Paint jobs

[alfacybersite <acs@domain.elided>]

I feel anyone contemplating having their car painted needs to take into
consideration (a) What are they willing to spend (b) How long do they
plan on keeping the car (c) Should they opt for a high-end paint job,
are they willing to accept the responsibility (park in corners, try not
to ever parallel park, especially if it's a Duetto / Round-Tail, be
careful when opening the doors, never get too close to concrete 'wheel
stops' at super markets, better yet, never take it to a super market,
hand wash it frequently but only polish it once or twice a year making
sure you're very careful regarding how close you get to exterior rubber,
chrome, stainless so as not to leave residue in the cracks and turn
rubber white (d) Drive the car so as to do everything possible to
(hopefully) avoid any possibility of getting into an accident.

Regarding (d): I'm in the process of adding another page to my website
which spells out why one never-ever-ever wants to get into an accident
after their bodywork has been not just repaired, but made as absolutely
straight as possible. This includes Any materials and Any methods with
which the body was 'straightened'.

Cheap paint job ($300 to $900)two coats of cheap enamelless cheap at
the high end. Generally looks shiny and is fairly smooth.

Fairly cheap paint job ($900 to $1,800)somewhat more work done on
pre-prep, two coats of enamel, then clear coated. Comes close to looking
like a color sanded car, but slightly more 'raw' looking, especially
when up close.

Good paint job ($1,800 to $2,5000)fairly extensive to considerable
pre-prep work done, two or three coats of urethane and clear coated and
polished or some color sanding and polishing not using clear coat.

Excellent paint job ($2,500 to $10,000)considerable pre-prep work is
accomplished including several guide coats, followed by more coats of
high build primer, etc., car (at the higher end) is painted two or three
coats of high quality urethane, sanded, then two more coats are applied,
allowed several weeks to 'cure', color sanding ending with 2,000, then
polished using 3M's foam polishing system. No clear coat is applied
unless metallic paint is used.

Show car paint job $10,000 to $100,000 + same as above, but every last
millimeter of paint on car is as close to perfection as humanly
possibleeven if it never remotely left the factory that way.

I too have seen some pretty darn decent paint jobs applied which fall
under the 'Cheap paint job' category. All I can say is it covers the
car, looks good from maybe five feet away, and will hold up reasonably
well if carefully taken care of.

That said, these cars simply have little or no presence, a very elusive
word. Should you understand and require it for your car, see (c), (d),
and the latter two ranges regarding prices.

Have I helped or hindered?

Biba
Irwindale, CA USA
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