Banana being discharged Thursday...

[Don]

...from the car hospital. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that I took it to an excellent shop, and you can`t tell anything ever happened to the car. I just saw it today in the paint booth, still mostly disassembled and all the seams from the new parts look factory.

Just to clarify things to the uninitiated, the best way to paint a car is with everything removed (trim, handles etc), that way there are no edges to peel after time. In this case removal beats masking off.

The finish is in the raw stage (no sanding or buffing done yet) and there is very little orange peel even at this point.

The bad news??

I took it to an excellent shop and the repaired areas look better than the rest of the car. The base (color) coat was applied slightly thicker and more evenly than the factory paint, which means the color is going to be slightly richer.

I took a few pics in the paint booth, but the camera and the computer aren`t talking to each other at the moment.

[kimwallace]

Don,
Glad everything is looking good so far. After a little time as the paint continues to cure, the difference won`t be as noticable if at all. The big thing is that they get the color match correct. Some buffing will also change the looks. I hope the shop gives you complete satisfaction.
Just think, when it is done you will be able to drive it around in more snow!

[JaredPointer]

I know just how you feel, as I was in this same predicament a few months ago. HOpefully everything will come out A-okay, and you will have it back to it`s glory in no time.