Car Repair: Fixing The Paint Job

If you’ve had your vehicle for any length of time, chances are the paint doesn’t look quite as immaculate and shiny as it did the day you drove it off the lot. With time, dings and scratches can appear in the paint job, and if you live in certain areas, the air itself can begin to take a toll after some time. If you want a great new paint job, you can always take it in to a trusted car repair or auto body shop and get the works. If you don’t feel like spending that much money, however, here are some car repair basics that can get that paint job looking fresh again. Our range of car paint protection in Melbourne have been developed with cutting edge techniques with the sole purpose of protecting your vehicle’s paint against chipping, abrasions, scratches and ultraviolet rays.

Your first stop will be your local paint jobber. Take your car there and ask for one of two solutions. Either you can look through their chip books to find the right match for your make and model, or you can have them use a special chromatic camera to match the color. In most cases, it is better to go with the predefined chip in the book if it is available and your car hasn’t been repainted before. Once you’ve found the right color, purchase all you need to make the fixes. Most jobbers will sell you paint in increments as small as a pint. You also may need thinner and clear coat depending on what type of paint you purchase.

Before you begin spraying your car, make sure you spray the paint on a test panel to make sure the color is a match. This can be very difficult to discern by simply looking at it in the can. Anything less than an exact match will stand out like a sore thumb. If the paint isn’t an exact match, you should go back to the jobber and complain, can of paint in hand. Don’t wait until you’ve used all the paint to go back and ask for a refund. It’s unlikely you will be accommodated, particularly since most paint jobbers do the majority of their business through the local body shops and don’t have a great deal of time for small individual sales.

If you don’t feel comfortable doing the work yourself, by all means head to a car repair shop and have them do it for you. You can even purchase the paint ahead of time and bring it with you if you so choose, though this is unnecessary. Ask the local paint jobber which body shops in the area they recommend. Keep in mind that there are two different kinds of shops: those that do high quality work for a premium price, and those that use cut rate paint but charge very little. Know more which type of shop you want to go to will depend on your long term plans for your vehicle.