Over the years, we’ve gotten hundreds of questions from our customers. We’ve compiled the most common ones to answer them for you right here! Many of them pertain to our services specifically. We’re an expert car paint touch-up company servicing LA and Orange Counties in Southern California. Here’s everything you might want to know before an appointment with us:
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are you?
You might want to know a thing or two about our company and technicians before you elect to have us repair your vehicle. The owner of PaintCraft, Steve Bode, has been doing car paint touch-up for over 15 years. He was solo for most of that time, but decided to bring on a few others to manage the company’s growth over the last couple years. All of us are artists with a passion for helping others. Every paint technician on our team has been trained by Steve himself. We actually have another post all about our team here, so check that out to learn more about us!
How do I get a quote?
Before you schedule an appointment with us, make sure your vehicle’s damage is something that we can repair and that you’ll be happy with the results touch-up can provide. You can get a quote from us by texting photos of your vehicle’s damage to 714-766-0464. Please note that we can’t give you a quote without photos and we don’t come out to give estimates.
How do I schedule an appointment?
Go to our online scheduler here to select an available date/time slot. Appointments are for 3-hour windows. The time you select is the beginning of your 3-hour window. Your technician will come sometime within that window and will let you know when they’re on the way.
Where are you located?
We don’t have a physical location because we are a mobile service. Below is a map with our general service area circled in red. If you’re outside of our service area, we may ask you to meet us somewhere within our service area.
What is touch-up?
Touch-up is a non-expensive way to repair and protect minor car paint damage. It’s generally good for small chips, light scratches, and minor scrapes. Our specialty is filling in the hundreds of tiny rock chips (road rash) on front bumpers and hoods. The paint system we use, Dr.Colorchip, allows us to fill in all the chips in a short amount of time and remove excess paint so there are no paint blobs left behind. Click here to learn more about the goals of touch-up and what you can expect.
How much does touch-up cost?
Our prices range from $150-$250 per vehicle. Sometimes, we offer discounts if you have multiple cars for us to repair at once. We have an in-depth pricing guide here. You can also send us a photo of your vehicle’s damage for a quote by texting the photos to 714-766-0464.
How much would a body shop charge?
A body shop will remove the damaged panel from your car, sand it down, and respray it in a controlled environment. That process takes a bit more effort than touch-up, and will therefore be a bit more expensive. They will usually charge anywhere from $250-$600 per panel, depending on your location and the damage. This means that if a scratch spans two panels, you’ll be charged $400+ for a body shop repair. Granted, the damage will disappear completely, but it may not be necessary to pay so much for minor damage repair.
Do you offer services other than touch-up?
We’re often asked if we can do dent repair, spray painting, windshields, rims, interior, etc. Currently, we only offer minor paint touch-up and headlight restoration. We’re working on adding some more services so stay tuned!
Can you match my vehicle’s color?
The short answer is: yes! We have a huge selection of paints that are made according to factory specifications. We have most common vehicle colors on hand for every brand, plus a handful of not-so-common colors. All of our technicians are expertly trained artists that are able to mix just about any color exactly. If we don’t have your color and we can’t mix it, we can order it!
Do you want to use my touch-up paint?
We use Dr.Colorchip paint exclusively. Their paint system allows us to work our magic. Touch-up paint that you get from the dealership is really hard to work with and usually leaves paint blobs. So, we appreciate your offer, but we will stick to using the best touch-up system around for optimal results!
Can you remove bad touch-up?
Absolutely! As mentioned in the answer above, most traditional touch-up paints are hard to work with and will leave paint blobs. It’s also possible that your car was touched up with a color that was close, but not quite close enough. Either way, we can easily remove it and make it look much better.
Are your repairs permanent?
Yes, they are! We suggest that you wait 24 hours after touch-up is completed before washing or waxing your vehicle. After that, it will last as long as you have your car.
How long does it take to dry?
It really only takes about 15-30 minutes, depending on how many layers of paint are required. You can drive right after we finish. We suggest that you wait 24 hours after touch-up is completed before washing or waxing your vehicle, just to be safe!
Will I still see the damage when you’re done?
This is a tough one. The answer is: maybe. Touch-up is not a method of making damage disappear, but rather of making it look better and keeping it protected from rust and further chipping. There are a lot of factors that play into what the final result will be. Your best bet is to send us photos of your vehicle’s damage before your appointment. We’ll tell you about how much better it will look and give you a quote. If you decide that you’d rather it look brand new, we’ll refer you to someone who can spray it for you! It will be a bit more expensive than our services, but will give you the result you desire. Check out our post here on expectations vs. reality for touch-up to get a better idea of what touch-up can do for you.
