Bonnet Respray

[Peter M]

Have you ever walked down the street and saw a beautiful girl walking your way only to be horrified to see that things are not what they first appeared?

 

Sometimes I feel the same way about my car when I see a particularly large stone chip on the bonnet!

 

I've been thinking about touching it up and somehow repairing the clear coat that I know will take a lot of time and effort but realistically it will still look "patched".

 

Consequently I'm wondering if anyone has had their bonnet resprayed lately and what it cost, especially if it was a clear over metallic job?

 

Thanks in advance!

Peter

[Caledonian]

You would be looking at around $250-300. Then there is the colour match issue, even assuming the paint on your car is in good condition and not very old it's still not a guarantee to get an good match without blending the colour into the aha sent panels (more $).

If your damage is only one stone chip and there are no other blemishes on the bonnet and depending on the area of the bonnet, this will determine what approach the painter will take. It is possible to repair the stone chip and keep the colour (base coat) localised, normally the whole bonnet would be clear coated but there is the technology and products available to fade out the clear coat also.

Confusing? The above if why you will probably get the answer " you would need to let us see the car sir before we can give you a price" to the question when you phone around for a quote.

There are plenty of panel shops around but the skill levels of the staff varies greatly, take the car for a few quotes and you will soon get a feel for who can do the the job you want.

Hope this helps

[Danny]

Recently had mine done and ended up re spraying the two front guards , mirrors , front bar and spoiler as well as the bonnet. My advice would be to go to a smaller panel shop as the larger ones seem to only want to do insurance work. It's getting harder to find good tradesmen as everything these days seems to be replaceable rather than repairable......perhaps I should post this under the vent topic!!

Danny

[JustJames]

Peter, ask yourself what you want from your car, and what you want your car for.

I raise this because you may well discover the meaning of "slippery slope". As Froggy hinted in his post above, a small touch up has a way of morphing into a full, glass out, bare metal respray. At the very least, I'd bet a virtual beer that Froggy had to take the decision not to include the doors in the respray job.

Cars that are perfect have a way of turning into garage queens. As I remind my colleagues - for a different difference of opinion - on an almost daily basis "we worship in a broad church". If having the best looking car that you possibly can is at the very top of your list of requirements, then by all means, go down the respray route. If having a car that you can take out for a fang whenever the mood strikes, and possibly even pursue some track time is at the top of your list, well then, maybe let your car wear the effects of use with pride.

Two sad facts, followed by one cause for celebration:

Cars don't stay new forever.

Girls don't stay 25 forever.

But desirable ones will always be desirable ones!

[hugh]

Two sad facts, followed by one cause for celebration:

Cars don't stay new forever.

Girls don't stay 25 forever.

But desirable ones will always be desirable ones!

[Uncle]

Well put James.

 

It's also much of the reason my car has not been painted. I could of painted it myself for the cost of the Turbo swap but I'd rather drive a fast car than look at one.

Don't get me wrong I like to look at nice car and covert them as much as the next guy. It's just the fact I put nice paint lower on the list than the next guy.

 

 

You may find a shop who is great at paint matching but at the very least/best you will have to blend in the upper gards the lower screen area.

[T-Man]

How large a stone chip are we talking?

Be very cautious. The "slippery slope" can suck you into the dark abys of financial madness.

Should have a look at some if the Langka touch up solutions.

[_Tony]

I've been thinking about touching it up and somehow repairing the clear coat that I know will take a lot of time and effort but realistically it will still look "patched".

 

Using some touch up paint, 2000 grit wet sandpaper and some cut/polish can give "reasonable" results. Never perfect, but for me is ok until i decide to get a respray. Harder with metallic paint, but may be worth trying first as its a cheap option. Worst case, you do the respray. But it makes you a bit less precious about the paint as stone chips and the like are inevitable. Here is a door chip i touched up.. as mentioned not perfect, but reasonable (for me)

 

[ByronBayChris]

Tony. Nice door chip fix. I have a bunch of cars to send your way as teenage girls and brick garage walls don't go well together. To her credit, one girl did colour the chip in with a black sharpie.

[_Tony]

Tony. Nice door chip fix. I have a bunch of cars to send your way as teenage girls and brick garage walls don't go well together. To her credit, one girl did colour the chip in with a black sharpie.

 

I had some family over and I think that chip happened at some point when one of them opened the door to take a look in the garage. Cant think how else it happened as im usually careful when opening the door. I only noticed it the next day

 

Black sharpie.. dont know how she didnt get away with it

[CarreraG50]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDEY7PyjtU8

 

Go to About 4:15

[Russ]

that episode is ingrained in my memory! I still cringed this time

[Peter M]

Guys,

Thanks for the concern but you don't need to run an intervention for me just yet! (But you are welcome to drop in for a beer anytime, my shout!)

My tastes are more Kim Basinger in LA Confidential than 9 1/2 Weeks but don't fool yourself, classic beauties are classic beauties because they do a bit of weeding and bush trimming when the need arises.

Even if I resprayed the bonnet - and absolutely no more than the bonnet - I've still got plenty of stone chips elsewhere to make this car very useable. I just think COB looks crappy when the clear has flaked off over a larger area than the chip itself, that's all. My question was more of a value proposition, do I spend a couple of hours doing half a job or do I just get someone else to do a full job, while I'm at work and can't use it anyway?

Thanks for the alternative views though!

Cheers

Peter

[Vas]

Peter, it looks like a nice car mate.

If you do anything, go for a full bare metal respray on the bonnet.

Don't let anyone talk you into a rub back and paint.

A year after it when you see some issue due to the new and old paint not reacting well you will know it was a waste of money.

Just live with the car as it is or go a full bare metal respray of the bonnet.

$1000 to $2000 should get a good job done that will last another 30 years.

If you don't want to spend that at a good shop, just live with what you have.

All the best.

[Peter M]

.....$1000 to $2000 should get a good job done that will last another 30 years.....

Mmmm, that blemish is starting to look more like a beauty spot now....

Thanks Vas!

[clutch-monkey]

if you touch it up, maybe look at that clearbra or clearcoat protection stuff to stop stone chips. saves you having to do it all again.

 

in my case once i discovered how easy the front panels were all removed it snowballed from there into a full respray.

 

was easier than getting that stupid persistent upholstery glue out of the back seat too, i swear..

[Apogee]

Does repainting a Porsche affect it's resale value?

I've been told that it does, that one can always tell that it had a respray before no matter how good the quality of the respray?

 

I want to get a large scratch on my 987 Boxster done but have been advised not to.