You might be wondering if you can perform your own car clear coat repair at home. Especially with lots of YouTube videos sharing how to fix it with spray cans. Here's a true experience that you NEED to watch, and read the many tips and advice.
I'm not going to share a list of tools. I don't want to waste your time, so let's get to it. Recently, I learned the hard way that when it comes to restoring car paintwork, it is an art form. And so many things can go horribly wrong.
It also makes you wonder how trustworthy some of the YouTube videos are that come out first in the results. And the advice they DON'T include when it comes to rattle cans doesn't help.
But, great positive results engage positive engagement. Unfortunately, after watching several videos, that was not me, which I believe is equally important to share.
Weigh Up the Risks
The risk when it comes to fix peeling lacquer coats is doing more damage than good. This is exactly what happened to me.
There were far too many variables and I ended up taking many patches back to bare metal.
And I'd come so far, I felt invested, so went to Halfords for red primer and top coats of chilli red for my mini. STOP RIGHT THERE. ISH.
Got to Try It For Yourself
The thing is, you've got to try something for yourself to know. I'm a very patient person when it comes to DIY. But that wasn't enough. I learnt the hard way that it's truly an art form.
I ended up wasting 4 days of time, £100 and the whole process was an emotional roller coaster.
But you need to ask, what's your time worth in this scenario if you're then back to square one?
How Much Does a Clear Coat Peeling Repair Cost?
I found that it depends on where you are. 2 years ago when our peeling bonnet wasn't as bad, I had a quote of £300 while in the Midlands. However, I was told it was likely to peel elsewhere on the bonnet.
After moving back up North, I was quoted £250 to repair peeling or an extra £50 if it needed to be stripped back, primed and redone.
£300 for an entirely new paint job was much better than the pain I suffered.
Cost of Your Pride
Also, you need to ask yourself that if you do a terrible job, can you drive around in it? Or feel too embarrassed to take it to an auto body shop and admit to your failure.
I'll be honest, the latter I could handle. But NOT driving around with a big nasty spray paint drip mark.
If You Can Laugh At Yourself
If you can handle failures and have a laugh at your mistakes, then you'll be fine. I'm a strong believer that trying and failing is the way to keep learning and succeed.
And I now know that this absolutely isn't my forte. I'm not too embarrassed to share my "warning" message to future viewers.
There's a great saying I love from Rob Moore in his book Opportunity. "If you don't risk anything, you risk everything". I read this as, if you don't try something you want to do, you'll regret it. And some things you have to get out of your system.
Comments
No Comments