A lot of people ask whether X shop is good in painting or Y brand paint is better than Z brand paint. I'd like

to give my opinion so that people who want to get their cars repainted to consider some points that paint shop and paint brands fail to mention.

I only believe that if you want a good paint job, give the shop ample time to do the work and be willing to pay the labor hours needed to do a good paint job. It doesn't really matter what the "image" of the shop is, chances are, if you don't give them enough time, chances are your car will be rushed.

This is, of course, assuming that the shop is CAPABLE of doing a great paint job.

Most painters are good painters, but sad to say most painters (even in other countries) are good at painting, they concentrate at painting, but give the sanding and buffing tasks to lesser skilled workers. As any detailer knows, the sanding and buffing make or break the final results of the paint job.

If a car is painted properly, even if you use cheap paint, and finished with careful sanding and buffing, the result will rival the best of paint jobs out there. You can use the most expensive paint there is, the result will only be as good as the prep and the final stages of sanding and buffing. Of course, using the high end paint guns, paint booths, catalyst curing, etc will make the job BETTER, but remember that the whole painting process has to be good in the first place before it can be better.

Funny how in painting, the paint isn't the biggest X factor for good results.

In addition, little things make or break a paint job, from masking the moldings, removing emblems, etc. Chances are, unless you're willing to compensate their time for removing and reinstalling them, they'll probably just mask those things with tape. Needless to say, you'll see a line caused by the mask and it'll be very unsightly no matter how good the rest of the car will look.

I believe that the owner of the car should do their part to ensure the paintshop will have no excuses not to do a good job. Owners should remove all parts that they don't want paint to land on such as seats, items in car, sidings, lights, moldings, etc. This way, all parts that should be painted will be painted, and those that should'nt be, wont. Saves the painter time from masking, saves you headache from removing overspray afterwards.

Clean your paint well and remove any traces of silicone from your old paint. Silicone impregnates deep into the paint pores and will prevent the new paint from bonding.

Know what to expect. Be very clear as to how you want the paint job to look and have it in writing. You have to let the shop know that you KNOW what your paint should look like and what should NOT be there such as pinholes, "mapa", fisheye, bubbles, etc. Defects from a paint job is usually permanent, it cannot be corrected unless the panel is stripped and repainted. The more you try to "salvage" it, the worse it'll get.

Don't fall for the "intayin mo ng ilang linggo, papantay yan"... B.S.

In most service industries, you get what you pay for, simply put, what you're paying is the labor hours spent by the company, equipment and supplies are usually auxillary charges. Bulk of what you pay is the shop's time.

This is true for paintshops, body shops, repair shops, detailing shop, etc.

So if the "market rate" for a washover is 20-30K for a small sedan, and someone offers you a washover for P15K, expect to get 20-30% less quality than normal. If the 15K job matches the 20-30K results, then you've hit the jackpot and better establish something with this company.

On the other hand, if someone offers you a washover for 40-50K, you have to expect the job to be proportional to what they charge.

Quite often, I see newly painted cars come into our detailing shop seeking to correct paint problems caused by the paint shop itself. Isn't this ironic? The most common are:

1) Paint overspray (if panel repaired) - Yes they mask the adjacent panel, but they should know that paint mist travels a lot farther than 2ft or so. The whole car ends up rough and gritty.

2) Paint overpray in panels not meant to be sprayed - Ranging from tires, wheels, mufflers, fender lining, interior, upholstery, engine components, etc. These are inexcusable, fresh paint comes off easily with paint thinners, once set, it'll be difficult to remove.

3) Paint shop waxing their newly painted panel before returning the car to customer to "mimik" gloss. Oh how common is it for us to see and smell a fresh coat of wax on the paint. Usually it's Turtle Wax green... We deal with waxes quite often and it's an easily recognizable look and smell if the car is waxed.

4) Panels, clips, clamps not returned or replaced if broken. This is not entirely the paint shop's fault. Many plastic clips and holders are one-time use items only and should be replaced once removed, the clip will not have the same tension or gripping power once removed. But don't try to cover it up by using wires, tape, etc.

5) Paint defects such as wool pad buffer swirls, compound dust in edges and moldings, burnt moldings and rubber parts, etc. Again, accidents do happen, but it should be minimized. If it did occur, demand compensation in any way that's acceptable to you, the owner.

I hope some of these comments will make you a smarter shopper when it comes to painting. I don't own a paint shop, so I'm not endorsing or bashing any shop out there. I just think that if you're planning to spend big money (heck, repaint costs as much as a 30+ inch flat screen TV!), you better do your homework.

Just remember, brands and reputation doesn't mean a thing if you didn't experience it first hand and prove that such claims are true.

I don't care how many Best of Paint tropies you show me, those entries are "cost-no-object" year-long projects, you won't treat my car the same way if I just pay 30K, so what can you do with 30K... That's the question.

Good luck