Agent_S13

So I acquired my Silvia front end pieces and decied that to reduce down time -- I'd have them painted to match the car at a body shop then I could install them myself.

I've been getting a different opinion that its better that I put the pieces on the car and have the car brought in for painting so they can match the color(s) better. Wouldn't be that bad since they could also clean up some other parts that could use some work -- rear bumper, roof, etc

I'm just wondering if a body shop can/will paint individual body panels to match a stock paint code (superblack, kh3) without the actual car there?

Anyone care to comment on this? Especially those who work in a body shop, your opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

-Aaron
'91 240sx coupe

240shorty

I don't work in a body shop, but I'd imagine they would if you really want to. Alot of paint codes have alternates (I think they have a name) meaning same paint code, slightly different tone.

I do some painting myself. It is generally accepted that it is better to paint them on the car, especially with metallics, so you don't get different colors between panels and the metallic lays evenly.

I painted my aero and fenders with emerald blue which is a tough paint to match. I did them all seperate and off the car with paint matched only by code. It turned out pretty close. Some angles you can see a slight difference in color, some angles it looks dead on. So it CAN be done like that, although not optimal. Don't know if this helps.

ThatGuy

On the car > Off the car

Unless you are using an extremely basic White or Black. Anything else can be slightly off when you see the panels side-by-side.

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Agent_S13

Well I just want them to match my car -- OEM black but I think I might consider putting everything on and then having a paint shop quote me while they clean everything else up too (aka random dents/dings and paint fading).

Thanks guys, hopefully other people will chime in too.

-Aaron
'91 240sx coupe

derux

I got mine painted on the inside of all the panels off the car. Then i put them on the car and blended them into the doors and made it look good. I can get your done for a good price from my friend and he can get some nice ppg paint to do it. PM me if you are interested. I am in fremont

slideways2004

like mentioned above it's better with them off the car for mathcing paint. and like you said you can get all the dents and stuff out

akatsuki

Honestly it would be better and easier for the shop to set up the parts for painting off the car. Reason being is that you're going OEM black. Not hard to match at all. Black is black. Only way to not match black is if you used the exact wrong black paint code ( example being that you have a black with red tints and pearls and somehow they mixed up a black with blue tints and pearls). Just tell them not to get too crazy with the clear so that the gloss is noticably different from your body. It will be glossier no doubt because your paint is probably 17-12 years old but you don't want the whole front end to really outshine the rest of your car. Another reason I say it would be better to paint off the car is because it would cost you more if they painted on the car. They would have to "cut in" in the parts, meaning painting the jambs and edges first then installing the parts and painting the rest. Only thing I would really recomment is test fitting all the parts first and then taking it up there to the body shop for paint.

infinitexsound

some black paint is a mixture of diffrent toners.. sometimes barely any toners...

some blacks tend to have a yellow sidecast... or what ever sidecast... technically u could paint it off the car... less material wasted like tapes and paper..... as for color matching i would suggest giving the painter some time to mix some paint and matching it to ur door... shouldn't take to long to do that....

and as for fitting parts first.. its a very good thing to do.. or even touching up some of the used body parts... with bodywork if need be... but i dont think ur going to do that since... ur takin it to a shop...

just polish ur car once ur parts are finished... itll be good enough....

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NemeGuero

I'd do it with them on the car. You'll get the same coat thickness and it will turn out much better.

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Agent_S13

Thanks for all the replies, its very much appreciated.

I'm definitely leaning towards having them paint the panels while they're already installed on the car. I think the only problem I have is seeing that the previous owner painted everything to match his car (white) which is the exact opposite of mine (black) so if I mounted it, the mounting points which are somewhat hidden would still be white, and something that would bother me -- Unless the shop decided to spray those parts too and just completely coat the mounting bolts in paint too.

The same goes for the hood with its rounded curves/edges -- could they paint those also? (the underside of the hood is white too, but that's not so big of a deal since it would have that padding/heatshield covering the majority of it)

Haha reading back through what I just wrote --- I'm very picky. I also figure a shop would be a lot more professional and be able to do what I ask them to. Also, I figure having the pieces on the car will also convince me to spend a bit more and have them clean up the rest of the car --- possibly a complete re-spray using the same color. It shouldn't be super expensive because I don't need to repaint the engine bay, door jambs, or trunk jamb (or whatever that spot is), right? Just the panels, hood sides and top of the trunk/rear bumper. Not to mention having them remove the torn "240s" emblem that's left... too bad I don't have the "x" anymore.

Regarding paint, I have to agree with people talking about the different "Blacks" there are. There's no general color anymore, there are so many varying shades that I could have a definite nightmare of a time trying to match the car to the panels after painting. I'll put my faith into the shop handling this job.

Anyways, I'm now going to make a few calls/visits to local body shops to see how much this is going to cost me.

Keep the opinions coming.

-Aaron
'91 240sx coupe

Ritz S14

Paint them on the car.

No matter how careful you are, tranporting painted body panels doesn't always turn out well. If you accidently "drop" your painted fender, there goes your good day. Or when you try and adjust a fender too far, you scratch your door/bumper/hood..etc.

S13SilviaGirl

Repaint the whole car and you won't have to worry about any difference in color. Blacks are tricky at times, especially if it is an old paint job and faded.

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Agent_S13

Yeah, that's what I'm looking at right now.

I wanted to have them repaint some additional parts --- touch up the roof and rear bumper, but I got a crazy quote of $4k to redo everything. I don't know if I just didn't explain it well enough, but meh -- I'm looking elsewhere.

When the cost of a paintjob is more than the KBB value, I really need to think it over. I was honestly hoping that if I could get the fenders/hood/bumper painted for like $500 I'd take it in a minute and not worry about it being a 100% sure match.

I'm starting to think that anything around $2k would be a "Deal" --- maybe I just don't know the right people?

Well I've got more shops to check out. If anyone has a rough/general idea of the cost of a respray on the main areas (trunk, roof, doors) please let me know. The sides of the doors/rear panel are fine so that wouldn't need to be repainted.

Thanks for the info.

-Aaron

infinitexsound

talk to ritz aka V got a fairly cheap deal if i remember corectly... if i had a booth i wouldnt mind the $500 to paint ur stuff....

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BlackSilEighty

When I painted mine I took the fenders and a couple other pieces off and black primered the edges and part of the backing. If you using an actual paint gun I'd recommend that you keep the panels on the car while it's painted (providing that you primered the back side and edges). If your doing it with rattle cans the panels should be removed and placed somewhere that they can lay flat to avoid dripping. It's pretty east to match black paint. I painted the whole car at the same time btw. It's not perfect but it's not too shabby for the cost. The car used to be red so I had a fun time painting the jambs, engine bay, and interior black.

Here is my DIY $130 paint job... paint, supllies, gun, air compressor rental....

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92 240SX. SOLD, 86 RX-7 GXL ,87 RX-7 Sport, 88 RX-7 T2

BlackSilEighty

When I painted mine I took the fenders and a couple other pieces off and black primered the edges and part of the backing. If you using an actual paint gun I'd recommend that you keep the panels on the car while it's painted (providing that you primered the back side and edges). If your doing it with rattle cans the panels should be removed and placed somewhere that they can lay flat to avoid dripping. It's pretty east to match black paint. I painted the whole car at the same time btw.

Here is my DIY $130 paint job... paint, supllies, gun, air compressor rental....

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92 240SX. SOLD, 86 RX-7 GXL ,87 RX-7 Sport, 88 RX-7 T2