I got rear-ended last month and pushed under the SUV in front of me. My hood was dented from the guys trailer hitch. I called the dealership and was told to paint a new hood they would need to blend the paint into the fenders as well, or it would look horrible.

How horrible would it be? The paint is only a year and a half old and its a stock Honda color. Insurance gave me enough to pay for the blending, I just would rather spend the money on more fun stuff, like a K20.

 

You'd be surprised. Most times if an entire piece needs repainting you need to blend it.

 

wife had a chip on her bran new 08 accord...they re sprayed the entire door and blended it. Metallic aren't easy to shoot. the blend from when it was painted in Japan will be different to the new mix...therefor needing the blend

 

The blending comes from the fact that sun bleaches your car's paint. Even after a short time.

You won't see it normally, as the whole car (more or less) will bleach evenly, but if you put fresh paint RIGHT NEXT to the old stuff you will see it.

I hit a stopsign (sideways, no less) and had to have my driver's side rear quarter panel repainted. The driver's side rear door AND the bumper were blended. You can't see a thing!

 

Your dealership just wants money thast all. If its just a small part of the hood that needs to be repaired they would blend the damaged area with the rest of the hood and clear it, and thats it. Simple job Ive done it a dozen times. If the entire hood needs to repaint it, most shops wouldnt blend it unless requested by the customer but if the paint is matched well its not necessary. Otherwise the front bumper would also have to be blended and the quarter panel fronts. But now thats getting crazy. Just find a good body shop and thatl take care of all your questions.

 

Clearly, those guys suck at color matching. Usually, a car that's only a couple of years olds, the paint is not yet oxdized too much. Therefore, blending to the next panels is not a necessity. Bodyshops do that so they can make more money and save time matching the color. However, there are some difficult colors that require blending in the first place. Usually, a hood can be painted without blending into the fenders and front bumper. Because of the angle of the hood and fenders, usually paint does not need to be 100% match, 90% would do it. Beside, nothing is better than factory paint(even Hondas...they suck)