Paint restoring options?
10-27-11, 06:36 AM
#3
Best advice is to decide if the car is in otherwise good condition. What year is it? How many miles? What is the car's value? How long do you plan on keeping it? Is it is good enough to make an investment in a repaint. You can improve the existing look somewhat, temporarily, by using a polish, glaze and a paint coating but once your paint has started to go the only permanent solution is a repaint. A repaint could run you $2,000 - $4,000 depending on what you do and if you stay the same color.
Unless you really love that vehicle, you probably would be ahead financially by polishing and coating the paint then trading it on a newer model.
In most cases, an older car will not return the cost of a repaint unless you can drive it for 5-6 more years. What other maintenance costs do you see in keeping the car for that period of time? Engine, transmission, brakes, timing belt? etc. Go do a thorough maintenance evaluation and add up the expected costs over the next 5 years then decide if you want to invest in a repaint.
Finally, If this is a daily driver that you plan to run until it drops, and you don't have or don't wish to spend $$$ on, then grab some rattle can paint and some wet papers and give it a DIY shot. So what if it doesn't look like new if it gets you where you want to go.
Unless you really love that vehicle, you probably would be ahead financially by polishing and coating the paint then trading it on a newer model.
In most cases, an older car will not return the cost of a repaint unless you can drive it for 5-6 more years. What other maintenance costs do you see in keeping the car for that period of time? Engine, transmission, brakes, timing belt? etc. Go do a thorough maintenance evaluation and add up the expected costs over the next 5 years then decide if you want to invest in a repaint.
Finally, If this is a daily driver that you plan to run until it drops, and you don't have or don't wish to spend $$$ on, then grab some rattle can paint and some wet papers and give it a DIY shot. So what if it doesn't look like new if it gets you where you want to go.
10-27-11, 10:02 AM
#4
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^^ thanks a lot for your advice.
it is a 2000 gs400 with about 160k, miles are getting there so I am thinking about fixing it up a little, selling it and getting another gs with less miles.
So with that being I agree a respray that will cost 2-4k will be too much, where I live my buddy got his whole car painted for $200, but this is a lexus and his was a 92 civic,
I think my best bet would be a polishing/ buffing method,
But I have no experience with that what so ever but am willing to give it a try
do you think that paint can still be restored? im not looking for a show room finish, just look for somewhat of an improvement,
Not sure whether it would be best to pay someone to do this or do it myself, because I have no clue on where to start or what products
thanks again!
it is a 2000 gs400 with about 160k, miles are getting there so I am thinking about fixing it up a little, selling it and getting another gs with less miles.
So with that being I agree a respray that will cost 2-4k will be too much, where I live my buddy got his whole car painted for $200, but this is a lexus and his was a 92 civic,
I think my best bet would be a polishing/ buffing method,
But I have no experience with that what so ever but am willing to give it a try
do you think that paint can still be restored? im not looking for a show room finish, just look for somewhat of an improvement,
Not sure whether it would be best to pay someone to do this or do it myself, because I have no clue on where to start or what products
thanks again!
10-27-11, 10:41 AM
#5
Sure it can be improved some but the paint is failing. When it gets polished, glazed and sealed expect it to return to how it looks now in a matter of a month. A little longer if not subjected to the elements. There is only so much you can do with paint that is failing. The paint looks like it has been buffed a lot over the years as well. I think I see that the primer is showing at some edges and high spots. If this is the case, you can't really polish it much as there is little paint left. I'd not get too aggressive until you decide to take it in for a trade. Then you would, of course, want it to look as good as possible to obtain the best trade-in value. Over use of polish now will take off more paint and you have little to spare already.
I faced this issue with my 1991 Toyota MR2. The paint was single stage red and would turn pink in a months time. I'd polish, glaze and seal but it would return to pink quickly. I eventually polished through to the primer in a couple spots. I loved the car and it had only around 100k miles on the odo so I had it repainted about 7 years ago. This is now my garage queen and it looks pretty decent today for a 20 years old. If you can do some of the prep work for the painting yourself you can save about half the cost. Discuss it with the paint shop, You've nothing to loose as estimates are usually free.
I faced this issue with my 1991 Toyota MR2. The paint was single stage red and would turn pink in a months time. I'd polish, glaze and seal but it would return to pink quickly. I eventually polished through to the primer in a couple spots. I loved the car and it had only around 100k miles on the odo so I had it repainted about 7 years ago. This is now my garage queen and it looks pretty decent today for a 20 years old. If you can do some of the prep work for the painting yourself you can save about half the cost. Discuss it with the paint shop, You've nothing to loose as estimates are usually free.
10-27-11, 12:31 PM
#7
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wow great work, ya I guess I should get some quotes, just not really a lot of reputable paint shops in my area, is there anyway just the roof and hood could be resprayed? or would it look to weird not matching
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10-27-11, 04:26 PM
#8
I would start by polishing, wax, etc to see where you stand.. You will surprised on how well a faded car can all of a sudden come to life with some polish/wax. You could just paint the roof and hood but over time as other areas fade the roof and hood will look new and it wont look right. .
If your on a budget than maybe some 3M Di-Noc overlay to cover the roof, hood, and possibly mirrors.. Its a cheaper alternative to paint and will change the look of the car.
If your on a budget than maybe some 3M Di-Noc overlay to cover the roof, hood, and possibly mirrors.. Its a cheaper alternative to paint and will change the look of the car.
10-27-11, 04:41 PM
#11
Well I'm no expert but i don't think it will happen right away.. Our FL sun is a killer and oxidizes everything in due time unfortunately.
You could check out www.detailedimage.com for How To's and some great advice or PM some of our Vendors.
You could check out www.detailedimage.com for How To's and some great advice or PM some of our Vendors.
10-29-11, 12:48 AM
#13
A bit late but I'd like to warn you against polishing it due to the fact of the cloudy clear coat. With such little clear on the car, polishing will make it thinner and ultimately fail completely. That may result in cracking of the clear and eventually it coming off and looking like a sunburn that is peeling. If you do not plan on painting it in the future, just keep what clear you have and just glaze and wax it. Any more may speed up the process and make it uglier than it is right now
10-29-11, 01:50 PM
#14
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Polishing may take the remaining clear off of it but the paint looks really bad anyway and in most cases it can't be sold looking like it does unless he sells it for next to nothing. You may be able to polish/compound it and afterwards see where you stand. It may be evident the clear was also taken off but the paint looks okay, in that case you can apply a level of clear coat which will be much cheaper then a repaint. You may also be able to get away with polishing, getting it to look as best it can and then applying a permanent sealant/resin coat like Opti Coat. I have seen some cars that had oxidized paint turn out very nice and stay nice with a good polish and application of Opti Coat. If you polish you may want to get a Porter Cable, pads, polish which will run about $200
10-30-11, 09:59 AM
#15
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^^ thanks for both the opinions guys, dad is in the car business so prolly gonna see If I can hire it out because he knows good work and could get a decent price, not sure what to do
appreciate all the feedback!
appreciate all the feedback!