[Ervinr82]

Hey all, had a couple questions.

How many of you out there had a paint job? How much did it run you? and for what quality did you pay that price for?

Basically, I am going to get my car painted, But im trying to figure how much to save, right now i have around 2k put aside for it. Most places wont give me a quote without seeing the car. But i can't drive it to them because I don't want to put the engine back incase i get them to paint the engine compartpent.

I have a couple of ideas of what i want to paint it. How much should i expect for these different types of paint job?

The car is a 66' coupe, has virtually no rust, and dents or dings. Its actually in pretty good damn condition.

1. Just plain black
2. Black with silver racing stripes
3. candy red

Side questions: does anyone have any ideas for paint jobs?

THanks -Robert

 

[andrewmp6]

My 83 chevy 1ton which is a crew cab long bed dually i painted it cost me about a grand and i did all the work came out great.Black and white if the body work is not prefect and straight it will show up.From what i seen a good paint job 600 up the cheap Maaco ones peal off in a year or less.

 

[mwillis]

I haven't had on epainted in several years, but I've had a couple of buddies who have.
I think the a basic respray, with no jambs, under trunk/hood, etc. will run you about $2K. That should include removal and replacement of all the trim. If you're changing colors, add about $1K. That should get you a decent, but not show quality paint job.
The details are what's going to cost$$. Any monkey with a steady hand (almost) can spray.
Make sure you budget money for replacing some of the various trim pieces. You'll be surprised how bad some stuff looks until you see it next to new paint.
Mike

 

[Jay H 237]

I've gotten rough quotes of 4k for my car for prep and paint only with body work complete and most trim and glass removed before hand.

Depends on where you are (labor rates vary) what brand and type of paint you're using, and what color you want. Red pigments are the most expensive, black the least. Metallics and pearls add cost. DuPont, PPG, and the other paint manufatures make different quality levels of paint which will affect the price.

Good quality paint materials will cost several hundred or more once you add up the paint, clear-if used, reducers, hardners, sealers and primers. This is for the material price only, not what the painter charges for labor or other supplies like masking or sandpaper.


(I still have to figure out what to do with my car. I would like to paint it myself (I have the HVLP guns atleast) but I don't have a good place to spray it or the experience. I worry about the neighbors too. The Acapulco Blue paint would be over $200 a gallon for a good quality Deltron. Even the Dupont Chroma (not thier lower Lucite) adds up fast. The 4k estimate I'm comfortable with, I just won't spend 7-10k or more on a cruise car, not looking for a show car.)

 

[Colo_Mustang]

I have a 1965 coupe that I want to re-paint. The problem is alot of the shops in Colorado Springs do not want to miss with older cars due to removing the chrome trim. I found (2) shops that would due it, the cheapest estimate I recveived was 4,700.00.
This was sanding the old paint back to metal, primer, a good paint job with clear coat and white stripes.

 

[Jay74]

I'm thinking about the same operation, the last owner had it done cheapely or did himself.
I was redoing a lost screw on the front fender and the paint just came cracking off.
I am sure you should allways go for the more "expensive" one like the 4700 mentioned above or higher instead of the 1 or 2 k.
But my question is if a good paint job allways needs to be "baked" as someone just told me?

 

[snaranjo]

I live in the Phoenix area and just had mine painted for $6500. This was the works! Stripped to bare metal, all trim removed, all body work done - which was extensive in my case even including some front frame rail repair, new radiator support, new rear quarter, front and rear valance, dent repair in roof froom hail damage, etc.. They used a high quality PPG base color and multiple layers of clear that was color sanded and buffed to a show-car quality. There is not a hint of orange peel anywhere and it glows in the sun. People I have talked to tell me I got a $15K paint job for less than half that. One secret was that I visited the paint shop on a very regular basis and got to know the staff. I think that paid huge dividends. Also the shop was by referral only and with a low overhead operation. Probably not all shops would put up with constant visits. Check out my page for a few pics from several months ago.

Bottom line, you'll get what you pay for and you might get lucky like I did. I had my truck shot by Maaco a few years back and the job was decent at first but it is already peeling and lost its luster

 

[reds]

well I have done this kind of work for several years on high dollar street rods and on insurance jobs and for buddies.around here in TN, the average paint job is 2k-3k but remember....YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! you have cheep paint that is good for a wipe and swip job.you know the junkers in other words, and then you have the good stuff..HOUSE OF COLORS,,RM,DUPONT AND SO ON SO FORTH. (TIP,A GOOD FINISH STARTS AT THE VERY BEGINNING) if you half Ass do it you will get a half ass paint job!! good luck on a paint job:bigthumbsup oh and forgot that price is just start up price..a great paint job will run you up to 10-12k and even on up, depending on how far you want to go!

 

[85gtmustang]

agreed i paid 3000 just in materials on my last car a 85 gt, sikkens materials. but my family owns a paint and body center im very lucky.

 

[xxxxxSean Reno]

Learn to do it yourself...theres pride in that!!!

 

[Montana's Stang]

The best way to save money on a paint job is to do as much of the body work, primer, trim removal, and prep yourself.

Spraying primer is pretty straight forward and it has to be finish sanded anyway before the paint so you have a chance to fix those OOPS! spots. Primer is designed to adhere to metal/body filler (hopefully as little of this as possible) so the biggest thing is to make sure the surface is free grease/oil, dirt, and thoroughly wiped with the surface prep agent recommended for the primer. There are a couple of threads on here that have links to good step-by-step body work/primer instructions. If the car is basically ready to paint with only minimal prep required by the painter it will knock a lot off the cost. If can, get it to the shop with 60% to 80% of the masking and prep already done.

As far as paint, I have done/helped spray several cars in a home garage that came out great. Not show quality but certainly better than most "cruiser" paint jobs. Paint is much less forgiving than primer so if you don't have someone to "coach" you like I did you may want to just stick to the prep.

 

[Beastmaster]

I've just had mine painted and I am going through some soul searching:

1. I have since learned that there are several painters in the area that vary in quality.

2. What I thought I would be happy with... I'm really not.

3. If I were to do it again... I would go to a local car show and start schmoozing with the drivers. Who? Where? and How much? Look at the cars and eyeball the paintjobs.

You do get what you pay for but there seems to be painters who say they know what they are doing and those that actually do.

Pax...

 

[Mustang_Crazy69]

oh and metallic paint is a mother to paint its tricky be carefull with it