Graphic Retouches

Late last year, Irving Bell bought a new Oldsmobile Bravada. Bell, of West Chester, Pa., is a product manager for an automotive paint manufacturer. He was happy with the dark indigo blue finish on the SUV, which bears an MSRP of $37,500. "But it needed a little extra touch," he says.

So Bell went to Concord Auto Body in Concordville, Pa., and had a small vinyl pinstripe applied from the front fender to the tailgate of his vehicle. Bell says the gold and silver stripe "goes with the chrome wheels and gold emblem, and sets off the whole look without being gaudy."

Bell's ride thus joins a large number of vehicles in the U. S. sporting graphics and stripes. Opinions vary as to whether it's a majority, but many cars, pickups, SUVs and vans have some sort of graphic element with that little (or not so little) extra touch to set it off. It may be a pinstripe or something more elaborate, and it may be executed with either paint or vinyl (decals). Either way, autobody repair shops are often faced with the task of repairing those graphics.

Most custom painters agree that the major problems in repairing painted stripes and graphics are matching airbrush styles, color blending, and identifying colors previously used on the job, along with the sequence in which they were applied.

But what about making both sides of the vehicle match? "Once you've identified the airbrush style and solved the color problems," says one expert, "matching both sides is actually the easy part–if you're a pro."

No Fee

Color matching is such a challenge that many painters who specialize in graphics don't charge for the time required to make the match. "It's just part of the job, and it takes however long it takes," says Mark Dugan, who operates Signs 'N Stripes in West Chester, Pa. Dozens of body shops in his area call on Dugan to repair pinstripes and other graphics.

To match a graphic, he starts with a base color and adds tints. Then he takes his striping brush, dips it into his tiny cup of paint, and applies dots of color to the graphic. He'll continue doing this until a dot matches.

Some of the problems he encounters are hard to articulate, according to Dugan, and they're specific to a pinstriper. He specializes in freehand work, using only brushes. "You have to maintain your brushes, know when a brush is wearing out and what solvents to use," he says.

Adding FEE

Like many pinstripers, Dugan uses lettering enamel to which he typically adds fisheye eliminator (FEE). "If I don't," he says, "it tends to react with the paint on the car and cause fisheyes. The FEE I use also tends to smooth out my paint."

Dugan and his peers throughout the country have to be mobile and flexible. Most graphic specialists pack their paints and tools in vans or trucks and travel to shops or dealerships. Sometimes he'll even go to customers' homes. As such, there is really no space set aside for them in most shops. Rarely do they get to work in a booth. Some shops have detail areas that may be available, but usually the outsider has to work in an open floor atmosphere, putting up with dirt and contaminants.

Aside from space problems, these paint specialists have to adapt their schedule to the customer's schedule. "When a shop calls, you have to accommodate them according to the time they want you," Dugan says. "They need you to do your work so they can get the vehicle back to the customer."

Some shops do their own pinstriping. That's OK to a point, Dugan says. "If it's a straight pinstripe, a shop's painter can usually do it. But a lot of stripes end with some kind of trick work at the front fender, and that's a little hard for spray painters."

That's because their day is spent using a spray gun, and when it comes to artistic touches executed with airbrushes or pinstripe brushes, they simply don't have the necessary experience or training.

"This is a craft, and you have to keep your hand in it in order to maintain a certain level of quality," says Dugan, who attended the Philadelphia College of Art.

When it comes to estimating a repair on a decal or painted graphic, the shop often has to make an educated guess. To get an accurate estimate on a decal, the decal specialist has to examine the job and determine if the kit is available. "Calling the supplier in just takes too much time," says Dean DeRolph, president of Kumler Collision in Lancaster, Ohio. "We usually make a line note on the estimate, such as, 'Have not checked with supplier; will bill per invoice.'"

Many shops do paint restorations themselves. "We can usually handle them," says Pete Kenney, co-manager of Black Diamond Auto Body in Las Vegas. "But it sometimes requires a supplement."

Adds DeRolph: "We do a lot of the paint work ourselves, and we figure about half an hour per color." But, he says, that can often stretch to an hour for each color. In fact, repairing painted pinstripes can be a point of contention with insurers. "It's a negotiating item," DeRolph says. "We get paid for one hour for that type of repair. In reality it takes much longer."

In many areas, the task of choosing a decal or paint graphics specialist is made simple by the fact that there are only one or two suppliers who do that kind of work.

In selecting a supplier, shops confer with their peers. "And always go for quality, not price," DeRolph says.

Advantage, Paint

What are the advantages of paint compared to vinyl? Well, there's durability, color saturation, depth of field, light fastness, color fastness, originality and the ability to be cleared."Most flat-rate shops won't do paint striping," says Chris Cassidy, co-owner of E. L. Terrels, an automotive parts supplier in West Chester, Pa. "They farm it out."

Which is good for specialists like Mark Dugan. But it's not like the old days. "Ten or 15 years ago, the market changed. It used to be I could make two or three times more a day than I do now, going around to various dealerships. But the volume of work has dropped off significantly since then."

Advantage, Vinyl

If there is a drop-off-and that seems to vary from region to region-it's most likely attributable to vinyl decals. They are inexpensive, easy to apply, easy to repair and easy to remove. And there are no chemicals involved. What's more, computer designers can generate original graphics that virtually match the originality and creativity of painted graphics.

"If you dream it, you can create it," says Victor Adabashi, owner of Image Signs in Las Vegas. Adabashi, who does most of his work at car dealerships, claims vinyl has improved markedly since he opened his business 22 years ago.

"It's great to work with," he says. "The manufacturers have overcome most of the problems. In the past, durability was a problem and so was variety. Not anymore."

Adabashi creates about 80 percent of the decals he works with on his computer. There, he cleans the vehicle's surface with water, followed by denatured alcohol (no harsh cleaners), then applies the decal. If it's a pinstriping job, it may take as little as five to 10 minutes. Large jobs may require up to two hours in the shop.

"It's fairly easy to remove our products," says Greg Duchinsky, marketing director for Sharpline, located in Wichita, Kan. "We sell a steam cleaning device that warms up the vinyl and makes it easy to remove without affecting the finish. There's no solvent involved."

Some shops use an eraser wheel that attaches to a drill-like tool to remove pinstripes. "The wheel takes off 90 percent of the stripe," says Dean DeRolph, "and you can use a solvent to scrub off the remaining 10 percent."

Finding the Manufacturer

In repairing large vinyl graphic effects, one problem is determining which manufacturer made the original. There are several major decal makers, and many others that have gone out of business, but their decals are still on vehicles that may need repair. "Shops will send us e-mails," says Duchinsky. "They get out their digital cameras, take a picture of the decal and send us a JPEG file. And nine times out of 10 we can help them, even if it's a competitor's decal."

The problem then becomes whether the graphic kit is still available. "The popularity of some kits lasts only three to five years," Duchinsky says, "While others are around for 20 years. But if the design is no longer available, we can find something similar and more up-to-date for them. Then they just remove the old decal and slap on a new one. Some shops even create their own graphics."

"Slap on" is an appropriate term because it indicates how easy decals are to apply. "It doesn't take that much skill," says Tom Phillips, manager of Concord Auto Body. As a result, the job can be handled by employees besides those on the high end of the pay scale, for the artist required for painted graphics.

Both painted and vinyl graphics are flourishing, and will continue to maintain a significant niche in the marketplace.

So whether your shop handles custom paint jobs, pinstriping, or decals, there's plenty of business out there for you to capture. Make sure you're ready for it.