Can Panel Beaters Respray and Match Colour and Quality of The Original Factory Paint Finish?

Keplaffintech on 28/04/2022 - 10:27
Last edited 28/04/2022 - 10:40 by 1 other user

I've got a Cerato with a metallic blue paint and a large scratch on the door. I'm thinking about getting it repaired but I've heard horror stories of resprays peeling / colour not matching / colour fading on the resprayed sections.

In your experience how well do panel beater shops match tricky metallic colours, and how have your resprays held up over time?

Obviously I can check out Google reviews but they just say 'X was a great guy to deal with and they did the work promptly etc', don't really talk about the quality or longevity of the work.

Automotive Car Kia

Comments

  • MS Paint on 28/04/2022 - 10:34
    +5

    It all comes down to the skill of the PB and sprayer (not necessarily the same person).

    Preparation, skill and experience can lead to a near flawless finish.

    These skilled tradies exist but how you find them I have no idea. I'm guessing how much you pay for the repair likely correlates to the finish quality.

  • Drakesy on 28/04/2022 - 10:45

    It's really luck of the draw, i've seen some of the DIY youtube videos have some incredible results once the clearcoat goes on.

    Pretty impressive.

    Otherwise i guess the odds are in the google review hands.

  • jv on 28/04/2022 - 10:49
    +2

    Yes and No.

  • nubzy on 28/04/2022 - 10:55

    It is never perfect and if you have a good eye you will always be able to pick it. Expect quite a bit more 'orange peel' effect along with some minor imperfections in the paint. They get close enough but it will never match the factory paintjob. If you want the best job you would need to find an independent panel beater and pay for it out of pocket.

  • holdenmg on 28/04/2022 - 11:18

    Where on the roof?

    Get a Sunroof instead…
    (I'm glad we talked). :+)

  • core101 on 28/04/2022 - 11:22
    +2

    I don't think they can without respraying the whole car, and that can create other problems with masking and removal of parts. They over-spray the original panels to create a soft transition, rather than a hard line. The paint composition will never be the same formula as used in the factory, at that time. Color matching is focused on the visible light spectrum, it is what people will complain about. In theory, it would be possible to uniquely "fingerprint" even the best resprays using non-visible light spectrum such as using infrared or UV light cameras.

    • Keplaffintech on 28/04/2022 - 13:30

      Thanks, the ones I spoke to suggested that they would have to spray adjacent panels to 'blend the paint' so sounds like they do this to make the colour match less obvious.

  • Euphemistic on 28/04/2022 - 12:15

    There’s not a whole industry relying on repairing cars to factory finish for no reason.

    Yes, they can repair. No, they don’t always get it right.

    The less you pay, the less likely they are to spend the time to do it properly.

  • apsilon on 28/04/2022 - 13:10

    Absolutely yes but with the caveat that the specific shop you use must be pros and do the job correctly as there's plenty of dodgy shops around that take shortcuts and can produce results that many people would think are fine but anyone with an eye for detail will pick flaws with, have long term problems etc.

    • Keplaffintech on 28/04/2022 - 13:29

      any advice on how to find good repairers? where can I look for testimonials or recommendations?

      • apsilon on 28/04/2022 - 15:29
        +1

        Word of mouth really. You're in Sydney? Parramatta Smash Repairs have a good reputation within the industry and have had for many years.

  • Hithere on 28/04/2022 - 13:41

    I've heard good things about this company. It'll depend how bad/deep the scratch is.

    https://www.touchupguys.com.au/get-a-quote/

    However, as it's a franchise they may have bad repairers as well as good ones.

    Find one in your area and look for reviews of their work.

  • redvaldez on 28/04/2022 - 16:03
    +1

    Have you tried to polish out the scratch? You are unlikely to eliminate it - and it may still stick out to you, given you know where it is - but there's still a good chance you can get it to a tolerable level. Meguiars ScratchX with a bit of elbow grease is my suggestion. For the sake of $20, I'd give it a go.

    (I'm assuming that it's a key-like scratch, rather than something like a scuff where you may have lost a large area of paint)

    • apsilon on 28/04/2022 - 17:10

      This is a good point. If the scratch isn't too deep it may be possible to polish it out.

    • Keplaffintech on 30/04/2022 - 10:41

      yeah it's a pretty deep one, the body panel is deformed from it.

      I have no idea how it happened it just showed up one day after being parked at a parking lot. Unfortunately no dash cams to capture it either :(

  • mini2 on 02/05/2022 - 08:31

    The older the paint, the harder for it to colour match and then in terms of orange peeling to match factory, down to the spray painter. How much they blend into the existing paint also plays a factor in how easy to spot the new/old paint. I'm sure you've seen on cars with a single door repainted and that sticks out like a sore thumb.

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