general ike

Hey all could use some expertise!! How does one evaluate a repaint that is relatively new? How do you know that proper prep was done before the car was repainted or can you even do so? Obviously there is over spray and poor tapping but what else is there to look for a quality paint job. Now mind you I am not talking about orange peel vs a glass finish but I am talking about a paint job that won't bubble, flack and crack in a few years.

Opinions? Greatly appreciated!!! Ike

540 vette

You really can't tell. I bought an 80 with a new paint job on it. It looked great for about 3 months then started to crack. The car had 4 complete paint jobs on it. I have been painting cars for 40 years and couldn't tell.

7T1vette

The best info you can gather is to talk with the person who shot the paint. If you do not have that contact info, there is no 'good' way to tell anything about what is under the paint and how it was laid down. You could search around on the car to see if you can identify what primer was used. That might help you make judgement about the quality of the products used.

Hopper12

Hello Ike. This is a really good question. I've painted many cars, won some ISCA awards for best paint, and will suggest this: if you see sloppy taping, overspray, etc. you can assume the shooter did a sloppy job of prep too. And if you see that the car was shot without taking door handles, tail lights, bumpers, side markers, mirror(s), etc. off the car first, walk IMO. Paint will begin to lift in those areas if someone just taped around them. No shortcuts to a good/great paint job. It takes a lot of hours to do it right.

general ike

Thanks all some great expertise here for sure. I thought that may have been the answer. I guess an older repaint is a safer bet in that by that time any issues would have started to show to some degree.

Ah this hobby is a pain!!!! But I love it.

Thanks again all. Ike

cv67

True, usually a good sign. Mines 8....and stuffs coming up under it been garaged the entire time. 30 min in 90 deg heat theres some bubbling...frustrating
Id never pay big $ for paint again. A good Maaco job and good colorsand/buff woulda got me the same appearance.