Every car lover knows it: your own vehicle is not only a means of transport to get from A to B, but also a figurehead and a favorite project. If you love your car, you not only like to spend a lot of time driving around, but also like to do various preparation work or repair work. Beautifying your own vehicle is a pleasure for anyone who is proud of their car. At this point you can be enthusiastic about various tuning work, but also the care of the interior – like a thorough cleaning of the leather upholstery – Here is one of the measures that people like to carry out to put a car in the limelight. While some like to focus on improving the interior, there are others who prefer to focus on the exterior of their car. For example, brake calipers can be painted, spoilers attached, wheel rims polished and windows tinted. But what if you dared to take an even bigger step? For example, the look of a vehicle can be turned upside down and rotated 180 degrees if the body were to be painted. There are various reasons for car owners to have the body of their car completely painted: firstly, the actual color of the vehicle can generally displease one or the other. Still others want to make minor paint damage disappear by opting for a new paint job. Either way – A whole new paint job can make the car look a lot sportier, newer, more eye-catching and generally better quality and neater. But where exactly do you have your car painted? How difficult is this work actually? Which colors should I choose and what are the costs? And one of the most frequently asked questions: is it possible to do the process yourself? In the following we want to answer these and some other questions.
Contents
Where is the best place to paint the car and how is this work done?
It is always best to contact professionals if you want to have something repaired on your vehicle. Painting is no exception. A specialist is well trained in his field and knows about the risks that exist in his work and how to master them skillfully. This is the best way to rule out errors. A car workshop is therefore the best contact to have the painting carried out in a qualified and competent manner. But if you also have experience and the right equipment, you can also venture into DIY work. This work can take up to 40 hours to complete.
The painting costs are made up of a mostly high hourly wage and material costs. In addition, special machines are usually used here. The painting itself must be done in a hall with good air circulation. Even before the work begins, the body of the vehicle must be dusted off, thoroughly cleaned and then covered so that the material for priming can be applied in the best possible way. So you should only dare to do this work if you have plenty of experience and manual skills. Please keep in mind that mistakes in the painting of the body affect not only the visual exterior of the vehicle. The paintwork on a car is not just for visual purposes. It also protects the sheet metal of the car from rust. So if the paint on your vehicle is not applied ideally and there are small gaps or cracks, corrosion can quickly develop here and the time factor will then do the rest. Because now the body of the car is being eaten away by the rust. This is the reason why damage to the paintwork or poor paintwork should be repaired as quickly as possible. Because paint is not just an optical factor. It also has a protective function.
What costs will there be for painting?
The best way to reduce costs is to compare prices beforehand. The better you research in advance which workshop charges which costs for this work, the more you can save money at this point. As mentioned above, the amount is made up of the hours worked – which in this case must be set at up to 40 hours – as well as the material costs. Painting the bonnet of the vehicle alone can cost around 500 euros, while this work on the fender can cost up to 200 euros and carrying out this operation on a door can cost up to 300 euros. All in all, you can count on 1,500 to 4,000 euros. This clearly shows how much money you could save by doing the work yourself. This alone saves you the working hours of the specialists. Only the material costs would then have to be borne by you. But this saving is of little use to you if the work ended up being carried out incorrectly. Damage to the paintwork or poor finish gives rust a chance and this will end up costing you more money. So don't save any money at this point. There are over 60,000 painters in The United Kingdom, so you're sure to find a specialist who does his job properly and is inexpensive.
What colors are recommended?
Of course, it always depends on the taste of the vehicle owner. All colors can be purchased in very high quality. In addition, all colors protect the body of the vehicle in the same way. The only differences can be found in that dark vehicles are easier to keep clean, while a lighter finish should of course be cleaned more often to keep the colors vibrant. Black, white and anthracite are among the most popular vehicle paint colors in The United Kingdom. But the color gray is also becoming more and more popular when it comes to paintwork.
The conclusion and a tip from CarTipsandmore
In the end, it can be stated here that painting the vehicle is not just for visual reasons. The body is protected and prevents the formation of rust. This is the reason why you should only do DIY work if you are confident and have sufficient experience. However, CarTipsandmore recommends that you always have the work carried out by specialists in a workshop in order to avoid later follow-up costs due to the formation of rust.