Banana being discharged Thursday...

[Don]

...from the car hospital. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that I took it to an excellent shop, and you can't tell anything ever happened to the car. I just saw it today in the paint booth, still mostly disassembled and all the seams from the new parts look factory.

Just to clarify things to the uninitiated, the best way to paint a car is with everything removed (trim, handles etc), that way there are no edges to peel after time. In this case removal beats masking off.

The finish is in the raw stage (no sanding or buffing done yet) and there is very little orange peel even at this point.

The bad news??

I took it to an excellent shop and the repaired areas look better than the rest of the car. The base (color) coat was applied slightly thicker and more evenly than the factory paint, which means the color is going to be slightly richer.

I took a few pics in the paint booth, but the camera and the computer aren't talking to each other at the moment.

[gb387]

Thats good to here.... You will have to post some after photos.

I use to have a Chevrolet Xtreme and someone pulled out in front of me. Got it fixed and painted looked real good only thing I noticed was that the paint seemed to get rock chips much easier than the factory paint. I guess this shouldn't be a problem for you since its the back getting painted. Either way body shops can do some impressive things.

[benhui86]

maybe u can pay them a little extra and have the whole car repainted

[atclew]

Re: Banana being discharged Thursday...

Originally posted by Don
The bad news??

I took it to an excellent shop and the repaired areas look better than the rest of the car. The base (color) coat was applied slightly thicker and more evenly than the factory paint, which means the color is going to be slightly richer.

Glad your ride is being "discharged" soon.

That is one drawback with having a section of your car repaired at a body shop. Any bodyshop for that matter. The average driver will not see the difference in the depth or "texture" of the refinished sections, but most of us here and a well-trained eye can spot it upon closer examination. Even with all the advances in paint technology, it's still almost impossible to get a perfect match. Although a good bodyshop will get it mighty danged close!

Good luck!!!

[Don]

The body shop removed the two triangle rear side windows, the rear window (which includes the "C" pillar covers), the drivers door lock handle & window trim. They painted the entire driver's door, around the back and all the new parts then up the right side of the car, doing I believe the entire right quarter panel, even though it was mostly untouched in the accident. All in the name of properly blending the old and new paint, and preventing paint peeling from taped off trim areas.

All in all, it's for the good, since a year or so ago I was lightly rear ended by a guy who "didn't see me" at a traffic light which left some cracks in the paint near the license plate, and the upper edge of the left quarter panel was really thin with the primer showing (partially my fault, partially the factory for spraying it so thin).

Now I just have to cough up my deductable, and the money for a new set of tires so there isn't a repeat performance of my highway "Tango in the Night" with a guardrail (Fleetwood Mac fans note the reference )

[Don]

Originally posted by benhui86
maybe u can pay them a little extra and have the whole car repainted

I wish I could, I told the shop that it's too bad noone vandalized my car while it was sitting in the rear of thier lot

Besides any extra money will be going towards tires

[toyotaowner]

Congrats that your car is finally going to be released.

[Tim Lingor]

Hi Don,

Any further updates? I hope you will post photos after you get the car back!!

Tim

[Don]

Originally posted by 2hotford
Hi Don,

Any further updates? I hope you will post photos after you get the car back!!

Tim

Nothing yet, this time of the year, they are EXTREMELY busy (they have a tow service too). They might be waiting on the new driver's seat to arrive, as I didn't see it in the shop when I went to "visit."