Re-Sprayed bodywork - how good

Hi All

I have always wondered about this, when you have a panel for example re sprayed by the main dealer, be it Porsche BMW etc does it meet the same standards as when it was born? Same paint depth and clear coat etc.

regards
krishan

Hi Krishnan,

I have no idea whether they use the same products, but with regard to the overall finish, I think the answer has to be no. As they are dealing with a surface that is less pristine than the initial build. I suspect that the environmental regulations (VOC's etc) mean that in a lot of cases they can no longer use the same paint as the original.

Last time I had dealer-sourced bodywork, was on a BMW. It started to rust, so I made a claim on their warranty. Have to say I was less than impressed with the finish. They cleared over some poor masking (they hadn't painted the whole panel!)....... which always showed at certain angles. As it was a company car, I didn't kick-off, but it niggled every time I went to open the boot.

Cheers
Ben

Kingb4 said:

Hi Krishnan,

I have no idea whether they use the same products, but with regard to the overall finish, I think the answer has to be no. As they are dealing with a surface that is less pristine than the initial build. I suspect that the environmental regulations (VOC's etc) mean that in a lot of cases they can no longer use the same paint as the original.

Last time I had dealer-sourced bodywork, was on a BMW. It started to rust, so I made a claim on their warranty. Have to say I was less than impressed with the finish. They cleared over some poor masking (they hadn't painted the whole panel!)....... which always showed at certain angles. As it was a company car, I didn't kick-off, but it niggled every time I went to open the boot.

Cheers
Ben

Click to expand...

I have a 5 series as my daily and had a door replaced and rear bumper painted due to 2 run ins by others in car parks. I have to say I have looked very well and cannot see any difference but as you say that's just visual only way is to have a meter I guess

krishan

It depends
A very good painter can paint edge to edge. You can count on one hand how many of those exist in any given country. Years of experience is required to get the paint to match the existing paint. The rest will blend the panel on either side of the repair to mask the difference in colour between new and old.
The trouble is where by you're trying to match old paint with new paint that hasn't been exposed to the elements
So in essence you pay for what you get

Double post

FZP said:

The trouble is where by you're trying to match old paint with new paint that hasn't been exposed to the elements
So in essence you pay for what you get

Click to expand...

Thats very true, depending up on how old the paint on the car is and, I find, what colour it is. Some colours seem to fade more than others. For example, I had some panels on an electric blue car resprayed once and the new paint was so much darker than the faded old paint that in the end the sprayer had to make up a new lighter shade of paint to try and match the old paint.

My wife had one of the doors on her previous car (which was only 6 months old at the time) repainted - was a metallic black. The finish, whilst good, certainly didnt match the original paint - you could tell the differences if you looked at the metallic flecks. On her current car, she had the entire side of the car resprayed after a bollard jumped out in front of her. I cant tell the difference between the new paint & old.

I had this recently and this was my experience .
After seeing panels reprayed in the past on other cars I have always been worried about the quality and care taken by refinishers. So when I was rear ended in my gen2 I decided to use the OPC approved bodyshop which in our area is Poole Accident Repair Ctr. one of only 15 UK Porsche approved repairers.
I went to see them and expressed my concerns and was insistant no blending I also was not preparred to accept the story true or not that bumpers are always a different colour even from the factory due to differing base materials. Anyway they could see I was going to be a picky customer and agreed to get the spray shop supervisor to paint my car personally. he came out and introduced himself and told me a bit about himself etc then gave me a tour of their very impressive facility with lots of high end vehicles in various stages of prep he also showed me their blending room which is a clean room enviroment.
So I agreed they should do the work , when I returned to collect the car the new bumper looked better than the old one re colour match when I said I was pleased the supervisor told me he had made the paint to the correct code then did a test sample and was not happy with the match due to new v old paint and various other technical details that went over my head so he had gradually custom mixed it using his knowledge of paint etc adding tiny drops of extra colour and ensuring the fleck was right etc . I was so impressed I immediately booked the car in to have the front bumper and bonnet repainted as they had stone chips etc on, again saying no blending . they aknowledged that its harder to do with no blending as the colour direction of spray etc has to be more accurate which is why its normal trade practice to blend as its easier and most customers cant see or dont care .
Again when collecting the car the match was better than what was on the car previously re the front bumper, the bonnet looked stunning and matched the original wings perfectly. they also explained about differing quality laquers and many bodyshops will use a cheap product rather than the best product for finish.
I highly recommend Poole Accident Repair to everyone I know that doesnt just want a cheap backsteet blow over. So finally after many years I have found a company that I can be confident in to do a great job. Even the guys that then detail and wash the cars before collection use good products and are proper detailers not eastern Europian wash monkeys. the head detailer even ordered new polishing pads to use on my car as he knew I wanted the right finish, for me that was just the icing on the cake of great service.
They are not the cheapest but also not the most expensive and their service is 1st class you just know talking to them they are passionate about doing a good job and are very aware of the value of some of the cars they are working on.
Hope that helps add a good story to an industry with a very poor reputation .
Added bonus was very nice volvo loan cars :thumb: :thumb:

Spraying

I will answer the original question

Can you get the the same finish and thickness to a panel as factory,the answer is yes if you are a experienced sprayer.i was a car sprayer for 15 years and I could match any finish and color.the paint they use in the factory is the same paint I use to use in my garage.base coats are water based and clear coat is solvent based.as long as you use the recommended procedure as specified by the manufacturer it will not rust or flake or fade.as for bumpers being a slightly different color this is true especially if under a street light at night you will notice a slight change.

As far as I'm aware BMW/Mercedes/Porsche etc all sub there work out to recommend repairs

A lot of it is down to the painter and the wht kind of work is being done. If it's ccident repair work, Insurance companies screw the bodyshops down on price so much it's a case of getting the car back out of the door quickly so they don't lose money on it.