[skim7x]

So I've been trying to find a good paint shop to get my Vorsteiner bootlid painted, but here are the offers I've gotten...

Laredo Paint & Body - where BMW of San Antonio sends their paint jobs
Painted: $253.12
Painted and Blended with rear fenders: $637.96

Vollmer Paint & Body
Painted: $500

Artisan Paint & Body - where my bodyshop sends their paint jobs
Painted: $350
Painted and Blended with rear fenders: $800

Boerne Collision Center
Painted: $500

Now, my question are
1) Are these normal painting prices?? Seem very high...

2) What is all this about Painting and blending with the fenders? The two that offered the "blending" option say that they cannot guarantee their paint will match the color of the car because metallic paint is difficult to get right... is this true??

I had my Sparkling Graphite G35 front bumper painted for $300 at a place in Houston and they got the paint from Infiniti and matched the rest of the car perfectly without any "blending" talk... not sure what is going on in this city...

Thanks for the input, guys!

[SV Concepts III]

I would say pricing between 300 and 500 for the work is fair. Anything above 500 IMO is a bit too much.

[skim7x]

Originally Posted by Nick@Jlevi SW

I would say pricing between 300 and 500 for the work is fair. Anything above 500 IMO is a bit too much.

ok... i was looking for something around $350 range, but what's fair is fair...

Have you ever heard anything about this "fender blending" stuff??

[SV Concepts III]

I believe what the body shop is referring to is the paint fade on your car. Paint will fade/change color with sun exposure so if you do a fresh coat on one panel without matching the paint fade on the rest of the car, it will stand out a bit. Our local bodyshop does this automatically if the vehicle is present, I would try to negotiate with them to see if they can include that for the standard pricing as it's not anything special.

[1cleanm6]

a good body shop shouldnt have to blend your fenders and stuff...they can blend the trunk itself....

however it should cost you NO more then 350..

thats how much i paid for my v-csl trunk on my e46 m3..and it came out real nice...

My friend got it for 450 installed and everything something else in hollywood.

[lyjw88]

blend with fenders? wtf
as Boosted335 has mentioned, a good bodyshop wouldn't have to repaint your fenders for NO REASON

[Malek@MRF]

Blending is absolutely unnecessary if the body shop knows what they are doing and knows how to actively mix paint on the spot.

If the body shop is using the photo-guns or palleted paint samples to match the shade of your car, stay away from that body shop. An experienced and skillful painter will match the paint on the spot and not go by a pallet or photogun.

Find out what type of paint they are using (as in the brand). BASF uses pallets, DuPont uses the photo-gun, just an example.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by lyjw88

blend with fenders? wtf
as Boosted335 has mentioned, a good bodyshop wouldn't have to repaint your fenders for NO REASON

They are not repaint anything. As Nick has mentioned, the car's color will fade over time so when a shop paints an item, they will match it so that the new paint doesn't stand out.

Anyhow, depending on the area, prices will vary. In such cities as LA I'm sure you can get it done for a lot cheaper than say a city with only a few body shops.

[BMWdmk]

you pay for a 300 dollar paint job...you get a 300 dollar paint job

you pay for a 500 dollar paint job...you get a 500 dollar paint job

any questions

[hun77777]

Originally Posted by dmkaldas

you pay for a 300 dollar paint job...you get a 300 dollar paint job

you pay for a 500 dollar paint job...you get a 500 dollar paint job

any questions

uh... yeah except some crappy bodyshops charge 500 dollar for 300 rollar paint job... any question?

[BMWdmk]

Originally Posted by hun77777

uh... yeah except some crappy bodyshops charge 500 dollar for 300 rollar paint job... any question?

you get what you pay for

shop says its gonna cost 500...your gonna get a paint job for 500

[longtran]

Originally Posted by dmkaldas

you pay for a 300 dollar paint job...you get a 300 dollar paint job

you pay for a 500 dollar paint job...you get a 500 dollar paint job

any questions

not true at all.

Originally Posted by dmkaldas

you get what you pay for

shop says its gonna cost 500...your gonna get a paint job for 500

dealers here charges $500 plus and they still can't match the color. its all from experience.

[longtran]

space gray is one of the hardest color to match. it took me 1 year to find a shop that would match the color pretty good. you do not want to blend your quater panel because when you do, whats going to happen when you put your trunk back on? you would have to paint your oem trunk again. i would just get the trunk painted and if its off slightly just live with it. thats how its going to be. even bmw can't completely match their parts. its not they aren't mixing the paint properly, its how the paint reacts to the material. if you paint on metal the finish will come out different from plastic, cf, fiberglass....good luck to you.

[skim7x]

OK, so I went with this place called Loredo Paint & Body. They do all of BMW of San Antonio's bodywork and paint work, so I believe they have sufficient experience painting BMW's... here's the kicker... they are painting my trunk for $210!!! OK OK, I know what you all are going to say... the paint job is gonna be crap... but hey, they had lotsa bimmers, probably 6-7 paint pods, and were very professional during my interaction with them...

Well, I can say anything, as you all can, too... only thing is to wait and see how it turns out on Monday (Will update then...)

[BMWdmk]

Originally Posted by longtran

not true at all.





dealers here charges $500 plus and they still can't match the color. its all from experience.

1 year...

and by what i said
i meant you get what you pay (if its crap or not)

here's what i do
find a low price then ask how much more to make it perfect
(paying more but in the end...you get what you wanted)

[Psylight]

Hmm $210 seems a bit low....

[AV9]

be sure to let us know how it came out...my paint and install came to like $320...and it was absolutely flawless in all asepcts...

[mJ335]

Post up pics when installed! I want to see what a $210 paint job looks like.

[skim7x]

OK... here are some pics of my morning =P

On the way to pick up the decklid:





Decklid at the paint shop (Once again, paid $211 for this job)


Decklid up close


My body shop's car:



Gratuitous pic before install:


Stock trunk removed:


Color matches!! Vorsteiner bootlid on left, right rear fender on right:


Putting wiring all back together:


And voilà... final product:

[lyjw88]

awsome paint job!!

[magmd]

Looks good.

[SV Concepts III]

That looks really good, your shop did a perfect job on the paint!