Ok, so this schmuck decides to slam on her brakes while turning out... As a result, I ed up my driver's side front bumper and front Fender....

My questions are:

Is there any place where I can find a fender already painted?

If not, the body shop wants to get a new fender from Honda, paint it, then blend it into my door and hood... I am not to crazy about the blending process, so would it be bad to just have the new fender painted, and put on my car without blending it?

The same goes for the front bumper... Will it look bad to just get a new bumper, new front fender, have them painted, then put on the car? I really hate the fact of aftermarket paint on my car...

ALso, who does the best painting in South Florida???

Any help will be greatly appreciated..

Thanks!

BTW: The color of the car is Sebring Silver..

 

KeithD, Bullett1123, and I have all used Sunshine Collision in Boca.

My car's sebring silver also and they did a great job of repainting the back bumper. No blending was done & I don't think anyone could tell that it was repainted since it matches up perfectly.

 

Being the manager and ASE certified Painter @ a bodyshop i found it in my place to register and reply to this thread....

For starters, considering you have fender and bumper damage, i highly suggest blending as the body shop suggested. Damaging just the bumper would have been a different story because you can refinish and replace the bumper and it will appear to match even if it really doesn't. The reason is an optical illusion, the change in direction due to body lines and slight curves at the edges hides the appearance of a mismatch.

What happens once you get into large body panels is a different story. For starters, there's no such thing as after market paint. No paint on any vehicle is "factory". Although sprayed by a machine at the factory, the actual paint is loaded into those machines by the automotive paint manufacturer that is the lowest bidder to the company, for example, you have Akzo Nobel Refinishes who make the Sikkens line of paint, you have PPG who make the DBC Line, etc. That which is cheaper for HOnda to buy that year is what was put on your car.

Now having a little bit of background on what type of paint "may" be on your car, lets speak hypothetically. Your year s2000 was painted with Sikkens paint. I personally spray with Sikkens so i call Sikkens to have the paint made by them rather than personally mixing it myself with my machine at the shop, or better yet, i contact Honda and have them send me 2 qts. of "FACTORY PACKED" paint. Now I know the color is mixed right on the money and there is no room for paint match error at all; guess what, the paint still won't match. Aside from many factors, the most prominent reason it wont match is because your color contains metallic flakes. When you look at your car, what you are seeing is the sunlight hitting those flakes and reflecting into your eyes. A metallic flake is much like a piece of childrens craft glitter, it's small, square, and flat. When each individual flake lands on the surface of the vehicle, it is facing a certain direction, that which may be different from the original direction when it was painted at the factory. The direction varies according to air pressure and spraygun distance. Once on the surface they begin to flip and settle, the amount of flip varies according to drying time which is affected by A. the drying speed of the reducer used, and B. the air temperature at the time of spraying. In other words, even if the paint matches exactly, it wont look the same on your car.

My suggestion to you is blend it!!!

If you need anymore help or info you can reach me @ oolsvtecmikeyoo@aol.com

 

Wow... Thanks for all that info!!!!!! I greatly appreciate it...

Where is your body shop located?? Based on your info, I would feel more comfortable having your body shop do the work!

As for the blending, does it need to be done at the same time the fender is painted? Or can I see how the fender comes out, then make a decision from there?

I'm just trying to stay away from messing with anymore of the car. One body shop told me that they will need to repaint the hood, in order to blend it properly. The hood is fine, but they insisted that the whole thing should be painted.

My hopes with this whole ordeal is to eventually find a fender already painted Sebring Silver from the factory, so that my car will still have original paint. But, the likeliness of that is slim to none in the next couple weeks.....

 

If you're so freaked out about blending it, then repaint the entire car. Otherwise have it blended, if done right, you will not notice a difference. If you don't blend, it will stick out like a sore thumb.

And theres nothing great about factory Honda paint. My bumpers were peeling a week into ownership and had both front and rear bumpers repainted under warranty using PGP paint and with more layers than what the factory uses.

 

I've always had really good luck with Nasca's Auto Body in Fort Lauderdale. I've had several cars painted there (some repair, some whole body paint) and they have all come out flawlessly.

The number is 954 5937468.

 

It is ok to paint the fender and see if it matches and then blend if necessary, however, remember that if it doesn't match, you have to repaint the fender and blend the hood and the door. The idea is to have adjacent panels painted on the same stroke.

As far as painting the whole hood, what you do is blend the basecoat and then clear coat the entire panel so there is no break in the clear.

Tell you what the name of the shop is T & D Coachworks. Address is 8770 SW 132 Street in Miami, we are located right behind the Falls. Phone # is (305)238-4003 my name is mike and im there from about 9-5.

I wrecked the front end on mine 2 months after purchasing it so you can even see the type of work we do. Just give us a call.

 

Thanks for al the advice guys, I really appreciate it!

9K, I am going to the insurance adjustor today, and will give you a call after that ordeal....