Scratch Repair!?

[Xsorovan]

Hey Everyone,
I am completely not a car person so when it comes to cars I have to rely on auto people for answers.

Anyway, my wife scratched the bumper of another car and the scratch is maybe as long as your middle finger and a 4th of the width. Person who got scratched took it to Maaco and Maaco said it would cost 430 bucks to repair it. Does that seem high to anyone else? Should I call Maaco and figure out iof they are going to try and repaint the whole bumper? Or does it seriously cost 430 dollars or more to get a bumper scratch fixed?

 

[imported_Pablo]

tell them to take it somewhere else other than maaco. maaco has a reputation for doing CRAPPY paintjobs.

 

[AbsolutDealage]

Originally posted by: Pablo
tell them to take it somewhere else other than maaco. maaco has a reputation for doing CRAPPY paintjobs.

Agreed. If you are paying for this out of pocket, sniff out a couple of local body shops and then tell them to get estimates there. That way, they can't just get a couple of estimates from the highest price places in town.

 

[jemcam]

Paint is very expensive and to paint it correctly, they're not going to paint just the scratch. They need to smooth out the scratch first, then sand the clearcoat of the entire bumper, then blend in the color where the repaired area is, then clearcoat the entire bumper again. Also, they may or may not need to remove the bumper cover from the vehicle in order to perform the repairs depending on how severe the scratch is. Also, if the area of the bumper is textured with a pebbly grain, that cannot be repaired, it will require replacment of the bumper. However, for $430, I highly doubt they are replacing the bumper.

The bottom line is, do you want it to be repaired right or do you want it cheap? You usually can't have both.

You didn't mention where you are located, the year, make and model of the car, and the color. If your car has pearlescent paint or three stage paint, it's entirely possible it could cost that much. If it has three stage paint which many cars have, you have to add an extra step in the above mentioned procedure for the three stage paint so you can attain a color and texture match. Also, is the paint two tone? A lot of different factors have to be considered.

FWIW, I've been in the auto repair/auto body business for over 25 years. Don't listen to the kiddies on here that say they can repair it with spray paint and/or touch up.

 

[Xsorovan]

Wow... ok. Well, honestly, I want it done as quickly and cheaply as possible. (Spray paint huh... (j/k))

Thanks jemcam for the detailed list of what goes into this. It makes me feel a bit better about it.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: jemcam
FWIW, I've been in the auto repair/auto body business for over 25 years. Don't listen to the kiddies on here that say they can repair it with spray paint and/or touch up.

Then you would be appalled at what the previous owner of my car did to it. So many half-assed fvcked up touch-up paint applications its not funny. It pains me to see all the gouges covered up with what looks like red white-out

 

[Slappy00]

are not most bumpers now adays plastic, so you can jsut replace the part for like $100?

 

[LordMorpheus]

how much would a quality paint job for a whole car cost?

Say you wanted to change the color entirely - a few grand or so?

 

[mrchan]

Sounds like it's only 3" x .75" or so. I wouldn't bother fixing it, it would cost more than it's worth to do correctly.

 

[compnovice]

thats strange...every other day I see an ad on TV for a new paint job at Maaco for $230...

I have no idea about the quality of their paint jobs...

 

[Jeff7181]

Wow... people don't do scratch repair anymore do they? Just repaint the whole forkin thing...

I've done it many times before by using wax & grease remover to clean the area, a "fiberglass pencil" to remove any rust if it's been scratched down to metal, and a bottle of touchup paint. If you're REALLY anal, it requires stages because you'll have to fill in the crevasse, and remove high spots, which can be done with a razor blade first before the paint has totally cured, and then later by wet sanding and buffing. This CAN be done on a car with a clear coat, but it won't be a perfect repair, but as close as you'll get without repainting the whole body panel.

If this a "normal" car and not a show car, just use wax and grease remover and touch-up paint.

 

[GrammatonJP]

thats strange...every other day I see an ad on TV for a new paint job at Maaco for $230...

Macco is the worse at this job... they show you in tiny fine print.. does not include stripping the car.. so if you need something painted, you strip the existing paint off or they charge you for it..

prepping.. smoothing out the bumps, scratches, etc, thats also extra

primer.. oh yeah.. primer is extra..

a regular body shop usually quotes you like 2k for the job, that includes everything.. maaco doesn't, they just tell yo how much to paint but not tell you about prepping...

 

[Jeff7181]

does not include stripping the car.. so if you need something painted, you strip the existing paint off or they charge you for it..

A car should never be stripped of paint unless you're doing a complete restoration on a very rusty car. Even a high quality body shop with high tech climate controlled paint booth cannot match the quality of the mechanical adhesion between the primer and the metal attainted at the factory. The paint should be scuffed, not sanded down to bare metal, before new paint is applied. If Maaco wants to strip the paint, don't let them anywhere near your car.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: Slappy00
are not most bumpers now adays plastic, so you can jsut replace the part for like $100?

Yes, most of them are plastic, but they're hardly $100. Most of them start at over $300 and go to almost $1000 for the bumper cover only.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
how much would a quality paint job for a whole car cost?

Say you wanted to change the color entirely - a few grand or so?

A quality paint job will easily cost a couple thousand. A quality color change including the door jambs, trunk lid, hood, etc. will cost a couple thousand more depending on how thorough you want to be. I've seen people bring cars in to the shop that wanted the entire interior and glass taken out to do a correct color change.

 

[mrchan]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Wow... people don't do scratch repair anymore do they? Just repaint the whole forkin thing...

I've done it many times before by using wax & grease remover to clean the area, a "fiberglass pencil" to remove any rust if it's been scratched down to metal, and a bottle of touchup paint. If you're REALLY anal, it requires stages because you'll have to fill in the crevasse, and remove high spots, which can be done with a razor blade first before the paint has totally cured, and then later by wet sanding and buffing. This CAN be done on a car with a clear coat, but it won't be a perfect repair, but as close as you'll get without repainting the whole body panel.

If this a "normal" car and not a show car, just use wax and grease remover and touch-up paint.

Agreed. It won't be perfect, but it'd cost you less than $10 and be good enough.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: GrammatonJP

thats strange...every other day I see an ad on TV for a new paint job at Maaco for $230...

Macco is the worse at this job... they show you in tiny fine print.. does not include stripping the car.. so if you need something painted, you strip the existing paint off or they charge you for it..

prepping.. smoothing out the bumps, scratches, etc, thats also extra

primer.. oh yeah.. primer is extra..

a regular body shop usually quotes you like 2k for the job, that includes everything.. maaco doesn't, they just tell yo how much to paint but not tell you about prepping...

Not exactly. The prep work is removing the trim pieces, masking everything, removing door handles, etc. This is all very time consuming and when MAACO does their cheapie jobs, they either slap a little masking tape on it or paint over stuff like emblems.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: mrchan

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Wow... people don't do scratch repair anymore do they? Just repaint the whole forkin thing...

I've done it many times before by using wax & grease remover to clean the area, a "fiberglass pencil" to remove any rust if it's been scratched down to metal, and a bottle of touchup paint. If you're REALLY anal, it requires stages because you'll have to fill in the crevasse, and remove high spots, which can be done with a razor blade first before the paint has totally cured, and then later by wet sanding and buffing. This CAN be done on a car with a clear coat, but it won't be a perfect repair, but as close as you'll get without repainting the whole body panel.

If this a "normal" car and not a show car, just use wax and grease remover and touch-up paint.

Agreed. It won't be perfect, but it'd cost you less than $10 and be good enough.

Good enough for a riced-out Civic, but not on any of my cars.

I say again, you want quality or want cheap? You can't have both.

 

[Ricochet]

I got a scratch slightly longer than what the OP described on my '04 Accord. This scratch was caused by a tow truck when they towed my car. Unfortunately those bastards refuse to own up to it. Claiming the scratch was already there. The body shop gave me a $900 estimate to repair it. Since my insurance covers it anyway I didn't go after the tow truck company and have a b!tch-fest with them.

 

[LordMorpheus]

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
how much would a quality paint job for a whole car cost?

Say you wanted to change the color entirely - a few grand or so?

A quality paint job will easily cost a couple thousand. A quality color change including the door jambs, trunk lid, hood, etc. will cost a couple thousand more depending on how thorough you want to be. I've seen people bring cars in to the shop that wanted the entire interior and glass taken out to do a correct color change.

I guess making my silver town car a black town car would cost a little more than I'd be willing to spend, then.

 

[dandruff]

goto your local carclub forums .. ask them who locally does a good job at the best prices ... dont take it to maaco ... hth!

 

[sciencewhiz]

Originally posted by: Xsorovan
Anyway, my wife scratched the bumper of another car and the scratch is maybe as long as your middle finger and a 4th of the width. Person who got scratched took it to Maaco and Maaco said it would cost 430 bucks to repair it. Does that seem high to anyone else? Should I call Maaco and figure out iof they are going to try and repaint the whole bumper? Or does it seriously cost 430 dollars or more to get a bumper scratch fixed?

I had a similar case with a G35. The person looked 3 places and found one for about $250. The dealer had wanted about $500.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: mrchan

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Wow... people don't do scratch repair anymore do they? Just repaint the whole forkin thing...

I've done it many times before by using wax & grease remover to clean the area, a "fiberglass pencil" to remove any rust if it's been scratched down to metal, and a bottle of touchup paint. If you're REALLY anal, it requires stages because you'll have to fill in the crevasse, and remove high spots, which can be done with a razor blade first before the paint has totally cured, and then later by wet sanding and buffing. This CAN be done on a car with a clear coat, but it won't be a perfect repair, but as close as you'll get without repainting the whole body panel.

If this a "normal" car and not a show car, just use wax and grease remover and touch-up paint.

Agreed. It won't be perfect, but it'd cost you less than $10 and be good enough.

Good enough for a riced-out Civic, but not on any of my cars.

I say again, you want quality or want cheap? You can't have both.

You can do the same thing with 2 stage paint... it just requires a couple extra steps... it's still cheaper than painting the entire body panel, especially if it's a hood or something huge like that. If done right, it's good enough for anything short of a show car where having an immaculate paint job is good for something more than your personal pride.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: mrchan

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Wow... people don't do scratch repair anymore do they? Just repaint the whole forkin thing...

I've done it many times before by using wax & grease remover to clean the area, a "fiberglass pencil" to remove any rust if it's been scratched down to metal, and a bottle of touchup paint. If you're REALLY anal, it requires stages because you'll have to fill in the crevasse, and remove high spots, which can be done with a razor blade first before the paint has totally cured, and then later by wet sanding and buffing. This CAN be done on a car with a clear coat, but it won't be a perfect repair, but as close as you'll get without repainting the whole body panel.

If this a "normal" car and not a show car, just use wax and grease remover and touch-up paint.

Agreed. It won't be perfect, but it'd cost you less than $10 and be good enough.

Good enough for a riced-out Civic, but not on any of my cars.

I say again, you want quality or want cheap? You can't have both.

You can do the same thing with 2 stage paint... it just requires a couple extra steps... it's still cheaper than painting the entire body panel, especially if it's a hood or something huge like that. If done right, it's good enough for anything short of a show car where having an immaculate paint job is good for something more than your personal pride.

That's a job I'd love to see. Hack.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: mrchan

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Wow... people don't do scratch repair anymore do they? Just repaint the whole forkin thing...

I've done it many times before by using wax & grease remover to clean the area, a "fiberglass pencil" to remove any rust if it's been scratched down to metal, and a bottle of touchup paint. If you're REALLY anal, it requires stages because you'll have to fill in the crevasse, and remove high spots, which can be done with a razor blade first before the paint has totally cured, and then later by wet sanding and buffing. This CAN be done on a car with a clear coat, but it won't be a perfect repair, but as close as you'll get without repainting the whole body panel.

If this a "normal" car and not a show car, just use wax and grease remover and touch-up paint.

Agreed. It won't be perfect, but it'd cost you less than $10 and be good enough.

Good enough for a riced-out Civic, but not on any of my cars.

I say again, you want quality or want cheap? You can't have both.

You can do the same thing with 2 stage paint... it just requires a couple extra steps... it's still cheaper than painting the entire body panel, especially if it's a hood or something huge like that. If done right, it's good enough for anything short of a show car where having an immaculate paint job is good for something more than your personal pride.

That's a job I'd love to see. Hack.

Of course it's a hack job... but it's better than letting a scratch rust away, and cheaper than spraying a large body panel.