C5 bodywork, anything special?

[autox_vette]

Looks like I have to get a front fender replaced on my C5Z. With the amount of plastic and fiberglass in "normal" cars these days, is there anything special about Corvette body work these days? Just trying to figure out if I should find a specialty shop, or just a high quality body shop. Thanks, Kenton

[0grandmastercorvette]

Kenton,
There is nothing special to worry about when painting your Corvette. THE MAIN ISSUE is maing sure that the shop that you choose can identify the material used in making the panel(s) that may require repair and understand that these panels MAY require a special primer(s) used due to its construction material. Quality body/paint shops come across many of thehse materials ...(maybe excluding the carbon fiber fenders of a Z06)and if they are aware of them and have found the correct product(s) and procedure(s) that works for thehm to create an excellent repair...then that is the shop I would choose.

The keyword here is "quality"....and NOT a production shop who just wants to push your car out the door as fast as possible. The MOST important part of your repair/paint job is the PREPARATION of the body before priming and paint is applied. IF the panel is not ENTIRELY prepped as required...then POSSIBLE problems can occur due to delamination because the panel was not prepped correctly. Not making light that the mixing and choosing theh correct product to be applied is also very important...but if teh panels is not prepped correctly...all others steps are not going to adhere...even if preformed correctly.

Often times the estimating guides that are available to the industry for aiding us in giving the repair times for painting are OFF quite a bit when the shop is TRYING to give a top quality paint job. This is why you may get different cost estimates. I use these guides as a gauge...and due to prepping many of these panels and finding that the times are WAAAAY off. I give the time that I know that will provide me with the time to prep and paint it correctly.

Look at the shops finished work....even if you pick a car and follow it through the process and see the end result. Masking, taping and even removing parts to correctly paint the car are often times required so when your car is completed...a guy like me can not find ANY area that shows that the car was re-painted...which then sends off warning bells in my head that MAKE ME WONDER...if they didn't do this right...what else did they do sub-standard. This requires a shop that deals in the precise details. Any shop can get the top of your hood to look good and slick...but it is the areas of "nooks and cranny's" that they ususally fail on. Such as the inside of your fuel door and the the area on the quarter panel that is covered by the fuel door when it is closed. Slick and shiny from the factory but often times dull when repainted due to the lack of attention. Fender and quarters where the rubber sealing strips are located are poorly prepped and painted. The top inside of the license plate area where your license plate light is located...usually rough and not slick and shiny....also the top area of your taillight lens "pockets" are rough. Last but not least. the VERY BOTTOM of ALL panels are usually dull...because many painters will not stoop down to properly paint these areas correctly with paint and clear.. and do not take the time to jack the car up high enough to be able to fully prep and paint these areas. SO get down and look when checking Are they removing door handles so the area under the handle can be prepped so paint will stick....because painting them in the car is something I DO NOT DO because there is no way to FULLY prep the paint and make sure that all of the shine is removed so the paint will stick and not start to flake away overe time due to the lack of proper prep in this area. IT is that thin line of shiny paint that will always come back and BITE YOU.

BEST of luck and take your time in finding a shop YOU trust to deliver what you want.
"DUB"