Discussion
I don't want to start the age old debate smart repair v body shop but...
I know smart repairs are down to the skill of the operator, so given I do my research and find a good one...
I have a 6 month old BMW with an inch long scratch on the upper portion of the door 6 inches from the mirror and 2 inches down from the window. It's through the clear so no getting it out.
If I found said excellent operator would the repair be undectable? I'm a fussy bugger!
What do we think? It seems mad to have a body shop paint the whole door, which probably won't match under the street lamp on my drive
I know smart repairs are down to the skill of the operator, so given I do my research and find a good one...
I have a 6 month old BMW with an inch long scratch on the upper portion of the door 6 inches from the mirror and 2 inches down from the window. It's through the clear so no getting it out.
If I found said excellent operator would the repair be undectable? I'm a fussy bugger!
What do we think? It seems mad to have a body shop paint the whole door, which probably won't match under the street lamp on my drive
What would you like someone to say ????
Yes a good Smart bloke can sort it for half of a normal bodyshop job.
(You then think you've found one. It happens that he does a job that doesn't meet your high standards - and you're not happy!)
or .......
Only go for a full and proper bodyshop job at 10 times the price of a Smart repair. (You then think you've found one. It happens that he does a job that doesn't meet your high standards - and you're not happy!)
What price are you willing to pay?
Find someone that can do the job for that price - but check out their previous jobs before committing.
Yes a good Smart bloke can sort it for half of a normal bodyshop job.
(You then think you've found one. It happens that he does a job that doesn't meet your high standards - and you're not happy!)
or .......
Only go for a full and proper bodyshop job at 10 times the price of a Smart repair. (You then think you've found one. It happens that he does a job that doesn't meet your high standards - and you're not happy!)
What price are you willing to pay?
Find someone that can do the job for that price - but check out their previous jobs before committing.
You're not asking for the impossible - there are thousands, if not millions, of repaired cars out there that when parked under street lights don't scream 'look at my repair' - but .....
Logic dictates that no sprayer can ever 100% guarantee a 100% colour match.
Even the way paint is applied (heavy/light coats) can change the appearance of a colour (more especially on silvers). So even if they had a tin of the exact same batch of paint as your car - they are mere humans as opposed to the robots that applied the paint in the first place.
So the best way to avoid any shade issues is to blend the colour into the adjoining panels and for as perfect as anybody could do your job it would probably also require the mirror, door handle(s) window trims etc, etc to be removed - all in all a job best suited to a bodyshop.
Logic dictates that no sprayer can ever 100% guarantee a 100% colour match.
Even the way paint is applied (heavy/light coats) can change the appearance of a colour (more especially on silvers). So even if they had a tin of the exact same batch of paint as your car - they are mere humans as opposed to the robots that applied the paint in the first place.
So the best way to avoid any shade issues is to blend the colour into the adjoining panels and for as perfect as anybody could do your job it would probably also require the mirror, door handle(s) window trims etc, etc to be removed - all in all a job best suited to a bodyshop.
Repaired properly scratches aren't usually filled - they are sanded back and feathered out (unless it's actually scratched the panel skin)
As much as I like to keep my repair work small I would never tell a customer that the colour (especially a silver) would only go so far around the repair. simply because I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't need to blend further. That said if it's a shop you've taken it to they could tell you anything as you're not going to be there watching their every move. If they find they do need to go bigger they can (without telling you and at their cost) and going bigger is much easier in a shop.
It all sounds fairly positive.
But don't limit yourself to what one shop says - visit a few, view their work, ask questions, re-visit and ask more questions if necessary and then go for the one that gives you most confidence.
As much as I like to keep my repair work small I would never tell a customer that the colour (especially a silver) would only go so far around the repair. simply because I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't need to blend further. That said if it's a shop you've taken it to they could tell you anything as you're not going to be there watching their every move. If they find they do need to go bigger they can (without telling you and at their cost) and going bigger is much easier in a shop.
It all sounds fairly positive.
But don't limit yourself to what one shop says - visit a few, view their work, ask questions, re-visit and ask more questions if necessary and then go for the one that gives you most confidence.
Feel free to get in touch with me or Michelle directly if we can be of help about your estimate and/or booking.
We do whatever we can to keep quality high and customers happy because we don't take work from being on an insurer's list - our business lives or dies on recommendations and repeat business.
That said, as I've just gone over in another thread, there's no such thing as perfection in body repair. I can be *extremely* verbose about the many reasons why - you've already raised metamerism - but rather than put PH to sleep, I'll save the long version for a chat in person.
Tol
Edited by Anatol on Wednesday 17th April 17:02
Right ... let's put a bit of common sense into this ....
A repair is a repair - no matter what it might be you're having 'visually' repaired it will no longer be the same thing as when it came 'out of the box' ... as when it was 'pure'.
Nobody - but nobody would or could ever guarantee that a visual repair on anything would be completely 100% undetectable. (Even repairs [restoration] on The Worlds master pieces hanging in galleries around the world could be detected.)
On a car no matter how small the damage may have been, and no matter how good the repairer (even if you're willing to spend £KK's) there is always going to be a chance (no matter how small) that because you know there has been repair that you (knowing that there has been a repair) will (if your OCD) spot something.
And so I put it to the OP ....
(if you're not willing to take the small risk that whilst using one of the most honest repairers in the business still think you may not be happy if you find a fault when inspecting the repair at microscopic level under a sodium lamp, ultraviolet lamp, or similar)
.... either put up with the damage or buy a new car.
A repair is a repair - no matter what it might be you're having 'visually' repaired it will no longer be the same thing as when it came 'out of the box' ... as when it was 'pure'.
Nobody - but nobody would or could ever guarantee that a visual repair on anything would be completely 100% undetectable. (Even repairs [restoration] on The Worlds master pieces hanging in galleries around the world could be detected.)
On a car no matter how small the damage may have been, and no matter how good the repairer (even if you're willing to spend £KK's) there is always going to be a chance (no matter how small) that because you know there has been repair that you (knowing that there has been a repair) will (if your OCD) spot something.
And so I put it to the OP ....
(if you're not willing to take the small risk that whilst using one of the most honest repairers in the business still think you may not be happy if you find a fault when inspecting the repair at microscopic level under a sodium lamp, ultraviolet lamp, or similar)
.... either put up with the damage or buy a new car.
Edited by Squiggs on Wednesday 17th April 23:00
Edited by Squiggs on Wednesday 17th April 23:04
All that said though mate (and like I said earlier) there are millions of cars that have been repaired out there - and I bet some of their owners are fussier than you (surely you don't hold the title 'The worlds fussiest bugger' 
) and yet I'm willing to bet the majority of these fussy buggers are probably more than happy with their repairs (assuming they chose a good repairer)
Sometimes it's about trusting the repairer, and if you've chosen your repairer properly (which you had) and then happen to find you're not happy with the repair you don't have to slit your wrists.
You simply point out to your trusted repairer what's wrong and he'll put it right.
For some repairers (and I know this will include Tol) it's not simply about knocking out repairs and getting the money in - it's about meeting and then exceeding the customers expectations that brings job satisfaction.
..... but some people are just too fussy for their own health ....
I once had the owner of a brand new silver Merc AMG thingy carefully point out to me what was less than a pin prick of black paint within the silver paint on the wing.
I asked him why he hadn't taken it back to Merc. He said he had but they told him it was within their tolerances (and I strongly suspect this was true and that they were not fobbing him off).
I politely asked that if it was within Mercs tolerances and the vehicle was painted by robots in a multi million pound sterile factory how he expected me, a mere human working in his garage, to better Mercs work? And declined the job.
Continued much later cos I was cut short cos I had to go out ....
There is no doubt what-so-ever that if the chappie mentioned above had scoured the country that he would have somewhere found a shop to take on the the job - and that it may also of exceeded the finish of Mercs original paint work - but I strongly suspect it would of cost him thousands
) and yet I'm willing to bet the majority of these fussy buggers are probably more than happy with their repairs (assuming they chose a good repairer)Sometimes it's about trusting the repairer, and if you've chosen your repairer properly (which you had) and then happen to find you're not happy with the repair you don't have to slit your wrists.
You simply point out to your trusted repairer what's wrong and he'll put it right.
For some repairers (and I know this will include Tol) it's not simply about knocking out repairs and getting the money in - it's about meeting and then exceeding the customers expectations that brings job satisfaction.
..... but some people are just too fussy for their own health ....
I once had the owner of a brand new silver Merc AMG thingy carefully point out to me what was less than a pin prick of black paint within the silver paint on the wing.
I asked him why he hadn't taken it back to Merc. He said he had but they told him it was within their tolerances (and I strongly suspect this was true and that they were not fobbing him off).
I politely asked that if it was within Mercs tolerances and the vehicle was painted by robots in a multi million pound sterile factory how he expected me, a mere human working in his garage, to better Mercs work? And declined the job.
Continued much later cos I was cut short cos I had to go out ....
There is no doubt what-so-ever that if the chappie mentioned above had scoured the country that he would have somewhere found a shop to take on the the job - and that it may also of exceeded the finish of Mercs original paint work - but I strongly suspect it would of cost him thousands
Edited by Squiggs on Thursday 18th April 20:35
Edited by Squiggs on Thursday 18th April 20:43
A bit of follow up on this;
After all the advice I used Anatol for our Company van today, to sort out some damage on a sliding door. From Michelle coming out to quote to the work being done all good, and I can not see the repair! (Note I had the Driver sort out the quote, but I did take him to collect van this afternoon)
So credit where due, an excellent job.
Now for the flip side...
I p/x the silver BMW, complete with scratch (obviously scratch was not the reason, was scratching the M135i itch)
They have carried out a spot repair which I being noses decided to take a look at. I saw it from 20 yards! Yes I know where to look, but I'd have cried if I still owned that car.
So both sides of the coin.
After all the advice I used Anatol for our Company van today, to sort out some damage on a sliding door. From Michelle coming out to quote to the work being done all good, and I can not see the repair! (Note I had the Driver sort out the quote, but I did take him to collect van this afternoon)
So credit where due, an excellent job.
Now for the flip side...
I p/x the silver BMW, complete with scratch (obviously scratch was not the reason, was scratching the M135i itch)
They have carried out a spot repair which I being noses decided to take a look at. I saw it from 20 yards! Yes I know where to look, but I'd have cried if I still owned that car.
So both sides of the coin.
Edited by B1ggest on Wednesday 17th July 21:09
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