New Car, Dent, question about paint

[bobtheman]

Hello. I just bought a new (used) honda civic. White. The front bumper had a small, baseball sized dent. The dealership said they have a 'guy' who can pull it out with a heat gun and will probably need to sand and apply paint to that spot. It's being done today.

My question is this: there isnt a lot of information on it but it appears that applying paint and clear coat on top of an already painted surface is a lot like patching concrete with new concrete - it never forms a tight bond and will eventually fail.

My question is, how concerned should I be about this? How likely will it fail, time frame?

Can I put protection on it like normal or do i need to avoid that spot? This is my planned treatment to the car.


Wash (chem guys citrus wash), MF dry. Iron X decontaminate, Clay bar with lubricant, Dry, Powerlock Plus seal. Let it cure for 24 hours. Two layers of collinite 845 wax.

I'm a bit freaking out about this dent paint job and im hoping it doesnt look like crap or fail in two years. The guy they are using is their guy, and I have no choice in the matter.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hello. I just bought a new (used) honda civic. White. The front bumper had a small, baseball sized dent.

The dealership said they have a 'guy' who can pull it out with a heat gun and will probably need to sand and apply paint to that spot. It's being done today.

My question is this: there isnt a lot of information on it but it appears that applying paint and clear coat on top of an already painted surface is a lot like patching concrete with new concrete - it never forms a tight bond and will eventually fail.

I would say it all comes down to the talent of the person doing the work.

Body shops paint over existing paint all the time, this is called a "blend repair". They do the bodywork and the spray the basecoat over the repair area and feather it out a little past the repair area and the cover the basecoat with clearcoat. IF they don't paint from defined seams or body lines, you will see a section of a panel where the factory clearcoat paint exists and then the newly sprayed clear layer kicks in and then ends somewhere.

Once I had a dent in the middle of a hood and the insurance company would only pay for a "blend" repair and I said no and sold the car to someone that wanted to restore a classic Datsun 260Z and could appreciate the originalness of the car in it's current condition versus have a butchered looking paint job on the front, middle hood. This was a metallic brown paint job and there's no way the blended section was going to actually "blend in". It was a joke but that's what it's like dealing with most insurance companies when it comes to doing a repair. There's the right way and the cheap way and the results are never going to be the same.

But again... technology has come a long way and it all comes down to the talent of the person doing the repair.

My question is, how concerned should I be about this? How likely will it fail, time frame?

That's a personal preference call.

If it's vitally important that your new-to-you Honda looks like a brand new car take the Honda to a real pro and have them fix the affected area and ask for a warranty.

If its a daily driver and you don't want to invest a lot of money into it then give the dealership a shot at it. If it plainly doesn't look right after they are done then tell them the repair is simply not acceptable.

I would also look for a hack job of sanding and buffing after the paint is sprayed. I don't the person doing the work but as a guy that has been answering questions like this for going on 16 years now, my experience tells me that most people don't use

1. Quality sandpaper
2. Quality compounds and polishes
3. The right tools

When it comes to the right tools, it's okay to start with a rotary to remove sanding marks but this will leave holograms. The right way to finish is with an orbital polisher and a foam pad and quality polish.


Just a few weeks ago I taught our 3-day class that includes how to correctly wetsand, cut and buff and I "feel" the results speak for themselves...

Pictures from February 2018 Comp Ready Detailing Class!



Be sure to move the car into bright overhead sunlight and stand in a way where the sun is shining down on the repair area and then bouncing or reflecting back at your eyes. This is how you inspect using the sun.

You might not see the swirls if the car is in a shop, at least not without a swirl finder light.


SCANGRIP Sunmatch Swirl Finder Light - Product Review by Mike Phillips

In this picture you can see my hand and the light, which are in focus while the fender and the light on the fender are out of focus. I want you to see that I'm holding the light about a foot and a half from the fender.

Here's the swirls as revealed by the SCANGRIP Sunmatch Swirl Finder Light

Best of luck to you and welcome to AutogeekOnline!


:welcome:

 

[2black1s]

In your situation the repair process will more than likely be the cheapest the dealer can get by with.

The repair options are as follows (most expensive to least expensive):
1) Replace the bumper cover and refinish as necessary
2) Repair the damage and refinish the entire bumper cover
3) Repair the damage, spot repair and blend the color coat, clear coat the entire bumper cover
4) Repair the damage, spot repair and blend the color coat and clear coat

There are pros and cons to each method.

Without seeing the car and going by your description of the damage I'd probably choose repair option 3) given the choice. My rational for choosing that option is that by blending the color coat you minimize any color-match concern, and then clear-coating the entire panel minimizes any "finish" concern.

With options 1 & 2 color matching would be my main concern. With option 4 the "finish" in the clear-coat blend area would be my main concern.