paint/aftermarket paint quality question

[theliman]

Last year my car was hit by a lot of hail. The hood got a lot of damage, as did the roof (yes, stating the obvious).

Allstate paid about $3k, a local shop said they'd think it's more like $5k to fix everything and will do a more thorough assessment for me.

I am OK with the roof since it's hard to see, though I may have a few of the biggest ones fixed.

His rough estimate for the hood puts it at over $1200. At first he told me he thought my hood wasn't the original one, because of the lack of "orange peel." As he assessed further, he said he really just wasn't sure, maybe it was factory, because you could see it in some places. I told him I was pretty sure our factory paint is not the highest quality.

He also said that pretty much any "aftermarket" paint job isn't as good as original. Is this just something a PDR guy would say? I asked him if he though I should consider just replacing the hood entirely since the factory paint job apparently isn't super high quality and he didn't seem to think that was an awful idea. I already have a few rock chips and damaged areas from sap, so I thought maybe I might as well paint a new one.

Any thoughts on painting new hood vs PDR?

If I were to paint a new hood:

Where should I buy hood (non-OEM ok?). Anything to look for or ask about from the shop that will do the work?

 

[theliman]

Any thoughts/feelings/strong opinions/hard facts/thorough data?

 

[ZiaMan]

Any thoughts/feelings/strong opinions/hard facts/thorough data?

I'll chime in some thoughts. Had a major accident in my GX and had about $14k in damage. Split was about $4k-$5k in parts and the rest in labor. I tried to find the best auto shop I could since nothing would be out of pocket for me (long story but my township paid for repairs and rental).

How did I find this shop? Looked on Autopia forum for the top detailers in the area and asked who they reco for body work. The FB page for the body shop had lots of pics of lambos, mercs, ferraris, and custom projects for pro athletes.

I can't tell the difference between what was hit/replaced and factory. I'm sure there is some very minor differences but 98% of people wouldn't notice. I also have the dark metallic navy blue, which is a tougher color to do right vs. white, etc.

For your situation, I feel like you're in a tough spot. It sounds like you got an insurance check before you got a quote and now the check won't cover the repair. With body work, you get what you pay for. Even with an aftermarket hood, who and how well they paint it will make a much bigger difference.

It makes the PDR guy would say that. From what I've heard (grain of salt), as long as the paint isn't cracked a good/great PDR guy can probably take care of it. Would surf the detailing forums and talk to some detailers and see who they reco for PDR/Painting/etc.

 

[theliman]

I'll chime in some thoughts. Had a major accident in my GX and had about $14k in damage. Split was about $4k-$5k in parts and the rest in labor. I tried to find the best auto shop I could since nothing would be out of pocket for me (long story but my township paid for repairs and rental).

How did I find this shop? Looked on Autopia forum for the top detailers in the area and asked who they reco for body work. The FB page for the body shop had lots of pics of lambos, mercs, ferraris, and custom projects for pro athletes.

I can't tell the difference between what was hit/replaced and factory. I'm sure there is some very minor differences but 98% of people wouldn't notice. I also have the dark metallic navy blue, which is a tougher color to do right vs. white, etc.

For your situation, I feel like you're in a tough spot. It sounds like you got an insurance check before you got a quote and now the check won't cover the repair. With body work, you get what you pay for. Even with an aftermarket hood, who and how well they paint it will make a much bigger difference.

It makes the PDR guy would say that. From what I've heard (grain of salt), as long as the paint isn't cracked a good/great PDR guy can probably take care of it. Would surf the detailing forums and talk to some detailers and see who they reco for PDR/Painting/etc.

Thanks for the info. As the insurance company mentioned when they gave me the check, it's never really "closed" until I do the work or whatever, so they're open to paying more if an appropriate estimate comes in. Whether or not I'll get more I don't know, but I didn't forfeit anything by accepting the initial check.

I'm sure the PDR guy will do fine work, just thinking that since my hood is already not in great shape (it's not that bad, just sap damage and a few big rock chips) I could maybe take advantage and get it all replaced. But this "orange peel" concept was new information to me.

Also, didn't mention, color is black.

Thank you again! I will check into some other forums like you said