the nasty parts - rocker panels and the lip under the fenders, and the outside of the wheels. I know it might make you cringe, but the minimum of swirls I do get over the winter I remove on my spring polishing with the porter cable and optimum compound and polish. I get the car shining with zero spiderwebs twice a year. I almost look forward to doing the job actually - good way to spend a day. Thank goodness I don't have a black car! This year, polish was all I needed, then poli seal and opti seal as a topper protector. That opti seal is good stuff for winterizing, and good for inside wheels - brake dust comes off easy, and when the car is absolutely clean, a recoat of optiseal for good measure takes only 5 minutes for me and it helps to keep the muck from really getting stuck on the car.

This spray and wash place has a lot of cool tools - vacuum and a high pressure air squirter which is great if you have to blow out a pen or a coin from between seats etc.

Sorry to be so wordy here -

Basically, I just wanted to say that I really must use the power washer - there's just no other way I would be willing to do it in winter. But I will try to be even more careful now that part of the car is getting resprayed.

You have me thinking I should just call them and tell them to do the hood as well, but the hood is still fine - just a few rock chips, and they really don't detract from the appearance. The car has 165,000 Km on it and it's going strong. The only way I would sell it is if I could find an incredible deal on a Targa 4 or Targa 4S - 2007 or later, and in with colours I would want. Silver with red interior would be nice, or white with tan, or maybe some wild colours might make sense. But for now, this is my main ride and I love it every single day. Can't wait till I get it back from the body shop.

Thanks very much for the advice, I like to hear from anyone on the rennlist - good forum!

BuddyK

Another Question - the black plastic air intake things are now exposed with the bumper off. I was going to bring some "Spray 9" and clean the whole area off. What should I put on that black plastic before they put the bumper back on? Opti-Seal maybe?

They are going to do some paintless dent repairs on a few door dings I received at Walmart lol. So the car is on jackstands.

Here's some bad pics from the phone cam.

BuddyK

So here is my update finally - It's all fixed!

I'm happy with the job, and glad it has been done.

Here is what it looks like a few months after it was completed:

kcl

Congrats. Time to enjoy the car again.

BuddyK

Yep, I have been doing so. Thanks!

You know what though, it really feels a lot better (psychologically) having those dents removed for whatever reason. Totally worthwhile getting rid of them.

The car is going strong, and I'm ready for another winter, if winter ever comes this year.

Mabuhay

I can't believe you had them put bondo on the car. But if you're happy, then all's well. I had a dent about the same size where the "paintless dent removal" worked. The tech just has to be that much more patient about it and took a bit more time. Overall, the cost (i.e. - how much time the tech spent on the dent) since the insurance company covered it. But then I still had all original paint and no bondo on my old M3.

Glad to hear you are driving the car in the winter. It's meant to be enjoyed! Regarding the power washing, you don't want to be too close to the car since IT WILL strip the paint off...ask me how I know...

BuddyK

Hmmmm, regarding the "bondo" - I took that picture and saw that sanding area, and yeah maybe that is bondo there. I'm certainly no expert. I think they took the dent out manually, but to smoothe it over, a little body filler stuff or "bondo" is probably needed isn't it? I mean what alternative do they have? Or is that just primer? They said they were feathering it in or something. I just let the pro's handle it.

I assume they used best practices when they did the repair. It looks good enough to me, and I expect it to last 10 more years looking good.

What is the problem with the bondo? What are the alternative ways to do it?

Mabuhay

Since you have "bondo" on the car now, when it comes time to sell, a paint thickness meter will be able to determine that there's "plastic filler" in there. Therefore, reducing the value of your car. If and when you do sell, show pics of the repair so the potential buyer will see that the damage wasn't due to an accident. I.e. - no potential mechanical or frame damage behind the body panel.

There are 2 alternatives to bondo, aka "plastic filler".
1) Use "paintless dent removal" or PDR. They just push the dent back out from behind the panel. No painting is required and if done correctly, you will NEVER know it was ever done since the paint thickness is the same as original.
2) If the PDR doesn't work, then buy a whole new body panel where they would just have to paint it. It would already come with primer.

Bottom line is, if you're happy, then you're happy. Just make note of my suggestion above regarding showing pics, if and when it comes time to sell.

Marine Blue

Being a DD I doubt the small amount of body filller to correct a ding will be an issue. This will probably be purchased for similar duty or track duty in the future rather than a collector or someone looking for a concours car.

Looks like they did a nice job on the repairs. Enjoy.

PS, you might want to consider a clear bra for the front end. It will keep it looking good especially since you drive it year round.

BuddyK

Thanks for the info guys, it all makes sense.

95_993

Time to enjoy it through the winter

blitz928

Agreed, even if they remove the dents all body shops will use some filler. In the photo it looks like a lot of filler but usually isn't More like a skim coat.