I've been thinking of re-painting my Forest Green CL to the new "Electric Blue" colour. Any insight into the hardships of having the car repainted?
Defentley not going to Macco for this!

 

well.. as long as you do it right... strip the old paint off to bare metal and start on a new surface... you should be fine... it will be costly to do, but worth it... I have had cars stripped but only the top coats, then primed and painted and the original layers underneath cracked through.... so I had spider webs going around my car.. thank god it was a hooptie...

 

Also another thing to remember about repainting your car...remember that your resale value drops major time if you repaint. Something about it not being as good as the original..even if you got it done at acura dealerships!

 

I read in the TL forum that one reason the resale value drops is because people always assume that a repainted car was in a major accident.

 

how much is that going to run you?

 

Yep, I agree with Capser. If it's done right it will look pretty tight. I like that new Electric Blue colour, too. If you do it right and invest good $$$ into it, you'll sure have a one-of-a-kind! Would be interesting to see how that color would look on a CL!

 

the CL is a hard car to do anything... i thought buying rims was hard... i just tried to think of a color to repaint my car if i had to and i am having a hrad time thinking of one thats unique and would look good.. what color you guys think would be different and still HOT with our body design and lights etc...???

 

I strongly suggest not to. Not only will you resale go down, but if you want it done right it will really cost you. The right way to change the color of a car is not only to paint the outside but also the door jams and the engine bay, which means taking the engine out. You would be better off selling your car and finding a CL in that color.

 

Thats just me 2 cents thought!

 

point KIKAZ... nice job / good thinking!!!!!

 

I've been thinking about painting my car too! The only difference is that I want the same color. Mine is black and the paint is getting really dull. I've waxed and polished it, but it just doesnt look right. Also it has some door dings on the door so might as well have those repaired if I paint it. Im thinking about repainting it the same color because that way I wouldn't have to worry about the door jams and the engine bay. Just the outside.

 

Have you been doing those detail jobs yourself, Repo? If so, I might suggest that you take your car to a highly qualified shop that does like restoration work on expensive classics and the like. I take my car once to twice a year to a very reputable (though costly) place here in town. They have the car all day and do a remarkable job in that relatively short time. I pamper my car yet when I get it back they manage to make the car look ten times better than when I brought it in. The shop is owned and maintained by this city's Mercedes Benz and specialty car store. I pay $250 (cause my car is usually in immaculate shape when I bring it in) but the regular rate is $295 and they do everything one could possibly do. So, that's my thought on that. If you can find some place to do that, it might save you some cash and then you wouldn't run the risk of losing precious resale value in the end

 

Nope. I've been taking it to a shop by my house. They do detailing and stuff. The only reason why I might repaint the whole car is because the door has a lot of dents in it. It has one that is really nasty too! Then on the other side some a$$hole keyed it!!! It is almost to the metal!!! So in my case repainting the car will add value to my car. It looks messed up if I dont. But if I do paint it I'm willing to shell out at least a grand. I want someone who knows what they are doing not like those messed up piant shops advertised on t.v. I know this guy that paints lowriders and leaves them looking like they came out of a showroom or something. He told me that he would charge me 1300 guaranteed at least for like 5 years. But thanks anyway MauiWowie for the idea.

 

you getting ripped off BIG time!!!! go to a detailer.... a person that washes and waxes cars... nota dealer owned one... especially mercedes... you CRAZY girl paying $250... even crazier paying $295...

I get my car detailed for $150 including:

hand wash
buffer compound
hand wax
clear coat glaze
anti-brake dust rim coating(only lasts like 2 days )
engine steaming and waxing(those damn painted parts )
tire shine
carpet washed & vacuumed
dusting
amoralling dash
leather cleaner & conditioner
& windows....


Sorry for long list.. but what can you do!!!

 

damn I do all that myself for less than 30.

 

I have always said that when or if someone keys my car, or there's hail damage or whatever, I'm gonna get it painted that really deep blue/purple that the past couple years Integras are... I don't recall the name. I wouldn't do it without a reason though...

I want to take it to a place for a professional detailing session, just because when I wax it, little white specks show up in all of my little nicks on the front end where gravel has hit it, so they're all majorly visible, and like someone else said, the color is just pretty dull these days, no matter what I do.

My dad suggested using blue wax, which would dry blue, and not leave white specks... does anyone know of a colored wax product? That would be great for me cuz then I could do it myself, and not worry about the car looking like someone sneezed wite-out all over it. *hopeful smile*...

 

angel... devil.. whoever.. go check detailing trhreads or post question there.. they would know definitely!

 

I agree. Maui, your paying that much simply because the place primarily does MB's, Bimmers and Jag's. I think that a lot also. I have a friend that does pro detailing and he charges about $150 at his shop, depending on what you want/ need.

 

Depending on what part of the country you live in, $150 to $300 for a complete in-and-out detail seems to be the going rate! And if Maui is happy with the place that does it for $250 (i.e., SHE feels that she's getting her money's worth), then she's not getting ripped off at all!

 

just becaiuse she might feel its worth it to her doesnt mean she aint getting ripped off... If she pays higher than standard detailing price... she is losing out....

now i agree it all depends geographically as well... but no way you pay anywheree near $300.00 in NY... maybe $200 at an expensive place!!!

 

I gotta agree about over $200 being a lot for detailing. The place my Mom goes is like $125 and they do an awesome job. I personally don't trust my car with other people. I do it all myself because I've seen how some of these "professional" places do their work and it's exactly the same thing I would do for about three hours time and maybe $20 worth of stuff (at the most). My time is not worth close to $100 an hour, especially when I don't mind doing it all. It's not hard or even time consuming if you keep up on it.

As far as painting your car (the original topic) at least be sure to paint the door jams and the bottom of the trunk and hood. The engine bay is okay if you had a black CL, but will look kinda bad if it was white or green or silver. My del Sol was repainted white last summer (it was black before), so opening the hood, it still looks great. If it had been another color, I would have pulled the engine and done the engine bay too.