Ok so I'm having my car painted tomorrow. The thing is I have the front end in pieces. I'm having him paint the pieces separate from the car. Then later I'm assembling the front end. All the panels are Oem Honda. The frame might be bent but if i correct that there should be no reason to believe that the panels won't line up right? I'm replacing the hood, radiator support, bumper and fenders. Again it's all Oem but from different cars. Basically, is it a bad idea to have the front end painted before assembling it?

 

If the frame is bent, they might not line up. Also, if you have it painted before the panels are on the car, there's a very good chance the paint won't match - paint blending isn't easy, and is impossible if they don't have your car. Unless you absolutely cannot go without your car for a day, you should always drop it all off with the body shop and let them do their job correctly.

 

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I'm bringing him the whole car along with the parts that will be replacing the dented ones.

 

If you're bringing him everything, then why are you having him paint the new parts separate from the car? Now you're just making this way more confusing than it needs to be. The parts need to actually be on the car to be blended properly.

 

if he's painting the entire car and the parts why would the paint not match? it's a lot easier to paint those parts off the car

 

Because even minor inconsistencies, like the color under the new paint, can create discrepancies in the paint. Unless the OP is paying a premium for a damn good paint job, there will be inconsistencies, and the kind of shop that would charge a premium for a damn good job wouldn't even consider doing panels off the car for just that reason.

Painting isn't as easy as it looks.

 

That's what I was thinking. Parts off the car are going to be painted more thoroughly. You're gettingg tripped up on the blending. He's painting the whole car except for the parts that are to be replaced. Then he's going to paint the the parts that will eventually be put on the car. This is all done with the same can/batch of paint.

He offered $500 for paint without replacing the parts and no dent filler (I don't have any large noticeable dents) or $1k to do the whole thing meaning paint and bodywork. I don't have the $1k so I'm just having him paint it.

I wanna get it done soon because he's not charging me for paint because it's a spare left over can from another previous job and I don't want to wait til he gets rid of it or someone else uses it.

 

yes I know that and I happen to know quite a bit about it, and collision repair, if you mix the paint for the car it's not going to make a bit of difference if you paint the part bolted to the car or off the car, it's the exact same paint, I dont know anyone who tints several batches of paint for the same car, if he prepped the parts right in the first place and had them in prime, it doesn't make a bit of difference , if he's just randomly spraying over old paint, I have to wonder what he's thinking.

 

He was showing me some of his other work in the shop as an example and it looked really good. He said he usually does insurance work so his work has some standard.

I See what you're saying about the paint under the fresh coat.

 

[QUOTE=H0nda_Crazy;48717263]He was showing me some of his other work in the shop as an example and it looked really good. He said he usually does insurance work so his work has some standard.

I See what you're saying about the paint under the fresh coat.[/QUOTE

if you are going to repaint used parts they need to be sanded flat first then either sealed or primed, the point of this is so the old base color doesnt affect the new paint, now someplace like earl schibe would paint over a car with 10 colors and not seal anything

 

I can't imagine him scuffing up the old paid to and just spraying over it. I can tell he takes pride in his work. He was showing me a painted panel from another car and explaining how one part was buffed and the other wasn't. I asked him if that's the difference between him and maaco. I might have offended him because he quickly stated that it wasn't single stage paid to like maaco would apply.

 

lost, I don't know this shop, and I don't know how he does his work. I know most of the body shop painters in my area though, and I can tell you that "insurance work" doesn't mean much, nor does how a freshly painted car still sitting in the shop looks. I've seen cars done by an insurance "certified" shop where they hit the old paint with a brillo pad before just spraying some single stage paint, then the owner wonders why the new bumper doesn't match the rear quarter. Then the paint starts flaking in a month, because it wasn't prepped, but the shop is still "insurance certified". Insurance companies don't have your best interests at heart, they have their wallets at heart.

That being said, I still don't understand why your painter would need to do the body panels separate from the car, if you're giving him the car. If s/he has everything, it just makes logical sense to do it the right way.

 

Well in any case I'm fairly confident in this guy's work. I mean he had a chameleon colored bare engine bay on an accord. I mean it was show car quality. I just wanted to know if painting the parts off the car was a bad idea considering I haven't bolted or mocked up any of the parts to the car yet.

 

If it were my shop, or my car, I wouldn't do it.

 

Jpbnoman, I appreciate your advice but unfortunately this is all I can really afford right now. So the best I can regarding paint is hope it comes out decent. It's an old as car so I'm not looking for show car quality. Just something Better than a faded red, a smashed front end and flaking paint.

 

because when you are doing some of the parts like the radiator support, it's easier to get complete coverage if a part is off the car, if everything is prepped right, the color is still going to consistent, and there is nothing wrong with single stage, it's all in the prep, I put a ton of work in my 86, and Im using single stage, mainly because I plan to drive the **** out of the car, and single stage is easier to repair, all that means is the base has the gloss in it, and you aren't applying a second layer of clear. I've seen plenty of really nice jobs using single stage, some people seem to think it means inferior paint, it just means you aren't spraying clear. I may even add some flattening agent to mine and spray a satin finish

 

I do agree with you on that. It is all in the prep. It wouldn't matter what color it was if you go down to bare metal. Not that he'll do that but just making a point.

 

If you're limited by budget, it is what it is, and no amount of advice in the world is going to change what you're doing. I just hope this guy is as good as you say he is, and everything comes out well enough for you.

lost, single stage is inferior. Two stage, with the same effort in prep and post, will always look better. When I was painting cars, I never did less than two stage, and I always preferred three stage. I've done ghost, chameleon, and candy for dB show cars when I was in Daytona. There's nothing wrong with single stage, you just can't expect it to keep up with a proper two stage job.

 

I'll ask him before I take it in if he's going to primer everything first rather than just scuff it for painting

Anyway, that was my quick question before bed. I'll keep you guys updated on this and provide pics when it's all done.

 

you know I'm talking regular catalyzed paint, not ready to paint crap right? people have painted single stage for almost as long as there have been cars, every flat paint job on a hot rod or satin paint is single stage, you cant put clear over satin paint

 

I know exactly what you're talking about, but the point still stands. Finish for finish, with the same amount of prep and post work, two stage will look better than single stage.

 

 

He said everything looks really good so far. The only issue is the rear left quarter panel has cracked because there was some shitty bondo under it. Which is my fault though since I told him to just spray it without bodywork. I can live with it if it's the only bad spot. **** I might take it back later and have it fixed. I don't mind a little learning experience. As long as the rest looks good.

I showed him the front radiator support and he said it can be bent back. So I'm gonna pay him another 500 to have it bent back and put the whole car back together. That way I don't drive home with a partly colored car and I won't have to wait to find someone to assemble it later. Opinions and input welcome. Keep it respectful pls.

 

The spray looks good so far. There are some weird lines, but that job is so shiny it could just be the shop lighting.

 

Thanks man. We'll see when I get it back. So much worry mixed with excitement mixed with anticipation!