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With Chris Curwen & Expert Auto Painter - Dave Gage (Car Cosmetics)

July 10th, 2007 - Issue 11

In this issue:

• We continue on the topic of Bodywork repair and talk about Replacing a Panel.
• Questions & Answers: This week we help Shiran with his car painting query:
  

"My car color is white, I need to re-paint it the same color. Please let me know if I could use a clear coat to finish the job so I can get a better gloss on my white car, or can I mix clear coat with the final coat of white paint? Is it true if I use clear coat on my white color car it will change color after some time?"

On occasion, the damage to a panel may be more severe than you can repair and/or you may have found your efforts to straighten the area were ineffective.

In these instances, so long as you can remove the panel, you have the other option of replacing it.

On older vehicles, it probably won't be an option to replace panels such as the roof, unless the old one was cut off and a donor roof from a different vehicle was welded into place.

Newer vehicles are designed with their body made up more of individual components, allowing for easier panel replacement.

If you decide you want to replace the panel, you have several options open to you:

* You can purchase a new sheet metal replacement panel from the manufacturer of your vehicle,
* Obtain one from an after-market dealer of similar replacement panels,
* Visit a scrap yard.

Any dealer's body shop if it was hired to carry out a repair would attain replacement panels direct from the vehicle's manufacturer; making the panels completely brand new and genuine.

This is the most expensive option open to you but being brand new their higher quality fit would render the panels far easier to work with, saving time and upheaval overall.

Also, professional body shops simply don't have the time to save damaged parts when a phone call is all it takes to have a new part sent on its way.

If insurance is covering the cost, which is often the case, a new replacement panel would be ordered without question.

The time it would take to repair the damaged panel would take longer and increase the overall cost of the repair, remember the hourly rate of professional body shops? Approximately $55/hour!

However, if you're paying for the parts yourself, you may choose to repair some of the affected panels, keeping the overall cost to a minimum.

When installing new panels, you must first make sure if any of the mounting points need to be straightened or repaired. If a mounting bracket has been knocked out of shape, the panel being attached to it won't fit correctly. You must also make sure which existing panels are still aligned correctly and match the new to the old.

Joy with after-market panels can be a little hit and miss; it depends on the manufacturer. These panels come with the proper mounting holes and recesses and they will look the same as the original panels being replaced.

However, any problems you may experience with the panel fitting incorrectly will not be discovered until after you have purchased the part and attempted to install it. There are however, some excellent after-market parts available so ask around before you purchase.

If you decide to purchase a replacement panel from a scrap yard, choose the one with the best sheet metal to fit your vehicle; suffering the least damage and rust. It makes no practical sense to purchase a replacement panel that is in a worse condition than the one you already have.

It is very unlikely that you will find a part that fits your vehicle perfectly and is the same color, but that is something you can take care of. Any part you take from another vehicle will need to be tested for paint type and to ensure it is compatible with the paint system you will be using.

To learn how to test the paint type of a replacement part, ensuring that it will be compatible with the paint system you will be using, please refer to the 'Written Guide' that forms part of 'How to Paint a Car - The System'.

Make sure you conduct these tests prior to installing the part on your vehicle. You might also decide to have it chemically dipped or media blasted at this time if necessary, please refer to Issue 06 for information on chemical dipping and media blasting.

Regardless of what method you use for obtaining a replacement panel, make sure the mounting brackets, emblems or trim on your vehicle are still in a usable condition, if not try to have them included with your order.

If you don't immediately see how you are to take off the panel you are replacing, examine a repair manual for your vehicle to find out how or ask at a local body shop.

Remember to pay close attention as you remove the damaged panel; in doing so you will learn how to install the new one.

For the best results, apply the primer undercoats before you install the panel. This will ensure that all the parts of the panel can be coated easily with epoxy primer.

The top coat should only be applied once the panel is secured on the vehicle, this will allow for precise blending with adjacent panels.

Questions & Answers

Today Shiran asks:

"My car color is white, I need to re-paint it the same color. Please let me know if I could use a clear coat to finish the job so I can get a better gloss on my white car, or can I mix clear coat with the final coat of white paint?"

"Is it true if I use clear coat on my white color car it will change color after some time?"

Shiran, if you use a clear lacquer over the top of white 2 pack gloss/solid, depending on the make and quality of the clear coat/lacquer, it may well discolor (go yellow in appearance).

This is largely due to the pigment in the clear coat, although lacquer is almost clear, it is in fact opaque, with a yellow tinge.

You would clearly see this by emptying a gallon of lacquer into a clear plastic container and holding it up to the light, easily seeing the color difference.

Always remember that you get what you pay for with auto painting.

If you spent just $30 on a gallon of lacquer don't come crying if the color looks off after so long a period, whereas if you spent $300+ for a gallon of lacquer, the end result would have much more longevity if it would ever degrade at all.

Think of white 2 pack gloss as a colored lacquer (paint+lacquer), there would be no sense in applying a further coat of clear lacquer to a coat of colored lacquer which is essentially what white 2 pack gloss is - white lacquer.

Our advice, would be to paint the vehicle in a white base coat then use a clear coat for that showroom shine. The base coat compensates the risk of de-coloration from the lacquer, it would do this by being brighter from the onset in simple terms.

This method of painting is clearly demonstrated in 'How to Paint a Car - The System' Parts 1 & 2 and really is the modern day method of auto painting.

Some issues with 2 pack gloss paint are related to heavy metal content which is considered unsafe for the environment.

We hope this helps.


That's all we have for you this week. Thank you very much for reading. We both hope this issue has been of valued interest to you.

Next week we'll continue on the topic of Bodywork repair and talk about Rust Repair.

Happy Painting!

Chris Curwen & Dave Gage
www.LearnAutoPainting.com