Time for a respray I think
 

A few years ago I was thinknig about getting the front end resprayed but was told by more than one...ahhhhhhh just wait till you can't stand it any more and THEN get it done. Well...I CANT take it any more!!! dammmmm it's fugly. And it's black...so every little chip sticks out like a sore thumb, and right now there's a TON of them. My plan is to get the front end painted (bumper, hood and fenders) and when the paint cures in a month or so get a clear bra put on so I don't have to do this again.

Any rough estimates of what it will cost? It will probably need a pretty good sanding to prep it for painting so the pits and chips won't show through. Everything else is fine...no repairs need to be made. Am I looking at 1-2K or 3-5 K...or more?

Anyone around KC know of a painter they would recommend? I'd talk to the dealer and see who they use but I've heard ups and downs about whoever it is from people who've gotten some touch ups and minor repairs done by them. I have talked to a couple of shops, but after visiting them, looking around the shops and talking for a while I wouldn't use them.

Any info would be appreciated

Thanks

Bob

I've done both.

In this neck of the woods where paint shop labor can be expensive, I paid a grand total of $250 for the respray after a minor brush with the back bumper of another car. There was a long gash acrros the top but it didn't damage the plastic at all. Just paint that had to be removed/sanded.

The clear bra I had as well. Excellent. The previous owner who only clocked 9K miles on the car had it done by dealer. Partial hood, full bumper, and partial fenders. I looked up the price list and holy cow did he pay a lot. Well over $1500. But of course that's the dealer where everything is twice or three times as expensive. I called a local shop about a quote after I had the bumper repainted and they quoted me $600. Which I still thought was kind of steep since I presume they'll do the job in less than two hours. The film on Ebay for a car of this size goes for about $200 or less. So $200 an hour labor is nearly twice what my Porsche mechanic with 30 years experience is charging for labor. I'm tempted to try and install it myself after doing a vinyl granite project on the kitchen counter of a rental property, tricky but doable.. looks just like the real thing for $100 and a heat gun. With the clear bra on the car since you use lubricated water and the film is pre-cut to the exact shape of the bumper I can't see how this isn't anymore than a trial an error thing.

Wow...250 for a bumper respray sounds like a heck of a deal. I hope I can find a reputable painter with those prices :)

I wasn't thinking of installing the bra myself, but your post may make me rethink that. hmmmmm maybe not...I just last night tried to put a clear protector on my phone and ruined the first one and the second one has bubbles in it that I can't get rid of. Maybe not such a good idea for me! LOL.

Excellent body shop in KC area
 

You might get a hold of Eveland Brothers in Shawnee. Excellent reputation on higher end autos.

Maybe not the cheapest price, but possibly the best in the area- worth a visit.

Eveland Bros. Collision Repair Center

Eveland Bros.
Collision Repair Center
7200 W. Frontage Rd. (72nd & I-35)
Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66203
Phone: 913 262 6050

I had chips in my bumper and hood. When I had it quoted about 4 years ago, 4 places were in the $400-500 range to do the front of the car. Makes you wonder why you would bother with the $1000-1500 clear bra, doesn't it?

I agree how hard can this be. I've watch the young man do it at the dealer, and trust me I wouldn't let him polish my car. I've put a reflective film on my windows in my house and it came out great.

Prices vary.

My 02 Arctic Silver S has the clear bra and it is worth its weight in gold. The car only has 12000 miles but that clear bra does its job. No dings or nicks of any kind. Not sure what the rich dude that owned the car for 10 years before me paid to have it put on but he only put 8700 miles on in all those years so i'm not sure why he needed it. His loss is my gain and it sure looks good on there. I highly recommend it but then I didn't pay for mine. Good luck with the respspray.

I was never a fan of clear bra either but now that I have it I see the logic. Unless it yellows over time it seems as if it will protect the nose over a period of years and return the value to the owner. Also, when perusing Excellence and looking at "Sloan overpriced old cars" it seems original paint is a nice hole card for resale.

Agree with you that on a new vehicle it makes sense, I just helped my mother purchase a new Lexus and the dealer installed clear bra was ~ $300 for nose, partial hood and mirrors which IMO was a decent value. For an older car in need of a respray you have to pay for the respray, wait months for the paint to cure then pay again for the clear bra and install. To each his own.......:cheers:

I'm with you there, if it ever gets painted in the front I would leave the paint alone after that.

Those chips are bugging me more and more. You were honest about them in your ad, but they seemed much less noticeable when I was embroiled in car lust. Now I see them a little easier. :-)

The bumper cover also seems to have some "crazing" in the paint, as if it was tapped pretty good at least once in the car's life.

I will probably have the bumper cover paint done at Queen City in Redmond in the next 6 months or so. I suspect they will be well over $400. I am also *sure* I won't be able to detect the repair.

The OP echoes my situation and sentiment. Black box, pitted bumper and hood... But I live in Houston and paint shops charge double what they do in the country.

I'm thinking of finding a quality shop a couple hours away to save $$$ and then do the clear bra thing myself.

The clear bra looks like one of those products worth paying to have done, I could see where the guy who did mine knew things learned from other work.

I kept putting it off, thinking I'd wait until it got worse. But then I decided it was nice to not have a perfect car to worry about. Now I've got a China Doll of a car and I'm more worried about the paint than ever.

The clear bra is well worth it even if you can respray for little money.
You just have to be smart about it and lot let someone hose you on price.
Or as I said before, simply take a shot at it yourself. Most car guy's are handy enough to pull this off.

Last month I picked up my mother's new car from the dealer and on the drive home.... Yep.... 2 chips dead center front of the hood.
The first errand in the car was to stop by another dealer to pick up a bottle of touch of paint and that looks like crap.
A pro detailer can do a better touch up job but how many times are you going to make a trip like that or have it resprayed? The clear bra keeps it looking new all the time. I wouldn't have a daily driven Porsche without one.

I had to have my wifes new oddysey fixed after someone rear ended us. I went to the shop to drop something off and was in my car. I have just a few little knicks, etc that drive me nuts as well. so while I was there I asked for a quote and was told for the Hood, front bumper, and sides up to around the gas filler area, all labor, new seals, putting everything back together...$1575. I was pretty pleased with that number and will eventually get it done. they are a reputable local shop owned by a guy who owns just about every dealership in the area...

I removed the nose to replace a cracked radiator and after giving it a close look, had it resprayed for $250. The color match was excellent and that was 4 years ago. Probably time to do it again.

I can't imagine any reputable paint shop doing a high quality re-spray on the front bumper for anything less than $800-$1000. Also, you'd be wasting your money if you didn't add the clear bra. That stuff is worth every penny if you want to preserve the paint.

And for anyone who hasn't done it, taking the bumper off is about a 20 minute job at the most.

WRONG, it depends on where you live, my 986 GT3 nose was sprayed for 400 cash and the shop is one of the best in the city, they fly way under the radar though, no commercials or the like.

Check out the price at your favorite paint shop. You'll be surprised.

Probably right.

I had a local reputable shop quote touching up all the dings and nicks on my front bumper, hood, and both front fenders. The quote to do this and repaint was $1,7000.00. This included touching up a few spots on sides and rear.

I am worried about repainting, because it won't be the "original" paint any longer. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Perhaps the word "excellent" as it relates the paint work is subjective. But, about 7 years ago I had the original bumper on my vehicle re-sprayed by a renown paint shop because I didn't like the marks the oem plate holder had made . The cost was $900 without clear bra. No doubt that there were probably some smaller lesser known shops that may have done it for less. But, that was about the going rate for most of the upper scale shops that I spoke with.

I have who moonlights for cash that is doing a complete hood and bumper on my other half"s Cooper S for $350. He uses PPG paint and wet sands it to a glass finish. I suppose it depends on where you live and who you know. I'll be the first to admit that he under charges for his work, but his margins must be adequate for him. The fact that it's a cash deal probably doesn't hurt... "Upper scale" always yields an upper scale price, occasionally it yields an upper scale product. I'm sure your guy has a much nicer reception area than my guy. Does he have a Keurig or a Flavia machine in the waiting area? Either of those alone is worth the premium...

This is the guy who quoted me $500 for the bumper, hood and fade into the fenders. John's not a painter, he's an artist who's medium is cars and motorcycles. I'd put up his work to anyone out there. The pictures don't really do his stuff justice. Every car I saw from him looks like a colored mirror.

Anyone in Denver looking for a good paint job should check him out.

John May Custom Paint

For some reason, the best painters work out of their garage. I don't know why, but I've found it over and over again.

Hyper-detailed people do not often play well professionally with peers that are not at their skill level, nor do they like to be associated with work that they consider mediocre (much less half assed). This leads them to be one man operations (maybe an apprentice as well). They almost never get rich and often don't attain financial success (unless they become very well known). However, they often deliver the best product you can get.

I like that explanation.

Does he have a Keurig or a Flavia machine in the waiting area? Either of those alone is worth the premium...


Thanks to my Hamann body kit project, the shop nows has bidets in the restrooms.

Keurig? You need to be as fussy about your coffee as body work, I need a good percolated cup, Keurig creates waste and makes a mediocre cup o joe.. As for fussy, who isn't fussy in here? I didn't have orange peel or drips on my paint job and they matched the color using a special camera matching system. Glacier White was a fussy color to match perfect believe it or not.

To mistermac, go for the respray, even a pro can only do so good with a brush, besides, most people are concerned with resprays only if A) they are poorly done or B) they are done because the car was smacked.

I like it...TP is rather crude compared to a fancy French fanny shower!

Keurig actually makes a great cup if you choose the "short" cup feature. The black tea is by far the best product.

The quotes I got were around $500 a panel (hood, fenders, bumper).

Thanks for the advice Ghostrider.

spending a great deal on the front or rear bumper seems like a waste of money. Sooner or later someone will get you from the rear or some A-hole in an SUV will back up onto your bumper.

for doors, fenders and hood I'd take it to a good shop. I've had to paint and repaint my bumpers at least four times. Some times I had it done by higher end shops sometimes the places that deal with regular cars. To tell you the truth from afar, only a well-trained eye could tell the difference. And even with the higher end guys I still saw slight imperfections here and there.
I guess if this a collector Porsche that sees very little if any mileage, the only way these cars can retain any value, then it makes sense to be anal about it. But a car that's going to be driven daily or regularly not so much.

I have a 2000 Boxster in Ocean Blue Metallic with 92000 km (about 56 K miles) and decided to give Dr. Color Chip a try. Their site suggests that it works better on darker colors, so it may be worth a try on the OP's black paint. In my opinion it does a great job at covering up small chips/road rash and the improvement in my car was really quite dramatic - especially from a few feet away. I have actually had some people look at the front and mirrors and say 'remarkable, it has no chips'.

Apart from the cost savings over a respray (and the risk of an imperfect colour match, or inconsistent fading over time), many purchasers including myself would rather buy a car with with the original paint: in that way they can be completely satisfied that it hasn't been hit, or in an accident. Decent original paint on an older car also speaks to the level of care and maintenance by the original owners. Please understand me, it isn't perfect. It really does not do anywhere near as well on scratches as it does on chips. And I used up quite a bit until I got the hang of it (good thing I bought the large containers). However, in my experience it works extremely well within those parameters - certainly much, much better than attempting to effect repairs with a small brush or match stick.

Brad

I thought about car wraps. Price wise it will prob balance out with a front bumper/hood/fender respray + clear bra but a wrap can give you the option of a different color

Wow..go away for a few days and the post gets bombarded! Thanks guys. I appreciate all the information and advice.

I've tried the Dr Color Chip, and most of the other similar products out there with minimal results. With the amount of rash on the front I'm not sure anything short of a respray will get the results I want anyway.

As for the clear bra....I'm of the opinion that, properly priced, they're well worth it. I certainly wouldn't pay anywhere near the 1500 some of you have quoted, but something around 600-800 for the front end seems reasonable. If I can't find one the 3M products installed for that price I'll just forget it. And yes, you have to wait a few months to put it on. Since it's getting to be "that" season again, waiting shouldn't be too big a deal.

I'll try Eveland's. I've heard they're really good..but pricey. Thanks for the tip Sweeper.


Bob