Well, I've decided to get my truck painted the stock silver, and do a few other things to it appearance-wise like drop a little lower, and a few other accessories. My delima is this:

I will have to get the hood, bumper, headlight surround piece and right front fender all painted silver since I am replacing those parts. Then, they will have to blend into the passenger side door, and the driver's side fender to get it to match. If I go this way, I worry that I will be able to look at the truck from the side and see a different color on each end of the truck. I know it will be blended and I won't be able to see the blend (so the guy swears), but I still feel that it won't look right.
My other option is to get the whole thing repainted at a local dealership. My question here is, will the paint job be near as good as it was from the factory if I go this way? My dad says it will chip easier because they are just painting over paint(after sanding it and prepping) so it will just be thicker. If I get the whole thing repainted at a dealership, will it hold up well?

Have any of you ever had your trucks repainted at the dealership, or had to have a great deal of your truck repainted, and then blended with the rest of the paint. I need to know what will be my best option here. There's about $1100 difference between the two. I wont mind spending the extra money if the full paint job will hold up well. I am very picky.
Sorry for the long post, but I need to make a decision this week, and I need some opinions. Anyone with any knowledge or experience, please chime in.

 

With silver paint unless there is an act of god you have to blend it. It is one of the hardest colors in the world to get to match perfectly. There is nothing wrong with blending the color.

The dealer will do the same quality work as most shops. As long as your taking it to a good shop there isnt anyhting to worry about. The paint will hold up the same from either the dealer or the other shop.

No matter you take it the shop should remove the door handle, lock, mirror and all window mouldings, as well as any emblems, splash shields, and lights. If they dont and just tape around them the paint will peel eventually.

 

But if I get the color blended, Im basically repainting the entire front end. Will I be able to look at the truck from the side and see that the front and the back (from a side view) do not look the same? That is what I do not want.

 

All depends on the painter!!! I'd check into there work before, and see what you think of it. Silver can be 1 of the toughest to match. I've been out of the shops for 25+ yrs. and don't have the proper equip. anymore is the only reason I had my dealer do mine, They were highly respected & there work was top notch ( I toured the body shop lot & where I could sneak inside ) also talked with many people & found other work they had done in past. I have the true blue needed tailgate right 1/4 & cab corner work/ blended into door, match is perfect ,even at diferrent light & angles although if I would have gone by first impressions (estimator was a clueless idiot without the computer) It never would've gone there.

good luck and do your homework

 

GOOD points on the removal of ALL things attached to panels..
the reason is you cannot sand/prep properly around things, there will always be a hairline area that is not preped and will start the peel/flaking

 

Thanks. I'm going to go by the dealerhip today to check out a guy's truck from HALO that has had it repainted a time or two.

 

Bingo. As far as paint work goes it's all about the prep and the quality of the painter. If neither are up to snuff, you'll get a mediocre job at best. Some dealers have some good quality painters, but it's more rare to find them at dealerships than independent shops. Look at some previous work and see if you can get some referrals. It's your truck and you're the one that has to live with it. Good luck.

 

I had the whole cab painted on mine, I can't tell any difference. Since the bed is seperated bt a 2 inch gap if it off a little I doubt you could ever notice.

 

Hmmm, good point. Im thinkin maybe I should just get the front end fixed and blended, then pay to have a show quality paint job put on once I'm out of college in a couple of years. I also run the risk of jealous people screwing with my my truck while I'm at school.