I have a small spot that I messed up on the driver door and need to have it painted. I contacted a place that the dealer recommends and do not have a problem going there, but it is 2 hours away. They said to make sure whoever does it, that they take out the back side (triangle) window. The spot is in an area where they need to paint most of the side of the car to match.

Anyways, I want to finally get this done, I put it off last year because it is going to be hard to have it done at that place because they are so far away and I am a little worried about how well the paint job will turn out if I were to have it done locally, so here are my questions. My car is Diamond Graphite.

Does it really matter who does it or should I make the 2 hour trip.

Should I trust a local paint shop to do this job when there is no Infiniti dealerships in the area?

Should I go to a Nissan Dealership?

Any feedback would be appreciated. If I really want to have this done locally and want to be reassured in some way that it will be OK.

 

You don’t need to listen to Infiniti... Infiniti doesn’t matter lol they just recommended you to a place... look for a shop locally... find one that does good work... ask to look at the work they do... that way you can decide if thats the shop you want painting your car

 

My problem is, I don't really know anything about it or how to identify a good paint job if I saw it.

 

you can tell if the colors dont match... say bumpers are a noticeable different shade than the rest of the car... or feel the paint.. a crappy job the paint will feel rough like on the curves of the car like say on the G... the bumper the spot in between the grill and headlight if they did a crappy job it will feel rough to the touch...

i hope you understand what im saying... maybe someone who knows more will chime in... Good luck

 

first thing is to look at the work area of a shop. ask for a tour and if they say no, just walk away.

the shop should be clean and well lit. the work bays should be tidy well kept. tools and equipment shouldn't be strewn all over the place. make sure the shop backtapes door jams and trunk/hood areas or uses door jam tape (3m foam adhesive roll used to keep paint overspray out of door jams/trunk/underhood area).

they should have a paint machine and a computer aided paint mixer (with a scale). the paint should be one of the top brands in the industry; dupont, ppg, glasurit, spies hekker, sikkens.

they should have a frame machine and a downdraft paint booth. both should be very clean and the areas bright and well lit.

the office should be well organized. they should have a computer aided estimating program that is used to estimate your job. the office should also be clean and free of clutter.

ask to see completed work to gauge their competence. if you can tell what has been fixed, this shop is not for you. contact the better business bureau for your area or google the shop for feedback, both good or bad.

 

The shop set up is important, but don't let that be the deciding factor. Some of my friends used to build hot rods.....the kind that are in every car magazine across the country. Their shops were meager, and not well organized. But every paint job that came out of them was top notch.

Look at the work being done in the shop. If all the cars are either higher end, or restorations, odds are they will be on the money.

Let their work be the judge.....forget the frame machines blah blah blah. Those points are more important if you have severe damage to the vehicle. Since your only looking to repair the paint, Let their paint jobs be the final decision for you.