Body guys...a little help

geof33 · 09-29-2003, 05:52 PM

If you had to guess, what do you think this repair would cost?

I 'might' buy this car but I'm doing some investigating first.

Any input welcome...

72 four door · 09-29-2003, 06:06 PM

It really depends on how you want it done if your going to replace the fender because you want a bondo free car then itll run ya a new fender plus you need to blend the paint into the door id say 1200 if you dont care if the car has bondo and after they pull the dent theyll skim the area and repaint just the fender it would probably be about 600.just my opinion

LeeH · 07:05 PM

I can't tell from that photo if the paint is broken or not. If not, I might be inclined to find a paintless dent removal artist.
Before:

After:

BTW, not my vehicle... just photos I found on the web.

89911 · 09-29-2003, 07:25 PM

I doubt if a dent remover can fix this damage. The Porsche sheet metal is pretty thick and the access up by the headlight bucket is tough to get their tools in. The previous estimate was a good ballpark estimate. Most "good" shops can pound out the damage enough to use minimal filler and then shape and repaint. My brothers 87 had similar damage like this and it is undetectable after being worked on by a good shop.

lateapex911 · 09-29-2003, 08:31 PM

I would have it hammered to it's original shape as much as possible, then skim it and blend it. It will look prefect if it is done by a crack shop. And I would set a thou aside. Just to be safe. And if i am high, buy yourself a great set of floormats.

ruf-porsche · ruf-porsche's Garage

After:

Before:

BTW, not my vehicle... just photos I found on the web. [/B][/QUOTE]

How about this?

RickM · RickM's Garage

The Paintless Dent Removal Guys can do some pretty amazing fixes.
That would be my first attempt at repair.

Didn't someone post the repair of a roof that looked totalled from a tree?

Harlan Chinn · Harlan Chinn's Garage

From the apearance of your photograph, a competent shop should be able to work the dent out as there does not appear to be any serious creasing of the metal. The dented area should be able to be worked out to the original profile and then shrunk back to shape with minimal if any filler needed. Paint should only involve the fender to the door jamb, with time devoted to disassembly of the lower sheet metal panel and the rubber bellows. In many instances you will get what you pay for.

Series900 · 10-01-2003, 07:23 PM

Run away, that car is totalled, at least run a carfax, alert alert(lights flashing, sirens wailing) alarmist reaction...
Paul is right 6 bills will fix it, blending just the fender, only other price point would be complete RnR of the front bumper, neccesary to remove smile, and therefore reducing tape, and subsequent tapelines. And if you have it fixed, make sure they loosen the top rear portion of the fender and remove the cowl seal. Dentwizard would never get that out, that jap fender may have popped out, butt, metal stretches and it will still have a raised eyebrow somewhere on the outer circumference.

Jake, I see you replied on earlyS board about Mike P's car at LRP , do you think I can repair a dent? or match a color?

Allenk · 10-02-2003, 05:22 AM

I've have had paintless dent removal done on my truck and all I can say is if you have a shop near by that does it, bring it there first. Some of those guys are great!

NoLift911 · 10-02-2003, 06:59 AM

Paintless dent removal on that may be an option if they can get to it. Metal thickness has nothing to do with it for those guys from what I have heard.

As far as cost you are looking at $1200-$1400 to do it correctly. Depending on the shape of your paint on the hood...door will def have to be blended and maybe the hood. Make sure the shop uses NO bondo. If they wavier find another shop. A good metal working shop with body craftsmen can make that go away with no skim/bondo etc.

-Jeff
nolift911@hotmail.com

RickM · RickM's Garage

You'll be hard pressed to find a shop that will use NO bondo.

Even the craftsmen of yesteryear used lead to effect many a repair. In less extensive cases they'd resort to filing (file-ing not filling) the worked out metal. The thickness of modern car panels does not allow this.

Not saying it's impossible but IMO a profitable body shop simply won't do this.

Series900 · 10-02-2003, 07:28 AM

no way is that a paintless repair! with both pick and file work, electric stud welding, heat shrinking , metalworking will remove the curse of the damage. Skim it with filler, and that would be a 1/16th, prime and block, seal and paint. And any painter would try to blend the repair to just the fender first. Why spread the work out further from the start? If you apply basecoat to the repaired area, you have the rest of the fender to clear. IF the damage required base color, not clearcoat, to be applied next to an adjacent panel, then, and only then would you blend base color into the adjacent panel and clear coat both panels. This applies for both 2 stage metallics and solids. Single stage metallics will not blend, when you wet sand the blend, the metallic will halo. That is why clear is applied. Single stage solid blend will still halo, and therfore clear is used as a blending matrix. One can get lucky and get a panel to panel single stage solid color match. BUT NEVER will you be able to spray, lets say a door in silver, complete edge to edge in silver basecoat, then clear it, and think it will match the original fender and quarter. The factory sprayed out the metalflake in a different enviorment, the flake will be standing differently. I refer to paint matching as "Tromp L'oeil" , fool the eye. blending 2 different materials produces what you refer to as a match. It aint easy at times, paint manufactures come up with "prime" and then may have variables ; "lighter than" darker than, greener(insert any color), less "flop", etc. Its an art, like cooking well. Painting is easy, its when things go wrong, and knowing what to do, that the art and artist shows.

lateapex911 · 10-02-2003, 05:49 PM

Ahh......Damon speaks the truth! The match of metallics is the trick. Never! at the panel edge. It WILL show up sooner or later, in some form of light.

Nice job on Mikey's car....but it's hard to fathom how a guy with his talent had more than a ding!

I also agree...ALWAYS disassemble, esp the 'welting', and I wouldn't worry about a little filler of some kind. It's used at the factory after all.