Which is best: paint chip repairs or car respray?
If you’re proud of your car, and those ugly paint chips up front are starting to bug you, you’ll perhaps be thinking of having some car paint repair work carried out. Having your car resprayed, though, no matter the section or part, is a pain for more reasons than one. First of all, you have to take time out to get the valuation which means darting out at lunchtime at work, or going on a weekend when you’d like to be relaxing in front of the TV or spending time with family or friends. Right, you’ve got your evaluation, and after a stiff drink to steady the nerves and to have pushed your eyeballs back after they’d popped out, it’s time to break down the costs.
Car respray work
- Respraying prices vary massively, and they largely depend on how skilled the painter is (the better the reputation, the more they’ll usually charge), how thorough a job you want doing, and also where you go to have it done. If a manufacturer-approved car dealership has its own booth, it will likely charge a lot because their hourly rate is high and high overhead costs.
- If it’s a crash-damage repairer, they’ll also usually charge you a large amount, simply because they’re more interested in insurance jobs. If you go to an independent car re-sprayer, that’s usually your best bet for a lower price than those mentioned above.
- Then there are various levels of car respraying, to go alongside the prices. A quick ‘flash over’ a panel will cost you a lot less than a proper job, where the panel and any trim are removed to get to every area thoroughly.
- This, of course, takes time and therefore far more money taking into account labor costs. A lot of people forget that the actual paint itself can vary on price-per-liter too, so there’s that to bear in mind.
Going back to car respraying being a pain in the butt, you’ve got the quote from the sprayer, but they state if you remove the part yourself, it’ll cost less. Oh, and if you’ve got the means to prep the panel or part (as in rub it down with sandpaper and flat away/fill any low or high spots), then that’ll be even cheaper. That’s great – if you’ve got the skills, tools, time and indeed can be bothered to do it.
Is a paint repair respray worth the cost?
After all this, you’ve now got to weigh up if it’s worth spending hundreds or thousands on having the car parts sprayed. Can you afford it, will it add much value to the car when it comes to selling time, and is it worth it if the area will only end up being badly stone-chipped or damaged again a few months down the line?
Will a Chipex paint chip repair kit do a good job?
We’re talking about paint chips here, and for the most part, that means the front bumper, bonnet, and wings. Surely it’s too far gone for a touch-up kit? Or say if it’s a supercar, or something precious, like a rare classic? In both cases, you’d perhaps think they could only be taken care of with an expensive spray job.
Well actually, the Chipex™ car touch-up paint system makes this possible! Well-respected detailing company The Ultimate Finish has used Chipex kits on some incredibly rare and extremely valuable cars, such as a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 and a 1963 Aston Martin DB5, plus supercars including an Audi R8 V10 and a Nero Daytona Black Ferrari 575M – all with outstanding results. Satisfied customers have sent in photographs of their badly stone-chipped cars before and after. Regardless of the vehicle’s worth, the results after using the Chipex paint repair system are just as impressive.
Chipex™ offers a 100% paint match guarantee, and the kits make it easy to do the job yourself. Chipex make it really easy for you to find out the exact paint colour code of your car, and the kits are available for just about any make and model car you can think of too! The cost difference between the Chipex kit and a car respray is simply worlds apart, too.
Chipex Car Care range
On a final note, once you’ve repaired the paint chips using your Chipex™ kit it’s best to keep that paintwork in good condition, and Chipex now sell a range of high-quality car care products, including a car shampoo and a paintwork spray detailer for a quick and easy way to put down some protection and add a beautiful high gloss finish. Thinking of buying a car touch-up paint pen? Have a read of our article ‘Chipex Touch Up Paint Kit vs Car Paint Pen’ to see why Chipex is the better option.
Written by Chris Davies – an award-winning motoring journalist writing for CarProductsTested.com.
