Car of the Day - 2003 Honda Civic with Peeling Clear Coat

Before:

Delaminating Paint

Does your car look like this? A lot of our customers ask if this condition is caused by either a manufacturer's defect or from something that happened to their car.

Most likely you didn't do anything wrong and neither did the manufacturer. The paint is just showing its age. We call this condition delaminating paint, delaminating clear coat or just peeling paint. It is caused mainly by ultraviolet rays (UV) from the sun, the same thing that causes sunburn & peeling on humans and the deterioration of your lawn furniture. Weather, chemicals, temperature and other environmental factors also contribute to the paints decline.

In the 1960s & 1970s many people bought a new car every 2-3 years so they never noticed the paint wearing out. On used cars, it was normal to expect to paint the car every 5 years or so. And the average car did not last as long as they do now. Bodies and engines were typically worn out at just 100k miles.

Much has improved since then. Cars often have engine warranties for 100k miles and many last well over 15 years and 200k miles. Because of this, more people are noticing the paint failing on their cars even though the paint is much better than it was 30-40 years ago. Factory paint jobs typically last 7-14 years depending on color, chemistry and environmental conditions.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Happy New Year!

Almost Everything will be closed

from:   Saturday, January 1, 2011 

to:   Monday, January 3, 2011

We'll be back in the shop and hard at work by 8:00 AM, Tuesday, January 4. See you in the New Year!

Photo of Geese at sunset over Bosque del Apache by Judy Liddell
It’s a bird thing…

This photo was taken December 26, 2010 in New Mexico. Nothing to do with cars. Just beautiful. Happy Birthday Jan & thanks Judy for the gorgeous photo.

2011 Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black

More from the boys at Top Gear, here's the new Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black. We need one of these too.

If you fancy the color (or colour), we can make your car look like this. . . well, we can paint it the same hue. It's a special metallic & pearl black and available in all of our paint grades from the least expensive to our finest and most durable high-solids base-coat clear coat.

For the humorous (or is it humourous in "British"?) commentary plus more pics visit: http://www.topgear.com/UK/aston-martin/dbs/road-test/carbon-black-driven?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=twitter

Car of the Day - 1999 Toyota Sienna Dents & Scrapes

Today's Toyota Sienna was damaged in an accident. The customer first tried to touch-up the damaged areas himself. Then he decided to bring it to Almost Everything. He wanted to avoid an insurance claim and increased insurance premiums so Almost Everything worked with him to decide what was necessary to keep the car safe & improve appearance. The customer ultimately decided to fix the big dents and just painted over some of the smaller ones. The customer also chose to mask instead of remove trim and mating panels to minimize labor costs. Almost Everything matched the original factory paint on the quarter panel & door. The vehicle looks much better and the repair costs were less than his deductible.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Emerson's New Favorite Car--McLaren F1

Almost anyone who has visited our shop knows Emerson. One of our suppliers gave us a calendar and December had a car that he was unfamiliar with--probably because it went into production when he was a child. Still, it is to this day one of the fastest and even arguably THE fastest production car ever made (243 mph/372 km/h). And it is now Emerson's new favorite. We've told him to start saving his pennies.

We present, the McLaren F1.

McLaren F1 photo by robad0b / Robin Corps

Photo of McLaren F1 GTR by Przemek Jahr

Produced from 1992 to 1998. Only 106 were ever made. When new they were $1,000,000.00 each. They cost more now, a lot more, if you can get someone to sell one.

Here's a recent Automobile Magazine retrospective on the F1. . . we aren't the only ones who still think it is the next best thing to a ride on a space shuttle, or maybe better:
http://www.automobilemag.com/features/0809_1992_mclaren_f1/index.html

McLaren was formed in 1963 by racing driver Bruce McLaren. It is famous more for its decades of engineering amazing race cars. But McLaren also engineered and manufactured the 2003-2010 Mercedes Benz SLR and for those who missed out on the F1 and the SLR, McLaren recently announced plans for a new street legal supercar, the MP4-12C.

For Burn-Out Fans

Courtesy of our buddies at Jalopnik, this short video demonstrates a worst case scenario.

Car of the Day - 2006 Chevrolet Corvette with Auto Bodywork

Today's Car of the Day is a nice 2006 Chevrolet Corvette that came in with a crack on the right door. Almost Everything Autobody repaired the crack on the fiberglass door, refinish (painted) the right door and blended the right quarter panel for perfect color match. Almost Everything Autobody color sand and polish the areas painted to ensure a seamless match to factory finish.

Before:

After:

Maserati Khasmin

The Maserati Story in Pictures

Maserati Quattroporte--What All the Fuss is About

If you've spent any time on Almost Everything Autobody's site, or looked at our screen savers in the shop, you probably know that we are Maserati fans. We want a Maserati Quattroporte for a delivery van. Here's what the fuss is about, courtesy of our good friend Jeremy at Top Gear:

Almost Everything Closed for Holidays

Almost Everything Autobody will be closed

From:  Friday, December 24, 2010
To:     Monday, December 27, 2010

We'll be back to work at 8:00 AM on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Almost Everything Autobody!

The Almost Everything Autobody Christmas Ficus

Almost Everything Autobody's Idea of a Christmas Tree

Thanks to Emerson & Bob for putting the lights in our ficus tree.

2 Ferrari's Crash. . . Into Each Other?!!

Here's a little something RED for our Christmas edition. Could it possibly be a true story? We have our doubts but if true, the end of the world may be nigh!

Ferrari 348 Broadsides Ferrari Testarosa in Parking Lot

The story goes that a former surgeon turned baseball coach loans his 2 Ferraris, a 1991 Testarosa and a 1995 348, to a bunch of his high school baseball players. The kids drive to the mall and fight over a parking place, managing to do major damage to both of the cars.

Strangely enough, none of the kids were supposed to have died at the hands of the surgeon. That Hippocratic Oath is really something!

Visit WreckedExotics.com for the complete story and more photos that sure look real.

Car of the Day - 2003 Toyota MR2

Today's Car of the Day is a nice 2003 Toyota MR2 that came in with a broken lower engine cover. This customer was racing their car and went into a pot hole, the engine cover on the lower part of the vehicle broke off and had Almost Everything Autobody replaced it with the OEM part.

Car of the Day - 2001 Honda Accord with Accident Damage

Today's Honda had lots of dents. We painted it with our Presidential single stage paint that comes with a 2 year gloss warranty.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Citroën SM

Citroën is the French auto manufacturer famed for the very early front-wheel drive Traction Avant and pioneering work in pneumatic suspensions, active suspensions and aerodynamics. Citroën owned Maserati in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The SM was Citroën's flagship, Motor Trend's Car of the Year and the basis for the French Presidential Limousine (click link for image of French President Georges Pompidou and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Citroen SM Limousine) as well as a platform for the Maserati Merak.

Maserati Wins 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship

Photo by FlashPhase

2010 FIA GT1 Champion Maserati Team & MC12s

Almost Everything Autobody celebrates Maserati's win in the FIA GT1 World Championship. GT racing is, in our humble opinion, the greatest racing in the world because it features cars that can actually be purchased and driven on real roads. Previously Maserati has won 5 consecutive FIA GT Manufacturers Cups from 2005-2009 with their dominating MC12. In 2005 Maserati beat 2nd place Ferrari by nearly 2x in the points standing! And now they have won the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship, beating Aston Martin (another favorite), Corvette, Ford GT (okay, they are all favorites), Lamborghini & Nissan GT-R.







Maserati is near and dear to the hearts of the crew here at Almost Everything Autobody for 3 reasons.

The first, of course, is that Maserati has produced some of the most beautiful and fastest works of art in the history of man (we'll excuse them for everything that happened in the 1980s & 1990s.)

Second, since 2008 it has been a dream and is actually written into the employee manual & the business plan that Almost Everything Autobody will procure a Maserati Quattroporte to use as a customer courtesy shuttle. It was supposed to happen in Dec. 2010 but the past couple of years have been economically tough for everyone in the world as well as us here at Almost Everything so the plan has been pushed back. 2011 looks to be a good year for business and we are hopeful.

Third, Frank Barnard, Almost Everything Autobody's President, bought a Maserati-engined 1973 Citroën SM as his second car. Citroën is the French auto manufacturer that owned Maserati in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The SM was Citroën's flagship as well as a platform for the Maserati Merak.

Citroën SM

Congratulations to Maserati, the Vitaphone Racing Team and drivers Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini for their fantastic achievement. You are all welcome to stop by the shop anytime!

For more on the story, visit the Maserati website: http://www.maserati.com/maserati/en/en/index/maseraticorse/gt1-world/races/san-luis-magazine-2010/race.html?uid=6048745088&mid=600317332

2011(?) Ferrari 458 GTC Breaks Cover

From our friends at Top Gear and DogFightMag.com, here are some spy shots of the brand-spanking new Ferrari 458 GTC undergoing testing. Look for it at the 2011 Sebring 12 Hour endurance race.

Ferrari 458 GTC snapped in testing - BBC Top Gear

Car of the Day - 2001 GMC Yukon Fender Bender

Today's Yukon has had a dented fender since it was new and it has bother the owner for years. When he found out how little Almost Everything would charge to fix it, he kicked himself for having waited so long. And the repair took just a couple of days. He was so pleased, he plans to bring his 1930 Ford for paint next. . . we'll provide pictures when that one comes in!

Before:

After:

Before:

Before:

After:

After:

Car of the Day - 2001 Mercedes Benz C240 with Auto Bodywork and Paint

Today's car of the day is a 2001 Mercedes Benz C240 that came in with peeling paint and bondo cracks all over the car. Almost Everything Autobody repaired the cracking bondo and recondition all the peeling paint. Almost Everything Autobody painted the entire car using the famous Presidential Auto Paint Service.

Before:

After: