Need body work - blended clearcoat ok?

[rockford33]

So, I have some rust on my 6 year old Subaru. Took it to one shop and they said they would sand off the rust, spray on some rustproofing, re-paint the area, and then re-clear the entire rear quarter panel (rusting area), roof, and the rear quarter since there are no body seams to limit the re-clear (all for $1000). They also suggested skipping the work and looking for a new car this spring since they couldn't guarantee how long it wold look nice or that the rust wouldn't come back.

So I took it to another shop for a second opinion. This shop wouldcut out the rusted area, patch in another panel, rustproof, re-paint, and then re-clear, blending the new clear into the existing clear (all for $900).

Did some research on clear blending, and it seems it can be done, but you can also still get a line where the new and old clear meet if not done correctly. While I would prefer new clear from seam to seam, it would also cost more. But since I plan on keeping the car for awhile (only 83k miles, so I plan to keep for another 3-4 years), I am not sure if requesting all new clear would be worth the extra cost, or if belnding is a viable option.

Anyone everyone had there clear blended, or has experence with this? What would be the correct way (if there is one), and is blending the clear just cutting corners? I am actually going to go to a 3rd shop and see what they say just so I have a good range of possibilities.

Thanks,
Neil

[LegacyGT]

A 6 year old Subaru is practically new :) Glad that you are planning on keeping it another 3-4, let me know how this comes out.

Unfortunately I have no experience on the clear blending to share with you.

[rockford33]

A 6 year old Subaru is practically new :) Glad that you are planning on keeping it another 3-4, let me know how this comes out.

Unfortunately I have no experience on the clear blending to share with you.

yeah, it is a 2005 Legacy GT. Only 83,000 miles on it, so I am hoping to keep it for another 3-4 years or until at least 120,000 miles (assuming it keeps running good :props:).

Not crazy about the new Legacy body (wife has a 2010 Legacy). Might look into another Legacy once the body style changes again for the next generation (2014 maybe?). But unless this rust gets fixed (and hopefully by Subaru, I just emailed corporate requesting a meeting with a regional manager), I may skip Subaru altogether for my next car. Never had a car rust, and I have owned Ford, Toyota, Dodge, Pontiac, and Honda before. And if a 13 year old Pontiac Sunbird wasn't rusting, a 6 year old Subie shouldn't be!

[jayharold]

Yes you can blend the clear but I don't know how the paint sprays on now. I have not been in body work for about 30 years now and I don't know how much the paintng has changed.

[Barry Theal]

Don't have them blend the clear. You will regret it years a year from now. Have them clear the whole panel.

[Kristopher1129]

Clear blending will never look "New". It will look better than rust bubbles, or any other kind of rot. But you will have a seam where the two meet. Can you blend it to the point where it's barely noticeable? Yes, you can. But, the problem is...you know it's there...and if you look for it, you will see it every time.

So what it breaks down to is...can you tolerate the flaws left behind by clear blending? If so, then go ahead. If not, then I would go with the $900 estimate for two reasons. One, they will cut out the rust and weld new sheet metal and start from scratch so the rust doesn't come back. Two, they are going to re-paint the whole panel.

Make sure they use the factory paint. If they do that, and they prep the pre-painted surface correctly...you've got yourself a panel that will last. Plus, when you go to resell it 4 years down the road...it should still be holding up. This is all just my opinion of course. :dblthumb2:

[rockford33]

Clear blending will never look "New". It will look better than rust bubbles, or any other kind of rot. But you will have a seam where the two meet. Can you blend it to the point where it's barely noticeable? Yes, you can. But, the problem is...you know it's there...and if you look for it, you will see it every time.

So what it breaks down to is...can you tolerate the flaws left behind by clear blending? If so, then go ahead. If not, then I would go with the $900 estimate for two reasons. One, they will cut out the rust and weld new sheet metal and start from scratch so the rust doesn't come back. Two, they are going to re-paint the whole panel.

Make sure they use the factory paint. If they do that, and they prep the pre-painted surface correctly...you've got yourself a panel that will last. Plus, when you go to resell it 4 years down the road...it should still be holding up. This is all just my opinion of course. :dblthumb2:

Kris,
The shop that gave me the $900 estimate was going to blend the clear, but cut out the rust and patch in a panel. I think when/if I go back to them, I will have the quote revised to re-clear the whole panel. I imaginge the cost will go up significantly though since that would mean that both rear quarter panels, roof, and A pillars would have to be re-cleared to get out to all of the body seams....

But it would still be cheaper than getting a new car Im the MAN

Thanks,
Neil

[Kristopher1129]

Kris,
The shop that gave me the $900 estimate was going to blend the clear, but cut out the rust and patch in a panel. I think when/if I go back to them, I will have the quote revised to re-clear the whole panel. I imaginge the cost will go up significantly though since that would mean that both rear quarter panels, roof, and A pillars would have to be re-cleared to get out to all of the body seams....

But it would still be cheaper than getting a new car Im the MAN

Thanks,
Neil

Oh alright. I would definitely have them hit the whole panel. For $900 I personally feel that should be included. But that's what is great about body shops! They'll probably say $1500 just cause they have to paint. Even when it's not all that much more work than to blend the clear.

[rockford33]

One other item, the first shop (that didn't seem to want to do the work) also stated that "welding ina patch panel created its own set of problems". He didn't explain it further, so I am not sure what other problem there could be? Maybe the fabrication, metalwork, welding, and grinding of the weld?

-Neil

[jayharold]

If they don't know how to weld good you can warp the panel and create a lot of work.

[David Fermani]

rockford33: For about $1000 it's not that bad of a deal. But, if you're going to keep your car for another 3-4 years it's a toss up in regards to the clear flaking where they "burn" it on the C-Pillar. Bottom line, it's not a permanant repair. What state are you in and is your car parked in the sun all day? No shop is going to gaurantee a rust repair (especially when they are cutting in a patch) unless they replace the entire panel. Even then, if they don't use proper corrosion protection methods it could eventually rust in other spots. I'd make sure they remove all the trim on the panel they are painting. If they don't you'll have another problem when the hard edge starts to flake.



Make sure they use the factory paint. If they do that, and they prep the pre-painted surface correctly...you've got yourself a panel that will last. Plus, when you go to resell it 4 years down the road...it should still be holding up.

What do you mean by "factory paint"?

[93fox]

rockford33: For about $1000 it's not that bad of a deal. But, if you're going to keep your car for another 3-4 years it's a toss up in regards to the clear flaking where they "burn" it on the C-Pillar. Bottom line, it's not a permanant repair. What state are you in and is your car parked in the sun all day? No shop is going to gaurantee a rust repair (especially when they are cutting in a patch) unless they replace the entire panel. Even then, if they don't use proper corrosion protection methods it could eventually rust in other spots. I'd make sure they remove all the trim on the panel they are painting. If they don't you'll have another problem when the hard edge starts to flake.



What do you mean by "factory paint"?
I wonder what he means by factory paint as well.... Hell, sometimes the paint that they spray in production line is garbage!

[Flash Gordon]

What do you mean by "factory paint"?


I wonder what he means by factory paint as well.... Hell, sometimes the paint that they spray in production line is garbage!

Maybe Kris meant get the factory paint CODE :cool:

[Mike Phillips]

Don't have them blend the clear. You will regret it years a year from now. Have them clear the whole panel.

I agree with this... if you're planning on keeping this car for a long time, get the best repair you can afford.

Also, since this is a detailing forum... be mindful of how they do the cut and buff. The norm is you'll have to do a little swirl removal and finish polishing. If you get lucky maybe not...

Keep us updated with this project, especially interesting would be some before and after shots...

:Picture:

[rockford33]

Well, got a third opinion to day from yet another body shop. This shop said there were basically 3 ways to repair it, and it was really up to me depending on how much I would want to spend. Here are the 3 ways (in order of cheapest to most expensive)
1. Cut out rust affected area, weld in patch piece, paint, blend clear
2. Cut out rust affected area, weld in patch piece, paint, clear out to the seams, taping along edges (windows, etc).
3. Cut out rust affected area, weld in patch piece, paint, remove all windows and trim (including fornt and rear windows, trim along all side windows, etc), clear out to the seams and wrap clear under removed trim/window edges.

I got a price for option 2. After talking to the guy some (and a tour of the shop, which my 4 year old son thought was cool), I also pointed out some random, multiple scratches in the same panel to him (and along the rear drivers door and C pillar). I had thought that maybe I had accidentally induced those during my winter prep polishing. I had tried to remove them with Meg's Ultimate Compound before the weather got too cold, with no success. This shop seemed to think it was actually the paint under the clear cracking. Not a good sign. I'll be investigating that some more as soon as I have some free time and some good weather (at the same time, which has not been happening lately :( ).

The car is almost 7 years old (bought Aug 2004). I might do my own patching, using an air grinder to get rid of the rust, rustproof it, maybe some body filler to smooth things out, paint, and clear. It is a small area and I have a good airbrush to prime and paint the area. Plus I still have some 2K clear left over from painting my son's new bike for Christmas last year. Won't be a pro job, but I think I can get it to look decent and save $1k, then just drive the car into the ground.

But it will probably drive me nuts knowing the paint isn't perfect.....

Thanks,
Neil