To repaint, touchup, or to replace?
 

So i asked my local mechanic, he specializes in auto body, upholstery, and all that. I have two pictures, and i want ur input guys. Should i buy a new part for each part that i need to be repainted or just go on with the touchup paint?

http://i43.tinypic.com/33ljj42.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/2vru3py.jpg

which will u do?

I say just repaint, finding or replacing the bumper and your headlight could cost a lot more and if they`re in a different color you would still have to repaint. Here are pictures of my whole bumper paint job.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7350461...7633513596752/

that looks beautiful, man. ya i dont have much time. i have to go to work and family business. so u reckon i should just let the mechanic guy write me up? whats the usual cost, feel like its going to be comming out of my piggy bank lol

how do i remove the rust and then i do something or do i paint over it?

Thanks, I`am real happy with the results of the paint job too! And for the rust just sand over it so that it is smoooth, that should do the trick and the pimer and paint would cover it up. And the cost of the bumper could be quite hefty, since they would have to sand down and repaint the whole bumper if you want it to get done correctly.

oooh okay thanks for the response.

Personally I'd have it done by a shop since it appears to be a metallic finish & it can be hard to get right from a can. If the guy's worth the name of auto body specialist He'll be able to blow in the bumper to a degree that'll look OK if you didn't want to have the whole thing done. (It won't be perfect, but should be barely visible unless you crouched next to it).

Just my 2p (sterling) :D

Most shops charge 150-200$ to spray a bumper

lol most guys esp some car enthusiasts would go up to it and say hmmm wait is that a TOUCHUP paint i see?!!! lol but ehh i agree but is there a way to make it blend in? beacuse my paint is atleast 24 yrs old. if lets say i have a new paint it would look diff, its like a white paper that you pour water on and another fresh piece of paper and you compare it. or do i tell them to get me the OEM that blue metallic?

A skilled shop can match the existing paint... Many have a device which actually measures the color versus just eyeballing the mixture.

ohhh im going to ask then, so they wont scam me. I just like the original metallic blue. Keep it a stock sleeper. Thanks CRE for replying and everyone else.

I probably shouldn't say "many"... I know people at a couple higher end shops in my area who have devices similar to what I used in the graphic design business for color measurements and calibrations. I've wondered (but never asked) how well those things do with metallics.

Cre, i dont want to be the guy who doesnt know much about paint and work, what should i say? Give me an estimate, what are the procedures, what tool are u going to use (whats it called)?

and thanks Cre for giving ur time to respond =)

I can't give you an estimate. I don't do body work. Besides, even if I did I haven't seen the car in person.

Just Google "Automotive paint meter" and you'll see a lot of devices used for measuring color and paint content.

I read it as he was asking you if they were the sort of questions to be asking the guy, so as not to come across as ripe to be ripped off... I think that was the jist of it anyway :S

LOL, hurdurr.... My bad.

Yeah, get a couple quotes, ask about their confidence in matching the paint and how the determine the right mix, ask around for reviews and check online. Not much different than finding a mechanic, dentist or hooker. ;)

thanks ma70 clearing it up. ya cre thats what i meant. paint meter okay. yea the thing im worried about is my friend, who has a m3. told me that they cant remove the rust (special pens) , and they just paint over it. Surely is a way to smooth it out and stuff. Long process, well is it weird for me to request OEM toyota, even though they will say "its discontinued". Like tell them to look @ the code and reflect on it? Ive see some online. Might in the end just get an estimate and go to another shop.

Those cheap touchup pens don't help with rust no but if you take it to a bodyshop they should flat the area down, get rid of the rust & use a rust killer too. Depends on how much you want to spend really but no bodyshop should paint over rust, it'll just bleed through & start bubbling up again in a few weeks if they did

wow, thats a really good point. Thanks again guys for pouring some of ur knowledge on me. Today is the day i am going to get an estimate, gonan ask so specifically.

I got my estimate, its about 1000-1400.