collision repair and auto painting

[oliver.r]

I think the minimum order for any paint is 1/2 pint so that's a lot. Do you happen to know the shelf life of non catalyzed urethane paint?

it will eventually start to separate but im sure you could get a good 6 months out of it

[bmwstephen]

it will eventually start to separate but im sure you could get a good 6 months out of it

great! also do you know its behavior when applied in small dosages? For example, when a droplet of lacquer touch up paint is dabbed on a rock chip. the paint will tend to contract and shrink and will take at least a week to harden.

once the catalyst is mixed into urethane, will it experience similar behavior?

[oliver.r]

great! also do you know its behavior when applied in small dosages? For example, when a droplet of lacquer touch up paint is dabbed on a rock chip. the paint will tend to contract and shrink and will take at least a week to harden.

once the catalyst is mixed into urethane, will it experience similar behavior?

it takes a while to harden, the thinner its applied the faster it dries, I would recommend to at least let it sit overnight, if you drive the car as soon as you put the touch up on the area all the dirt will be attracted to it and look even worse

[cgk_iii]

How much would it be for an economical paint job for my e30? I would strip everything myself.. I have some major body work to be done though (gash in the driver side rear quarter panel, passenger side rocker panel has a huge dent from a curb, everything needs to be aligned, and some other dings in both fenders) im no looking for the CHEAPEST paint but im looking for something i could afford. Would it be cheaper to get a new quarter panel and new rocker panels or just repair whats already there?

[bmwstephen]

Welcome back Oliver!

new question for you. Is the finish with urethane SS visually and noticably different than the old school factory enamal?

For example,when you respray one panel in SS urethane and the neighboring panels are in its original enamel SS. Would you be able to tell the difference?

And are all your painters capable of spraying SS or only certain trained technicians can (I assume technique is different)?

[oliver.r]

thanks!
I have never done a spot repair on a vehicle with older enamel. finish I would imagine would be the same but color match would be difficult.

a tech need specific training for single stage.
we had some guy from SATA come in and demo some paint. the base/clear jobs he did were awesome but the one single stage he shot looked terrible, he had never done a single stage before.

[bmwstephen]

thanks!
I have never done a spot repair on a vehicle with older enamel. finish I would imagine would be the same but color match would be difficult.

a tech need specific training for single stage.
we had some guy from SATA come in and demo some paint. the base/clear jobs he did were awesome but the one single stage he shot looked terrible, he had never done a single stage before.

ahh i see. so are you currently not spraying SS at your shop due to a lack of qualified techs?

[oliver.r]

we spray single stage a lot, its what we shoot the most.
our painter is DuPont certified to shoot both

[bmwstephen]

we spray single stage a lot, its what we shoot the most.
our painter is DuPont certified to shoot both

but in terms of color matching a panel, it is something your shop has not done before or did I misunderstand?

I have a possible drive door I want refinished in SS to match with between the fender and rear quarter. Obviously a panel blend is out of the question and I know there is a risk of color mismatch but I am hopeful it will be unnoticable since my car is black.

[oliver.r]

those were 2 separate statements sorry if I made it confusing.
if we do not blend the color will be close but not exact. if you want it to be %100 exact you need to blend the adjacent panels

[Rmlr]

Rust on Front Valance

Hi Oliver,

First I should thank you for helping out the community with the knowledge share. There is some great information in this thread and a lot of people have been benefited. :)

I do have a question for you regarding rust spots. The front valance takes a lot of abuse with paint being chipped constantly and over time starts to rust. my e30 is very clean (rustwise) throughout except for the small strip below the grill and lower valance. Its heavily pitted and some sanding revealed that most of the rock chips are down to bare metal. I Got quoted around $600 to fix by body shops even if i removed the part myself. Therefore going the DIY route to see if its feasible
Anways,
Step1: Sand down with a sander (400 grit) to bare metal around the rust areas
Step2: Seal with a primer, sand down if needed.
Step3: Base coat and 2 coats of Clear

I am yet to decide on products but just working on a plan. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Thanks!

[oliver.r]

How much would it be for an economical paint job for my e30? I would strip everything myself.. I have some major body work to be done though (gash in the driver side rear quarter panel, passenger side rocker panel has a huge dent from a curb, everything needs to be aligned, and some other dings in both fenders) im no looking for the CHEAPEST paint but im looking for something i could afford. Would it be cheaper to get a new quarter panel and new rocker panels or just repair whats already there?

just saw this.

I wont address the price since I cant determine the cost without looking at the vehicle.
I would refinish it in a single stage paint to keep the cost down.
if you have a limited budget I would recommend spending most of it on surface repair and body work as opposed to paint quality.

it is always cheaper to replace a panel like that than to replace it. sectioning unibody panels is extremely costly.
if you ever go out to a meet I would be happy to take a look at it and give you better advise

[oliver.r]

Hi Oliver,

First I should thank you for helping out the community with the knowledge share. There is some great information in this thread and a lot of people have been benefited. :)

I do have a question for you regarding rust spots. The front valance takes a lot of abuse with paint being chipped constantly and over time starts to rust. my e30 is very clean (rustwise) throughout except for the small strip below the grill and lower valance. Its heavily pitted and some sanding revealed that most of the rock chips are down to bare metal. I Got quoted around $600 to fix by body shops even if i removed the part myself. Therefore going the DIY route to see if its feasible
Anways,
Step1: Sand down with a sander (400 grit) to bare metal around the rust areas
Step2: Seal with a primer, sand down if needed.
Step3: Base coat and 2 coats of Clear

I am yet to decide on products but just working on a plan. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Thanks!

thanks for the support!
what color is your car?
step 1. do not strip with 400 grit, you will have one hell of a time trying to do that. instead use 180 grit sand paper to strip the parts.


step2. you need 2 primers, etching primer first then filler primer on top of that, sand the filler primer until the surface is smooth.

step3. depending on the color it might be easier to do it in single stage.
you can do it out of a can for something that small.
make sure when you spray it is a really clean well ventilated area and there is nothing around to get over spray on. do it in a garage if possible to keep debris of the parts.
hope this helps

[Rmlr]

thanks for the support!
what color is your car?
step 1. do not strip with 400 grit, you will have one hell of a time trying to do that. instead use 180 grit sand paper to strip the parts.


step2. you need 2 primers, etching primer first then filler primer on top of that, sand the filler primer until the surface is smooth.

step3. depending on the color it might be easier to do it in single stage.
you can do it out of a can for something that small.
make sure when you spray it is a really clean well ventilated area and there is nothing around to get over spray on. do it in a garage if possible to keep debris of the parts.
hope this helps

Excellent advice!

The car is alpine white II (1991 318i). Planning on ordering all the products here: https://www.paintscratch.com/cgi-bin/guide1.cgi

Any suggestion for products would be helpful too. Will post pics once done.

Thanks!

[bmwstephen]

had the pleasure of finally meeting Oliver. If you think his contribution to this thread is informative, you should see how he is in action. Really knowledgeable guy and can give you even more options once he sees your car in person.