[Tuisha110HP]

I don't have an indoor parking available and the car remains parked alongside my buildings boundary wall. November 2nd, I woke up to this.





My heart just sank then and there. It simply looked like a deliberate attempt. Someone might have done this with keys or a sharp object which cut the coat, paint and went deep into the primer.

Went to my detailer who said it is too deep to go with rubbing and polishing. Suggested me to not go for painting. Having an OCD this was getting onto my nerves and I started going through team BHP directory to search for good painters. Zeroed in for Heera Motors.

Headed to his shop early morning, reached there around 10 am. He guaranteed a 100% paint match and an assurance that the paint would remain matched as long as I intend to keep the vehicle. With a heavy heart, gave a go ahead for repainting.

The body panel being sanded to level the scratch.


4 layers of base coat and 4 layers of clear coat. I asked him to put in an extra layer of clear coat as I would go for Ceramic coating for that panel.


I was handed over the car around 4 PM and was asked to come the next day for rubbing and polishing. Pictures from the second day.

Rubbing being done:





The shop:


The final Product:



I am extremely happy about the output. It might have reduced the resale value of the car by a few thousands. But hey! Do you care about resale value when you own a SKODA?

Dent to the pocket: INR 2500

Next was to go for ceramic coating to my detailer "Detailing devils." He asked me to come without any hesitation and even said he wont charge anything to get that panel ceramic coated. Next day, I landed on to this detailing studio at 10 am sharp. The guys there looked at the panel and said the painting done is indeed immaculate. There is nothing one can complain of. This indeed have me a sense of relief. I was in a tensed situation, a battle between heart and mind thinking about whether I did a good thing going for the paint job or not.

The process started and I was handled over the vehicle in 1.5 hours as the work as not too extensive.. Got that panel coated for 5 years pack as was the entire car. I got a quick wash done before the coating and interior cleaned. I paid INR 1500 for the wash and for the ceramic coating.







Since the car had to going through a lot of changes, wanted to gift her with HID spectacles so that she could see clearly at night. Will post about that in lighting section soon.

[GTO]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[rayjaycleoful]

Excellent paint match! Btw, has Heera shifted? Used to be on the road before.

[Tuisha110HP]

Originally Posted by rayjaycleoful

Excellent paint match! Btw, has Heera shifted? Used to be on the road before.

Hi there,

Yes, he has opened up a new shop, right at the IFFCO chowk juncture. Google maps has accurate location details as well.

[Invariance]

Owch. Glad you got it sorted out. And may the vandal's own vehicles be damned to suffer chassis rust !

Have you considered used a heavy duty car cover rigged with a touch-sensitive alarm? A friend bought a Chinese-made touch-sensitive alarm through AliExpress and mated it to a car cover for his Jimny. It has proven itself a remarkably effective vandal deterrent... and has also given his cat several heart-attacks .

[HimuraKenshin]

Great job on the paint matching! However would like to point out that ideally you should have waited ate last 30 days after painting to apply any sealant, in this case the ceramic coating. Solvent based paints tends to gas out for at least 15-20 days after painting even though it may appear hard to the touch.

[rangarx]

Exactly same ordeal, but in a different location. Same shade car too! I am not confident of matching the shade and not going for it. Wonder if anyone at Chennai can do this level of shade matching. How were the dust levels and orange peel?

From the pictures, it is a fantastic job. Good you did!

[Maverick Avi]

Thats a hell of a paint job. Great job done by Heera Motors. Wondering whether a paint touch up with same color would have sufficed but I guess you did mention your OCD.

Unfortunately NCR is not a good place to love your cars as you are bound to be heartbroken every now and then. Have been a victim of quite a few severe instances of vandalism on my cars as most of them get parked outside in open. The most recent one a month ago was when someone poured a epoxy compound on my Alto's driver door handle leaving it jammed and useless. I know it was done by kids of construction workers who got hold of this epoxy as I saw them playing with it a day ago but then what could I do.

[Stribog]

I had an issue with a vandal in my apartment, so please ensure you install a camera. They might strike again.

[Vipin Kumar]

Neat paint job! Did they paint the entire panel or only the affected area? And, was it a heat chamber affair?
I believe it would have cost you much more in the Skoda body shop.

[TrackDay]

Looks like a good job . Thanks God for FNG's and affordable friendly neighborhood garages. In situations like these, they come to our relief rather than empty the bank account at the official service center.

[akhilesh]

Originally Posted by Tuisha110HP

I don't have an indoor parking available and the car remains parked alongside my buildings boundary wall. November 2nd, I woke up to this.

Attachment 2078300

Attachment 2078299

My heart just sank then and there. It simply looked like a deliberate attempt. Someone might have done this with keys or a sharp object which cut the coat, paint and went deep into the primer.

Went to my detailer who said it is too deep to go with rubbing and polishing. Suggested me to not go for painting. Having an OCD this was getting onto my nerves and I started going through team BHP directory to search for good painters. Zeroed in for Heera Motors.

Headed to his shop early morning, reached there around 10 am. He guaranteed a 100% paint match and an assurance that the paint would remain matched as long as I intend to keep the vehicle. With a heavy heart, gave a go ahead for repainting.

The body panel being sanded to level the scratch.
Attachment 2078298

4 layers of base coat and 4 layers of clear coat. I asked him to put in an extra layer of clear coat as I would go for Ceramic coating for that panel.
Attachment 2078297

I was handed over the car around 4 PM and was asked to come the next day for rubbing and polishing. Pictures from the second day.

Rubbing being done:
Attachment 2078296

Attachment 2078295


The shop:
Attachment 2078294

The final Product:
Attachment 2078293


I am extremely happy about the output. It might have reduced the resale value of the car by a few thousands. But hey! Do you care about resale value when you own a SKODA?

Dent to the pocket: INR 2500

Next was to go for ceramic coating to my detailer "Detailing devils." He asked me to come without any hesitation and even said he wont charge anything to get that panel ceramic coated. Next day, I landed on to this detailing studio at 10 am sharp. The guys there looked at the panel and said the painting done is indeed immaculate. There is nothing one can complain of. This indeed have me a sense of relief. I was in a tensed situation, a battle between heart and mind thinking about whether I did a good thing going for the paint job or not.

The process started and I was handled over the vehicle in 1.5 hours as the work as not too extensive.. Got that panel coated for 5 years pack as was the entire car. I got a quick wash done before the coating and interior cleaned. I paid INR 1500 for the wash and for the ceramic coating.

Attachment 2078292

Attachment 2078291

Attachment 2078290

Since the car had to going through a lot of changes, wanted to gift her with HID spectacles so that she could see clearly at night. Will post about that in lighting section soon.

The paint matching is spot on . Heera is a great place for these paint jobs. Infact I recently got our honda City completely painted by him. Posted the pics on this link : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/delhi...ml#post4929898 (Paint & Mechanical Work - Heera Motors (Sukhrali, Gurgaon))

[SaiSW]

Such a sad sight to see something which you spent your hard earned money, damaged like that. The work looks neat, it happened to me also once although I was lucky to have parked near an area with cctv coverage and police was able to catch the criminal.

Something like the system in some Teslas which can detect when criminals key your car would be so useful.

[sabi_swat]

My suggestion is instead of paying such amount you can go for DIY solutions. Major/minor scratches and even deep primer injury can be done by you at home at a fraction of price. Here is the list of equipment's you need to DIY:

1) COM PAINT KIT: https://www.com-paint.com/product/sp...ll-other-cars/

2) A 5000 grit sandpaper: You can find it at any hardware store

3) PRIMER SPRAY(Optional), if you have hard time using com paint tube primer.
https://www.amazon.in/SAMURAI-KUROBU...s%2C353&sr=8-4

4) CLEAR COAT SPRAY(optional), if you want more shine rather than using com paint finishing solvent
https://www.amazon.in/SAMURAI-KUROBU...s%2C323&sr=8-2

5) A good rubbing compound although Com Paint com cut will work.
https://www.amazon.in/Turtle-Wax-Rub...s%2C321&sr=1-8

6) A pre waxing procedure glaze: https://www.amazon.in/Meguiars-G1921...motive&sr=1-10

7) A good paste wax (not liquid) : https://www.amazon.in/Turtle-Wax-Sup...3EA91JQ9CN7R7E

Alright, so the total worth of equipment's comes out 3379 INR more or less which will last multiple applications which i think is a deal.

For tutorial how to do it, you can refer to this step by step process by Chris:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUdSUDObwVc

[Utham123]

Originally Posted by Tuisha110HP

I don't have an indoor parking available and the car remains parked alongside my buildings boundary wall. November 2nd, I woke up to this.

I am extremely happy about the output. It might have reduced the resale value of the car by a few thousands. But hey! Do you care about resale value when you own a SKODA?

Dent to the pocket: INR 2500

Sorry to hear about the vandalism. Happy to know that your car is shining as before and the paint job is to your satisfaction. Rs.2500 for that paint job is quite reasonable.
About, resale value of Skoda, I feel you brother! I am a fellow Skoda Rapid owner.

Originally Posted by sabi_swat

My suggestion is instead of paying such amount you can go for DIY solutions. Major/minor scratches and even deep primer injury can be done by you at home at a fraction of price.

I recently scuffed rear end of my new Skoda Rapid in my apartment parking. Frankly, I was embarrassed and devastated as it was just a day old when it happened. So much for my 10 years of driving experience. I could not even navigate through my own parking lot!

I decided not to be emotional about it and give it sometime for the feeling to subside and do some research on DIYs for scratch removal. Fortunately, I do not share the infamous "OCD" of many of our members.. I found the exact same video of Youtuber ChrisFix to be most informative.

Now, I did some online shopping for the materials required for my DIY job.To my surprise, the materials were quite expensive. 3M 5000 grit sandpaper alone costs around 2400 bucks. Meguiar's rubbing compound is around 1000 bucks. These are the one's Chris uses in his video.

The damage to my car had both clear coat and deep paint scratches. I limited my goal to removing the clear coat scratches alone. After reasearching several hours on the internet I bought Waxpol HiFi rubbing compound (Rs. 190) and 3M Auto Speciality Liquid wax (Rs. 280). Picture attached below which shows the damage to the paint. Sorry, I could not get a better shot.

I followed the instructions in the video to the best of my ability. I could remove some clear coat scratches but the results were unsatisfactory as the rubbing compound left swirl marks adjacent to the scratches. Perhaps, a better rubbing compound ( also more expensive one) would be recommended.

Final verdict: I am happy as I tried this and learnt something. I was prepared for any ugly marks my DIY job would leave. I will eventually complete this job at a later time when my appetite for risk increases.

It is long post but my suggestion to anyone like me thinking about a DIY for paint job: Go with an open mind and with an expectation to fail. You will be happy.

PS: I will post pictures of the car after DIY paint job later as the lighting on the day of the job was not good enough to capture it.