I'm almost giving up on trying to find a white hood and bumper for my 99 civic, so I may go the ebay route and grab new ones that are just primed. I've called around to a few paint/collision places in the city and I've got some concerns about some of the responses. Maybe a paint expert can tell me what's bullshit and what's troof? (keep in mind, the hood and bumper are brand new and I've provided the stock paint code)

Here's various comments I've heard today:
"I can't give you a quote over the phone, I need to see the car"
"I need a VIN number to give a paint quote over the phone"
"You'll need to paint the fenders also, or it won't look right"
"We have to paint the hood and bumper on the car, you can't just bring in the parts by themselves" (I was hoping to just drop off the bumper and hood and pick em up when they're painted).
"We charge more because we 'seal' it"

 

Im no expert but a know a few things. They could want the VIN because you can look up the paint code with the VIN (at least they can do that with my VW) but if you already gave them the code, they might just want to double check to save their asses if ur code is not right. The reason they want to paint ur fenders is to blend the new paint so the color looks even. If u just paint the hood and bumper the color will look brighter because the older paint had faded a bit. But if you spray the fenders also it will blend the new with the old and make a even color. as for the seal im not sure. Hope that helps.

 

I would never give a price over the phone. It's just a way to cover your ***. Some peoples descriptions are usually never what they seam. I know you say new parts but unless that primer is in good shape when you get it and there are no dents in the hood when you get it then you can see where I am going with this.

The fenders need to be painted cause white is usually never just white. Unless they do a spray out and the spray out matches your fenders just right then no need to paint the fenders.

You never just drop off a part to get painted unless you don't care if it matches the rest of the car. You can if it is just a straight color or some color that has a good spray out.

You are able to check paint codes with a VIN. We have Color Net at work that uses a vindicator to give us paint codes.

You never paint a bumper on the car. I would paint the hood on the car after painting the underside just to keep from damaging it after it is painted and being put on the car. But again it is not needed.

They charge more to seal because well it is more money in materials.

 

Here's various comments I've heard today:
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRidiculous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
"I can't give you a quote over the phone, I need to see the car"
</TD></TR></TABLE>

They dont want to give you a quote over the phone and then have you show up and need extra work done. We used to have people call in for quotes saying they had no dents and wanting a quote. When they would arrive they would have dents and dings and need extra body work. We wouldnt give phone quotes because we didnt want to get stuck on a dollar figure previously quoted for a dent free car.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRidiculous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
"I need a VIN number to give a paint quote over the phone"
</TD></TR></TABLE>

This isnt because they dont want to paint stolen parts. They are asking for the vin on YOUR car not the parts. Instead of asking you to find the paint code youself (as many people are [freak]ing clueless) they can just get it from the vin. The vin may also include which shade of the paint is on the car. There may only be one shade or there could be 10 variances in the same color.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRidiculous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
"You'll need to paint the fenders also, or it won't look right"
</TD></TR></TABLE>

They can paint just the hood and bumpers but even if they do a pretty good job matching the color theres a very good probability that it will not look right or the same. The best thing to do is to blend it into the fenders so you cant tell they have been painted. Yes, it costs more but IMO its worth it unless you dont give a ****. Most shops will still just paint individual parts, but will not be responsible when they dont match up perfectly.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRidiculous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
"We have to paint the hood and bumper on the car, you can't just bring in the parts by themselves" (I was hoping to just drop off the bumper and hood and pick em up when they're painted).
</TD></TR></TABLE>

See above quote. We used to do the bumpers off the car but they would be done at the same time as the other parts so they would match.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRidiculous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
"We charge more because we 'seal' it"
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Uhhhhh, bullsharts... They may be trying to sell you one of those bullshart waxes that they sell at the dealerships...


All in all you should drive to a reputable shop or a few and get quotes there. They want to see any damage done to the car that may cost more because of prep-time. What they are saying is not scamming you or trying to bait and switch.

CN- CSiOTpwnzj00!!!

 

"we charge more because we seal it"

That's not a joke LOL. Alot of shops don't seal before base, They just scuff the existing e-coat or crappy primer and paint.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Disease &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">"we charge more because we seal it"

That's not a joke LOL. Alot of shops don't seal before base, They just scuff the existing e-coat or crappy primer and paint. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Sealer is a personal preference thing. I mean if the surface you're painting over is factory and isn't chipping, pealing, or cracking it's perfectly fine to spray over it with base.

Sealer helps improve coverage on shitty covering colors, yellow being one of them.

I seal some stuff, mostly dependent on the color I'm doing.

 

Yah I think the same thing as long as it is factory like you said. I just would not like to paint over aftermarket parts without a sealer to make the coverage more uniform. I would not even like factory replacement parts without sealer. Sometimes you sand through the factory primer/e-coat and you need something to seal it.

I read on here sometimes things like you should always seal a part before painting it and that is just a joke. You do not need to seal everything. Like mztykal said, if you have a good base, not down to metal and imperfestions, wich should be fixed actually before sealer, then no need for sealer. Your factory base is a good enough sealer.

 

A few of those responses sound like they want to sucker you into letting them do more work than you want them to.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRidiculous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
"I can't give you a quote over the phone, I need to see the car" </TD></TR></TABLE>
Tell them they will never see the car. You just need a couple pieces painted. Also tell them you will bring the pieces you need worked on by their shop so they can give you a solid estimate if they want you to.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRidiculous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
"I need a VIN number to give a paint quote over the phone" </TD></TR></TABLE>
I will NEVER give my VIN number to someone I don't know. We photoshop out the license plate number when selling a car, right? Why is this any different? Paint codes exist for a reason. If they can't help you when they have your paint code, then you don't want their help.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRidiculous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
"You'll need to paint the fenders also, or it won't look right" </TD></TR></TABLE>
Say you'll handle that problem IF it becomes one. Don't give them an inch to screw around.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRidiculous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
"We have to paint the hood and bumper on the car, you can't just bring in the parts by themselves" </TD></TR></TABLE>
Tell them thanks and keep moving.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRidiculous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">"We charge more because we 'seal' it" </TD></TR></TABLE>
I dunno about this one. Sounds like they don't want your business. Telling someone that you charge more than anyone else is fine if they do a BETTER JOB than anyone else.

Keep it all business and if someone is a dick to you now, think about what it will be like if they screw it up.

Hope that helps.