I know body shops vary in cost...but does anyone have an idea of how much a body shop might charge to re-paint the hood of my A4?

 

call them and get a free estimate. Its depends on the quality of teh place and the paint and coats of base and clear. could be as little as 50- 800

 

I got mine done recently for about $350-400, but I had quotes ranging from $100 (just paint, no prep really) right the way up to $1200 (strip back to metal, prime, paint and clear)

I chose the middle ground of having it properly prepped and fully painted and blended into the fenders as well. May well have been more expensive but I was also getting bumpers and side skirts done at the same time...

 

jus do it ur self really not to hard and for spending that much u might as well jus get a paint gun ... i've spot painted all over my car without a paintgun and i jus got custom mixed cans with i nice spray tip it came with at a local paint shop PPG or Dupont either works jus get a great clear and its all bout the PREP WORK

 

i dont need for the hood to be totally stripped to metal, and all that ****....this is what happened....i bought the car with a clear bra on it. the bra was very weathered, so i removed the bra..and once all the adhesive was off....the paint under it is slightly different....now its not like a blatant OMFG WTF HAPPENED TO YOUR CAR difference...but there is a line that starts a bit of a different shade....

this picture is still when the bra was on..but it shows the amount of space on the hood that is a different shade..



so it's not like the whole hood is destroyed...but i'd be a happy camper if i could get it painted for like 250-325 or so

 

The bra probably had UV inhibitors / blockers so the colour under didn't change. If there is no paint damage, I'd try just leaving it out in the sun and let it bleach out to the existing colour. Just use it normally for a month a see if there is any difference. May save you some $$$$.

 

$250-$350 is what I would expect you to pay taking it to a decent paint shop. I would suggest not doing it yourself unless you have access to the right equipment since it is such a large area that is right in your face all the time. I am a custom painter and it can tell you first hand it can be difficult to get nice even coats with the pre-mix cans that you buy. As soon as you put clear on any areas with uneven coverage will be magnified. If you were doing a small trim part or the like I'd by all means get a spray can and do it up yourself but for a hood I'd leave it for the pros.

 

I have a quote that I got last week for $312.

 

thanks for the replies...and yeah as soon as i saw it i was thinking...if i just drive it the sun will probably have an effect on the paint underneath....if i could get it painted for like 300 bucks..i would do it, but not yet...im thinking after the winter i'm going to have it pro detailed to have some minor scuffs buffed out and have it looking really good...then maybe the hood if it hasnt changed by then...

right now the color isnt really that that bad, its noticeable if you look for it..but otherwise someone would probably not notice it right away

 

have you considered some carbon fiber?