jac1502

A few months after I bought my 06 I hit something and need to have my hood, bumper and fender painted. Now after almost two years my clear coat is noticeably different. I know the shop that painted the car (now!) can not do nano clear like the factory but is the clear coat they used just cheap or should have my insurance company took my car to a place that could paint nano clear if one exists?

Greg@DI

It sounds like there are two possible options here that I can see. The first one is that they used a different product/method for their application and it is different. The other option is that you're seeing the difference between and older clear coat and a newer one. While the new one is not that much newer it may have less oxidation and imperfections that cause it to look newer. It also could be a combination of both of these factors. I'm not sure how you should proceed here, It's really a judgment call. You could contact your insurance company and see if you have a claim. You could also contact the body shop to learn more about their process. You could also try and polish the surface to make it look more uniform. However this step will only produce significant results if the problem is just the varying levels of oxidation, surface imperfections, etc.

Hope this information helps and please update this thread if you get time. It's always interesting to learn from other people's experiences. Good Luck!

Greg @ Detailed Image

jac1502

The car was only two months old when I had to have it painted so I wouldn’t think it would be the stock clear coat could fade that fast but who knows!

My insurance is going to cover it one way or another but now my choices are:

Take it to a small shop I know that will go over the entire car do great prep work and fix any defects use a good clear and sealer, but not nano.

Or

Take it to a big Mercedes certified shop in town that say they can do nano and only get the problem areas addressed. That shop is really expensive and may have to pay some out of pocket.

So is a good clear and sealer comparable to nano?

TOGWT

DC4125 is designated for use with PPG’s DBC and DBU Refinish Systems, and is designed for the repair of cars that have a PPG CeramiClear OEM finish. A high solids clear, it meets all current VOC limits and is suitable for use in Southern California Districts. DC4125 is formulated for use with DCH4126 CeramiClear Hardener. For more information, contact your local PPG Distributor, or the PPG Customer Focus Centre at 440/572-2800, or go to www.ppgrefinish.com.

I hope this helps

iguess

i honestly have no idea how much paint work costs, but i think you could try to look for replacement parts on ebay. Might get the original look of your car for somewhere around the range of painting hood, fender and bumper over