[Rustydaytons]

Originally Posted by dpevans

Had a paintless dent done couple months ago and after speaking with him for several hours while he did the repair I am not sure there are many well qualified body guys left in the business. He had done it for 30 years and got out because it's all about getting it out the door. If I have any body work that needs done I will only allow this guy's recommendation on who to do it. I agree that most body shops are not accustom to the level of quality we expect. I asked him about several imperfections in the factory paint and he said 99% of the people out there will never see those defects.

This post nailed it. 99% of people do not have an eye for this type of thing and that allows body shop to release crappy work. Most people see it as a shiney car. Armor all the tires to add a little more zazz. But really panel wavy like an ocean and finish covered in texture. The whole panel. Service king is one of these. I made them redo some work on my wife's SUV she didn't notice but I did. And I've taught her to notice things.

[Gunsmokez]

Originally Posted by Marty McFlew

You can't see the imperfections until its painted. The fact is the insurance don't want to admit that in some cases they will just lose money on some repairs. Why do they feel they need to continue to pocket $$ in one repair after they continue to take your $$$$ in premiums years after year? Then when you need them they still try and screw you. I would suggest the OP fight this to the end until satisfied. Tie it up in court because it will cost them more money than you at that point.

You can run your hand down the panel and feel for waves. Or spray it with solvent cleaner, and take a look at it . It will show the waves right away.

[Gunsmokez]

Originally Posted by Rustydaytons

Blocked down what? You can't recreate body lines with filler. I mean you can but that's not what filler is for.

um, yes you can. You do the metal work first, get it as close as you can and filler the rest. You can make any kind of body line. Recessed with curves and thinning out over the edge was for me the hardest .

You can make a body line razor sharp lol before they even prime it. Body work is a talent, very hard to train someone to do it. Some guys are better at the mechanical side of things, and some are way better at filler work.

[Jeanius]

Originally Posted by Gunsmokez

um, yes you can. You do the metal work first, get it as close as you can and filler the rest. You can make any kind of body line. Recessed with curves and thinning out over the edge was for me the hardest .

You can make a body line razor sharp lol before they even prime it. Body work is a talent, very hard to train someone to do it. Some guys are better at the mechanical side of things, and some are way better at filler work.

So the question is, is the shop lacking skill or just lazy hoping I wasnt gonna care.

[SK GT]

Sorry OP for the situation. Lots of good information in this thread for others to see.

Did you look into a diminished value claim? I don't know much about the process or even if you are eligible due to what happened. Curious as to what some of the insurance guys that posted here have to say about that.

[Rustydaytons]

Originally Posted by Gunsmokez

um, yes you can. You do the metal work first, get it as close as you can and filler the rest. You can make any kind of body line. Recessed with curves and thinning out over the edge was for me the hardest .

You can make a body line razor sharp lol before they even prime it. Body work is a talent, very hard to train someone to do it. Some guys are better at the mechanical side of things, and some are way better at filler work.

The body line is created by metal as you stated. Not by filler.

[jingaling]

I did not look into a diminished value claim. I'm guessing it would have been easier for something like that if there were 2 vehicles involved and I got the information of the other guy.
Here are pics of the panel after the repair. (car is dirty)

[SK GT]

From that last set of pictures, to my eyes at least, it looks fine now.

You saw it before and can compare the other side so you know exactly what you are looking for though.

[Rustydaytons]

Looks good from here. Any imperfections you see. No one else is going to see

[jingaling]

It looks good. If I had to complain about anything I would say that the finish doesn't seem to be as glossy as the other side, but Maybe it's just in my head... My wife says she doesn't notice any difference. If the clear coat is lighter and starts to fail in on it I'll take it in and have the insurance redo it. They gave a lifetime warranty on the repair, so I'll be sure to make them honor it. I'm happy to have it back and the repair 'looks' about as good as new.

[Lanzz]

Not ignoring the significant inconvenience you endured, but I would say it is a good looking repair at this point. They got the metallic finish right, and the overall paint match looks great in the pictures. So glad things appear to have worked out.

[Jeanius]

Originally Posted by jingaling

It looks good. If I had to complain about anything I would say that the finish doesn't seem to be as glossy as the other side, but Maybe it's just in my head... My wife says she doesn't notice any difference. If the clear coat is lighter and starts to fail in on it I'll take it in and have the insurance redo it. They gave a lifetime warranty on the repair, so I'll be sure to make them honor it. I'm happy to have it back and the repair 'looks' about as good as new.

Man that looks pretty much pre accident, but my damage was far worse, going in tomorrow morning to see how it looks after they worked on it, i made a side by side of your repair so I can show the body shop what I want

[jingaling]

Best tip I can give you is... get far enough away and compare the front to the back. If you aren't happy with it don't accept it. Good luck tomorrow.

[Jeanius]

Well...

I went and looked at the car, and was not satisfied, the shop offered to redo it.

They reworked the panel and could not get the metal back to the necessary angle in order to create the crisp line with the filler. He said the metal is stretched, and if they attempted ti pull it out any further would rip. They tried and left it, gave me a call to come and look.

Went in today and saw the issue, we were finally able to get a hold of the Geico Supervisor and by luck he was gonna be in the area. He came out, shop owner showed him what was going on and explained to him why the panel could not be repaired to pre accident condition and he agreed.

So, Geico is adjusting the hours for the panel to be replaced, the owner of the shop is eating the cost of the 2nd attempt, and other associated costs from the first attempt.

I should have it back in 2.5 weeks with a new quarter.

Moral of the story, if anyone ever is in this situation and stumbles upon this thread GET THE REPLACEMENT! Push for it! It will save you a lot of time and headache!!

As a result I am going to cancel Geico and go with a more reputable insurance, the Supervisor had nothing to say when the owner called him out for not calling him back over the span of 2.5 weeks.