Painting Alpine white another color. bad idea?

[Vicarious]

$200 is crazy out of reach, but the other option is a color change respray of the whole car?

Sorry, maybe i didnt make that thought clear. I meant to say that $200 just for a buff and wax, a detail, seems pretty high. A respray would be not immediately next week but shortly down the line. If i decide to respray, i think i can mannage. But just to get the car polished and waxed as it sits for $200 seems, well a bit much. I meant to say that this $200 could be used for something better and more productive

[Vicarious]

$200 wont even get your fender painted. The E30 Alpine paint is single stage and will buff out awesome. A proper full repaint on your car will probably cost you more than you paid for it. The reason he quoted you that price was he estimated the time it takes for the several stages he'll have to go through depending on the current condition.

I guess i really messed up that last comment of mine. I MEANT to say, and I thought i did, that I would rather take the $200 and put it away as a starting savings fund towards a respray, rather than dumb the $200 on a detail. that is all.

[Vicarious]

Vivek, unfortunatele im way on the other side of the cookie. I'll look around my area, and good idea about looking for up and coming detailers to make it cheaper. I think if i can find one for under $100 itll be worth it, since me buying all the peices would be about as much and a shit load of manual labor, the types of which im not experienced with.

Thank you,
-Vlad

[German Audio Specialties]

Sorry, maybe i didnt make that thought clear. I meant to say that $200 just for a buff and wax, a detail, seems pretty high.

No way, man. Think about it, a proper job of "buffing" means no less than 3 hours using a $30+ pad and $10 worth of products, likely several different ones, all on a $180 buffer. $200 is under most areas rates for top notch work, and about than half that of the Seattle area, unless it is a hack shop.

[bmwstephen]

Sorry, maybe i didnt make that thought clear. I meant to say that $200 just for a buff and wax, a detail, seems pretty high. A respray would be not immediately next week but shortly down the line. If i decide to respray, i think i can mannage. But just to get the car polished and waxed as it sits for $200 seems, well a bit much. I meant to say that this $200 could be used for something better and more productive

then plan to save for many years to come. if you want a solid paint job on an e30, you will need to spend 2k+. I have personally researched and done respray jobs twice on my car and I can tell you that spending less than that leads to durability issues with the paint jobs after a year. It will never be as solid as how the paint comes from the factory. So if you have solid original paint with minor defects, I suggest you do what you can to save it now.

[Vicarious]

^^ hmm, good observation. A lot of things to consider now. Shitty white paint looks worse than any other paint. And ive had all kinds of beaters with shitty paint on them.

Bummer.

[bmwstephen]

^^ hmm, good observation. A lot of things to consider now. Shitty white paint looks worse than any other paint. And ive had all kinds of beaters with shitty paint on them.

Bummer.

how shitty is your paint? is it original?

In all honesty I think you misunderstand the purpose of a proper detail job. It's not simply masking over the defects. Considering if you have standard factory single stage that entails 3 to 4 coats of pre-90's enamel (which is by far the sturdiest paint due to its high VOC content compared to modern compositions) from the factory, a proper detail would mean cutting off a thin layer of the paint. Imagine if you have a tan and you want pale skin, what do you do? you exfoliate!

Now if you want a color change, yeah then I understand but you still need a shit load of money

[Vicarious]

how shitty is your paint? is it original?

In all honesty I think you misunderstand the purpose of a proper detail job. It's not simply masking over the defects. Considering if you have standard factory single stage that entails 3 to 4 coats of pre-90's enamel (which is by far the sturdiest paint due to its high VOC content compared to modern compositions) from the factory, a proper detail would mean cutting off a thin layer of the paint. Imagine if you have a tan and you want pale skin, what do you do? you exfoliate!

Now if you want a color change, yeah then I understand but you still need a shit load of money

Whoa whoa hold on a minute man. When have I as little as allude to my understanding of detailing a car as being "covering up defects". Am I speaking a different language than you people?

i understand the process. Taking off dirt/grime/shit thats accumulated over the years, buffing it, polishing and sealing it back up so the result is as smooth and shiny as a $1,000 hookers ass. I never questioned the process, nor have I once misconstrued these peoples sentiments.

[ethirtydavid]

OOOOOO i love these threads.
my advice- either paint it deep blue, or a matte orange. don't pay too much

[Vivek]

Whoa whoa hold on a minute man. When have I as little as allude to my understanding of detailing a car as being "covering up defects". Am I speaking a different language than you people?

i understand the process. Taking off dirt/grime/shit thats accumulated over the years, buffing it, polishing and sealing it back up so the result is as smooth and shiny as a $1,000 hookers ass. I never questioned the process, nor have I once misconstrued these peoples sentiments.

Actually, with all due respect, I don't think that you understand.

Detailing your car, permitting that there are no scratches down to primer, will potentially make it look as good as it did when it was painted. Why? Because the top layer of the paint is covered in embedded shit, reacted with the sun and oxygen in the air, and looks like crap. Once you take it off, and properly polish the revealed layer, it'll basically be brand new paint.

Also, $200 is dirt fucking cheap for a detail. There are people who spend thousands on car details.

Don't forget that fresh paint has to be detailed to really look good, so you can take that $200 and save it for after you get it painted, because it's gonna have to be detailed (about a month to a few months later, depending on the paint). Also, most post-paint details are wetland jobs, so it's even more $$, unless the shop includes it (in which case they're probably charing you a premium for detailing, it's just bundled into the bill).

[Vicarious]

Actually, with all due respect, I don't think that you understand.

Detailing your car, permitting that there are no scratches down to primer, will potentially make it look as good as it did when it was painted. Why? Because the top layer of the paint is covered in embedded shit, reacted with the sun and oxygen in the air, and looks like crap. Once you take it off, and properly polish the revealed layer, it'll basically be brand new paint.

Also, $200 is dirt fucking cheap for a detail. There are people who spend thousands on car details.

Don't forget that fresh paint has to be detailed to really look good, so you can take that $200 and save it for after you get it painted, because it's gonna have to be detailed (about a month to a few months later, depending on the paint). Also, most post-paint details are wetland jobs, so it's even more $$, unless the shop includes it (in which case they're probably charing you a premium for detailing, it's just bundled into the bill).

damn if only you read the part you quoted. all would be well.

[Vivek]

Well i'm confused but whatever. Basically my advice (along with everyone else's in this thread) is to get it properly polished. Even if you spend $200, it's much better than putting that towards a color change. And if you just don't like the color, sell it and buy a new one. It will make the most financial sense.