Some as%&$le backed up into my black 2001 s2000 the other day scratching up the front bumper really good. It definatly needs to be repainted. But there is no body damage. My question to you guys is, the front side fenders and hood have collected a fair bit of rock chips/marks in them. So if I paint the front bumber, Im gonna have to paint those pannels too. What would be the best method to get the car to look like it was factory, almost a very wet black look. Im fearful that the painting will look like shit or wont be as glossy. Also should I just get the front painted or the whole car. This is comming out of my pocket except for the painting of the front bumber which is covered by the guy who hit me.

 

not sure that i understand your question...
are you asking how to do this yourself?
or are you asking what to tell the body shop?

 

I think he means having the body shop repair the bumper and the two front quarter panels. He wants to make sure that the job matches the factory paint on the rest of his car.
If you have the body shop do it, take it to a reputable one. The paint should match pefectly as long as they use the paint code on your door jam. The only problem you may have is if the paint is somewhat faded on the rest of the car compared to the brand new paint. If that is the case, see if they will polish the rest of the car, so that they get all of the oxidation and old wax off of the old paint and it should all look like new. Just tell the painter you want a guarantee against swirl marks...that way he knows you really care about your car's finish.
And don't forget not to wax your car for about 90 days because the freshly painted panels and bumper will need time to cure.

 

what exactly do you mean by a guarantee against swirl marks? I actually dont know too much about car paints (just exterior stucco paints...company I work with), all I know is I want it to look perfect and not have any differences on body pannels. This car is my baby (as im sure much, if not all of you guys look at your s2000's in the same fassion), not a junker that can pass for a decent job. Only prob is haivng to dish out a few g's to get my car painted, when im in some tight financial situation (not too tight, but tough to let a few g's go).

 

Swirl marks are micro-marring of your paint's finish. They appear as hairline scratches in your clearcoat and can be caused by washing your car with anything abrasive, or in the case of them doing bodywork if they use a sandpaper that doesn't have a high enough grit or if they polish the car with too aggressive of a polish.