collision repair and auto painting

[oliver.r]

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

All though I may be new to the forums I am experienced wen it comes to collision repair and auto painting.
I was raised around this business and have done it my entire life.
Currently I am:
i-car platinum certified non-structural tech

Mitchell ultra-mate certified physical damage appraisal

DuPont waterborne refinishing certified.


i can answer questions about***********:

-dealing with insurance companies ( to a certain extent)

-surface repair

-refinishing myths

-differences in paints and qualities

-repair vs. replace

-why shops charge for something

-shop misconceptions and myths

pretty much anything you can think of that has to do with body and paint i can most likely answer

i am not a chemist (please don't ask me about paint make-up)

i am not a mechanic( have no idea how to trouble shoot your backfire)

I'm a collision repair tech

even though i know quite a bit I DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW if you have a correction please MAKE IT

if you have any questions i will try my best to answer them
please post here for everyone to see! ( no pm)

if you are also a tech feel free to jump in

(I'm not sure if there is a thread like this but i know that there is a lot of mis-information out there)

-Oliver Ramos

[bmwstephen]

stop giving him a hard time. I've seen his car he color changed his personal e46 at HIS SHOP using HIS TEAM unlike vlad and it looks great...

oliver is a stand-up guy in the e46 community giving thorough advice. he doesn't hide anything with his services and is very honest about all ranges of paint jobs from economical to high-end.

[oliver.r]

stop giving him a hard time. I've seen his car he color changed his personal e46 and it looks great...

oliver is a stand-up guy in the e46 community giving thorough advice. he doesn't hide anything with his services and is very honest about all ranges of paint jobs from economical to high-end.

thanks mate !

[Adrian_Visser]

If I wanted to get my car resprayed, same color as original, in Delphin Metallic and I wanted a high quality paint system that would last 15+ years which paint would you recommend?

[oliver.r]

If I wanted to get my car resprayed, same color as original, in Delphin Metallic and I wanted a high quality paint system that would last 15+ years which paint would you recommend?

i would recommend a basecoat/clear coat paint service, what that would consist of:
obviously repairing the surface of the vehicle, repairing and chips/scratches/ peeling paint or dents you wanted to repair.
remove as many items as possible that way all the edges are painted and dont peel in the future.
mask open areas.
sealer
base coat
color
clear coat.
color sand and buff for a mirror finish.
with proper maintanence that should last the life of the vehicle.
hope this helped!

[nomansland92]

I'm planning on repainting my car i was planning on using valspar single stage. What's your thoughts on this over base clear?

[bmwstephen]

^ feeding off that question, what is your input on single stage paints now a days now that they don't contain lead which made pre-90's paint bullet proof.

[oliver.r]

I'm planning on repainting my car i was planning on using valspar single stage. What's your thoughts on this over base clear?

i didnt even know valspar made automotive paint ha.
if you are going with a single stage paint i would reccommend going with a company with a proven track record such as dupont or ppg or basf, they have years of developing their products, valspar...not so much.

i would not recommend single stage paint on a metallic color since it will drasticly change how it looks, if your car is alpine or henna or any solid color it will look nice but does not have the added protection of the clear coat witch would make it last longer.
if you want something affordable and have a solid color i would say go for a single stage. if you have a metallic color or want it to last super long, get a base clear

[oliver.r]

^ feeding off that question, what is your input on single stage paints now a days now that they don't contain lead which made pre-90's paint bullet proof.

lower VOC single stage paints are a good option for a economy paint job,
the paint is a lot more sensitive to the elements, it tends to fade a lot faster than paints with a clear, it tends to last up to 5 or 6 years depending on how well the car is maintained.

if you're on a tight budget it is a good option but not if ithe color is metallic or if you plan on keeping the car for a long time

[Vivek]

i would recommend a basecoat/clear coat paint service, what that would consist of:
obviously repairing the surface of the vehicle, repairing and chips/scratches/ peeling paint or dents you wanted to repair.
remove as many items as possible that way all the edges are painted and dont peel in the future.
mask open areas.
sealer
base coat
color
clear coat.
color sand and buff for a mirror finish.
with proper maintanence that should last the life of the vehicle.
hope this helped!

I think he meant more what brand of paint. PPG?

Also, you're local to me. How much (ballpark) would you/your shop charge to fully repaint an e30, same color, no doorjambs/under the hood/trunk. Say the car has no dents, but 6-7 very minor (dime sized or less) dings.

[oliver.r]

If I wanted to get my car resprayed, same color as original, in Delphin Metallic and I wanted a high quality paint system that would last 15+ years which paint would you recommend?

Brand wise stay with the big guys, DuPont, ppg, basf.
Small brands are usually really bad

[oliver.r]

I think he meant more what brand of paint. PPG?

Also, you're local to me. How much (ballpark) would you/your shop charge to fully repaint an e30, same color, no doorjambs/under the hood/trunk. Say the car has no dents, but 6-7 very minor (dime sized or less) dings.

Do you want to fix the dings?
Do you want us to completely strip it?
Cheap paint?
Really nice paint?
It can be anything from $500 to $5000 depending on what route you want to go
If you go out to the meet tomorrow I'll be happy to answer any of your questions

[Vivek]

The friday night meet tomorrow? I'll be busy and to be perfectly honest I have no intention of getting my car repainted. It was just a general question because I'm sure some people are.

[oliver.r]

The friday night meet tomorrow? I'll be busy and to be perfectly honest I have no intention of getting my car repainted. It was just a general question because I'm sure some people are.

The price is very specific to each while and situation, there are a lot of factors that go into a paint job

[oliver.r]

if you guys were wondering i have painted 2 forum members e30's on here
MR. LUGO'S calipso and marines2060 silber metallic
done a bunch of e46 guys parts also