Oh no , not the Toyota.

Gday George
Scratched the Prado , that would be hard to take old son.
I think we should go on another trip to get some more pin stripes..

Gday Axle
A bucket of "bog"and some paint would be more like it Axle...

No loss of points for me Ron, but the lovely lady could be in trouble trying to buy another pair of moccasins.

Gday Will
Ill find out on Friday .

Good morning
Ill check on that when I go there tomorrow. Thanks

When I went back to complain they just stuck some masking tape over it and said that you can't get the glue nor the lining, membrane or seal or whatever it's called.

It's just a good strong plastic sheet I bought at Bunnings. I can find the glue and let you know what it is if you need it. It's in the garage some where. Just PM me.

Maybe that's why the panel beaters are out of business. Oh what a shame.

Cant be much of a panel beater if he hasn't got some sort of sikaflex lying around that will stick the plastic to the door.. Out of sight out of mind I spose..

That sounds like the stuff. Real sticky and tacky black goo.

"Out of sight" - Exactly and fancy using masking tape. I didn't want a blue there and then so I just let them go ahead and looked into it later. And then did it properly myself.

My experiences with panel beaters usually revolves around trying to ensure the gorilla they use to reassemble all the panels and parts uses the correct fasteners and clips, and the right amount of them.

The gorilla usually has zilch mechanical skills, but plenty of brute skills, and he usually manages to force oversize selftappers into retention points that require a specialised plastic insertion plug - or he uses a rattle gun to force some inch-size bolts he found into metric holes - or he manages to leave out 3 or 4 important fasteners on the basis that "those 3 will hold it".

One of the dis-assembly/assembly nightmares today (and Toyota are right up there) is the amount of components held on with plastic clips that promptly break as soon as you remove the item - then you find the clip is a molded part of the item you pulled off.

Those little plastic clips can cost a fortune. Go to Superthief and check out their prices.

Gday
Thats a bit negativ RON . I don't believe that at all. The 'Gorilla' i am using is RACV recommended and they do a good job . We have been there before and they did a bloody good job.

MUZBRY, If you've found a good repairer, that's excellent, and make sure you stick with them and let others know they are good.

Unfortunately, in the past, after having had extensive experience of smash repairers (due to owning a fleet of vehicles and having regular repairs carried out due to employee damage and vehicle theft), I found the workmanship of numerous smash repairers was not up to scratch.

I know there is constant effort to stamp out dodgy repairers, but they still appear regularly, just like dodgy and incompetent mechanics - despite all the licencing and training and Govt assurances.

Bottom line is - it's the lowest paid, the most overworked and least capable employee, that gets given all the "hard" jobs in these places - the ones where they have to have 3 elbows, 90cm long arms, and X-ray vision - and have to lie on their back on the floor and reach up 80cm.
Then, the level of supervision can often be totally inadequate, as the supervisor is run off his feet.
As a result, the quality of finish and attention to detail is often seriously lacking.

I'm not saying all repairers are the same, you just have to ensure the one you employ is up to speed.

Cheers, Ron.

Ron N...I,m with you on this one mate. Have a few mates who run their own panel beating shops. The hidden things are the least well done and in many repairs there are always left over clips.

If you can find a good panel beater,,treat them well. They are getting thin on the ground!!

Gday Murray
I found the "rattle " it's in the pipe thing that hangs out the back. All is well in that department . The rattle is not worth worrying about because with the window shut it can't be heard.
Have a good day old son.