Big Dent on '07 Volvo S60

[lollerblade]

Sup folks. I made this big dent on my side door and I have a couple of questions..
with filler & paintjob?

(1)I have the option of getting a new door from the dealer and have it painted with the same paints as the volvo/bmw/merc factory uses (something starting from a "P" and has he insignia of a parrot). The shop guy is certified by this company as well.This would undoubdetly produce a perfect result. However the dealer has probably '05 doors in stock and I'm wondering if they're the same doors? I know the differences between 05 and 07 are very minor (new front spoiler etc) but you never know.

(2) Can this be repaired with a bodyshop repair/paint (this would cost 3 times less)? Or will someone be able to tell the diff, colorwise/alignmnent-wise? I've been guaranteed not to be able to tell, but the car is brand new and I dont wanna risk.

Here's the pics:

http://suspicious.org/~spivak/IMG_4368.JPG
http://suspicious.org/~spivak/IMG_4369.JPG



Thx!

[Phil V]

A paint can with a picture of a parrot is Glasurit paint. If they told you that they could paint just the door and get a perfect paint match (especially with that color) they flat out lied to you. If you look close you will also see some metal damage on the rear part of the front door. The ONLY way that paint will match regardless of what brand of paint you use is to blend the color into the front door and rear quarter panel then clear the whole front door, rear door and quarter panel. I would enjoy repairing that damaged door and it can be repaired to where no one can tell it was repaired (the caveat there is it depends on WHO does the repair, their level of expertise etc). If you or anyone else can detect any tell tale signs that a panel was repaired then the bodyman and painter failed in what they were trying to accomplish.

Just out of curiosity - why would you car what the repair/replacement costs will be ? The insurance should be paying for it anyway, right ?

[Henry]

what the cost will be? No matter if this is an at fault or not at fault accident and claim it still is a claim in the insurance company database so your rates may go up anyway (taking in any other claims, etc.).
My concern against the filler is that this is a brand new car according to you so I think (like Phil) even though I could do it, let them do it. Have to admit though I would be in the backyard to take that door back.
Phil is right about the color match also UNLESS someone get REALLY lucky and that happens 1 out of 500 jobs. Henry

[lollerblade]

Phil, so ur saying the 2 doors & panel should be painted or just clearcoated or both? Ur right it was Glasurit. Are other paints good as well? Would it affect the color matching? What about quality? thanks

[lollerblade]

Oh, and also I don't wanna involve the ins. company since that will affect the premium. I don't wanna mention price because the dollar is REALLY undervalued lately.. but think in the range of $600 for the new door and $300 for repairing the door

[TimG]

I don't have a Crash book in front of me,but I'm thinking $600 for a Volvo door is cheap,and it comes as JUST the door,in primer.
It has to be painted,inside and out,glass,handle,weatherstrip etc. has to be transferred to the new door.
Like the other guys said,once in a blue moon you can get lucky,and get away w/panel painting,but most likley you will have to "blend" the base {color} into the adjacent panels.
And to do THAT correctly,all the trim on those panels has to come off,so the paint will go under handles,moldings,etc,and not peel later on.
I've been at this for 25 years,ASE Master collision tech,the guy who is going to fix this for $300 and make it undetectible is either lying,or giving you an early Christmas present,it's going to cost him close to that in materials!
JMHO,and good Luck!

[Phil V]

a legitimate estimate on repairing that damage with a new door would be in the $1400 to $1700 range. To repair that damage a legitimate estimate would be in the $900 to $1200 range. There is absolutely NO WAY anyone is going to repair that damage for $300 or replace the door, repair the front door, repaint three panels for $600.

[lollerblade]

Well I guess this kind of work is more expensive in the States than in Europe.
I'm going with the most uncompromising solution, that is ordering a new rear door for about 700 USD.
The bodyshop is recommended by the volvo dealer, uses Glasurit paints and is Glasurit certified. The labor for disassembling the rear door, painting the back & front door is $450. From what I understood is that he will indeed blend-in the paint. He guaranteed me he will match the color or money back.
Will post before & after pics in a 10 days!

Thanks guyz.

[pane2k]

what phil said couldnt be more true.
No matter what paint you use, whether you order it from the dealer, go to a paint distro etc it will not match 100%.
That front door must be blended and depending on who does the body work and how far back they go, the quarter may have to be blended as well.
I know it sounds rediculous, but it is the only way to have a perfect job.
If you find a good bodyshop you trust to straighten the door then do it. If not, use a new door from the dealer. Whether the dealer has it in stock or not..it doesnt matter the price isnt going to change.

Whether you replace the door or not it really doesnt matter becuase either way the front door definatly has to be blended and the quarter may have to be blended.

If you ask why you have to blend the next panel....the reason is...there are variants in the color, in other words different shades of that color, thats for one.
For two when they mix paint in the factory there are about 150 toners, when you mix paint on a regular system there are about 60, so you can never get it 100%.
Another reason is...the color changes depending on the air pressure. Higher pressure=lighter shade. Lower pressure=darker shade.
See there are so many variants that theres no way to match it without blending the adjacent panels.

[lollerblade]

Thanks Pane2k. I think he will blend the two doors, not sure if he will blend the rear panel tho. The question is whether using the original paint brand is better, and whether Glasurit paint is better i general. I mean its hard to believe that it doesnt matter what paint you use!! (color-wise MAYBE, but quality wise??) :)

[pane2k]

certain paints are better quality than others, yes. But what it also comes down to is what the painter is confortable with.
You can have a guy spraying omni base, but he knows how to use it well. then you have a guy spraying sikkens and it comes out like shit because he dont know how to use it.
What counts more than the base in my opinion is the clear.
The clear is what makes the paint shine. If he uses a crappy clear it has the potential to dull out over a couple years, where as the highend clears will last for the life of the car. That should be more of your concern.
I see some shops use a highend basecoat system like sickens or glaruit, but then ruin it by using a cheap ass clear just to save a few bucks.

There are so many quality basecoat/clearcoats out now, i wouldnt really base your decision on that.
Theres ppg, sikkens, lessonal, global, dupont, spies hecker, glasruit.
Those are just some off the top of my head that are quality and that will last.
Dont get fooled by the glaruit name, but it is a quality product. Id be more concerned about the craftsmanship and the quality of the shop over the paint line. A quality shop will garantee their work for life.
Good luck in your quest to find a good shop.

The rear quarter should be blended though. Just my .02

[lollerblade]

hey pane, thanks!
one last question: when you say blending the rear panel do u mean just applying a clear coat over the existing paint or removing all the paint from the panel, painting it and clear coating it??

thanks!

[dcrog]

With a blend they will scuff the rear quarter, or whatever adjacent panel, spray color onto but not all over and clear the entire adjacent panel.

[lollerblade]

kewl..so since the dent on the front door is on the border with the rear door small he wont have to scuff the whole front door right?

[dcrog]

Scuff, blend, and clear.

If the damage is close to an adjacent panel.

[pane2k]

lollerblade, i think your misunderstanding the concept of blending here.
In order to blend a panel, whether there is damage on it or not, you must sand the entire panel. Once its scuffed you blend the color ontop of the scuffed clearcoat. For example, you have damage on your rear door.
In order to do that job 100% perfect, You fix the damage on your rear door. You would sand the front door with 1000-1200, sand the quarterpanel with 1000-1200. The ENTIRE door and the ENTIRE quarter. THen you proceed with painting your back door where the primer is. As your painting the rear door covering the primer you slightly extend your stroke into the front door and quarterpanel. As your finishing applying your base on the last couple coats you would gradually go a little further into the panel everytime, not further then halfway through it though. As your applying your last couple coats you want to so to say snap your wrist as your finishing your strokes. The object is to make the color change so gradual that it can never be seen.
This is the correct way to do it, to make the job look 100%

Once you finish painting/blending the color on the adjacent panels, you clear everything. So you completely clearcoat the door, completely clearcoat the rear door and completely clearcoat the quarterpanel.

[pane2k]

now that im looking over the pics again, it looks like you *might* be able to get away without blending the quarterpanel but probably not. Its too close to say until you finish applying your primer. All depends how far back the bodyman goes with his bodywork/primer.

[Len]

Yes, it matters which brand of paint is used but Glasurit is one of the better brands and the shop should be able to match it fine as long as the color is blended over both the front and rear doors then cleared.