collision repair and auto painting

[bmwstephen]

Oliver,

If I am interested in buying a car that has been in an accident but has since been repaired, do you offer inspection services at a price?

Specifically, I am running across a few "salvage" e30s that look great, but of course I really won't know what's underneath the shell until i take it to a professional

[oliver.r]

we do not, im sure you need some sort of certification for that but i would be happy to do it on my personal time

[bmwstephen]

so Oliver... if a car with its original white or black pre-90's single stage enamel paint had a dime size chip on it where the primer is showing, what would be your approach to doing a spot repair on that type of paint since you can't blend it like a b/c finish

[oliver.r]

Paint the complete panel always, even if it was a base/clear we would still do the whole panel, it's the only way to make it look seamless

[bmwstephen]

i think you mentioned there's an issue with color matching the adjoining panels when it comes to SS in the past. How will you tackle that?

[oliver.r]

tint the color, thats all you can do, match is as close as possible since the whole panel needs actual color

[BROKINBIMMER]

tint the color, thats all you can do, match is as close as possible since the whole panel needs actual color

So you're saying you would repair the metal, then refinish the whole panel in single stage after tinting the paint?

Not trying to argue here, but I would tend to disagree. I don't care how good your painter is, he will never match single stage to the point where it is not noticable. Also, the color slightly changes as the paint cures, so if its a perfect match after tinting, that does not neccessarily mean it will match when the paint is cured. I would opt to repair the damage, then spray the repair with BC then refinish the whole panel with clear.

If someone were to insist on a SS finish, you would most likely need to refinish the whole side of the car. Again, not trying to argue here, but I do have experience with this, and I've never seen someone "panel paint" a repair with SS and have it look half decent. Just my 2 cents...

[oliver.r]

from experiance we have had good results with it

[oliver.r]

why the hell did this get moved to random crap fs?

[bmwstephen]

So you're saying you would repair the metal, then refinish the whole panel in single stage after tinting the paint?

Not trying to argue here, but I would tend to disagree. I don't care how good your painter is, he will never match single stage to the point where it is not noticable. Also, the color slightly changes as the paint cures, so if its a perfect match after tinting, that does not neccessarily mean it will match when the paint is cured. I would opt to repair the damage, then spray the repair with BC then refinish the whole panel with clear.

If someone were to insist on a SS finish, you would most likely need to refinish the whole side of the car. Again, not trying to argue here, but I do have experience with this, and I've never seen someone "panel paint" a repair with SS and have it look half decent. Just my 2 cents...

so say if someone had an original SS 20 year old paint job in mint condition. However, there is a penny size chip in the middle of his door, you would opt to BC half the car? Not trying to argue but if the customer's goal is to keep the car as original as possible and throw money at you, wouldn't there be alternative options? I've seen some detailers touch up the area and feather/burn the base to the surrounding paint... a lot less noticable than an actual blend of an entire panel

also if SS is a big problem, how do you handle painting modern SS cars from the factory? as you know, some manufacturers including LEXUS still use single stage (although not sure if it's different than what's currently offered at paint shops).

[bmwstephen]

Oliver,

I've noticed with a lot of new plastic car parts such as bumpers, side skirts, or spoilers are very slippery in terms of grip when removed from the packaging. I assume its the wax like agent within the plastic used during the molding process.

that said, how do you prep a part for paint like that? I know in the past you stated that if the plastic surface is straight, there's no need for primer and you simply shoot the paint over it. in this case, what would be the best approach?

[oliver.r]

we use a plastic cleaner to wipe it down, scuff it and shoot it

[oliver.r]

i went to MAACO in san jose today and holy shit i can see why people say what the say

[bmwstephen]

i went to MAACO in san jose today and holy shit i can see why people say what the say

say what?? and what were u doing there

[oliver.r]

we might possible be changing paint brands and all the demos are being done at that shop.

shitty prep, shitty masking, dirty as hell paint jobs.
super crazy.