Rock chip touch-up group buy?

[aridon99]

*** Edit Update ***

They will repaint the front of the car for $1600 ($1400 each if I can get 3 cars to go in on it). That's the bumper, hood, and both forward 1/4 panels. They will sand the old paint down, take off the bumper, and use PPG paint.

*** Edit Update ***

Chip and I were talking about this today. Wouldn't it be cool if a local shop did a professional job on rock chip touch-ups? If we can negotiate a deal and bring our cars in on a Saturday or Sunday for a 'group buy', would there be interest?

So...

1) Does anyone have a reputable shop they can recommend to do this? I guess it might be more of a detailer than a bodyshop that would be in to this.

2) How many people want to have chips touched-up/built-up?

-John

 

[quack]

Chip and I were talking about this today. Wouldn't it be cool if a local shop did a professional job on rock chip touch-ups? If we can negotiate a deal and bring our cars in on a Saturday or Sunday for a 'group buy', would there be interest?

So...

1) Does anyone have a reputable shop they can recommend to do this? I guess it might be more of a detailer than a bodyshop that would be in to this.

2) How many people want to have chips touched-up/built-up?

-John

im up for a bumper repaint groupbuy (for once im being serious)

 

[paladin]

I've got a couple deep ones that i'd love to get taken care of.

 

[Joshs]

I'm interested.. With 172k on the clock I've got my share of paint issues.

At the top of my list would be repainting the B-pillars to take care of the clearcoat failure...

-Josh

 

[SFNSXguy]

Count me in... car's nose is the result of too many track days.

 

[aridon99]

Okay, I'm going to be the guinea pig here. A guy I play poker with owns a detail/body shop in San Bruno. He has done touch-ups on my others cars in the past. I dropped off my car to him today to have him touch up about 25-35 rock chips around my car. Upon careful inspection, I just couldn't believe how many I found. There were numerous groups around the rear 1/4 panel air intakes (on both sides). Of course the usual large numbers around the front bumper. I'm really tempted to have him paint the whole front end.

Well, he wants to take a shot at touching up the chips first. I'll see the results, and decide if I really want to repaint. I'll post some b4 and after pics when I get the car back.

-John

 

[aridon99]

Alright, just got my car back from the shop today. Here is the good and the bad.

Good:
- Leather ivory seats look way better after color dye restoration. Dark cracks and dirt is 90% gone.
- Black door panels and center console lid had white-ish worn signs around the edges and they now look 100% better. It looks brand new. And I was trying to find a replacement driver side door panel b4.
- Light swirls in paint are gone after color sanding. Looks as good as the showroom finish.
- Light scratches on tail lights are 80% gone.
- Light scratches on black door frame are 90% gone.

Bad:
- After 4 attempts to match the red of my car, the touch-up paint is still too far off. Paints fade over time. The factory paint isn't even close.
- The rock chips are too deep and touch-up paint just can't do much about them.

However, something really cool did come out of this. My friend's detail shop is next door to a body shop. They trade work all the time and came up with a 'group buy' package. I asked about painting the front of my car to get rid of the numerous rock chips and we worked out quite a deal IMO.

They will repaint the front of the car for $1600 ($1400 each if I can get 3 cars to go in on it). That's the bumper, hood, and both forward 1/4 panels. They will sand the old paint down, take off the bumper, and use PPG paint. You also have 2 options to save money. If they don't take the front bumper off and just tape around the thin rubber black strip between the bumper and hood, it's -$100. A tiny line of over spray on the rubber might be seen if you look really close. They also have a none PPG option which doesn't look as good, but that's -$200.

What do you guys think?

I'm going on vacation for 2 weeks, but after I get back (Thanksgiving) I'm going to give this deal some serious thought.