EricUSC

I got a scratch on my trunk and I need to get it re-painted. I went to 2020 Auto Body in City of Industry, CA, and they told me that painting over the existing paint will get the same quality of finish as stripping off the old paint. He said that if you have the original paint stripped, then you are exposing the metal, which may not be a good thing. But some people ask for the old paint to be stripped because they want the paint to be just like the original. I then asked him which is better and he said it depends what you're looking for. I kept questioning him, but was not able to get a definitive answer on which is better.

My Civic is in excellent condition, is not my daily driver, and I do not ever plan to sell it, so quality is far more important to me than price.

Questions:

1. Can you guys disccuss the pros and cons of stripping off old paint vs. painting over existing paint?

2. What would you recommend if price were no object?

RARE_EG2

iTrader: (1)

strip off old paint, primer, then paint.

DC4KiD

iTrader: (4)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RARE_EG2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">strip off old paint, primer, then paint.</TD></TR></TABLE>

EricUSC

Can somebody explain the pros and cons of each? Does exposing the metal while stripping the paint really do any harm like the guy at the body shop says?

solareclipseauto

if you strip it down to the metal you can get alot of contaminats on the metal that can cause a bad reaction to the paint when it is resprayed. rust can also start and grow under the paint causing a big headache later

Miss Kawasaki

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RARE_EG2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">strip off old paint, primer, then paint.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Strippin in down and prime then repaint takes out any other flaws you may have in your paint rather than covering them and possibly making them stand out even more

Painting over paint makes it look shitty in my opinion.

whoa its len 2

Im afraid to strip my paint because of the rust monsters.


Strip all paint and fix all imperfections before color.

EricUSC

OK, based on this thread,

1. Stripping the old paint would yield a higher quality paint job, but it may cause rust problems in the future.

2. Painting over the original paint may yield a lower quality paint job, but there will be fewer problems in the future.

Does this seem correct? It looks like either way, I can't win. Any additional insight is appreciated.

EricUSC

I just checked the 2020 Auto Body website ( http://www.2020autobodytech.com ) and the warranty states:

"Paint warranty is valid only when paint is applied over original factory finishes that are free of defect."

Looks like the shop does have a concern over stripping the paint.

dinko

if you do new paint over the old paint...the old paint servers as an excellent primer. are you doing a color change?

SOHC SOLDIER

How is 2020's pricing?

19civic93

old paint always serves as a good foundation to new paint. you will also pay more man hours to have it stripped down. stripping the paint exposes the metal to atmosphere which could cause contamination. your original paint was done in a factory with an air controlled enviornment from start to finish. either way you'll get a quality finish if the shop has a good reputation. i've never heard of having to strip the car to bare metal unless it's because of rust or already had 2 previous paint jobs over the factory. even if there were flaws in the current paint you don't have to strip all the paint off to remove them. there is actually a lot more work in stripping and repainting. either way you choose you'll get the same quality but with 2 different prices.

solareclipseauto

just fix any body damage or imperfections then block sand the rest of the car, clean it, resand it with scotchgaurd, water and ajax, clean it again and it sould be ready for paint

huepowered

i'm not 100% sure, but when u strip it down to bare metal, u should get a sealer thrown on there, then prime, and paint..

19civic93

sealer is used before base coat. etching primer and epoxy is used before sealer.

96GSRcx

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 19civic93 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">old paint always serves as a good foundation to new paint. you will also pay more man hours to have it stripped down. stripping the paint exposes the metal to atmosphere which could cause contamination. your original paint was done in a factory with an air controlled enviornment from start to finish. either way you'll get a quality finish if the shop has a good reputation. i've never heard of having to strip the car to bare metal unless it's because of rust or already had 2 previous paint jobs over the factory. even if there were flaws in the current paint you don't have to strip all the paint off to remove them. there is actually a lot more work in stripping and repainting. either way you choose you'll get the same quality but with 2 different prices.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't know about the contamination part, but he's right about everything else.

Nothin wrong with painting over original paint. When done correctly, I don't care who you are, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Sealer seals, what that means is, If the color is changed it keeps different color paint from bleeding through into the new color.

Etching primer only used on bare metal, has an acid in it that makes it bond with unsanded bare metal.

Epoxy primer is just that, used an areas that have been repaired, or can be used as a sealer.

dinko

i wouldn't strip it to the bare metal unless you have money to throw around or you wanna be some show queen.

743power

I've always been told that factory paint is one of the best bases for a repaint. . .

dinko

there's no primer that's better than a factory paint job