anyone ever had their car keyed?
 

I just bought a slightly used Infiniti, in less than I week I find that the driver side doors have been keyed.
The driver's door was about 8" long just ahead of the door handle and deep enough that I could feel a groove with my finger nail. The driver's side rear door was about 16" long but barely deep enough to feel a groove.

I bought a paint stick that matches perfectly and filled the scratches myself. Wet sanded, polished, buffed and waxed the repair. I can see the lines but at least the doors are protected against future rust.

It's not worth going through insurance as the estimate to have both doors repainted would simply eat up my deductible.

The honest opinion of the body shop that I know and trust suggested not to repaint at all as he said my repair was pretty good. Aftermarket body shop paint has artificial hardeners that factory paint does not use because they usually use heat to cure the paint. A re-spray simply would not be the same quality especially since it is a deep red pearl.

Has anyone gone the route of total panel repaint and was it worth it? Did it stand up to the test of weather, UV light and time, compared to the factory paint?

I plan on keeping the car for the next several years and I am OCD when it comes to show and shine of my cars. :)

That sucks man, if that happened to me I'd find them and key their face.

Aftermarket paint is fine and will stand the test of time.

In my experience you cannot paint one panel, you need to blend into 40%-50% of the next panel so it doesn't seem like a repaint, otherwise you will notice a difference.

I understand the artificial hardeners comment however I don't think it's about the durability but more about the cost and time.

That does suck, I will never understand the thinking behind random keying of vehicles. Maybe if it was an ex-girlfriend lol, but random stuff like that is terrible.

I've had a front fender painted, rear bumper, hardtop, and hood, all individually at different times and by 2 different paint shops. They look and feel fine to me, they have stood up a few years thus far as well. Some paints are easier to match than others. A re-paint of a panel isn't that expensive , just a pain in the butt to leave the car for a few days.

Perhaps it's too late now but when a rake fell against my Silverstone '07, I took it to a body shop. They used a 3M Colour Match compound and BY HAND repaired the scratch. Perhaps it was only in the clear coat, tough to tell with the silver, but the result was perfect. Something to keep in mind for light scratches.

I've had a riding mower throw stones at my old silverstone while parked at work. Repair was paid for by the lawn care contractor. Shop used touch up paint to fill the chips and wet sand them. The spots weren't noticeable and were filled but the wet sand job they did looked like crap. I did my own touch up, wet sand, and polish.

lets fix my bumper

I bought mine keyed. Haters.