Hi all,
I’ve got a few issues with the paint on my car. The bonnet is covered in stone chips and has some etched in bird shiza and the bumper has a number of scratches and scuffs.

http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af316/jackal_021/IMG_0034.jpg

http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af316/jackal_021/IMG_0039.jpg

I plan on getting the bonnet and bumper resprayed as a Christmas present to myself, but I’m wondering if the respray will cause these bits to really stand-out because of the fresh paint being placed on a car with nine year-old paint. I guess my question is, how well can the new paint be matched to the existing colour of my car?

Also, I’ve received a few quotes which vary wildly and have been as high as $1,000. What would be a fair price to properly respray the bonnet and bumper?

Finally, what are people’s experiences with professional cut and polishes? I’m thinking of getting my car cut and polished at this place (http://www.goldcoastautodetailing.com.au/car-polishing-gold-coast)but I don’t know if it’s worth it for the results.

Thanks guys.

EDIT: Apologies if this is in the wrong section.

$1,000 isn't really that expensive for that amount of work, really...depending on the quality, of course.

A good job shouldn't be visible to you, if it's done correctly. (Well, maybe just; but if the guards are blended in well, I doubt it.).

A good panel beater should be able to match the colour pretty well. If you're a fussy bugger it probably won't be perfect though, so it might be worth living with some little imperfections to preserve the factory paint.

I'm not sure how well you remember my car from the show and shine, but the boot lid/spoiler and the front bumper have both been repainted on separate occasions. They will usually blend in the paint on the surrounding panels - even though it was only my boot lid that was replaced, they repainted right up to the top of the C pillar (you can see the join in good light :rant:).

I have never had a professional detail done, but would thoroughly recommend it. I would recommend a proper paint correction. A basic 'cut and polish' is usually a bit of a stop-gap solution in my opinion - fine if you want to brighten up a dull car to sell, but not a wise use of money in the long term.

I have seen the results of Driven by Shine (http://www.drivenbyshine.com.au/) on Detail Paradise (http://www.detailparadise.com.au) before and would suggest you take a look at them.

Your car's paint doesn't have issues, it's just old, like the rest of the car. No, honestly, check other cars of the same age and you will see they are all suffering from the same age related problems. A partial respray will just draw your attention to other places on the car that have problems. My advice is to leave it alone, save your money. Or go the whole way, and get a full respray. A good clean and polish may make you feel better about the car though.