Hey guys, I finally dropped my truck at the dealership today to have my hood repaired and repainted. It had a couple small dings, and they are only gonna charge me $291.xx, so I figured it was fair enough..

My question is.. how good of a paint job should I expect? How well will the PTM turn out? I've heard black is the easiest color to match. The rest of my paint is still in decent condition, it's only a 2008.

I really like the factory paintjob.. so I previously tried to "patch up" the dent and have put off getting the hood repainted until now in fear that getting the whole hood repainted wont match the rest of the truck.. I figure it can't get any worse than it is now.. whatcha guys think?

 

You will be fine then. You wont have to worry about the whole hood not matching. Probably just the spot thats being repaired. They will probably just sand the clear off and then fix those dings. Then respray those spots to match the rest, and then re-clear the whole hood.

And if you are getting it done at the dealer than you can always complain that it looks bad and make them re-do it to your liking.

 

^^ x2.

they will respray the patches, but clear the whole hood. what you should be worried about is the shine difference.

 

Recently had my bumper, tailgate, and entire rear left quarter panel (left side of bed) resprayed. They match perfectly. Best part is there are no swirl marks. So when I redo my detail that's three less panels to worry about!

Any shop worth their weight will do a full respray, unless they're lazy. The shop I took mine to said they could just touch up they paint and then clear the panel, but that's not how they run. They resprayed each panel anyway. It's a better match.

 

Thats what a good wax is fer'.

 

I guess we were just lazy. I had no interest in sanding a whole bed side down to nothing to respray that whole dang thang. Not to mention that most people just wanting to get little things fixed here and there cant afford the labor cost that come with that. We could get a truck in the morning with some dings in the bedside and have the body work done and in primer by mid evening. Next day paint and clear, and then out the day after. Im not sure thats even remotely possible with a total respray.

You went to a good shop, but I bet the job cost a pretty penny. My shop however would have not gone about it that way unless you wanted to shovel over some big bucks. This reminded me of a guy who wanted his 2002 Ext. cab 4x4 repainted. And we did exactly that for about $2,800.

 

No you're right. I didn't really think about it until you mentioned that most people wouldn't want to pay the cost for that---mine was paid for 100% by insurance (was rear-ended). So definitely understandable.

Like I said, the shop told me they could respray the damaged section and clear the whole panel, but they wanted to do it right, especially since I wasn't having to pay for it. It's more work for them but more money for them, as well.

I take back what I said about lazy, it all depends on the situation.


Question for you--in my newly resprayed tailgate I have some very, very small "bubbles", if you will. Only a few but if you look closely you can see them. I'm not worried about it cosmetically because you can't see them unless looking for imperfections. My question is: will this cause any problems down the road? It's been a few weeks since I checked them but this thread reminded me. Not sure if they're still there. I'd take pics but it's dang near impossible because they're so small.

 

Its all good man. I have been called lazy before, and I would be lying if I said I was not sometimes. Who isnt?

And as far as the bubbles.. I would have to see them to be able to tell ya. Have you tried a wax/polish like maybe scratch doctor or Scratch X to see if it does anything? I would not think that you would have any problems down the road unless its air bubbles. That could cause all kinds of mess, but I doubt thats what it is if they are that minuscule. Like I said, I would have to see what you are talking about.

I would try some kind of polish or cutting agent I.E. scratch doctor or whatever and see what kind of results you get from that. It may just be a little orange peel.

 

I'll try to take some pics tomorrow and PM you if I get anything good (to avoid hijacking z's thread). From what I remember I would say they look like tiny little air bubbles...but I could be wrong. I wasn't sure if I should be concerned or not. Like I said, the shop did my bumper and rear 1/4 panel, too, and they look flawless. The tailgate also looks flawless besides those minuscule dots.

Thanks for the help. In the case they are, what problems would the air bubbles cause?

 

Well over time it could cause the paint to peel away from the surface. Air and paint expand in heat, and that means bigger bubbles. The fact that its black does not help one bit either .May take awhile but in the long run its going to start peeling. It will have this sort of effect, but this is a drastic example.

If in fact it is air bubbles then I would be taking my tail gate back to be fixed. If it is air bubbles than that is painters error and should be covered 100% for a "re-do".

 

I'll definitely try to take pics tomorrow and PM you for your opinion. Thanks so much for the help, lazy.

But seriously, I appreciate it.

Matt

 

hehe.. don't worry bout it.. I wanna see the air bubble things too, just post it up here..

anywho.. $2800 for a complete repaint on a truck this size sounds pretty good.. I wouldn't mind paying that for a decent repaint 6-7 years down the road.. I'm assuming that only covers the exterior, not the door jambs and all the little nooks and crannies?

What goes into the process of a complete repaint.. do ya sand it all the way down and sand inbetween coats?

Just out of curiousity.. how much would you guys figure a total repaint would cost on something small like a Ford Focus coupe?

 

K man, will do. Didn't want to hijack your thread. I'll drag out the new cam tomorrow and try to get some shots. Hope your respray goes well.

 

Yea, I'll be sure to snap a few pics tomorrow when I pick it up. It's been killing me to walk out to my truck and that's always the first thing I notice.. like I said, surely it can't get any worse than it already was..

Quick question.. anyone know how long is should hold off from washing my truck after the repaint? How long should I wait to wax?

 

From what I understand you can wash the truck immediately if you wanted, but hold off on the wax for a minimum of 30 days. Wax will prevent the paint from curing properly.