paint repair

[rszappa1]

I have a few small scratches on my silver bumper. Has anybody out there ever used the commercial places that do paint repair...such as The Paint Bull or DR. Vynle...there are others. I was wondering if anybody has used a commercial type place to do this type of work and was it any better they doing it your self with touch up paint. Thanks..

[turbomangt]

RSZ/ what I would consider small scratches might be different from other opinions. I will give you an example. Yesterday I detailed a pick up truck used for construction. YOu can imagion the abuse this vehicle gets. The owner pointed out several scratches on the side panels. After prepping the truck I took a closer look at those spots. Always using the "less is best" approach I tried my paint cleaner on them. This cleaned up the area nice but the scratches were too deep for the paint cleaner to have a positive effect on it. Next I went to a medium abrasive cleaner with a cyclo dual head buffer, much improvement but not perfect. Now I knew I had to go with the High Speed Rotary. (a dangerous machine in thw wrong hands) Using a heavy duty compound and cutting pad I buffed that spot. It cut through and evened out the scratches nicely. But like all compounds, it left the spot dull. So I followed with a polish, and the polishing pad to restore the shine. YOu could not see where the scratches were anymore. Unfortunately most people don't have access nor can they operate a buffer. Plus I have tons of products designed specifically for any detailing job. If the procedure I mentioned did not work I would of wet sanded the spot. Which is a whole different deal in itself. Moral of the story, most scratches can be removed or at the least improved by a professional. The novice is limited to what they can do. The places you mentioned in the post I never heard of here (Chicago) For paint touch up read my web site for info on that. Gary

[RallyDRock]

sounds good for a customers car but what about our beloved cruisers, the clear is only so thin and once it's gone...
how much clear was left on the truck if you were able to measure it?

if it is totally through and into the plastic the paint can be injected in with a syringe. a friend of mine does it, called touch of color. works pretty good for the deep ones that cant be buffed out.

[rszappa1]

Well I went to a few places around Louisville today and all said that to repair it the best way they would have to repaint the whole bumper. No way...The scratches are very small and I do not want to paint the whole bumber for that. I quess I will use a fine brush and then wet sand it in a few days...I did find out that if you order a new bumber from Chrysler...either front or back...It is already painrd and ready to be installed....About $450.00 Bucks...By the way the shops all wanted from around 125 to 175 to fix it....

[turbomangt]

Man, I guess I'm too cheap. I normally charge $50 or less to buff out a section, If I'm alreadying detailing the car, its part of the package. Gary

[rszappa1]

This is not to buff out...It is to repaint the bumper...

[Mike-in-Orange]

quote:Originally posted by turbomangt

Man, I guess I'm too cheap. I normally charge $50 or less to buff out a section, If I'm alreadying detailing the car, its part of the package. Gary

"Scratched paint ruining the look of your car but body shops want too much to repaint the area? Come into Perfect Auto Finish for a FREE professional consultation before you spray! We can remove many scratches without paint or fillers of any kind, and if you aren't 100% satisfied with the results you don't pay! That's right...you don't get a refund - you DON'T PAY US A DIME!"

Gary, do you have the confidence to try something like this? Get yourself some really good before/after pix and put together a portfolio. If a body shop quoted me $250 to repaint an area of my car, plus having to wait a few days to get it back, but you showed me pix of your work with a quote of $125 and that guarantee plus same day turnaround, I'd bite in second. Surely your professional judgement will tell you if you can fix a scratch or scratches, and you're the kind of guy who will tell it like it is. If you honestly don't think you can help, I know you'll tell folks straight up.

[Jimbo]

I had a big old scratch taken out of a door for 20 bucks.When he was done you couldn't tell it was there.

[rszappa1]

How was the scratch taken out of the door...buffed out or repainted??? If they repaintrd did they repaint the whole dooe or just the area???

[Jimbo]

I didn't see him do it,but I know he just repaired the scratch .
he didn't paint the whole door.It was a lease vehicle and I was going to turn it in and they would have dock me big time for it.
No way he could have just buffed it out though.