Smaug

The clear coat on my GS400's roof has failed and is steadily peeling off.

I've got a few questions since I'm not sure what to do:

1) Is it worth trying to fix myself? My car painting knowledge is zero but I'm willing to learn and give it a try. (I'm betting no since I don't really know what I'm going).

2) Let's say I take it to a professional, and they have to fully repaint the roof. How much (even a rough guess) should I expect to pay? I'm guessing $500-$900, though I can go a little higher if needed.

3) If anyone in the Denver metro area (preferably north side of town) has suggestions on where I should go, I'll gladly take them. However, I have one question: Is maaco worth it? I've heard both "yes but don't get the cheap package" and variations on "absolutely not."

4) The trunk and hood show some signs of bleaching due to sun damage, but they're only visible in certain angles. Should I worry about that now or wait until it's more visible?

I'll take any helpful advice I can get...I just don't know enough about paint to do this myself.

NorthStyle

iTrader: (16)

1. .if you're comfortable potentially ruining the paint on your roof, or doing (and possibly redoing) it until you're satisfied with the outcome, then I'd say go for it. If you're not then I'd leave it to the professionals.

2. This will vary from state-to-state and shop-to-shop. However, just being the roof, I wouldn't expect it to cost more than around $3-600 depending on the amount of work the shop thinks is required.

3. I've had friends that have done the MAACO paint jobs on their beaters and were satisfied for what they paid. However, I wouldn't take any of my cars there... Your best bet would be to go by the "local" MAACO and ask to see if they have any cars that they're currently working on. That'd be the best indicator of the quality of their work.

4. Honestly, if it's bothering you now, it's going to continue to bother you in the future. I'd just get them all taken care of at the same time and save yourself the trouble later on.

armanitran

iTrader: (-1)

Truth.

Iparkcars

He is correct is the car garage kept or left outside. What color is the car?

mccrimmon

iTrader: (2)

I have the same issue with my clear coat peeling from the roof. AZ sun kills paint out here. The paint on the rest of the car is fine. I was thinking about just having the roof vinyl wrapped black or even the carbon fiber look until I get ready to paint the whole car down the road. I've seen people plasti dip their roofs too as a temporary fix. I personally don't like how it looks even though people rarely see your roof. Good luck!

DosyBoy

iTrader: (1)

Glad I got black, no clearcoat single stage paint : ) take it to a body shop...

islexusred

having the same problem , the clear coat on 98 gs4 starting to fail as well, took it to a paint shop and they quoted me $700. the failing clear cost is about the size of a quarter...so did some research, mostly youtube, it seems like an easy fix. just bought this http://goo.gl/8kdkZA and this http://goo.gl/UV9PVf. imana try to sand off the failing part and apply that clear coat hopefully it works.

Smaug

It's outside kept (no garage parking available), and it's silver. Unfortunately the total area that's failing is the size of a small pizza so I'm not about to try to tackle it myself.

I'm going to at least visit the local maaco and see what their work looks like, as well as just check prices. I've got a couple of "estimate" appointments at a pair of reputable bodyshops in the area. I think I'm going to ask them how much it'd be to just do the trunk and the hood as well. Depending on the price I may get everything done now...I don't want to deal with this again.

Smaug

Just got a written estimate from one place that's not maaco. They said "lifetime warranty on paint" blah blah blah, but it'd be $1,000+ in part because they have to remove the windshield and most of the time those break when they do so. That struck me as a bit steep...wait, not steep, overpriced. I'm going to talk to a couple other places just to compare.

Edit - to be fair, they gave me a second estimate for if the windshield does *not* break for $750. Given the way this was described to me it sounded like I'd be buying a new windshield.

13loody

Why can't they just tape up the trim/windshield? Also, if they decide to remove the windshield and ends up breaking it, I would think they're liable for paying for the replacement. Doesn't make sense for a shop to break something and force the cost of repair on the customer.

NorthStyle

iTrader: (16)

Hmmm... I had the roof on my GS430 painted but until I decided to replace the windshield due to chips, my guy didn't even mention removing the windshield. Plus, for every other car that I've painted, they've never had problems removing the windshield for a full respray. I'd check around for other places. Also, check with some members in your area and see who they recommend.

Smaug

I'm going to a couple other places in the area that are both closer, highly recommended by anecdotal reviews (people I know), AND don't have to pay to advertise during Rockies games. I'm not sure why they would have to remove the windshield in the first place...that struck me as suspicious at best.

DosyBoy

iTrader: (1)

If u lived by me I could get that done for u for like $300 from a professional auto body place, it's great to have in laws that do this for a living lemme tell ya...

Smaug

In the ongoing saga of "I need to get my car's roof painted!", I've visited two other shops in the area. Both quoted approximately $660-$670 for the paint job. There's a small patch a little smaller than a Jimmy John's cookie peeling in front of the sunroof, and a large patch the size of a small pizza behind the sunroof going as well. The whole roof probably needs to be done as a result.

Here's a quick breakdown of what they said:

Shop 1 said they'd have to take the *rear* glass out, and I would probably have to buy new molding for that window for an extra $40. They did not mention anything about taking the front glass out.

Shop 2 said they really would prefer to take the *front* glass out, and they would do everything they can to keep the windshield intact and reuse it. I may have to buy a new windshield for ~$325. They said the molding on the front glass covers up a part of the roof they'd need to paint, and they would do everything they can to preserve the front glass and reuse it. However it's got a couple chips in it (damn gravel roads with damned inconsiderate idiots driving the other way) and may come due after the next hail storm anyway. We've had some crazy weather this year in Colorado...

So here's my questions:

1) Do they really need to pull the windshield? It seems a little suspect but I know jack squat about painting cars.

2) Does anyone know if the molding behind the windshield glass on a GS400 actually holds the glass in place?

3) Does anyone know if it's actually that hard to pull a windshield and keep it from shattering?

4) Is $300ish for a windshield reasonable?

I'm jealous...$300 would be awesome.

SaiyanGS3

iTrader: (8)

How often do you guys wax your roof? That's where the initial problem is. I've never had paint peel on any of my cars because I wax it every other car wash (the spray on type ) for protection.