Collision & Body Work
Paint repair near you
Paint repair for faded, peeling or damaged paint on one panel or area: sanded, primed, colour-matched, clear-coated and blended in.
- Time at the shop
- 4 h
- about
- Mobile service
- Available
- at your address
- Shops in Canada
- 1
- doing this work
- Your price
- You set it
- shops bid on it
You set the budget
Shops near you send their bids
1 shop in Canada does this
Collision & Body Work
What paint repair is
Paint repair covers damage bigger than a scratch but short of a full repaint: clear coat peeling off a roof, a faded hood, a patch of blistered paint, a panel left bare after another repair, or etching from bird droppings and tree sap. The work is normally priced by the panel or by the area rather than by the vehicle.
The old finish is sanded back to sound paint, or to bare metal where it has failed, and dents and pinholes are filled. The area is primed, sanded smooth, then sprayed with colour-matched base coat and clear coat. New paint never matches aged paint exactly, so the painter blends the colour into the neighbouring panel and carries the clear coat across the whole panel, leaving no visible join. A final polish evens the gloss.
- For cars, EVs, vans and trucks
- Takes about 4 h
- Can be done at your address
What does paint repair cost?
It depends on your vehicle and the shop. Post a job with your budget and compare the bids shops near you send.
Get bids
Name your budget. Shops near you bid.
1 shop across Canada does paint repair.
What to expect
Paint repair, step by step
What the job normally covers, what to mention in your request, and the signs that it is time. Every shop says what its bid includes.
The job
What’s included
- Failing or damaged paint inspected, with the likely cause noted, such as sun, chips or a poor earlier repair
- Old finish sanded back to sound paint or bare metal, with the edges feathered
- Dents and pinholes filled, then primer sprayed and sanded smooth
- Paint mixed to your vehicle’s code and checked on a test card against the panel
- Base coat and clear coat sprayed in a booth or a controlled work area
- Colour blended into the next panel, or clear coat carried across, so no edge shows
- Cured finish polished, with masking removed and trim and badges refitted
Checklist
Before you post
- 01Ask whether the estimate is for a spot repair, one panel or one panel plus a blend, and what the blend adds
- 02If paint is faded on nearby panels, ask how the repair will look beside it; a fresh panel next to chalky paint shows
- 03For peeling clear coat, ask if the whole panel is redone; patching one spot usually fails again at the edge
- 04Ask to see the finished panel in daylight, beside an untouched panel, before you take the vehicle home
- 05Get the warranty in writing, including whether it covers clear coat that lifts again at the edge of the repair
- 06For a mobile repair, ask how a rainy or cold day is handled and whether the work moves indoors
Signs
When you need it
- Clear coat peeling in sheets or turning cloudy on the roof, hood or trunk lid
- A faded, chalky patch of paint after years of sun
- Bubbles or blisters in the paint, often a sign that rust has started underneath
- A replaced or repaired panel that still needs a colour-matched finish
- Scratches or chips covering a patch too large for touch-up
Sound familiar?Tell shops near you what you need and what you want to spend.
Get bidsHow it works
Get paint repair done in four steps
You set the budget and choose the shop. Posting is free, and you pay the shop you hire once the work is 100% done.
- 01
Post your job
Choose the service, describe the job and your vehicle, and set your budget. It takes two minutes and costs nothing.
- 02
Shops compete
Nearby shops that do the work see your request and send their best offer: price, when they can start, what is included.
- 03
Accept the best offer
Compare bids, ratings and distance, then hire one shop. The others are told, politely.
- 04
Talk and get it done
Your conversation with the shop opens right away to agree on the day. You pay only after the job is complete.
Keep exploring
Related services
Scratch repair
Scratch repair for scuffs and stone chips: polished out, touched up or repainted, from light clear coat marks to gouges down to the metal.
Full repaint
A full repaint in your original colour or a new one: prep, primer, base coat and clear coat sprayed in a booth, usually over one to three weeks.
Rust repair
Rust repair on rocker panels, wheel wells, doors and box corners: bad metal cut out or ground back, then patched, sealed and repainted.
Detailing & Car Wash
Paint correction
Paint correction that machine-polishes swirl marks, light scratches, water spots and oxidation out of the clear coat, then seals the finish.
Collision repair
Collision repair at a body shop: damage estimated, structure straightened, panels refinished in matched paint and driver-assist sensors checked.
Questions
Questions about paint repair
General answers for drivers in Canada. The shop you hire confirms the details for your vehicle.
Why is the clear coat peeling on my car?
Clear coat breaks down under sunlight and heat, and it fails early on flat surfaces such as the roof, hood and trunk lid. A poor earlier repair, where the new coat never bonded properly, is another cause. It turns cloudy, then flakes away. Peeling clear coat cannot be polished or glued back, so the panel has to be sanded and cleared again.
Will the new paint match the old paint?
It will be close, but never exact: new paint does not match aged paint perfectly, so the painter blends the colour into the next panel. The painter starts from your paint code, adjusts the mix to allow for fading, and sprays a test card to compare with the panel. That blend is also why a spot repair can cover more area than the damaged spot.
How long does paint repair take?
A spot or single-panel repair in a shop usually takes a day or two, because the primer, paint and clear coat each need time to dry, bake and cure. Two or three panels take longer. A mobile technician can finish a small repair in a few hours, but rain or cold can push the visit to another day.
Can paint repair be done at my home or workplace?
Small areas can be. The technician needs a dry, sheltered, dust-free spot, ideally a garage, and mild weather, because cold and damp make fresh paint cure poorly. Panel-wide repairs and any colour that needs blending across several panels last longer when sprayed in a booth, so many mobile technicians will suggest the shop for those.
How soon can I wash or wax a repaired panel?
Wait about a week before a gentle hand wash and a month or more before wax or sealant. Fresh paint keeps hardening for weeks after the repair, so stay away from brush car washes and close-range pressure washing in the meantime. Ask the shop for its specific instructions, since they depend on the paint system used.
Something else to ask? Once you hire a shop, you talk to it directly in your request’s conversation.
Ready when you areTell shops near you what you need and what you want to spend.
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