A lot of you have asked questions about things your regular local body shop can do for you. However, it’s never been explained very much how you should pick the right shop to do your work. I have some time to kill at work, so I figured I would write up something real quick. This FAQ is outlined for everyone that has questions about what shop is god and what shop is bad. If you have any other questions, you guys know how to get ahold of me! Good luck….
Please read this FAQ really well, if you’re planning on taking the big step of turning your car over to a complete stranger. By stranger I mean those guys at your local shop. A little planning and pre-thinking can save you a lot of issues. There are some very reputable shops out there with very talented employees. Those shops take great pride in their work, do a terrific job, are really cool to work with. The bad side to all of this, are the bad shops. These outnumber the good ones by quite a bit. You can avoid the bad experiences if you choose carefully and pay attention to a few important things. Here are things that I recommend to people when they are looking for a shop and can’t make it out to mine.
Go To Shows:
At shows you can find examples of paintwork you like. You don’t need to find an exact replica of how you want your car to look. Go beyond the paint style and graphics and concentrate on the quality of the fit, and finish. If you like what you see, speak to the owner and ask if they had a good experience with the shop that did their work.
Make Time To Visit Shops:
Word of mouth has hopefully given you the names of a few good shops and now you have to check into them. Don’t fall in love with the first shop you see. Check out all your options first. Speak to the shop owners or managers and decide if you like the way your treated. Ask a lot of questions and ask to tour the work area. Look for space, how clean the place is, the right equipment, and make sure there is any long abandonded cars that looks like they were half finished projects. You’ll be trusting the shop with your car, so make sure you feel comfy with the peeps that will be working on it.
Questions To Ask:
It’s really impotant that you know how much the work will cost and how long it will take. The estimates should be set in stone and guranteed. You can allow for a little breathing room, such as price increases due to hidden damage that the shop later finds, but you shouldn’t be expected to pay double or have the job take 3 times the stated time period to finish. Remember to get quotes in writing. Ask how your vehicle will be prepped and what materials will be used. Will the paint be brand name and will the parts be OE (original equipment).
Drawing: (optional)
A good thing to do is to have a friend or artist draw up how you expect your car to appear when its completed. You can show the drawing to everybody involved in the build up, and make it clear what you want done. Many of the top shops in the country have drawings made before hand and the finished work matches almost perfectly.
Budget:
Know how much money you have and stick to it. A shop can work with you on it but you have to know your limit. Don’t make big plans and then run out of cash before the paint goes on. Paint jobs are expensive as most of you know. They can range anywhere from $1500 to $25,000.
Prep Work:
The final paint is only as good as the bodywork beneath it. Make sure all repairs and mods are done primarily on metal. Ask to check out heavily worked or repairs before any paint or filler goes on. Try to go and check out the work done to your car as much as possib;e, but don’t over step your boundries. *lol* Any waves or depressions greater than 1/16 inch is unacceptable. If the shop doesn’t properly metal finish and applies too much body filler, don’t expect your investment to last very long. A place that doesn’t allow you to inspect the metal finished product shouldn’t be trusted.
Body Filler:
It’s not the enemy that people make it out to be as long as an experienced person is working with it. Plastic filler can make a body as straight as arrow when used right. By that, I mean using it to a maximum pf 1/16 of an inch. When filler is misused to hide poor work, it can be a nightmare. If it’s used to fill rust that developed because of trapped moisture, count on the filler falling out within 6 months.
Finishing the work:
Hopefully you’ve got through picking a shop and having your car painted and now it’s reassembly time. You can either have the shop reassemble it or put it back together yourself. If you or the shop is smart, it was planned ahead and everything was labeled during disassembly. If you follow what I wrote here and found a good worthy shop to do your work, then everything should be a good experience. Good luck with everything….
Choosing A Body Shop
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