Insurance-covered (proper) repair of a parking lot auto body repair (cost, estimate)
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As above - we had a scratched/scraped area on our car (from an almost-zero-speed encounter with a parking garage pole) repaired by a roving mobile parking lot auto body repair guy - and it came out less than favorably to say the least. We obviously did not expect a body-shop quality repair, or even close to it, in a parking lot - but definitely somewhere in between this and what actually happened. Lesson has been learned to run in the other direction from anyone who might approach us like this in the future - for now, we've contacted our insurance company and have an estimate scheduled for tomorrow.
We have beaten ourselves up for almost 24 hours about this so please know that WE already know we were crazy to even talk to this guy. . .
Has anyone had experience with this type of repair in the past (a legitimate body shop coming in behind someone doing this type of work and trying to make it right). We understand that what was once a decently simple repair is now more complicated and I'm trying to get a handle on what makes it more complicated now.
In the parking-lot repair, the scratches were sanded with varying grades of sandpaper and then wet-sanded with a block, the deeper scrape was filled with bondo, a very tiny dent was tapped out and the fender was nicely contoured with bondo to match the existing line. The bodywork looked excellent - it was the paint that was the problem. There was a primer coat but then it was sprayed with several coats of Rustoleum - and a propane torch was applied to the paint in between coats - then the whole area was covered with a wax or liquid sealant which we were supposed to leave on overnight. The "wax" did not come off of the newly sanded-painted area this morning and now it looks like grey-rippled wax over bright red paint, with some dark-grey metal showing through the paint in spots. There is also a really distinct line of demarcation at the top of the quarter panel between the new/shiny paint and the older/slightly faded paint - because it wasn't feathered at all.
Two questions - we had a quote from a body shop (at the time we were considering paying for it ourselves) - they were planning to sand and repaint the entire right quarter panel although the damage was only to the lower right front of it. If they are still having to completely sand and repaint the same area anyway, should it cost more now (and what would make it be more expensive) to undo this type of damage? Also, I read one website that said once Rustoleum is used on a car, if "regular" or factory paint is going to be used for a repair then the entire car has to be repainted and not just the panel on which it was used (because of a chemical reaction between Rustoleum and other paint types). Repainting the whole car for Rustoleum on a single panel (assuming no overspray?) sounds strange, really hoping for anyone's experience with this in person because repainting the whole car would totally catapult a repair from minor to major and I'm not sure if insurance will cover this.
Last edited by Freebird; 08-07-2011 at 02:34 PM..
Reason: to clarify a line and add some information
I'm an insurance adjuster. The insurnce company will not pay in this situation. You'll have to file a claim with the insurnce company of the "shop" that repaired your vehicle.
And yes, even one speck of Rustoleum on the factory paint will require a re-spray of the entire vehicle.
Also, I read one website that said once Rustoleum is used on a car, if "regular" or factory paint is going to be used for a repair then the entire car has to be repainted and not just the panel on which it was used (because of a chemical reaction between Rustoleum and other paint types). Repainting the whole car for Rustoleum on a single panel (assuming no overspray?) sounds strange, really hoping for anyone's experience with this in person because repainting the whole car would totally catapult a repair from minor to major and I'm not sure if insurance will cover this.
I looked at this website (about how to spray paint a car using Rustoleum paints) again just now and under "tips and warnings" it says "if you paint a car with Rustoleum paint and ever want to go back to conventional automotive paint, the entire car has to be stripped to bare metal because of the chemical reaction between the Rustoleum and normal paint". This was not on a body shop website, just on a do-it-yourself site - and it covered painting the whole car and not just random bodywork/repairs.
I read this somewhere around 4:00 in the morning (still awake) - thought I was wrong and it couldn't be possible, but what I wrote was how I remembered it hours later so yeah we were concerned. Now it seems you only have to sand down completely if you painted the entire car with Rustoleum and then want to switch back in the future, which makes total sense - it's not just for Rustoleum on only part of a single panel, or a speck of overspray. Thanks Jamikel, nice of you to write back to someone who is confused and seeking help. When I read your last statement, it sounded so ridiculous and I was laughing at myself for thinking the whole car might have to be repainted for this reason of ours and then asking about it on here (although we might have it resprayed anyway for another reason and pay for it ourselves). We were always going to pay for this ourselves anyway before this happened so it's really not all that different now.
Go easy on me if you write back again ok. . .if you like - glad to provide you with extra entertainment / laughter on Sunday in your home.
When I sold automotive paint I had an old-timer that used to tell about repainting cars that had the old Earl Schieb $99 paint job. Whatever they used would cause fisheyes in the paint when you painted over it. I don't know if it was a Rustoleum product, but it sounds like people's experiences are similar.
My old-timer told me that modern sealers do the trick to provide a good substrate for a new topcoat so it should no longer be necessary to strip all the old paint off before repainting. That being said, even if you did have to take all the old coating off, the problem will be confined to the area where the funky paint is. So, no reason to strip the paint off a front fender just because you have some non-stick stuff on the rear quarter.
As to the cost of the repaint, I assume the original quote included the body repair as well as the painting. It sounds like the repair itself is satisfactory so they shouldn't have to do anything there, but they will have a little time in sealing or stripping the previous paint job so it will probably be about the same.
THANK YOU duster, that's what we were hoping - just to even get close to that figure from before. Seemed logical that it could be a similar repair but even if it is somewhat more expensive to get this sorted out and cleanly repaired, it's the price we pay for our misjudgment.
The initial quote was not final (it allowed for an increase after teardown) - which they obviously have to write to cover themselves in the event there was hidden damage from a collision that couldn't be evaluated on initial estimate. In this case, a low-speed scratch/scrape thing, I'm not expecting them to uncover anything else. This was low on the front quarter panel starting about mid-wheel well and extending downward - but the "new" paint (the part that we were able to uncover) now extends upward, almost to the hood. It would be very nice if this could be stripped and painted/blended/feathered just in and around these areas instead of having to remove a stripe and a metal decal (both not reusable) if they were to go all the way back to the door/behind the wheel. I've heard of it being done both ways and I imagine it can change depending on the individual shop and if insurance is involved or not.
Tim and I really appreciate your response and kindness tonight - thanks very much for taking the time.
I'm an insurance adjuster. The insurnce company will not pay in this situation. You'll have to file a claim with the insurnce company of the "shop" that repaired your vehicle.
Jamikel, you're not an insurance adjuster or at least not for our company anyway - they didn't even blink. Car is already in the body shop and we don't even know the final cost - paying deductible only.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamikel
And yes, even one speck of Rustoleum on the factory paint will require a re-spray of the entire vehicle.
Repair scenario is the same as it was before all of this ever started - sand and repaint the quarter panel (damaged area only).
I wrote this followup in case anyone finds this thread in a future search and actually believes you about this.
Salud!
Last edited by Freebird; 08-08-2011 at 08:39 PM..
Reason: added quote, moved a sentence
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