Oh well. Still looks good, though.
My new paint job
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 595
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From: Middlefield, CT
1994 E320
My new paint job
I had my car repainted in July.
In June I hit the lower half of the passenger door on a wood retaining wall. I had the body shop pull the dent, and instead of just painting the door and a few other things, I elected to do the whole car for $2,500. Now here's the clincher... it was done by a Ford dealership!
Previously my parents brought their F-150 to them for body work, and even their Mercedes ('00 E320 and '00 C280) for minor touch-ups. They always did good work, so I brought my car to them in November 2001 for a dent in the front pass. side fender. Then I went again to have the car repainted. They did I nice job overall, but I've found a few swirl marks from what I assume was sanding. They cured the paint in a hot paint booth and the outside temp. LCD cracked. I'm disappointed to say the least, and I don't think I'll be going back there in the future.
Nonetheless, I have a nice new paint job with 4 coats of clear that will last a long time. I finished it off with Meguiar's Gold Class wax.
Please note the car is a little dirty (hence the spots). I plan to take more beauty shots once I wash it again and clean the carpets.
In June I hit the lower half of the passenger door on a wood retaining wall. I had the body shop pull the dent, and instead of just painting the door and a few other things, I elected to do the whole car for $2,500. Now here's the clincher... it was done by a Ford dealership!
Previously my parents brought their F-150 to them for body work, and even their Mercedes ('00 E320 and '00 C280) for minor touch-ups. They always did good work, so I brought my car to them in November 2001 for a dent in the front pass. side fender. Then I went again to have the car repainted. They did I nice job overall, but I've found a few swirl marks from what I assume was sanding. They cured the paint in a hot paint booth and the outside temp. LCD cracked. I'm disappointed to say the least, and I don't think I'll be going back there in the future.
Nonetheless, I have a nice new paint job with 4 coats of clear that will last a long time. I finished it off with Meguiar's Gold Class wax.
Please note the car is a little dirty (hence the spots). I plan to take more beauty shots once I wash it again and clean the carpets.
Last edited by Jer; Nov 21, 2003 at 01:43 PM.
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 977
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From: San Jose
300TE / 300E / 300CE
Jer,
How's the paint holding up? Did you remove any parts before painting (door handles, moulding, antenna)? Did they sand down to primer or metal before painting? I thought the factory paint quality is hard to duplicate. Why did you opt for a whole car repaint? My belief is most painters using quality paint can do a great job but the quality or durability of the work is dependant on the how much time is spent on surface prep.
Felix
How's the paint holding up? Did you remove any parts before painting (door handles, moulding, antenna)? Did they sand down to primer or metal before painting? I thought the factory paint quality is hard to duplicate. Why did you opt for a whole car repaint? My belief is most painters using quality paint can do a great job but the quality or durability of the work is dependant on the how much time is spent on surface prep.
Felix
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 595
Likes: 0
From: Middlefield, CT
1994 E320
The paint is holding up great! I'm quite pleased.
They sanded down to the metal and applied primer, paint, and 4 coats of clear. They also removed the door handles, door bumper guards, front grille, headlights, badges, antenna seal (which was almost deteriorated anyway), and rear taillights. The only bit of overspray is on the window seals and the roof mouldings.
I elected to repaint the entire car because of lots of little dings, scratches, and stains all around. I expect to keep her for another 231K miles, so I'd say it's wise to invest for a long, healthy future!
They sanded down to the metal and applied primer, paint, and 4 coats of clear. They also removed the door handles, door bumper guards, front grille, headlights, badges, antenna seal (which was almost deteriorated anyway), and rear taillights. The only bit of overspray is on the window seals and the roof mouldings.
I elected to repaint the entire car because of lots of little dings, scratches, and stains all around. I expect to keep her for another 231K miles, so I'd say it's wise to invest for a long, healthy future!
Last edited by Jer; Dec 29, 2003 at 08:33 PM.
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 977
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From: San Jose
300TE / 300E / 300CE
Jer,
Glad to hear you did it right. $2500 seems awfully reasonable for that level of work. You must have got a discount or maybe I'm just used to California pricing with all the EPA restrictions and high labor rates. It cost over $9k to repair my wife's '91 after she hit a stationary car pulling out of a left turn lane and this didn't include a complete repaint!
Felix
Glad to hear you did it right. $2500 seems awfully reasonable for that level of work. You must have got a discount or maybe I'm just used to California pricing with all the EPA restrictions and high labor rates. It cost over $9k to repair my wife's '91 after she hit a stationary car pulling out of a left turn lane and this didn't include a complete repaint!
Felix
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Super Member
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 977
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From: San Jose
300TE / 300E / 300CE
Was the pinstrip factory applied or a dealer option? When my wifes car was repaired, they also used sticker stripes even after I asked for paint. When I checked it more closely the rest of the car had sticker stripes. It's hard to tell after they spray the clear over them.
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 977
Likes: 0
From: San Jose
300TE / 300E / 300CE
If I was sure they didn't leave marks, I'd remove them from both my cars. They are like the cheap pinstripes that many dealers sold in the 70's and 80's and don't do much to the design.
