How do I fix this?

[Duffy]

When I recieved the car(2001 zx2) the drivers door panels paint looked kinda distorted, its a redish/brozish(stock color), my dad swears up and down its sun damage but idk, its about one foot long and 7-8 inches tall, it starts where the window does and heads downwards, the distortion is kinda a foggy look still red but a little less vibrant and it feels a little more coarse when you run your hand over the rest of the body. can i buff this out? i dont have an electric buffer or the money to buy one, i have about 30 bucks or so i can spend on it, first can it be restored? and if so what do i need?
*where the flash is is the distorted area, i wiped the salt off around it btw*

Thanks,
Duffy

[iceracer]

Rubbing and polishing compounds are readily available at your local auto parts store.
Just go easy so that you don't go through the paint. The discolaration is most likely the clear coat. When you get done, apply some wax.

[Duffy]

thanks alot, just curious, what could cause the clearcoat to come off in just on small spot?

[zx2cambo]

sun and weather over time..

[Duffy]

I gonna have to start parking the z in the garage then, ugh. /:

[ZeeEcksTwo]

Get it cleared up & wax that spot 56 times.

[mechtech]

Maybe the car was repaired there?

[yellow2000S/R]

Car was most likely repaired there. Probably one of the guys that goes around to shops and does small repairs outside with a little touch up gun. Probably single stage also.

[Duffy]

can i go to the dealership or something and just get that spot painted and i have another scuff my damn step mom put on the bumper before i got it. or do i need to buy the paint from the dealership then have someone else do it?

[zx2cambo]

i wouldnt go to the dealership...just a body shop...your car will have a paint code on the door..so they can match it

[yellow2000S/R]

i wouldnt go to the dealership...just a body shop...your car will have a paint code on the door..so they can match it

Whats wrong with going to a dealership to get it painted?

The Mercedes dealership I work for has its own 30k sq ft body shop. The dealership is rated #3 out of 386 Mercedes dealerships in the nation. The body shop also got the Readers Choice for 2008 in Harrisbug Magazine.

Just throwing some quick facts out there haha. BTW, I put my 2 weeks notice in last friday due to horrible management practices (not following handbook when there are "employee" issues) and a jackass painter that I have to deal with directly.


Body work side


Prep/primer booths


Prep area and paint booths

[zx2cambo]

price...your gonna pay 3x more at a stealership than a body shop

[yellow2000S/R]

price...your gonna pay 3x more at a stealership than a body shop

Wrong again. A good paint job is a good paint job. Its all going to cost.

Insurance companies go through who is good, then figured into that is who is cheaper while maintaining quality. Body/Paint work is $44-$49/hr at our shop depending on the insurance provider.

We actually give "customer pay" people a brake and drop the rates to $42-$45 and dont always include everything if its something smaller to try to sway them into getting us to do it.

What do I know? Go to a "body shop" that is 1/3 the price of the "stealership" and let me know how your paint is holding up 1-5 yrs down the road. Hell, in some cases it doesnt even last a few months on bumpers. You aren't going to find somewhere that only charges $15-$16.33/hr that does quality work unless its somebody doing it on the side out of their own place. Even then you'd probably get charged at least $20/hr.

[mechtech]

Many body shops will look at that car and tack on ridiculous fees for the estimate. Like time for hinges and window regulators, etc.. Stuff that does NOT need to be done, but since they are the 'experts', they get away with it.
Paint from the side molding up.
Red is the worst fade color there is.
Good luck with a match.

[iceracer]

Try polishing it first before spending lots of money. Seems odd that both of those panels would have had to be repaired in that way.