YACT: Question about car painting material

[luvya]

Does anyone here knows anything about car paint? What are the best brand of paint? Recently,I have to get my car fixed, I went to many local shops only to hear they bullsh$ting how good their paint is and how long it will last. When I ask how long the warranty is, well...most of them only offer 1 year, and then they go on to say...well, the paint should easily last 4~5 years ...blah blah blah...
I have to say the whole experience of finding a good body shop is very frustrating. WIthout "really" knowing what they are going to do to my car, I am a little reluctant to leave my car to them. So can anyone educate me about car paint material? I don't want to re-paint the car after a few years later.

 

[Ronstang]

Most commercially sold auto paints are of rather decent quality. I have painted with many different brands and achieved good results with all of them. The quality of a paint job 1 year form now has a lot more to do with the quality of the body and prep work as the paint will start to fail from underneath. You need to find a shop that comes highly recommended by people you trust. If you really only care about paint brands then you can't go wrong with DuPont, Sikkens, House of Colors, or PPG.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

I'm not trying to be funny.
How much are you willing to $pend, whats the car worth to you.
Good paint work is not cheep in So Cal, our pollution laws have seen to that.
Tom's Auto Body in Anahiem does $25k and up paint work, his work shows at
Pebble Beach. I have been to his shop many times, assisting a friend in putting together a book. I get nothing from any book sales. It is current. Page though it at your local B&N
or Boarders.
Pro Paint&Body by Jim Richardson with Tom Horvath ISBN: 1-55788-394-7 $18.95
First Edition 9-02
Just sit down and read it with a cup of coffee.
Tom does not make big money he just does some of the best work in the western states.
He is considered second to Junior Conway. The book is worth a look..Good Luck..John

 

[luvya]

So what makes some shop guarantee their work for lifetime and what makes some shop guarantee their work for 1 years? I mean...it can't be that big of a difference, can it?
Prep work...mmm...actually, I am telling them to get the aftermarket parts (cheaper)...so what kind of prep work are we talking about here?

 

[luvya]

Originally posted by: galvanizedyankee
I'm not trying to be funny.
How much are you willing to $pend, whats the car worth to you.
Good paint work is not cheep in So Cal, our pollution laws have seen to that.
Tom's Auto Body in Anahiem does $25k and up paint work, his work shows at
Pebble Beach. I have been to his shop many times, assisting a friend in putting together a book. I get nothing from any book sales. It is current. Page though it at your local B&N
or Boarders.
Pro Paint&Body by Jim Richardson with Tom Horvath ISBN: 1-55788-394-7 $18.95
First Edition 9-02
Just sit down and read it with a cup of coffee.
Tom does not make big money he just does some of the best work in the western states.
He is considered second to Junior Conway. The book is worth a look..Good Luck..John

First, I have to say WOW! You guys actually wrote a book!

Well, how much am I willing to spend? About $1500 for the whole car. The problem is the car has scratches all over, most shops recommend me to buffer them out...only one shop says the scratch are too deep, I have to repaint them. So I don't know who to listen to. This car I am going to keep forever, so I really don't want any sh$t put on my car. It's a 99 Honda Accord..
Btw, what does the book talk about? Does it teach u how to do the body work? If so, I will be very tempted to give it a read.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

That was quick! Got pics! Installing new body panels and fitting them well takes time. Prep takes time. Masking well is a art. The shooting of paint is nothing compared to all the prep
work. Good paint is not cheep. Earl Shibe use to shoot cars for $29.95 w/$10.00 of free metal work thrown in, that was in 1965. Do a little reading and check references.
Go to a car show or auto swap meet and ask other car owners About your local shops.
Take a real good look at the cars that they have finished. I know you want it done right now. Spend a day or two and do some research.
By the way I graduated from Bosco Tech 66'

 

[flot]

Ok, I have the opposite question - I want to get my car painted cheap, because I'm selling. I don't want to totally screw the next owner over. I'm not planning on doing any bodywork etc, just shoot the car.

Suggestions? Also, what's the best prep work I can do ahead of time? (Since I know most cheap shops = no prep) ?? Just hand sand the car with 2000-3000 grit to even out the rock chips etc?

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

First let me state that I assisted in the above book. That means holding the mic of a portable tape recorder and asking intelegent noob questions to flesh out the text.
Maaco or whoever you go to, ask them. On older cars a lot of the trim came off pretty easily on newer ones not so easy. "What can I do that will help you make this the best $400 respray i can get?" No charge for asking...