random512

Hi, my driver-side door got keyed. One body shop guy gave me an estimate of $900 to repaint *both* the front and back door. He said it was needed for "blending" although the car is < 3 months old and he didn't actually see the car. Another body shop told me the same thing. How common is this approach? It's a brand new car so it seems like it would be easy enough to match the paint/finish closely on just the driver-side door.

snagitseven

If it's to be done right, they are correct. I recently had an accident where I was forced by a semi to graze my entire right side against a guard rail. Along with a new right front fender, both right side doors had to be repaired and repainted. They also had to repaint the undamaged hood to blend with both front fenders. The job was done so well, I can't see any difference in the color anywhere.

If you have the time to read my long thread, here's a link as the repairs went through the process (with photos):

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a6-...me-up-2886074/

gk1

Same here as snagit said. They have to blend it to do it right and well. Even if the car is brand new. Go to a trusted or well reputationed shop and let them work their magic and you will forget all about it in time. Paint and body work done right is costly but worth it in the long run on a car as nice as Audi.

s5blitzer

Sorry to hear about your keyed door. Price sounds about the right quote. Always trust a auto body shop that works on imports and able to replicate the OEM paint.

DanfZX14

I am very sorry to hear about your car and I really do feel your pain. My 2015 was backed into in a parking lot after less than 3 months of ownership a few weeks back and to add insult to injury the guy claimed I ran into him. With no witnesses or video the police report was inconclusive which mean it is my dime.

To answer your question about the blending technique the answer is yes this is how they do it. On my car the left front side of the hood was damaged and the bumper below the left headlight was scuffed. The body shop explained that if they can repair the hood they will only repaint the area where the damage occurred. 80% of the hood would still be the OEM paint/clearcoat. They would remove some of the paint/clear coat on the left front fender in order to "blend" the hood and the fender so that you would not be able to tell those areas have been repainted. My car goes in on Oct 21 and it will take 6-7 business days for it to be finished. Total cost is approx. $4k including $2450 to replace the damaged LED headlight. This price is if they can repair the hood. If not it will be more. I have never had this type of paint blending done before so I have to trust the body shop. The shop comes highly recommended and they also specialize in aluminum body cars and are an authorized Mercedes Benz body shop. I hope this helps.

Redd

Even on metal flake paints, where the angles and shading of the flakes make it damned hard to ever match a panel, if the original job was done properly, a good shop shouldn't need to BLEND when just one panel needs repainting. Blending means "I can't match that color so I'm going to spray all around it and make it less opaque so it fools your eye with a continuous blend" and there's no need for that if the shop knows how to match paint, uses the SAME paint, not just something similar, and knows how to finish it.

Sorry, but needing to spray two doors in order to fix a defect that's only on one, is amateur night. But an awful lot of paint shops are really amateurs.

You might blend if you're fixing a "spot" on a panel, but to shoot an entire panel? There's just no need for blending, if you've done it right! And for shooting a simple door panel, hell, you can't mix paint accurately unless you've got at least a certain minimum amount in the can (bottle, whatever) and that's certainly going to require enough to spray the ENTIRE door in any case.

Want to see if a painter is a pro? Just tell them "I don't want see this was fixed, I want to see this has been DISAPPEARED. No sign anywhere, at all, that any work was done." A pro will tell you that's the way he always does it. Most shops will hem and haw.

snagitseven

Are you a now an professional body shop paint specialist? Because what you wrote is just absolutely wrong. Check with any Audi Certified collision repair center and they will explain the need for blending.

Redd

Sure, they'll explain blending. I have on occasion done body work and finer air brush work over many decades, and having done it, I'm familiar with when "blending" must be done.

But I've also worked with body shops as both customer and "our shop" and I know there's no need or excuse for blending when a whole panel is being shot. IF it is done correctly.

For the fellow trying to disappear a three foot gash in a fifty foot hull without repainting the entire side of the boat, it is normal, proper, and inevitable. For one full panel on a car? With a relatively new factory paint job?

Sure, you sound just like Mercedes trying to explain why "orange peel" was inevitable and proper on their cars, when they switched over to "lower volatiles" and higher production in the 80's.

Blending is a very good way that a hack with a bad eye for color can hide a mismatched paint job. If you want to talk about that, call Pittsburgh Paint. They've got folks who can tell 4000 shades of "red" apart, and remember them as different shades of red, the same way you can remember the taste of two different brands of tequila. Or maybe you can't, in which case, maybe "Coke and Pepsi" works for you.

snagitseven

Random512,

A final word from me on this subject...if you want a professional job for your $50K+ car whereby you can't tell the door was repainted, take the advice from the other folks in this thread and most especially, your qualified body shop paint specialists re blending. My Audi certified Collision Center (sister company to my Audi dealer) repairs and paints hundreds of Audis, BMWs and Mercedes each year and would never, ever paint just one panel without blending. They know what they are talking about vs. those that don't.

dicktahoe

To take some of the "Sting out of it", Vandalism is covered under your Automobile Policy's Comprehensive insurance (Minus your deductible).