SMART paint repair - East London
Discussion
Does anyone have a recommendation for a mobile SMART paint repairer in East London?
I’m having a devil of a time trying to get a quote from anyone.
Seems to be plenty of companies covering Essex, West London, North London and Kent, but not many I can find that cover East London (Docklands).
The paint on question is BMW silver metallic, so they do need to be competent.
Any pointers most appreciated!
I’m having a devil of a time trying to get a quote from anyone.
Seems to be plenty of companies covering Essex, West London, North London and Kent, but not many I can find that cover East London (Docklands).
The paint on question is BMW silver metallic, so they do need to be competent.
Any pointers most appreciated!
Just to add a bit more information:
Unfortunately, my mechanic has chipped the paint on my car, a few large chips. He offered to have the whole panel resprayed, but I'd prefer to keep the original paint if at all possible. Even with a full respray of the bonnet, there is no guarantee that the bonnet would then match the bumper and wings.
The paint code is A08/7. I've already had one SMART repairer tell me they don't want the job as they don't believe they'd be able to match the colour properly, but I'd rather have a small, slightly mismatched area of repair than have the entire bonnet not matching the wings.
How would you guys go about repairing this area? It doesn't need to be 100% perfect / brand new - after all it is a 16 year old car, but it does need to look better than it does now, and protect the bonnet from corrosion.
Any / all suggestions welcomed!
Unfortunately, my mechanic has chipped the paint on my car, a few large chips. He offered to have the whole panel resprayed, but I'd prefer to keep the original paint if at all possible. Even with a full respray of the bonnet, there is no guarantee that the bonnet would then match the bumper and wings.
The paint code is A08/7. I've already had one SMART repairer tell me they don't want the job as they don't believe they'd be able to match the colour properly, but I'd rather have a small, slightly mismatched area of repair than have the entire bonnet not matching the wings.
How would you guys go about repairing this area? It doesn't need to be 100% perfect / brand new - after all it is a 16 year old car, but it does need to look better than it does now, and protect the bonnet from corrosion.
Any / all suggestions welcomed!
Edited by klan8456 on Wednesday 19th June 15:10
The Smart Repairer you spoke to was correct(ish)
Have a read of the first page of this thread regarding Smart repairing a bonnet
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Have a read of the first page of this thread regarding Smart repairing a bonnet
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Thanks, I'll take a look.
All these people seem to have far more work than they can handle. Out of about 15 enquiries, I've only had 4 responses - 2 to say they don't cover my area, one to say they can't match the paint (despite their website saying they can match any paint from the past 30 years), and the final one is actually quite helpful and I'm going to see them on Saturday.
For reference, his guidance was that a SMART repair for metallic silver needs colour resprayed around the size of a beach ball (18 inches), and clear coat extended beyond that. Even with that, the colour match won’t be great.
if you go for a proper body shop repair, then you need to respray the entire bonnet, and likely blend into the wings. This is a huge repair for a couple of relatively small chips – caused by a man who is a great mechanic and who immediately owned up to it and offered to cover the entire cost. I don’t want to punish him for his honesty.
The other repair option is what he called a “posh touch up”, which he explained would be peeling back the cracked paint, touching it in, and getting it as level as possible with the existing paint. You’d still be able to see the repair.
I have the car booked in for them to take a look on Saturday. Seems like a straight up, honest operation. He refused to quote based on email and wanted to talk to me to understand what result I’m trying to achieve, how much I want to spend etc. They also offer a repair upgrade option – e.g. if you go for the SMART repair and you’re not happy, they’ll repair it at a proper body shop and only charge you the cost difference, rather than the full bodyshop cost.
All these people seem to have far more work than they can handle. Out of about 15 enquiries, I've only had 4 responses - 2 to say they don't cover my area, one to say they can't match the paint (despite their website saying they can match any paint from the past 30 years), and the final one is actually quite helpful and I'm going to see them on Saturday.
For reference, his guidance was that a SMART repair for metallic silver needs colour resprayed around the size of a beach ball (18 inches), and clear coat extended beyond that. Even with that, the colour match won’t be great.
if you go for a proper body shop repair, then you need to respray the entire bonnet, and likely blend into the wings. This is a huge repair for a couple of relatively small chips – caused by a man who is a great mechanic and who immediately owned up to it and offered to cover the entire cost. I don’t want to punish him for his honesty.
The other repair option is what he called a “posh touch up”, which he explained would be peeling back the cracked paint, touching it in, and getting it as level as possible with the existing paint. You’d still be able to see the repair.
I have the car booked in for them to take a look on Saturday. Seems like a straight up, honest operation. He refused to quote based on email and wanted to talk to me to understand what result I’m trying to achieve, how much I want to spend etc. They also offer a repair upgrade option – e.g. if you go for the SMART repair and you’re not happy, they’ll repair it at a proper body shop and only charge you the cost difference, rather than the full bodyshop cost.
klan8456 said:
Thanks, I'll take a look.
All these people seem to have far more work than they can handle. Out of about 15 enquiries, I've only had 4 responses - 2 to say they don't cover my area, one to say they can't match the paint (despite their website saying they can match any paint from the past 30 years), and the final one is actually quite helpful and I'm going to see them on Saturday.
They're not getting back to you and/or making excuses because they know it's a job that can't successfully be smart repaired.All these people seem to have far more work than they can handle. Out of about 15 enquiries, I've only had 4 responses - 2 to say they don't cover my area, one to say they can't match the paint (despite their website saying they can match any paint from the past 30 years), and the final one is actually quite helpful and I'm going to see them on Saturday.
They may well be busy ….. but that's only because they are only doing jobs that can be Smart Repaired. There's simply no point in them taking on jobs that are going to turn out looking absolute rubbish and ruining their reputation as decent Smart Repairers.
klan8456 said:
For reference, his guidance was that a SMART repair for metallic silver needs colour resprayed around the size of a beach ball (18 inches), and clear coat extended beyond that. Even with that, the colour match won’t be great.
To say the colour match won't be great is an understatement ….. it will stand out like a sore thumb - and if he's not going to lacquer the whole bonnet so will the transition from new to old lacquer. Two patches for the price of one!
You’d think they would at least have the courtesy of politely declining the job, if they can’t do it. The one who did is the one I will use for other repairs in future. He was prompt, politely declined, and obviously has standards so won’t take on work that won’t meet these standards.
As to the rest of them...
As to the rest of them...
Gassing Station | Bodywork & Detailing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff