Leave Paint to the Experts

Car Paint DIY – Do Not Attempt

Vehicle repairs and maintenance has become an interesting world with the plethora of DIY articles, videos, and walkthroughs on the internet. If you have a working knowledge of vehicles, there’s no reason you can’t handle things like an oil change or a quick fix on your own. If you have extensive knowledge of the mechanics of vehicles, there’s no reason you can’t handle a little more on your own. But there are some things that, invariably, should be left to the professionals. Every time. We’ve talked about some of these briefly in the past, but today we’re diving into one in particular – painting. Car painting and refinishing is definitely something not to risk on your DIY skills.

Color Matching Is No Joke

If you’ve ever tried to do a paint repair on your own, you probably already know this. If you haven’t, let us save you some time, trouble, and major disappointment. When it comes to matching the color of your vehicle, there is no wiggle room. Something “close, but not quite” won’t cut it and will be immediately obvious. The shade of candy apple red that your manufacturer uses is likely copyrighted and unavailable anywhere else. If you want your vehicle to look like it did when you first got it, leave the paint matching to the pros.

Paint Curing Is for Pros

Paint application and curing is another process that is incredibly difficult to get right. Ensuring a smooth application, one that can go unnoticed by even a well-trained eye requires expertise that is nearly impossible to find outside of professional circles. Paint curing is another important part of the process that’s easy to mess up if you’re not careful. Often, when you take your vehicle in for repairs, you’ll receive advice on how to keep the paint from prematurely fading while the paint finishes curing. Before those instructions are given to you, a lot of work has already been done to make sure the paint job will last.

Is it Sealed?

There is so much more that goes into a vehicle paint job than meets the eye. When done expertly, it looks simple, but like most things that look easy, it’s actually complex and multi-leveled. It’s not enough to just slap a coat of paint on and call it a day. Just like your vehicle’s original paint job is sealed and coated to withstand the elements, the new paint must be treated the same as well. Some of those compounds will be present in the manufacturer’s paint as it is applied, but knowing what needs to be sealed and how to seal it is the kind of insider knowledge that’s not quite so easy to Google and call it a day.

There are a number of things about regular vehicle maintenance and minor repairs that can be handled on your own, with the necessary knowledge and proper tools, but there are some things that will always be better left to the experts. Rather than facing the disappointment that comes with a paint job that is obviously mismatched, or one that fades after two days of driving in the sun, or that chips the second it meets a rainstorm, leave your vehicle in the hands of a trusted team when paint is required.