[Zatrekaz]

So, a Deer decided to get up close and personal with my driver fender a week ago. I have already gotten insurance money, and the car is sitting at a body shop atm. Gonna repair the fender as much as possible, and bondo the parts that are not correct and repaint. Already ordered new headlights from AM, and added in a Mach1 Chin Spolier while at it.

Question is two part; One, does the repair and bondo sound better than $225 for a new fender unpainted? I was lookin at a total of $450 to get a new one and paint it, compared to $250 for repair/bondo and paint.

Two; After I get the car back friday, what steps do I need to take to take care of the paint since its new? I know your suppose to wait awhile before any washing, waxing, ect, however I do not know how long?

Thanks in advance for the help !

[timberwolf]

I myself would get the new fender vs. bondo...just better in the long run...JMO thou...

Ask the shop about the new paint care, but waxing shouldnt be done for a while to let the paint cure(breathe) at least a couple months...normal washing should be fine...

reccomended to me by ~travis_afx
vinyl on new paint


Safe for Fresh Paints, Clear Coat:
Wizards Products: <h3>Shine Master™ Polish & Sealant</h3>


good luck on the repairs..... the only good deer is 1 that is made into sausage

[03SonicBoom]

I would also want a new fender over one that's repaired and bondo.

[Lefty]

PM travis_afx. He'll tell ya how to make your paint stay strong! And he'll give you great advice on the body work too... good fella

[Drtbkercr5]

I do this stuff for a living. We wash the car before we give it back to the owner. You are not going to want to wax it right away. You can def wash it though. Just be extra careful not to get any little rocks or anything on it while washing as new paint will scratch easier than old stuff. Also be sure to shammy that part of the car off right away after the wash. DO NOT LET IT SIT IN THE SUN WITH SOAP AND WATER ON IT.


I would also go with a new fender. But if the guy doing the work does a good job the bondo repair should be fine.

[travis_afx]

if the fender isnt just smashed and the bodyman can do good repairs then getting the fender repaired would be fine. I have repaired many body panels because people couldnt afford the replacement part and i could repair it for less money than the new panel cost.

I actually dont even use wax anymore. I am a big fan of Wizards products. I have used shine master on everything i have painted before the customer recevied it back ever since i found the wizards line. Shine master is a breathable sealent/polish that i use in place of wax. You can put it on fresh paint because it will still allow the paint to breathe and fully cure.

[1FUN4RD]

Plastic body filler is just fine for doing this type of repair. "Bondo" gets a bad rap from people using it for rust repair. There is body filler/bondo in most new vehicles.

On this new of a car, where rust isn't the problem being fixed. Plastic body filler is fine. Ever watch Chip Foose, or Boyd C. Redo old cars? They use a skim cost of body filler on every panel.

[travis_afx]

Yeah Body filler is great for repairing dents, but it all matters on the quality of the metal work before the body filler is applied. If the guy cant get the metal to within a 1/4" max to the original contours than there could be problems down the road. Body filler isnt really desinged to be globbed on real thick, thats wherre you start hving cracking out problems with repairs.

Ive seen clowns actually sculpt new paanels out of a ton of filler cause their metal working skills suc and sure enough they always had problems with their repairs, whereas i would do my metal work and have a little amount of filler and all was good.

the quality of body filler work really comes down to their metal working skill. Cause anyone can go globbing it on and sanding it down but a good body man should never have to make more than 1 or 2 maybe three small layers of filler to fix a dent. If it takes more than a 1/4" of filler then the metal wasnt ready for the filler in the first place IMO

[Zatrekaz]

Got the car back today. The body shop owner did all the work, and it turned out very nice. You can barely tell that there is body work/Filler there. The paint matched very well. Already has some scratchs that show in the sunlight reflection due to buffing from the body shop it seems. (they are in a circular form).

I also got my new headlights in, and they look REAL nice. Chin spolier going on tomorrow as well.

So, as for caring for this new paint;

• Ok, or not ok to wash? If ok, what should I be carefull of?
• Where can I get the correct Wizard product to replace waxing it?
• What steps should I take for this new product, in order to make it work the best?

[Lefty]

[Zatrekaz]

When it's daylight... just got in from installing the Chin Spoiler

[Lefty]

Nice!! Imma gettin' myself a chin spoiler too. Just post them pics when its daylight out bro! We'll be waitin'

[Zatrekaz]

Got the pics of the new stuff here: Chin Spoiler and Headlights

Here are the pics of the fender repaired, and a comparison shot of the other side:




So tell me, which one is the original and which one is repaired?

[1FUN4RD]

Pic #1

[Lefty]

Looks puurrddy damn good

[Zatrekaz]

Originally Posted by 1FUN4RD Pic #1

Well, it would be obvious since I did mention it was the driver's side that got hit....

[1FUN4RD]

Originally Posted by Zatrekaz Well, it would be obvious since I did mention it was the driver's side that got hit....

Ha ha!! I just guessed. It looks great!!