Hey. I'm posting these images through Gyazo which is a screenshot software. Recently bought this car and this imperfection is a little worrying because I believe it's down to the metal and don't want it to rust (at least that's what I read could happen I'm still learning about cars). My question is however how much would it cost to have someone refurbish this and repaint it? and would it be cheaper if I did it myself somehow?

Photo 1: https://gyazo.com/10b8d957d57d5eeb147509db4839d6c6

Photo 2: https://gyazo.com/c77ef81dab35e0639cea3cbeef580019

Thanks for reading!

One of the unusually good things about this site is that it allows all members to post photos which can be hosted on the site's servers. So they never get lost, deleted, overwritten with a watermark or held to ransom because the host decided to change their business model. It also means that photos can be uploaded in their original size and, although displayed in the topic at 800x600px, can simply be clicked on to view full size.

That's way more convenient than having to open new tabs for every picture. It's also free.

Screenshot software is very convenient if you want to send someone what is on your screen, but don't use it for pictures. The resolution is generally so low that what the receiver gets is barely more than a postage stamp in size, especially if taken from a low resolution screen. This is what I saw after I clicked on the link in your post.



When you take photos of damage start with a shot taken from far enough back to give the viewer a picture of the whole panel or damaged area relative to the whole panel. Like this:



Then, if necessary, zoom in on specific damage, while still retaining relativity of size compared to the whole panel, like this:



Take another photo or two so we can get a proper understanding of the job.

If, as I suspect, it is just a bar corner then don't panic. The plastic bar probably won't rust out in the next few days.

Sorry about that. Here are the photos. Model is a Nissan Altima 2009 2.5s

NFT5 wrote:One of the unusually good things about this site is that it allows all members to post photos which can be hosted on the site's servers. So they never get lost, deleted, overwritten with a watermark or held to ransom because the host decided to change their business model. It also means that photos can be uploaded in their original size and, although displayed in the topic at 800x600px, can simply be clicked on to view full size.

That's way more convenient than having to open new tabs for every picture. It's also free.

Screenshot software is very convenient if you want to send someone what is on your screen, but don't use it for pictures. The resolution is generally so low that what the receiver gets is barely more than a postage stamp in size, especially if taken from a low resolution screen. This is what I saw after I clicked on the link in your post.

Screenshot_20210730_090748.jpeg

When you take photos of damage start with a shot taken from far enough back to give the viewer a picture of the whole panel or damaged area relative to the whole panel. Like this:

2020-04-28 10.08.52.jpg

Then, if necessary, zoom in on specific damage, while still retaining relativity of size compared to the whole panel, like this:

2020-04-28 10.09.11-1.jpg

Take another photo or two so we can get a proper understanding of the job.

If, as I suspect, it is just a bar corner then don't panic. The plastic bar probably won't rust out in the next few days.

: PERFECT we need a sticky on how to take and post pictures this is a fine example.
Jay D.

Nuggets4life wrote:Here are the photos.

That makes it much easier. Thanks.

You can see a lot more damage on the bar and also some on the guard. It does all look like just paint damage, so rub back to feather out, prime and paint.

To do it properly, colour would need to be sprayed on both bar and guard and blended out, then both fully cleared. I can see more damage at the bottom of the bar - assume there's more on the other side as well. Bar should come off the car for repair and paint, guard can be done on the car. Labour rates vary but I'd be costing on about 8 hours, start to finish.

Could you do it yourself? Don't know but if you have to ask then I'd presume you don't have much experience, so a job of this size probably isn't a good place to get that. Then there's the cost of paint, plus materials and equipment. Even a cheap spray gun will be a couple of hundred and then there's a compressor.....

And, no, spray cans are not an alternative.

Thank you for the information I've learned a lot. It still didn't really answer a part of my question. I realize auto body shops are different in terms of pricing but I'm still wondering how much the cost would be if I were to get it professionally done. I'm asking cause I wanna know if I'll be wasting my time going all the way down to a shop that could potentially swindle me into spending more money than I should. Does that make sense? I'm sorry if it doesn't. Like I said I'm a new driver and I'm still learning about certain things.

Nuggets4life wrote:I realize auto body shops are different in terms of pricing but I'm still wondering how much the cost would be if I were to get it professionally done. I'm asking cause I wanna know if I'll be wasting my time going all the way down to a shop that could potentially swindle me into spending more money than I should. Does that make sense?

Well, Chris has already said that he would plan for 8 hr of labor so.........if your local shops charges $80/hr (only guessing) you would be at $640 plus materials--maybe another $200 (again, just guessing what they would bill you for mat's). Call up a shop and ask their hourly rate and that will give you a rough idea before you take it in. Just my .02