Any of you guys familiar with detail shop capabilities?

[maroonandwhite]

Heres the short version. I normally take all of the emblems off of any vehicle I get at some time or another. Well this weekend I debadged my silverado as well as pulled the moulding off of the doors. The passenger side looks great but to my horror one side of the door looks like maybe the paint tech put the moudling on before the clear coat dried. I have about a paint layer thickness difference in where the moulding was and the rest of the paint.

 

My question is this something that a good detail shop could wet sand and/or buff out or would I be looking and body shop type work?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LI0NSFAN]

Best chance would be a body shop or a mobile paint guy. The mobile paint guy that the dealership we got our "new" car at did an amazing job. He wet sanded and blended new paint to the point that it looked just like factory paint. I have worked at dealerships in the past and found for the money they do the best job. I was told they do it for about 1/4 the cost of a body shop.

[maroonandwhite]

Wow I would have enver expeceted that. I am used to the astronomical prices at the toyota parts ocunter though haha. I have never been to the Chevy dealer. I figure I will take one day and ride around and let a few folks look at it and get some quotes. Any ideas what a job like this might run me?

[Guest AmericanWorkMule]

What do you do or use to take all of the emblems off of a vehicle?

I want to start doing this.
I hate when a Dealership puts free their advertising on the back of a car.

 

[maroonandwhite]

The best investment you can make is a 3m eraser wheel. It makes getting the old tape a piece of cake. You can either use a hair dryer and heat them up then peel them off or get some 20lb test fishing line and work it in a sawing motion behind the emblems. It will cut right through them. Goof of will take the leftover film/residue off.

[tennessee01tacoma]

I'll chime in as I have done this before also.  Take a hair dryer to the emblem get them hot to the touch and pull or use plastic pry tools to remove.  For larger emblems still use a hair dryer but you will need fishing line like 20lb test.  After heating the emblem pull the fishing line under the emblem and work back and forth almost like a pocket saw.  eventually you will have it loose enough to just pull off. 

 

There will still be adhesive left over.  I'll second the 3m eraser wheel, they work like a charm.  also a little goo gone or other clear coat safe adhesive remover will work with some elbow grease.

[AU_88]

I'll third the 3m eraser wheel.

[Wyldk2]

What about a decal on the window. My friend Holly bought a truck from the company that laid her off( got a great deal) and they had their logo on the back window. She took it off and even there was some residue, goof off took that off and now she can still see the image in the light or when someone shines headlights on her back glass. How do you get rid of that?

[maroonandwhite]

Goof off and more elbow grease will take any residue off of glass. If it's been on there a while it will just take some time for it to fade away.

 

Now, back to the topic at hand. :pleased:

[LI0NSFAN]

Wow I would have enver expeceted that. I am used to the astronomical prices at the toyota parts ocunter though haha. I have never been to the Chevy dealer. I figure I will take one day and ride around and let a few folks look at it and get some quotes. Any ideas what a job like this might run me?

every paint guy is going to be different. The guy our dealer used worked on for about $40/hr. I don't know if it was a good deal or not but I felt it was for the quality we got and as fast as our car was ready. We dropped it off in the morning and we picked it up the next morning. The dealership said he did not come until 2pm and was there for 3 hours. So we paid $120 and he basically re painted the drivers side. An idiot at food city ran his truck along the driver side it didn't dent anything but scraped the paint along the whole side. It was cheaper to use him then file an insurance claim. Edited April 29, 2013 by LI0NSFAN

[maroonandwhite]

If I can get that deal I'd be happier than a pig in the mud!

[maroonandwhite]

Just called the dealer and they told me it's going to be an easy fix and that it won't cost much. Said they'd probably just sand the edge down and spray some clear on it.

[Patton]

I've seen this situation before with the clear coat coming off during decal or moulding. Normally you want to strip the clear coat off the entire area to a seam or corner. Simply reapply clear coat, pretty effortless and should be at the Max $300, probably closer to $200.

[maroonandwhite]

Yeah that's my guess too. I'm hoping around $200. I got a really good vibe from the guy like they wouldn't "take me to town" on it. I'll probably have to invest in a good polish/wax kit afterwards as well. I am very relieved though. I know it's bad to be so materialistic but my heart sunk when I saw that haha. My truck is my child until I have a child.

[Ted S.]

Depends on the various thicknesses of the paint that needs repair. If you can find a reptable detailer with liability insurance and a decent paint thickness guage, sometimes they can wet sand with various grit sandpapers smooth and use a compound and polish to finish the job. Depending on the amount of orange peel already in the rest of the clear will let you know if this will stick out after being corrected. Of course, by the time a detailer cleans, clays, preps, sands, and buffs the paint to a uniform appearance, you would be looking at a pretty penny, and possible too little clear coat remaining in some spots.

 

If the clearcoat is too thin in some places, I would recommend what Patton recommended, new clear.

[Sam1]

I'll chime in as I have done this before also. Take a hair dryer to the emblem get them hot to the touch and pull or use plastic pry tools to remove. For larger emblems still use a hair dryer but you will need fishing line like 20lb test. After heating the emblem pull the fishing line under the emblem and work back and forth almost like a pocket saw. eventually you will have it loose enough to just pull off.

There will still be adhesive left over. I'll second the 3m eraser wheel, they work like a charm. also a little goo gone or other clear coat safe adhesive remover will work with some elbow grease.

+1 for this, I detailed cars for about 3 years in my uncle's body shop through high school and this is what we would do before any paint corrections.

It's almost always impossible to say method abc or xyz works for paint corrections by looking at a picture, so if the above doesn't work find a reputable local high-end retailer to give you an in person quote. Don't go to Joe Bob, even though white paint hides flaws, they can jack up the paint job real quick

[Patton]

I'll probably have to invest in a good polish/wax kit afterwards as well.

Well, let me be the first to recommend http://www.zainostore.com/

[maroonandwhite]

+1 for this, I detailed cars for about 3 years in my uncle's body shop through high school and this is what we would do before any paint corrections.

It's almost always impossible to say method abc or xyz works for paint corrections by looking at a picture, so if the above doesn't work find a reputable local high-end retailer to give you an in person quote. Don't go to Joe Bob, even though white paint hides flaws, they can jack up the paint job real quick

 

Yeah I did a little research last night and this dealer (Sunrise chevy in Collierville) is supposed to have a real good rep for body and service work. They work on any makes and models and have a huge shop. I bought the truck from them as well. I hope it's as easy as he made it out to be.

 

The crazy thing is now I am wondering what happened to my truck before I bought it. One owner, clean carfax, older gentleman owned it and barely drove it. It's a 2008 with only 25k on it when I bought it at the end of 2012. Only thing I can figure is maybe someone or something just ran into the side of it and they had to repaint. They did a heck of a good job other than not removing the molding to paint behind it.

[Capbyrd]

Give Joe a shout and see what he says.  Joe is hands down, the best auto detailer I have ever seen and I have seen him do some amazing things.  

http://www.wordofmouthdetailing.com

 

 

 

As for the person asking about stickers on glass, the 3m eraser wheel can be used on glass too but you need to be careful.  Practice on something first before you attack anything you like and read the directions.  

[maroonandwhite]

Capbyrd I just called Joe and he recommended going to the body shop as well. He reitereated that they would probably try to sand it a little and just build up that spot with clear. Thanks for the number though. I may let him have it after I get this fixed.

[Capbyrd]

When it comes to paint issues, I always get Joe's opinion before I go anywhere.  I have a body shop that I deal with and do a lot of business with but I usually try Joe first. The man is pretty awesome! 

[maroonandwhite]

Care to share the body shop? Wouldn't hurt for me to get a few quotes.

[Patton]

Did you but that truck used? It looks to me like someone probably painted or applied a clear coat after the trim was on.

[maroonandwhite]

Yes I did buy it used and I am pretty sure that is what happened. I'm thinking it probably had some body work done on that side and that it was never filed or reported hence the clean carfax.

[Patton]

Yes I did buy it used and I am pretty sure that is what happened. I'm thinking it probably had some body work done on that side and that it was never filed or reported hence the clean carfax.

I would say 75% of used cars and trucks receive paint and body work at car dealerships. This isn't a bad thing, just makes them look nicer. I'm sure yours was probably damage from a shopping cart or something stupid but take carfax with a grain of salt. I have seen some cars once shaped like boomerangs come back clean on carfax. Edited April 30, 2013 by Patton