Body work...things to be aware of

D

daneel

New member
I read the bodyshop article but had a couple of questions for some work that I might need done.



The other day, someone backed into my 6 month old car. The licence plate frame took most of the damage, but the dented plate caused a dent in the bumper behind it.



The insurance estimate states that the dent can be worked out without replacing the whole bumper, but the bumper would have to be refinished and they would probably respray the whole thing.



Questions:



1. What things should I be aware of/insist upon, when meeting with the body shop people? The body shop article mentioned insisting on examining the surface before it is painted. Anything else beyond that?



2. Should I insist that the bumper be sprayed before being installed back on the car to avoid overspray etc?



3. I figure that examining the gaps to ensure the part has been reinstalled properly is important; are there other things like that that I should look for?



Thanks guys!
 
Besides being a professional detailer, I run my own professional spray shop as well, and would like to help you out.



1. The bumper should be removed from the car for any repairs and re-spray.

2. For a good, honest, professional job, pls allocate avg 2 days.

3. The first layer to sprayed must be the primer. This will also cover up the filler/putty

used. If the re-sprayer does not spray any primer...walk away cos the paint will

peel/crack/delaminate later when it's chipped by stones.

4. A top class bumper spray job will also involve the usage of "flex agents" in the

paint. This promotes elasticity of the paint, and helps prevent cracking as well as

increasing resistance from stone chips.

5. For optimum results, bumper shd be properly sanded after re-spray (to remove

orange peel and other problems) and then compounded for a nice gloss. You can

detail your own later to remove any swirl marks. These are most obvious at night

when xenon lights shine on your bumper.
 
I own a small body shop and this repair sounds standard. First, choose a shop

on your own. Don't let the insurer steer you to their "choice" shop. Get referrals.

Second, ask for a written warranty.



Questions:



1. What things should I be aware of/insist upon, when meeting with the body shop people? The body shop article mentioned insisting on examining the surface before it is painted. Anything else beyond that?



A: I don't recommend that all. It's a waste of time for both. You must allow

a certain amount of trust. Asking to inspect each phase of the job is ridiculous.

And if you feel the need to make inspections then you should not have chosen

the particular shop in the first place... That article is terrible.



2. Should I insist that the bumper be sprayed before being installed back on the car to avoid overspray etc?



A: This should be part of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for any decent

shop. Again, get referrals.



3. I figure that examining the gaps to ensure the part has been reinstalled properly is important; are there other things like that that I should look for?



A: It's not so much about the job itself but the people you deal with. When arriving

at the shop, trust your instincts and look around for other jobs going on.



There's quite a lot to look for and much to explain. Each shop is different in what

materials they use but there are industry accepted standards. Getting a warranty

in writing general means that they have to repair it correctly as redos for any

shop is a lost in profit not only your car but also delays other jobs.



If you have further questions, join either of these sites and ask away:



Autobody News

Auto body and car paint tips, techniques, and information



I'm a member of both and there are plenty of pros to help out.
 
gigondaz said:
Besides being a professional detailer, I run my own professional spray shop as well, and would like to help you out.



1. The bumper should be removed from the car for any repairs and re-spray.

2. For a good, honest, professional job, pls allocate avg 2 days.

3. The first layer to sprayed must be the primer. This will also cover up the filler/putty

used. If the re-sprayer does not spray any primer...walk away cos the paint will

peel/crack/delaminate later when it's chipped by stones.

4. A top class bumper spray job will also involve the usage of "flex agents" in the

paint. This promotes elasticity of the paint, and helps prevent cracking as well as

increasing resistance from stone chips.

5. For optimum results, bumper shd be properly sanded after re-spray (to remove

orange peel and other problems) and then compounded for a nice gloss. You can

detail your own later to remove any swirl marks. These are most obvious at night

when xenon lights shine on your bumper.
Click to expand...



The flex agent is only temporary.....it's used for installing flexible items on a vehicle....it has no lasting properties....





And you should ask to see previous work. I have customers all the time who ask. I keep a portfolio if you will of a lot of the work that comes from our shop. See if you can see a car they did. How clean is the shop? A lot of stuff people already stated.



And don't listen to the last person, body work turns out nice its from a reputable and good shop.
 
Thanks for the detailed replies everyone! Haven't been able to reply because of aa couple of crazy weeks at work. I've made my appointment but forgot to ask about the warranty. Will call and make sure.
 
When my car got rear-ended, I asked a few of the top line dealerships who they used (BMW, M-B, Lexus, etc.) Turned out they all used the same place, and that's where I got mine done. Turned out great.
 
If it's minor, i'd recommend living with it too. Flex additives are permanent depending on brand used. Also depending on clear, it may not be necessary.

Too much to go into, really...
 
My experience is that body shops make mistakes about 1 time in 3. Perhaps more.



It's nothing to get upset about, just be prepared for having to take your car back to get the repair redone.
 
daneel said:
The other day, someone backed into my 6 month old car. The licence plate frame took most of the damage, but the dented plate caused a dent in the bumper behind it.



The insurance estimate states that the dent can be worked out without replacing the whole bumper, but the bumper would have to be refinished and they would probably respray the whole thing.



Questions:



1. What things should I be aware of/insist upon, when meeting with the body shop people? The body shop article mentioned insisting on examining the surface before it is painted. Anything else beyond that?



2. Should I insist that the bumper be sprayed before being installed back on the car to avoid overspray etc?



3. I figure that examining the gaps to ensure the part has been reinstalled properly is important; are there other things like that that I should look for?



Thanks guys!
Click to expand...



Make sure the entire bumper is refinished. They'll most likely spray color to the damaged area and reclear the entire bumper(refinish color within panel). How many hours are they putting down for repair to the bumper cover? What kind of vehicle do you have? The only way to repair/refinish your bumper is off the car. If they tell you it will be done on the car, run away fast!!! Make sure the the repair is guaranteed for the life of your ownership of your vehicle. Make sure you test the repair area after it's completed by slightly pushing on the repair area. Depending on what bumper repair kit they use, it should be flexible/pliable. If not, it will end up failing,especially if it takes a slight bump again. If they can't guarantee it, they aren't returning your vehicle to pre-loss condition. Isyour insurance company paying for the damages or are you going through the other carrier? If you go to a shop other than 1 the insurance company recommends, they will not back you up if there's a problem. Make sure you take it to the best shop in town.
 
David Fermani said:
Make sure the entire bumper is refinished. They'll most likely spray color to the damaged area and reclear the entire bumper(refinish color within panel). How many hours are they putting down for repair to the bumper cover? What kind of vehicle do you have? The only way to repair/refinish your bumper is off the car. If they tell you it will be done on the car, run away fast!!! Make sure the the repair is guaranteed for the life of your ownership of your vehicle. Make sure you test the repair area after it's completed by slightly pushing on the repair area. Depending on what bumper repair kit they use, it should be flexible/pliable. If not, it will end up failing,especially if it takes a slight bump again. If they can't guarantee it, they aren't returning your vehicle to pre-loss condition. Isyour insurance company paying for the damages or are you going through the other carrier? If you go to a shop other than 1 the insurance company recommends, they will not back you up if there's a problem. Make sure you take it to the best shop in town.
Click to expand...





I'm going through the other party's insurance company, but to a shop of my own choice. I'm tempted at this point to just take the money and not have it repaired. On the other hand, even a minor dent in the car, despite being behind the license plate, is bothering me, and I'd like it to be back to the pre-loss condition, for piece of mind. In terms of referals, the place I'm taking it to has pretty high marks from people I've spoken to, so I'm hoping everything goes OK. The main reason I want to get it repaired is that if there is damage behind the bumper, then I wouldnt even know unless the shop takes the bumper off: the insurance estimator wouldnt take the bumper off to look for damage behind it.
 
David Fermani said:
Make sure the entire bumper is refinished. They'll most likely spray color to the damaged area and reclear the entire bumper(refinish color within panel).
Click to expand...



Hmm, they said that they would do what you wrote here: they would spray color to the damaged area, and the panel it's on, and then reclear the whole bumper. I'm actually OK with that because the damaged area is behind the license plate, so I don't have to worry about the rest of the paint matching, since it will be the original color. Is that OK?
 
David Fermani said:
yup, that's fine.
Click to expand...



Whew, thanks! I was not sure how to parse your statement: I was worried that I should have perhaps insisted that they respray color to the whole bumper. Thanks for clarifying!
 
Depending on the insurance company, the shop and color variance to the body, they could/should spray color over the entire bumper cover.



*Some insurance companies allow for the full refinishing of the entire bumper when just painting a bumper cover. Some will only allow partial.



*Many times (pretty much all the time really) your bumper cover will not match the body of the car. If the shop refinishes the entire bumper, it will probably match better than it did.
 
David Fermani said:
Depending on the insurance company, the shop and color variance to the body, they could/should spray color over the entire bumper cover.



*Some insurance companies allow for the full refinishing of the entire bumper when just painting a bumper cover. Some will only allow partial.



*Many times (pretty much all the time really) your bumper cover will not match the body of the car. If the shop refinishes the entire bumper, it will probably match better than it did.
Click to expand...



I see. So repraying with paint just the damaged area brings it back to 'pre-loss' condition, but respraying the whole bumper with colored paint makes it even better than pre-loss.
 
Yeah, you got it. They only owe you to return your car to "pre-loss" specs and if it didn't match before, they don't owe it to you now.
 
Thanks for all the help everyone, especially David. One Last question: is there anything non-obvious I should look for when inspecting the work?
 
Umm, I've worked with multiple 3rd generation body men, and they would laugh you out of the shop if you said you wanted to see each step at completeion..





Think about it, your basically telling another professional you dont trust his skills and want to baby sit him.. I understand their are some shady people out there but the best thing you can do is find someone who is reputable, and go there..



ALSO



There is no difference in the way they paint it and your value going up and down, a hit is a hit, an insurance claim is an insurance claim. If an appraiser estimates your car, he doesn't see what the shop did for work. He will see what the insurance paid to repair.



Things to look for... Orange peel, under carriage, muffler for over spray, any moldings or crevices that might have been scratched or still have compound gunked in them.
 
Black240SX said:
My experience is that body shops make mistakes about 1 time in 3. Perhaps more.



It's nothing to get upset about, just be prepared for having to take your car back to get the repair redone.
Click to expand...



wow i feel bad for the auto body shops around you.. I think my mistakes are about 1-50 and even then their fixed when they happen..
 
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