FAQ Paint

Today's modern factory finishes incorporate multiple layers of highly specialized paints. Mahnke Auto Body has made a major investment in the finest computerized paint system and paint products available, which includes constant updates, ensuring that each vehicle's paint matches. We take special pride in our ability to match factory finishes, including waterborne paints.

DO'S

• Wash the vehicle by hand with cool water and a very mild car wash solution, not household detergent, using a soft cloth or sponge.
• Always use clean fresh water.
• Wash your vehicle in the shade.
• Make sure your vehicle's surface is cool to the touch and is in the shade to avoid water spots.

DON'TS

• Do not use a commercial car wash. Stiff brushes or sponges could mar the finish and damage the surface.
• Do not wax your vehicle for the next 90 days. New paint needs to fully cure by venting gases. Waxing seals the paint before it has had a chance to fully cure. Waxing during the 90 cure period will void your warranty and ruin your paint job.
• Do not "dry wipe" your vehicle. Dry wiping is like sandpaper on the new finish.
• Avoid driving on gravel roads. Chipping the finish is easily done in the first 30 days.
• Avoid parking under trees and utility lines which are likely to attract birds. Bird droppings have a high acid content and will damage a freshly painted surface. Also, tree sap can mar or spot a freshly painted surface. Gently clean the surface as soon as possible.
• Do not spill gasoline, oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, or windshield solvent on the new finish.
• Do not scrape ice or snow from the newly painted surface. Scrapers can act like a paint scraper on a newly painted finish.

Waterborne paint is a high solids product where water is the carrier of the color instead of solvents. Waterborne paint is cleaner and generates 25% less pollution emissions than that of solvent paint. Mahnke Auto Body has invested in this technology and the necessary training because waterborne is a better, safer product that helps lessen the environment impact and insures that Mahnke will be able to better match factory colors into the future.

Yes, provided that your vehicle is an original factory color that is not faded or discolored. The following is a brief description of how paint matching works: Your vehicle carries a paint code printed on a label on your vehicle. This code is broken down into a formula given to automotive paint manufacturers. A repair shop uses the formula to mix the color within their chosen brand of paint. This works fine if your vehicle is precisely the color specified by the paint code. However, in actual production there are often slight variations in color. If your vehicle is not the exact shade specified by the factory, the first step is “tinting” the color. This is done by varying the amount of the toners used to make up the original formula. Sometimes, a perfect match can’t be achieved by tinting alone. In these cases, “blending” may be required. This is a process where portions of the vehicle adjacent to the repaired area are gradually misted with the tinted paint so that any minor color variance is unnoticeable. This can make the difference between a very good color match and an invisible repair.