Does Your Car Need a New Paint Job?

You might think that your car should only be painted after suffering dent damage or if you've recently had an accident. However, keeping your car's paint sleek will not only improve its resale value, but a good paint job also keeps problems like rust at bay and leaves your car looking good as new.

Luckily, you can always repaint your car whenever you like. Take note of the signs below to help you know when your vehicle needs a fresh new look.

A Fading Exterior

Fading is when your car's exterior paint job starts to deteriorate, leaving behind a lackluster appearance. Your car appears to change color once fading begins. Faded paint makes your car look old and tired.

Some of the main reasons for fading include:

• Prolonged sunlight exposure. UV sun rays alter your car's color pigment because of gradual chemical and physical breakdown. As a result, oxidation occurs and causes the paint to appear dull and rough-looking.
• Bird droppings. Droppings are naturally acidic and corrode your car's paint if you park your car close to bird nests, especially if you leave the droppings on your car for a long time.
• Road salt. During winter, salt is an excellent catalyst for melting off snow from the road. Unfortunately, once the salt gets into contact with your car's body, the paint might start fading. In some extreme cases, rust may form on the exterior and damage your vehicle's metal structure.

Vehicle owners generally prefer to wax their cars regularly to slow down the paint fading process. However, you should still have your professional auto paint expert perform a corrective paint job after some time to maintain a vibrant color and protective coating.

Deep Scratching

Paint scratches can come from vandalism, auto collisions, or parking mistakes. Scratches ruin your car's appearance and can trigger further damage to your car's exterior. Buffing quickly gets rid of mild scratches, but for deeper or more extensive ones, you'd need to get a fresh paint job.

Your professional auto body expert can assess the extent of the scratches and recommend a suitable action plan. Sometimes, if the scratches are too severe, the only solution is to change an entire panel.

Be sure to consult with your auto painting expert for a more in-depth professional assessment. Also, depending on your car's paint condition, your auto painting professional might suggest a completely new paint job to give your car a more uniform appearance.

Fine Cracking and Peeling

Fine cracks appear after you leave your car exposed to sunlight for long periods. They can also show up if you don't wax the exterior regularly. Cracks are unsightly and may point towards a bad paint job. Because they result from dried paint, they can eventually worsen; the paint may actually start to peel off.

Peeling happens after the base coat and the clear coat disintegrate. In doing so, your base paint is now vulnerable to gradual deterioration. When the base paint clears off, your car's metal exterior will be exposed to bubbling, rust, and other related problems.

Dried-out paint is first scraped off before applying a new coat of paint. Once all of the dried, flaky paint is off, your auto paint expert will then apply a new coating before finishing off with a final clear coat. The clear coat works to protect your new paint job and maintain a vibrant appearance for longer.

Different painting techniques exist depending on the condition of your car, with each method tailored towards a specific outcome. Should you need reliable painting services for your car, feel free to contact us at

Coats Auto Body & Paint.