Paint Help
Paint Help Well I will be getting my car back from the shop this friday and Im wondering what all I should look for....I want to make sure they did everything right and if there are any mistakes I want to get them pointed out right then and there.
look at it in direct sunlight to check for bad swirls, look at the paint surface for left over dirt specs in the clear..... get down low and look down the side of the panels to make sure they didnt leave any dents that were sopposed to be fixed... suff like that...
On The Tree
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 153
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Originally Posted by BlackHawk T/A
Don't forget "orange peel".
Wrong answer, Jose. Orange peel is what every factory finish has. Just go look at any new car, or your f-body if it still has all the original paint on it. At our shop, we refinish the car to look like factory paint to match the rest of the car that still has OEM factory painted body panels.
If you wet sand/buff a body panel flat, it will not have any orange peel, but it will stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the factory paint, and will result in getting less on resale, as you can tell some panels have been repainted/worked.
I have a method to match the factory finish, so it all blends in perfectly. If the customer ever trades their car in, or sells it, the fresh painted panels will not stick out/be obvious and cause them to get less in resale/trade-in for their car.
The main goal is to repair the car and match the paint so it looks like it has never been damaged. Only show cars are when you go for that "sleek" or "perfectly flat" paint with no orange peel in them. Those cars are suppose to be perfectly flat(as they are for show and known to be restored), not daily drivers. Flat paint on a daily driver sends up big red flags saying "Hey, I've been damaged and painted".
Look for tape lines in the jambs, panel alignment, frame rack clamp marks on the rocker pinchwelds, overspray in the wheel openings, swirls and texture match, compound in the jambs, all painted bolts that have wrenches turned on them need to be repainted or touched up so they dont look like they have been touched, any welded on panels that have been replaced should have spot welds that match in shape and size to spot welds on the opposite side. Seam sealer texture and thickness should match. This is just a small list of things that stick out right away. I have a list with all of these things and more our techs adhere to on our shops standard operating procedures so that a repair is undetectable as possible.
TECH Resident
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 754
Likes: 0
From: Texas...that says it all
Originally Posted by vetman1
Look for tape lines in the jambs, panel alignment, frame rack clamp marks on the rocker pinchwelds, overspray in the wheel openings, swirls and texture match, compound in the jambs, all painted bolts that have wrenches turned on them need to be repainted or touched up so they dont look like they have been touched, any welded on panels that have been replaced should have spot welds that match in shape and size to spot welds on the opposite side. Seam sealer texture and thickness should match. This is just a small list of things that stick out right away. I have a list with all of these things and more our techs adhere to on our shops standard operating procedures so that a repair is undetectable as possible.
Good list to go by. Use it.
