Auto Painting Shops

America’s love affair with automobiles started when the only color available was black. Henry Ford made transportation affordable and sparked the imagination of millions of people ever since. The personal choices of what we drive and how it looks has built a major industry that has grown by leaps and bounds. Nature and storm damage or a collision with something causing damage will require the services of an auto body technician and skilled painter.

When you find yourself needing to repair the appearance of your ride, choosing a qualified paint and body shop is essential. Start the search by asking friends or associates who have had a car repaired or painted. Who, what, where, what did it cost and how long did it take to have the repairs done are important questions that help get the process started.

Picking a qualified body shop requires a modest amount of investigation. Go to the shop and see how many, and what type of work projects they have in progress. Do they have a clean shop? Dust from body repair is a given, but if the debris isn’t cleaned up on an on going basis the quality of the finished product may be in question. A clean body shop isn’t like a cluttered office. A quality finish requires a spotless paint shop.

Does the shop use name brand materials or do they cut cost with off brand or inferior supplies? Do you see tools and equipment that seem to be in good repair with names you can read or recognize? Ask to look at the paint booth, the part of the shop where paint is applied. It needs to be properly ventilated with good lighting and doors that seal well.

Ask the owner to show you recently finished projects, preferably major repair jobs that had to have major parts replaced. Look at the fit and finish of the job; seams and alignment of new sheet metal give a hint to the details of the job and the skills of the tech. Ask to see work that is several months to a year old. If it still looks good then it was well done and may be a good choice for repairs.

Paint materials, just like anything derived from crude oil have escalated drastically in price. The cost of a total paint job will be well over a thousand dollars, but will be worth it if the vehicle is of good quality and value, and you intend to drive the cost out or re-coup the cost with the sale of the car.