Car Painting???

[NoSpeedLimits]

Since I got caught up in a severe hail storm last week, I am going to be getting all of the dents repaired and the local body shop is going to be painting the entire car. To be safe, I thought I'd run it by you guys and gals and see if anyone has had any experience with having their bimmer painted? If so, is there anything I need to be concerned about, or should be telling the body shop before they do the job? Also, I was wondering if pin stripping was standard on bimmers? I am thinking about telling them not to put it back on the car. TIA.

[Unregistered]

Check with local BMW dealers and/or BMW clubs for references/recommendations. Glasurit paint, or whatever BMW uses, is probably unknown to Billy Bob or the local Earl Scheib franchise.

[Phil M]

pin striping was standard im sure. i dont want mine on my car and i think it looks sporty w/o it. tell em not to :D


Since I got caught up in a severe hail storm last week, I am going to be getting all of the dents repaired and the local body shop is going to be painting the entire car. To be safe, I thought I'd run it by you guys and gals and see if anyone has had any experience with having their bimmer painted? If so, is there anything I need to be concerned about, or should be telling the body shop before they do the job? Also, I was wondering if pin stripping was standard on bimmers? I am thinking about telling them not to put it back on the car. TIA.

[MBXB]

My 540 has pinstriping; white on black, very subdued; looks hand painted like the bikes

[Rigmaster]

Pinstriping was applied at the dealership, another one of those high-profit dealer add-ons.


Bret.

[Tiger]

Forget pinstripe... car look a whole lot better without it.

[NoSpeedLimits]

Thanks...you've helped me make up my mind...No pin striping! As for the painting, I am having it painted by a certified Ford dealership (the closest bimmer dealer is 45 minutes away) and not at a Billy-Bob body shop. So, I hope they know what they are doing. FYI. My insurance company gave me the name of three local body shops and I figured I should pick the one located at the dealership. My gut told me that they would be my best bet....we'll see.

I wanted to check with all of you to see if there is anything I need to advise them about before they go and paint my baby. I am excited about seeing all of the nicks and imperfection gone, but at the same time nervous. I do not want to lose the beautiful shine on my car. I am trying to be optimistic, but thought I better check and see if anyone has been through this experience and learned any lessons.

[MBXB]

I would checkout those other body shops anyway.
I checked out several local body shops recommended by my indy, and found that the least appealing one, located in a recycling yard, had a complete Glasurit painting system out back. Turns out that's all he did .. German cars. And he had a line of them in various stages of prep.

[NoSpeedLimits]

Can anyone shed some light on what is special about Glasurit paint? Other than the spelling. ;) I work at a place that does urethane spray on painting, so I am fairly familiar with the application process. My initial assumption is that the spray guns would require a special nozzle/tip, but the rest of the system should be fine. Obviously, a good cleaning of the system is required before introducing a new type of paint. Other than that, I am not sure what could be so special about Glasurit paint that it would require a special type of painting system. But, I am ready for an education, so please help me out. TIA.

At the very least, I will check with the body shop to make sure they can work with it. I have a feeling, being that they are a Dupont paint shop, they plan to cross reference a similar Dupont paint -- I will check to make sure.

[Jason]

have it too, I parked in the sun and let it get warm and peeled mine, then I got some bug and tar remover for whatever was left over.

[AZ_Jason_S]

I think it is just a brand of higher quality. If you go to Maaco or Earl Scheib, they use a synthetic enamel which is the cheapest(Lowest Quality) paint you can get. If you price House of Kolor(High quality) against some synthetic enamel, you would probably find a factor of 10x difference in price. So.... A pint of House of Kolor may cost like $70 where a pint of some lower quality paint would cost like $10. Also, I think BMW replacement paint is Spies Hecker which I believe is made by DuPont. Glasurit looks like it is made by BASF. I don't think there is anything special other than the quality.


Can anyone shed some light on what is special about Glasurit paint? Other than the spelling. ;) I work at a place that does urethane spray on painting, so I am fairly familiar with the application process. My initial assumption is that the spray guns would require a special nozzle/tip, but the rest of the system should be fine. Obviously, a good cleaning of the system is required before introducing a new type of paint. Other than that, I am not sure what could be so special about Glasurit paint that it would require a special type of painting system. But, I am ready for an education, so please help me out. TIA.

At the very least, I will check with the body shop to make sure they can work with it. I have a feeling, being that they are a Dupont paint shop, they plan to cross reference a similar Dupont paint -- I will check to make sure.

[632 Regal]

whatever they use make sure it has enough clearcoat so that they can wetsand and buff the finish, also they should knock the original paint down past the clear coat or you will end up having tiny surface cracks in the finish after about a year. Make sure that they understand that you HAVE to have it sanded and wheeled out before you let anyone touch that car!!!
just my 2¢

[NoSpeedLimits]

Thanks for you 2 cents! I'll run it by the shop manager and let you know his responce.

[AZ_Jason_S]

x2


whatever they use make sure it has enough clearcoat so that they can wetsand and buff the finish, also they should knock the original paint down past the clear coat or you will end up having tiny surface cracks in the finish after about a year. Make sure that they understand that you HAVE to have it sanded and wheeled out before you let anyone touch that car!!!
just my 2¢

[Unregistered]

I SAY AGAIN: Check with local BMW dealers and/or BMW clubs for references/recommendations. Glasurit paint, or whatever BMW uses, is probably unknown to Billy Bob or the local Earl Scheib franchise.

Chemical bonding and compatibility with the original paint is a big deal, unless you like blistering and delaminating.

Anything the Ford guy sprays on might look OK when it comes out of the shop, and for a short while afterward. DOWN THE ROAD A COUPLE OF YEARS, THOUGH, MAY BE A VERY DIFFERENT STORY. But, don't trust me. Instead, go to a shopping mall and wander around the parking lot, comparing paint quality of old BMWs, Porsches, & Mercedes to ANYTHING Detroit or Japan did, ever. My own observation of ~30 year old Mercedes original paint vs. a ~2 year old Lincoln paint found Mercedes to be in better condition.

As for your insurance carrier, remind them that this is a BMW, so you expect true BMW quality, not some hack job, That's why you paid premiums for a BMW, and not for some cheap Ford.

Why do I say this? I have an '89 Ford T-Bird, an '86 Porsche 951, and a '90 BMW 535i. The Ford has color + clear coat so thin that birdshit erodes it if not washed off quickly. Road grit sandblasts this cheap paint down to the metal. The Bimmer, on the other hand, has ~30% more miles, but its 7 coats of factory paint is MUCH more durable. The Porsche suffered some damage to the nose, and was repainted by the prior owner using Ford-type paint. The nose re-paint looked good just after the repair, but has now faded to a different shade of blue & chips more easily than the factory paint. So now it needs to be painted again.

[NoSpeedLimits]

Thanks again for your input. I'll call the local BMW dealer on Monday to inquire about their painting recommendations. I hope your experiences are not typical and that I can trust the local Ford dealership. I will check to see if they provide a warranty and if so, for how long. Perhaps someone else on this forum can confirm this person concerns, or tell me about a similar experience that worked out okay??? Because this persons comments are starting to make me doubt my decision to get it painted by the local dealership. And, I would half to agree with his comments regarding the factory paint, cause I am amazed at how nice my ten year old factory paint job shines...it's not like other vehicles I've owned. For starters, about how much would a quality paint job cost? The dealer is charging approx. $2,400. Does that sound about right?

[Unregistered]

I don't think you could compare it that way... People who own Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes tend to take care of there cars much better than someone with Ford, etc... People who could afford Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes tend to have a garage and are usually garage kept. That makes a huge difference in paint quality after many years. My 2 cents... All my cars are garage kept and both BMW's (1995) and Jeep's (1996) looks the same and great!



I SAY AGAIN: Check with local BMW dealers and/or BMW clubs for references/recommendations. Glasurit paint, or whatever BMW uses, is probably unknown to Billy Bob or the local Earl Scheib franchise.

Chemical bonding and compatibility with the original paint is a big deal, unless you like blistering and delaminating.

Anything the Ford guy sprays on might look OK when it comes out of the shop, and for a short while afterward. DOWN THE ROAD A COUPLE OF YEARS, THOUGH, MAY BE A VERY DIFFERENT STORY. But, don't trust me. Instead, go to a shopping mall and wander around the parking lot, comparing paint quality of old BMWs, Porsches, & Mercedes to ANYTHING Detroit or Japan did, ever. My own observation of ~30 year old Mercedes original paint vs. a ~2 year old Lincoln paint found Mercedes to be in better condition.

As for your insurance carrier, remind them that this is a BMW, so you expect true BMW quality, not some hack job, That's why you paid premiums for a BMW, and not for some cheap Ford.

Why do I say this? I have an '89 Ford T-Bird, an '86 Porsche 951, and a '90 BMW 535i. The Ford has color + clear coat so thin that birdshit erodes it if not washed off quickly. Road grit sandblasts this cheap paint down to the metal. The Bimmer, on the other hand, has ~30% more miles, but its 7 coats of factory paint is MUCH more durable. The Porsche suffered some damage to the nose, and was repainted by the prior owner using Ford-type paint. The nose re-paint looked good just after the repair, but has now faded to a different shade of blue & chips more easily than the factory paint. So now it needs to be painted again.

[Phil M]

insurance company taking care of this? hmmm makes me wanna go get big bags of ice and sprinkle them on the car... "yes maam, definately was hail"

[NoSpeedLimits]

Ha, ha, ha...yah, good old State Farm. If I had known they were going to cover the damages, I would have not tried so hard to get out of the storm. I am sure a baseball would make similar markings...time to practice those pop-flys ;)

Damage report:
-cracked windshield
-(4) dents in hood
-(1) dent in sun roof
-(3) dents in roof (this requires them to pain the roof and rear quarter panels)
-(1) dent in deck lid

Since the insurance company agreed to paint all of those items, I agreed to pay the remaining balance to have the rest of the car painted. (ie. doors and front fenders). Figure, I might as well do it now. Two reason, (1) I don't want to see a color difference between the new and old paint. (2) the price is right for a new paint job...which is something I was planning to do. Cause the previous owner dinged up the rear driver side door pretty bad and it has been an eyesore. I can't wait to get it repaired. I guess the act of God was a blessing in disguise. Not to mention one hell of an experience...nothing can quite explain the feeling you get when your car is being bombarded by very large hail balls (bigger than golf balls, but not quite as big as baseballs). It was very loud and in a strange way awesome...it was like being in the movie "Twister". Which BTW, it wasn't until the following day that I learned that a tornado was within an eighth a mile of where I was driving :)

[rickm]

You could also tell us where you live, maybe someone here will have a recommendation. Sounds like east Texas from the hail.

I've had 2 cars painted in the past. One of my Dad's pals ran the paint department at a Ford dealership in Virginia Beach. They had a really nice setup and always used quality paints - they were offered to everyone and by default stressed if you had a nice car (this place would paint showcars too). Look around the paint area, see if you can physically see who's painting. Some of the body shops might give you a better deal - ask to see some of their work. When I had my Daytona painted after a wreck I took it to a place down from me that was a wrecker/parts yard with a body shop in the center. It took them a while to paint it but it looked great. They sprayed it in July of 87 and the red they used still shines up with a wash.

[NoSpeedLimits]

Northeast, PA (freak storm???) It was the second tornado we've had come with ten miles of my place in the past year....strange...and I thought we were safe in these hills.

Good idea...I'll ask to see some of their work. Or, at least ask to talk with some of their prior customers. Although, I hate to make the dude think that I don't trust him...or that I am questioning his abilities...you know how some people can get when you doubt their skills. Self fulfilling prophecy thing, right?? I was surprised at how quickly they were able to fit me into their schedule, only two weeks of back log.

[Phil M]

NE PA? getting bigger than golf ball sized hail?! haha sounds like The Day After Tomorrow (if you've seen that..)!

Did you not see the tornado? Night time? Jesus that would have been a rush. Kinda makes you wanna be tornado chaser like them in the movies

[NoSpeedLimits]

Yah, believe it or not?? At first, I thought the damn tree limbs were falling on my car, then one of those hail balls nailed my windshield and covered it in ice. It sounded like my car was being blasted by cannon balls. Deafening! Even though, it was 4:30 PM, I could not see 5 feet in front of my car. It took all I could to stay next to the yellow line. It was definitely a rush!! At one point I thought I was in the eye of the storm, cause everything cleared and then bam right back in it. Who knows, maybe I was...just wish I had the camcorder... And, negative on the movie...but soon.