Any car painters here?

[TheEngineer]

My (then 5 month old) car was hit in a parking garage a few months ago. There was video footage but the mall never released it to my insurance company so I wound up having to pay my $250 deductible. Stinks, but it is what it is.

I got the car repaired and when I picked it up there were a ton of nibs under the paint. The shop fixed them without a problem. I go to get it the second time and there’s a weird orange hue that looks like a hand print. The shop put a bright light on it and saw it too. They repainted it a third time.

Today I parked my car in the driveway instead of the garage. I started walking inside and noticed a huge orange area in another spot. My front bumper is what needed to be repaired. Not only did I notice the orange but also the colors clearly don’t match. (Pic below)

I have a lifetime warranty on the repair so it will get fixed (by a different shop!) but I’d like to know why this happened so I can try to avoid it happening again.

Any ideas?

 

[Apotack]

Typical insurance repair body shops do lousy work.

 

[TheEngineer]

Typical insurance repair body shops do lousy work.

But it was “concierge” service! :rolleyes:

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

That looks like the paint wasnt thick enough.

Fwiw. After time in the sun,your paint is all different colors depends on the fade. It takes skill to blend it correctly.

 

[TheEngineer]

The part that’s faded is what they painted :(

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Mmm hmm.

Typically for an 8in repair you need to blend a couple of feet.
That's why trunk lids and doors are hard. You should sand the the planels next to the door/lid. They don't.

 

[TheEngineer]

Actually... they fixed both of those panels. One is plastic and one is metal. Here’s the damage.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I work at a Gm dealership, I'll show these to the guys in the body shop and see what they say.

 

[TheEngineer]

I work at a Gm dealership, I'll show these to the guys in the body shop and see what they say.

Thanks! It’s a ‘17 Malibu hybrid.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Actually... they fixed both of those panels. One is plastic and one is metal. Here’s the damage.

They blew an easy job. IMO.

 

[TheEngineer]

They blew an easy job. IMO.

Yup. I wanted this to go to the dealer but it wouldn’t have the warranty from the insurance company. Pfft! See how much that’s worth!?

 

[gar732]

A quality shop will guarantee the repair for as long as you own your vehicle. My advice is to NEVER use the repair shop the insurance tells you to use. Do your own research and use a shop that works for you not the insurance. A shop will take reduced rates in exchange for insurance referrals which often means cutting corners and using aftermarket parts which at times don’t fit as well or are just altogether inferior. They’ll do what’s best for the insurance company, not for the customer. A lot of times the dealer isn’t the best option either, sometimes dealers sublet work out to other shops. In my area the best shops are

You are on the right track by getting it redone by another shop. Just make sure it’s a shop of your choice. That bumper was probably painted along with parts from another job which might be why you are getting that orange color. The fender should have been blended so it should have been a good match to your bumper. It just looks like typical corner cutting to get as many jobs out to make the most money.

 

[Crabs McJones]

A quality shop will guarantee the repair for as long as you own your vehicle. My advice is to NEVER use the repair shop the insurance tells you to use. Do your own research and use a shop that works for you not the insurance. A shop will take reduced rates in exchange for insurance referrals which often means cutting corners and using aftermarket parts which at times don’t fit as well or are just altogether inferior. They’ll do what’s best for the insurance company, not for the customer. A lot of times the dealer isn’t the best option either, sometimes dealers sublet work out to other shops. In my area the best shops are

You are on the right track by getting it redone by another shop. Just make sure it’s a shop of your choice. That bumper was probably painted along with parts from another job which might be why you are getting that orange color. The fender should have been blended so it should have been a good match to your bumper. It just looks like typical corner cutting to get as many jobs out to make the most money.

Agreed, in most cases you are able to choose where you want your car repaired, don't let the insurance company tell you where to take it, you pay them money, tell them where you're taking it.

 

[TheEngineer]

Got this taken care of and forgot to come back and update...

The original shop simply didn't put enough paint down. I took it to a great shop and they new exactly what happened as soon as they saw it. It looked orange because apparently black paint has a lot of brown in it. Sit that on top of grey bondo and it looks orange. They stripped it down, repainted the whole area and it looks perfect now.

Lesson learned, don't just go where the insurance company sends you.

 

[ReeferBob]

Got this taken care of and forgot to come back and update...

The original shop simply didn't put enough paint down. I took it to a great shop and they new exactly what happened as soon as they saw it. It looked orange because apparently black paint has a lot of brown in it. Sit that on top of grey bondo and it looks orange. They stripped it down, repainted the whole area and it looks perfect now.

Lesson learned, don't just go where the insurance company sends you.

Sweet! There is a reason some places charge less. And as others have said, NEVER use the insurance company recommended shop. And if you use the dealer you will get an "appropriate" warranty. I am not even sure what a "lifetime" guarantee for a paint job even means. Any issues are going to come out within a year anyway. I guess it is pretty safe to give you something that means nothing.

 

[TheEngineer]

The insurance company gives a lifetime warranty on the repair only if you go to their certified shop. It’s silly but at least I get a rental car while they have it. Lesson learned :)

 

[Even Further]

It's been over ten years ago for me, but I painted cars for 3 years after high school. Mostly insurance work, and dealer work. Likely nobody can tell you exactly what's wrong from pictures, lighting and reflections can affect the image. That is an easy job to repair and look new afterwards. Dark colors are easy to blend.

From what I can see, the clear looks dull or marred on the bumper. Fresh clear is somewhat delicate until it's fully cured. There should be zero orange hue there. My guess is they did a "spot repair" on the front bumper and tried to repair and re-paint the smallest area they could on the bumper corner. That is typical for an insurance repair. In the realm of quality work on a new car, a spot repair is not right. The entire part should be repainted. Basically you repair the damaged area, color blend the damaged area, then clear coat the whole part. If there is orange tint or hue, they really screwed something up. The color should be an acceptable match.