[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I have left the car at MSM today morning for getting it done through insurance. May cost about Rs 3800. I will be called as soon as the surveyor okays it, for my concurrence to commence the work. I will have to pay Rs 450 for a new door beading as it is an extra fitting and will not come under insurance.

Is your car back from MSM as yet ? Would like to know how it went. Please post some pics as well.

[Gansan]

They said it will be ready tomorrow (5.12.09). The surveyor gave the approval yesterday morning. I have to bear Rs 800 (Rs 500 processing chgs for the insurance co + Rs 300 towards 50% cost of the rubber beading) and the insurance will take care of the balance amount.

When I went there last evening the car was still parked on the terrace! I have told them to fix the rubber beading only after I have a look at the finished door. I had a look at their paint booth facility on the first floor. Looked fine to me, but of course, I have not seen any others before for comparison. The guy told me they will also apply a clear coat after finishing, just like it is done in the factory. He showed me a finished bonnet of another Alto in caribean blue. I looked at it closely and could not make out it was a repaired/re-painted piece. I requested him to do something about a 3 inch scratch on the rear right door that shows the white coat underneath - don't know how it occured, perhaps a hyper active kid with a sharp object!
He promised to touch it up with a brush, but warned me it will be visible, at least from close quarters. That is OK with me.

I will post pictures once the car comes back. Too bad I don't have the "before" pictures, will try to get them from the surveyor if that is possible!

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by Gansan

They said it will be ready tomorrow (5.12.09). The surveyor gave the approval yesterday morning. I have to bear Rs 800 (Rs 500 processing chgs for the insurance co + Rs 300 towards 50% cost of the rubber beading) and the insurance will take care of the balance amount.

When I went there last evening the car was still parked on the terrace! I have told them to fix the rubber beading only after I have a look at the finished door. I had a look at their paint booth facility on the first floor. Looked fine to me, but of course, I have not seen any others before for comparison. The guy told me they will also apply a clear coat after finishing, just like it is done in the factory. He showed me a finished bonnet of another Alto in caribean blue. I looked at it closely and could not make out it was a repaired/re-painted piece. I requested him to do something about a 3 inch scratch on the rear right door that shows the white coat underneath - don't know how it occured, perhaps a hyper active kid with a sharp object!
He promised to touch it up with a brush, but warned me it will be visible, at least from close quarters. That is OK with me.

I will post pictures once the car comes back. Too bad I don't have the "before" pictures, will try to get them from the surveyor if that is possible!

Applying clear coat (lacquer) is part of the painting process more so for metallic shades and something that brings out the actual gloss.

In my experience, I have seen that the paint finish to match the factory finish at least 95% if there has not been a need for tinkering. I can show you in my car where tinkering had to be done which resulted in a wave like pattern after the painting got done. This, I was told is due to the heating of the metal sheet (which has the thickness of a metal can) while tinkering.

On the minor scratch, it is best to touch it up with a little paint than going in for painting the entire area.

As we all know, nothing matches factory finish.

[Gansan]

They told me to come at 5.00 PM today but I arrived at 11.30 AM. Just as well. Because I found the dented door finished and gleaming like a new one, but the driver's door had a long, thin scratch for half it's length,exposing the white coat underneath.

I called the SA, they verified the job card and ensured it was not present when the car came in. So they have now re-painted the entire door, and the car is baking inside the paint booth right now. I will post further updates after taking delivery.

[Gansan]

They have painted the driver side door too. The entire process took slightly over 1 hour. About half an hour for surface preparation / masking unwanted areas, then car was driven in to the paint booth. Then I saw them apply the paint two or three times, over which a clear liquid (clear coat?) was finally applied. Then they set the timer for baking and came out. I went down to the lobby for tea, from where I made the previous post. When I returned to the body shop about 40 minutes later, the car was already out of the booth and getting cleaned. Then they fixed a new beading on the re-painted rear door and sent the car for washing.

I was apprehensive about washing the car within one hour of painting the driver side door, but the guy said the paint would already have dried inside the booth due to the baking process and could safely be washed. Is this true?

Both the doors look clean and shining after the job. But I wish they had not scratched the front door at all. The total bill was Rs 3708.00 for the dented rear door, out of which I had to pay Rs 573.00. The front door was done free of cost. Since it was too late for taking pictures, I will click and upload it tomorrow.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I was apprehensive about washing the car within one hour of painting the driver side door, but the guy said the paint would already have dried inside the booth due to the baking process and could safely be washed. Is this true?

No inputs about this doubt, anyone?

I also noticed that the area of sheet metal that touches the window glass of the front door (the window sill,for want of a better term) is not smooth and glossy like the rest of the freshly painted area, but a little rough to the touch. I don't know if the clear coat has not touched here, or they have not done the polishing. Is this an issue and should I take the car for checking? Can it cause any long term damage? This is not the case with the dented rear door, which is uniformly smooth and shiny.

Here are a few pics:
The first two pics show the repaired rear door. The dent happened exactly underneath the rubber beading, which went inside. The next three pics show the front door,which was scratched and then repainted by them. Note the slight shade difference between the rear door/rear panel and front door/front panel respectively. Will it help if I go for a wax polishing? They say the freshly painted area will also become less bright and match with the old paint after a while. I hope they are right.

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by Gansan

No inputs about this doubt, anyone?

I also noticed that the area of sheet metal that touches the window glass of the front door (the window sill,for want of a better term) is not smooth and glossy like the rest of the freshly painted area, but a little rough to the touch. I don't know if the clear coat has not touched here, or they have not done the polishing. Is this an issue and should I take the car for checking? Can it cause any long term damage? This is not the case with the dented rear door, which is uniformly smooth and shiny.

I am sure the clear coat has not reached the window sill. I have faced this problem when I got my car painted. There is no long term damage because of this but for the finish and shine you would be missing.

On the face of it, the paint job seems to be decent. Cannot spot any anomalies on the face of it. Closer inspection might reveal a better picture. The shade difference is noticeable but not so obvious IMO.

Try running your palm across the painted area for any minor specks of dust or bubbles.

On your query regarding washing the car, I do not understand why there is a need to wash a car that has been painted just a hour before unless absolutely necessary.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by rr_zen

I am sure the clear coat has not reached the window sill. I have faced this problem when I got my car painted. There is no long term damage because of this but for the finish and shine you would be missing.

On the face of it, the paint job seems to be decent. Cannot spot any anomalies on the face of it. Closer inspection might reveal a better picture. The shade difference is noticeable but not so obvious IMO.

Try running your palm across the painted area for any minor specks of dust or bubbles.

On your query regarding washing the car, I do not understand why there is a need to wash a car that has been painted just a hour before unless absolutely necessary.

Thanks. They washed the car because it was covered with a thin film of powdery dust, and also because it had to be delivered to me. I told them to just clean the car and that I will bring it back after a couple of days for washing, or even take delivery on Monday if necessary, but they said it was ok to wash it and went ahead.

I did feel the painted area with my fingers and spotted two tiny specs which I pointed out. They said it can be rectified by rubbing compound/polishing when the car comes for second service at the end of this month, as it would be better to wait some time before doing this.

I think the roughness of the window sill is not present on the rear door since it was removed and painted separately, while the front one was painted by just masking out the rest of the areas.

[navan49]

Hi Zen,
I would like to give you another tip to avail the facility of discount from MSM. Just call them one day in advance and book your service or repair job. The do it in time as well as 5% discount on your bill. If you need the phone number and reference pl PM me. I am worried whether we can post the reference and phone number in this thread or not

[arjunrudra]

I think MSM is the best. Going there tomorrow to get my first free service for the swift.
Any idea how much time they take to do it ?

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by arjunrudra

I think MSM is the best. Going there tomorrow to get my first free service for the swift.
Any idea how much time they take to do it ?

If you have booked in advance, you can wait there for a couple of hours and take the car.

[rr_zen]

Looks like "Quick Service" seems to be the order of the day. My Civic is due for its first free service next week and I was told that I could wait for an hour or so and take the car.

[bharathgana]

Originally Posted by flipsyde

hey aditya u should consider ABT, adyar if you want personal attention for your car. everytime i go there i get to spend about an hour with the supervisor attending the car and explain all the niggling issues.

and about the rattling.... i dont think it can ever go away. everytime i get it fixed it gets undone in about 2000 kms. anyway i'd recommend ABT,adyar.

I have booked my Swift Vdi at ABT Ambattur Industrial Estate , Chennai. Awaiting delivery, meanwhile wanted fellow T-BHPians to share their experience of *** at ABT Adyar. I plan to leverage their Adyar Service Station as that works closer to my place of stay.

References at ABT's Adyar SS will be appreciated.

[joshguy]

Originally Posted by bharathgana

I have booked my Swift Vdi at ABT Ambattur Industrial Estate , Chennai. Awaiting delivery, meanwhile wanted fellow T-BHPians to share their experience of *** at ABT Adyar. I plan to leverage their Adyar Service Station as that works closer to my place of stay.

References at ABT's Adyar SS will be appreciated.

My suggestion is CARS india in adyar i ve been servicing my car there for the past 2 years and i would rate them 7star

And most importantly if its denting and painting PLEASE DO NOT GO TO ABT GUINDY. THEY ARE WORSE THAN THE LOCAL TINKERER .

THE MAGNITUDE OF MISTAKE WAS SO SO MUCH THAT I COMPLAINED TO MARUTI DIRECTLY,now i dont want to even recollect that incident.

[getsriram]

Hi Guys,

My Sx4 has lots of minor scratches. Especially, the front bumper has a lot and the paint seems to erode slowly. 2 years back I had repainted the front bumper with CARS India Adyar (kotivakkam for body shop), while replacing some other component under insurance. I am not too happy with their painting and dent reparing job.

Do you suggest some other place? How about Maruti Service Masters in Guindy?

Inputs invited, as i am planning to give my car for service this weekend and if possible get the body work also done.