Hi,
I'm visiting my local Chev dealer this week to discuss fixing a couple of blemishes. I prefer their quality to the local Joe-Bondo. I'm also going to offer some free advertising in exchange for the work. I "can" also buy my own paint at garage prices - just in case - so I need to know what I'm going to need and know what I'm tlaking about.

Because I still have an original single-stage paint, (repainted 12 years ago), and am not ready for a $2,000 strip & clear coat, what kind of paint should I insist on? Something bullet-proof.

What should I insist on? What should I know about?

A couple of things...

You didn't say what kind of car you have, but if you have an ORIGINAL GM single stage paint that was REPAINTED 12 years ago, then it's almost certain that your original paint was lacquer rather than a "single stage" in today's vernacular.


Any shop, dealership or not, will prefer to use their own paint system regardless of what brand you have on your car. You probably won't save any money by trying to buy your own paint and whatever primers, thinners/reducers or other ingredients necessary. They will do a better job if they use the products they know best. Besides, if something were to go wrong with the job using materials you provided, the excuse can easily be blamed on your materials.

Your "free" advertising in exchange for the work will get you laughed off the premises. They aren't in business to provide their services for free advertising. They'll get the free advertising anyway if they do a good job. If they do a bad job, would you still give them free (good) advertising in exchange for the work?

Forget trying to out-smart the professionals and penny-pinching the job. If you aren't qualified to do the job yourself, select a shop that has a good reputation whether it's a dealership or not. When the job is finished, check it for your satisfaction and pay the bill.

That seems kind of harsh. We all need good deals. Sounds like a good swap. Just do some searches on paint, brands, and colors, find out exactly what you want done to your car. Then bring it on them, if they can do it, you should be good to go. If you can get PPG BC/CC that would be a very good choice :D
What kind of car is it?

I would use whatever paint system they use and go with a single stage urethane.

If you're not going to strip the car and do it right then you might as well bring it to joe bondo graemlins/clonk.gif