Blackhawkxx
Mustang Master
- Mar 3, 2023
- 529
- 518
- 103
Progress Thread “Rising from Ashes 5” 84 4 eye T-TOP notch build
- Thread starter 95steedamustang
- Start date
Just too many variables to really nail a number. Starting point. Rust, damage, bad repairs. Then scope of the work. But most high end paint jobs are 500+ hours. Most high end complete builds can be 2500-4000 hours.
So your saying you give MAACO a run for their money....
Blackhawkxx
Mustang Master
- Mar 3, 2023
- 529
- 518
- 103
DadLife0724
Active Member
one of the best movies of all time!!
So many variables... take my car for example. If we didn't have to replace 90% of the chassis it would have been a lot less.
I was actually thinking of you a as example but didnt want to bring it back up. But when somebody hand a good gas filler door and says build me a car out of this, it’s bound to affect the hours.
That's the beauty of BC/CC. Even an idjit like me can lay it on thick enough to lose my fingerprints color sanding / buffing it out and making it look presentable. Truth is most people have ZERO clue how much goes into a high end paint job - hell even a good quality respray...No paint job in the world regardless of high end booth that doesnt get a little something in it somewhere but when you lay down 6-7 coats of clear you can block it flat as glass and buff it to perfection. Ive always said…it’s not custom paint…it’s custom sanding. 10 hrs cutting and buffing the bay will get results of paint perfection. Thats what I did here. With that…engine bay done
I have a theory that the best painters are more than a little OCD. The upside? The final product looks epic. The downside? The hours billed to customers hardly ever match up to the time actually spent prepping / painting and it never goes in favor of the guy doing the paint.
The prep work - the body work. That's the first killer. Think it's good? Spray a guide coat of black on it or just close your eyes and run your hands across it. Nope. Keep going.
A buddy of mine still paints (he sold his shop years ago) in his 'retirement'. He does one project at a time. A project of his choosing. Works on referral. Purposely works on vehicles where people aren't looking for in and out quicky jobs. His joke is that if a potential client says "The body work is done" or "It's ready for paint" he automatically tacks on extra $$$... LMAO
So many shops have gone the high volume / insurance job route because most people in that line just want their car back. The insurance checks always clear. From a pure business standpoint it's a better model from the profit side.
Even a cheap respray w/o color change isn't cheap anymore - even if the body is arrow straight (it never is) and there is no metal work required. I need to respray the front bumper on my wife's daily driver. At least it's white and the body isn't perfect. I put it off, not because I don't want to do it - it's just hard to fight the project creep. "I'll just fix this little ding in the door while I'm doing it" turns into the entire car blown apart and us shopping for her another daily driver.
Did I mention at least it's white?
LMAO
I dont do a paint job. I do a restoration? Build? Whatever the term for pouring blood, sweat and tears into completly transforming one into something it was never was even when new. Thats what I strive to do.
Now back to the build and progress. Always nice to get them off the tilt a whirl
Now back to the build and progress. Always nice to get them off the tilt a whirl
DadLife0724
Active Member
How long is the process from picture 1 to picture 2? Just putting wheels, and suspension parts and whatnot to get it back on the ground.
