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[zman <zman AT shell.neverwhere.org>]

On Sat, 22 Jul 2006, S B wrote:
> I have a 97 Honda Civic Hatchback (97k miles) that's suffering from clearcoat 
> failure on the roof - about 30% of the base coat is currently exposed, and 
> it's getting worse.
> We took it to a local paint shop I've used in the past to repair collision 
> damage, but their quote seemed excessive.
> There is a significant amount of life left in the car itself so I'd like to 
> fix the problem before the roof metal itself is damaged, though the age of 
> the car means it doesn't have to be a pristine job.
> Does anyone have any suggestions for a shop that can do a reasonable job? 
> (ideally in the North Raleigh area)
> Since the affected area is self contained flat/square (i.e. not much 
> blending-in etc), is it something I could do myself ?

A lot of places are going to want to paint the whole car, reason being is 
after 9 years there is fading and the factory color probably won't match. 
Most likely you don't even notice the fading unless you hold a paint chip 
up against the car. There are a bunch of paint shops that do discount 
paint jobs and these are fine as long as there is no real body work to be 
done. The biggest key to a good paint job is the prep work, this is where 
the discount shops will skimp as it's a lot more labor. There are a whole 
slew of body/paint shops concentrated on South Saunders St., Coats being 
my choice (about a block from Ray Price Harley-Davidson) but I'd get a few 
estimates that not only include price but what they think it will take to 
do it correctly.

Scott H. Zekanis
zman AT kungfumonkey.com
http://www.rod-o-rama.com
http://www.thehellbenders.com
1957 Buick Riviera Hardtop (2 dr., 425" Nailhead)
1960 International B100
1923 Buick Roadster (Dual Quad 425" Nailhead) 
1990 Ducati 750 Sport