Painted my - Camry Coupe
#15
A color change probably costs about 10% more. I wouldn't even consider it unless all the glass were removed. I've restored 8 antique cars. I did a color change on an old Mercedes and it was successful.
I had people stopping me in the street asking to buy it. On one other car, the finish was so bad I had to sand to bare metal, so a color change was easy. Otherwise, it isn't advisable.
As to choosing a color, it helps to get a small toy car of your model and to paint that and see how it looks. Color can do unexpected things according to body shape. I'm miles ahead with my Camry because it is a 2-door. The lines simply look great.
I had people stopping me in the street asking to buy it. On one other car, the finish was so bad I had to sand to bare metal, so a color change was easy. Otherwise, it isn't advisable.
As to choosing a color, it helps to get a small toy car of your model and to paint that and see how it looks. Color can do unexpected things according to body shape. I'm miles ahead with my Camry because it is a 2-door. The lines simply look great.
#17
If you saw the Rose Parade, you know that my part of the country is experiencing beach weather right now. Blasting sun during the day. I've given the car its 6th washing since the paint job.
The bright light is revealing flaws that don't make me happy. Not the fault of 1-Day Paint. I should have cleaned the car and inspected it carefully to be able to mark all dimples in the body work before it was painted. I did this at night using a strong lamp. But the car wasn't clean, so I missed some. 1-Day charged me an extra $140 to fill in those blemishes. It would have been worth another $100 to get them all. I missed a few, but on a white car, they don't attract attention.
A higher grade paint job would take care of any such annoying blemishes, without me having to mark them out with a grease pencil. All my auto polishing and detailing supplies arrived today from AutoGeeks. So I'll give it the final polish in the next week or two and then seal the finish, take photos with a better camera and then post them here.
One thing is clear, using microfiber mitts and towels during washing eliminates those minor scratches and swirl marks that dull a finish. And that is only a $25 investment.
The bright light is revealing flaws that don't make me happy. Not the fault of 1-Day Paint. I should have cleaned the car and inspected it carefully to be able to mark all dimples in the body work before it was painted. I did this at night using a strong lamp. But the car wasn't clean, so I missed some. 1-Day charged me an extra $140 to fill in those blemishes. It would have been worth another $100 to get them all. I missed a few, but on a white car, they don't attract attention.
A higher grade paint job would take care of any such annoying blemishes, without me having to mark them out with a grease pencil. All my auto polishing and detailing supplies arrived today from AutoGeeks. So I'll give it the final polish in the next week or two and then seal the finish, take photos with a better camera and then post them here.
One thing is clear, using microfiber mitts and towels during washing eliminates those minor scratches and swirl marks that dull a finish. And that is only a $25 investment.
#20
Yea, it's worth it. Just put aside some dough from your paycheck every week. However, when you get a new paint job, add a little flair to it. Maybe a stripe or something, just to show what a unique ride you got. It could run like garbage but at least it would look like cherry.