# Paint fading



## Guest (Aug 31, 2002)

Is it me or does the clear coat just wear off on all/alot of sentras from 92 seems like any sentra i see around has the same paint fading, more like looking like getting eaten away. On the same note whats a good price for a decent paint job?


----------



## RiceBox (Apr 30, 2002)

Try buffing and waxing. It can make even the crappiest paint look good. If that doesn't work get out some rubbing compound and that should clean the paint nicely


----------



## Guest (Aug 31, 2002)

*Paint jobs*

first off, i used to work at a body shop, and i know that you get what you pay for! as in, the $299 maaco special, uhh, yeah, your windows might come back with a shit load of overspray on them. and i can guarantee that the underside will be painted too. and there is no guarantee that the paint wont chip or peel after a little while. if a paint job is done correctly, it should not peel ever. there are also different stages of paints. examples...your nissan has a two stage paint job (more than likely)...as in the paint as a base coat (which looks very dull) and the clearcoat on top of the base coat. the clear coat is what makes the paint look shiny. a single stage paint job (stage 1) is where the paint itself looks shiny, but is not near as durable as a two stage paint job. single stage is usually cheaper because of this. and a three stage is basically a two stage with a pearl effect added as the third stage i.e. very expensive. a reputable shop should be able to get you a decent paint job for around 500-600 dollars.

if your clear coat is already peeling off, then no buffing or waxing will help that. it will just take more of it off.


----------



## ScarCrow28 (May 14, 2002)

hey callaghan,

how much to paint a B13 Sentra with WRX blue? 3 stage? ballpark?


----------



## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

No offense to callaghan, but having priced paint jobs lately I can tell you that $500-$600 probably wouldn't buy you a very good paint job and this would be if there wasn't a ding or spec of rust that they had to fix. I would think more like $2000-$3000. I had an estimate just last week, granted this included repairing existing $1300 of damage that was just inflicted on my SE-R, but I asked how much to reshoot the whole car and fix what I came in to get the estimate for, he said at least $5K. So, if your car has absolutely no dings or rust, you might be able to get away with $1K at the lowest for a 2 stage, but that'd be damn low and I'd be reading the fine print before I signed a check. I've shot 4 paint jobs myself and the paint supplies alone easily runs $400-$500, and I got the stuff at cost because my cousin managed a JD Casey, an autobody paint supplier. Some people will try to cut corners and do the body work themselves, but unless you're outright replacing parts and not doing any rust or ding repair, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who will shoot the car and guarantee their work since they'll be shooting over your work. I think $2K-$3K would be a fair price for a reshoot with minor bodywork. And believe me, it'd be worth every penny, bodywork can be fun, but proper paint prep is the furthest thing from it. If they do it right, it ought to be a three stage, where they shoot a primer sealer before their basecoat and clearcoat. Unless their using a basecoat that is catylized and has NO thinner in it. But I've never heard of anyone shooting a base that had no thinner in it, even if it's catylized.


----------



## Guest (Sep 3, 2002)

toolapcfan: yes you are correct in that if you want the whole car painted, every panel, then it will cost around $1500 - $2000. of course that is with no body damage. i was thinking of my buddies car when i was typing that, and he only needed the clearcoat on the hood, roof, and a quaterpanel. my mistake. some places can do paintless dent removal (PDR) too.


also, you are counting primer as a "stage". im not used to that, because usually everything being painted has to be primered, unless the piece being painted is already painted and just getting a touch - up, so to speak. also, the shop i worked at also has two new things. a new "primer" (its not really a primer, but i wont bore you with what it does...) that requires no scratching (i.e. sanding...) for it to stick. and the paint used has a catylist in it, but no thinner. usually its a 50/50 mix of paint and catylist. its pretty neat stuff, and makes the job a whole lot easier. i should note that i worked in a top notch place. most places have stuff that is a little older, cuz its not nearly as expensive as the new stuff. but the older stuff works just as good, just takes more time to complete the job.

ScarCrow28: well, that depends on things like, do you what the jams painted too? jams are like when you open the hood, and the underside is still, say, white, when you just had the car sprayed black. have the jams painted requires the removal of the piece in most, if not all, cases. this is more money, more labor, etc... for just a base and clearcoat job, i would say around $1000-$1500. since its not the same color, a lot of places will cahrge more, giving you crap about how the paints wont mix, or the previous color will show through. all that is BS. apply enough coats, and white will cover up black paint. i would factor in another $300-$500 for the pearl.


----------



## ScarCrow28 (May 14, 2002)

my car is already a dark blue, the spearment pearl i believe its called. but i like blue on the new wrx's (i saw an older one which was royal blue not the color i want) would that change the price if they could use the base color to their advatage to "mix" and transform into the other shade of blue, which is more pearlly and a bit lighter. (but its not a light blue)


----------



## Guest (Sep 4, 2002)

*mixing paint.*

if you already have paint on your car, then you cannot use it to "mix" with anything else. you have to paint over it or remove it. its not like you can say, add a light shade of blue to a red paint job to get a purple one.


----------



## Beemerboy (Jul 15, 2005)

The fading is nothing more than oxidation in most cases......I have detailed many cars back from the dead with light cut compounds and a rotary buffer.....Then polished and sealed / waxed or both..........If you think this is the case rather the repaint a car have a pro detailer look at it......if I could post pics I could show you examples of this


----------

