Our facility has state-of-the-art equipment designed to provide the highest quality finishes possible. We utilize a European style "downdraft" paint booth designed to provide the best lighting with vertical airflow to minimize overspray. This equipment combined with European quality paint by Spies- Hecker (owned by DuPont) provides the finest finishes possible. This finish is the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) finish for Mercedes Benz and BMW.

Most of the paint used by manufacturers is known as two-stage or a basecoat/clearcoat system that utilizes a rainbow of colors in the base often combined with pearls and metallics to give the colors the brilliance and richness of the glamour colors on today s vehicles. These base finishes are then protected with a topcoat of clear. Clearcoat filters the damaging UV rays of the sun and provides durability and longevity.

To obtain an excellent color match, it is important to use high-end quality product. While materials are expensive, the finish is a large part of the final end result and the more expensive high quality line of products we use are a large part of the reason we can provide OEM quality in our repairs. It is never truer than in the collision repair industry where "you get what you pay for." Cheap product can result in a "cheap look."

Corvette and Fiberglass Repair

Repairing Corvettes has long been our specialty. Richard Clarke has been repairing Corvettes since the late 1960 s. "It has always been a passion to me. It is an exact science that is unlike any other type vehicle manufactured. The construction, technology and the materials used are special to Corvette."

It all starts with the frame or as in the late model Corvette, the unitized style platform. After so many years of seeing what kind of repairs other shops including Chevrolet dealers were doing, we realized that it was a lack of proper training and equipment that was causing some very poor quality repairs by so-called "experts." We decided that there had to be a better way.

We needed to make a sizeable investment and purchase a machine that repairs the Corvette the same way in which they are built. Referred to as "jigs", we use dedicated fixtures designed to connect into the original jig holes used at the factory to hold the vehicle while hydraulic equipment pulls damage to other fixtures until they match up and proper alignment of the frame rails are achieved. This system leaves no margin for error.

While Colors and Customs owns fixtures for all years of Corvette frames back to 1963, the new hydro-formed rail design of the C5 Corvette has special concerns by design, causing problems in attaching any conventional hold-down equipment. Under normal procedures, Clarke explains, a vehicle is attached to a frame machine by the use of "pinchweld clamps" placed at positions known as the torquebox areas, between the wheels on either side of the vehicle. Clamps are designed to grab the pinchwelds of a vehicle, securing it from moving while hydraulic towers with chains grab the damaged rail and pull to the desired position.

"Unlike previous years, the C5 s are a different animal, lacking the conventional pinchwelds," says Clarke. "Sadly, shops have been known to weld angle-iron plates to the rails so they can hold the car down during the pulling process. These rails were not designed to support the car under the strain necessary to pull damage from a collapsed rail. The results are sometimes worse than the original problem!" Clarke goes on to explain that the dimensions are absolutely "critical" to the final quality of the repair. If there is any inconsistency in the re-dimensioning process, discrepancies will show up in the alignment of the panels, especially the hood and fenders, and gaps top to bottom in the line between the fenders and doors.

Even more concerning is the accuracy of suspension dimensions. "Improper repairs in these areas can not only effect the handling of the vehicle, it can be extremely dangerous! A compromised frame repair on a Corvette can easily devalue the vehicle thousands of dollars!"

Colors and Customs, employs the use of fixtures to re-dimension a damaged frame, attaching them to key suspension mounting points, to ensure they remain in their exact locations. Fixtures are attached to all suspension cradle mounting locations front and rear as well as upper control arm mounting bolt holes. Additional fixtures are attached to the front cross-member and the factory jig holes at the front of the side rails, left and right. Hold-down clamps are attached into the side rail factory holes between the wheels, left and right. This procedure insures the vehicle will be restored back to the original factory specifications and that all the body panels will line up properly.

C5 frame rails and repair sections are available from the manufacturer along with sectioning procedures and combined with our "jig system" can restore even the worst of frame damage to factory specifications. To confirm our procedures on frame repair, consult with the manufacturer for their recommendations.

Colors and Customs also utilize computerized laser measuring to verify accuracy of repairs to corrected frames. A print out may be provided as proof of the repair, showing the "before and after" measurements. Repairs may be limited to the structural and suspension or a complete repair depending on owner s requirements.