mmarshall

Interesting, Josh. First time I've heard of this method, too. Most body/paint shops just hunt up the letter/number code of the paint color used by the manufacturer for that specific model-year and color (E38, N24, 2WY, etc.....) and mix the hue/pigments according to the way they did at the factory. That, of course, duplicates (or almost duplicates) the original paint-color, but does not take sunlight-fading, oxidation, clearcoat-deterioration, etc.... into account. Perhaps (?) the laser, as you describe it, gives a more accurate duplication of the hue that is left exactly on the truck after it has aged a little. Most factory clearcoat paint-jobs, today, though, are much slower to fade then those of a few decades ago....or before clearcoats were used.

ArmyofOne

Most do, yes, but technology changes with time. Most body shops still use blending because its so much cheaper. This shop recently invested in the new equipment, for a cost of nearly $75,000.

They are doing 4 hours of free work for me because of a previous repair that was botched. They are doing that out of the kindness of their hearts (was not their repair, but it was minor and I already knew about it and was going to fix it, thats how I got the truck so cheap). Its on the opposite side of the truck, so there was no way for them to be compensated through the insurance, and they could very well have charged me for the extra time on the L/F Fender. However, they told me since they were going to have paint left over, they would go ahead and sand, prime and repaint it, fixing the filler, rust and "primer sinking" in the paint.

Here is the only in-progress pic I could get, they dont allow customers in the shop for insurance reasons. I took it this morning at 930am. Just for clarification, this is NOT where they painted the truck. They have a State-of-the-Art paint booth, complete with rotisserie, and oven racks. They had already painted the doors and cab and bed, and they were in the process of wetsanding/reassembly, which is why its not in the paint booth anymore. Should be ready today or tomorrow, a full 4 days early!

I included some pix of the inside of the rental as well, a 2011 Kia Sorento AWD V6, a nice car to be sure! Look at that interior! and 7 passenger seating in a mid-size SUV for under $26000! I cant believe the improvement of kia's interiors and general build quality over the years! Seems most carmakers are improving!

ArmyofOne

Stupid Pic uploader wont let me upload the pic of the truck, the only one that matters! LOL

ArmyofOne

Got the truck back tonight. Got a small problem on the front passenger door where the buffed it. I guess the tech couldnt use a buffer right cause he damn near went through the paint with it on the door. They are gonna try to fix it tomorrow, if they cant they said they will repaint free of charge. I have seen alot of damage as a detailer, and this looks fixable so I am not too concerned. They were overly apologetic too when I pointed it out. It was dark by the time I got home, I will take some better pix tomorrow.
Here are the after pix:

felixsc300

iTrader: (5)

Amen. I was pretty pissed off when I was rear ended in my G35 by a kid driving an Odyssey, then realized that motor vehicle accidents are an every day thing, and I was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Filed an insurance claim, got it fixed at a good body shop, and moved on. The repair looks great! Btw, what happened to the Civic? I got an IS350 this past Sunday so now I'm back.

ArmyofOne

FELIX!!! haha, good to hear (read) from ya! I traded the civic in man. It was really starting to worry us from a reliability standpoint. It was alot of little things going wrong. Wheel bearings, etc. The truck was 3 weeks old when it got hit. so you caught her in her infancy. C'mon man, you know me. When was the last time I left anything alone? If I have it longer than a year it gets modded heavy...remember my ZX-2? Trust me when I say, as soon as I get approval from chrysler's lifetime warranty to put in a lift, its happening.

There were alot of reasons for the trade-in, ranging from the move across the country we are about to make, to warranty considerations. but the deal was unmistakeable. Cant beat a "brand new" (dealer serviced demo with 43k miles), with the Chrysler Lifetime Powertrain Warranty for $21K OTD. They gave me $15k for a car that was worth $12k. So yeah...when that deal happens, you take it!

lamar411

Happy to hear you got it back with only a minimal blemish!

felixsc300

iTrader: (5)

A Civic having reliability issues?!? Good call for looking into and purchasing another vehicle. And of course I remember your ZX-2. And yes I must say, you got an EXTREMELY excellent deal, especially how they paid $15k for a $12k car and offered a CPO warranty for the low low price. Much more car for the money, and it'll keep you and your wife (and your future kids ) safe for many years to come. And I LOVE the color. Don't see many, if any, Rams in this color. It'll shine for the next century under your ownership.

Good luck with the move! And glad to hear that your truck is repaired to your standards, and that you're no longer in a Kia...these days, drive something nice and you'll be placed in something that's WTF. When my G35 was in the shop I was given a Jetta for 2.5 weeks. Narrowly avoided the Focus 'sporty coupe'. -_____-

ArmyofOne

I dont nessecarily think it was all the civic's fault, I mean the salt the roads here so bad, that once the roads dry, a cloud of salt dust follows you, as if you were driving down an gravel road. Its disgusting. So the wheel bearings and brakes were probably caused by that. But it was starting to wear on us, we were replacing rotors rapidly, all the wheel bearings had been replaced, window motor on the drivers side front door, battery, CV Boot tear, etc etc, it was just lots of little things. I am quite confident that it would never have left us stranded, nor would anything major (powertrain wise) have gone wrong, but offering us such a good deal, I could not refuse it.

Here are daytime pix: