Paint And What To Expect

Hey guys,

My '65 convertible is Finally just about done with the metal replacement. I've been slacking, but I figure in a few weeks to a month I'll be ready for paint.

I know paint can vary in price, but what would you expect to pay for a non show quality but still good looking paint job? The car is in bare metal, so it would need all of the body work done, seams sealed etc. I've been told 10k is about the minimum, but I wanted to check.

Also, can anyone recommend a painter in western Washington? I'd ask in regional, but that section doesn't appear to exist anymore.
 
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paint jobs depend on who you go to, and what materials they use. ten grand is for a top quality job using the best paint systems available. but you dont have to spend that much. in fact a decent paint job can run closer to about $2500-3000. but that wont be top of the line PPG or dupont paints either.
 
The car is going to be a driver, so it will eventually get some nicks and scratches. I don't want to pay for a show quality job and then just ruin it on a random Wednesday on my way to work. I still want it to look good though. Do you think including the body work, etc. I can get by with 5k?
 
a $5k paint job is easily doable. like i say you can probably find a good shop that will do the job for closer to $3000. shop around and STAY AWAY FROM MAACO.
 
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My dad and I are about to have a GTO done here in CA with good quality mats.

The car was taken to bare metal and we did the very minor metal patches it needed. We painted the underside and firewall, the areas around the front and rear windows, the underside of the fenders, the door jambs and around the doors, the tray around the trunk, the underside of the trunk lid, and the underside of the hood. If you aren't doing a color change you may not need to do all this.

The exterior of the car has had all the putty work done, and has been primered at least twice in all areas, and blocked out. The lines have been ironed out and it is essentially "ready for final paint prep/primer."

So basically to have the outside of the vehicle painted we are being quoted 3-4k at this point with a good PPG paint.

If you can set up an area at home to paint the inside of the doors and underside of the hood and trunk lid I would recommend it. We built a PVC frame and used drop plastic, then cut in HVAC filters with an intake and out fan. Is it perfect? No, but it held very well with good prep and looks very good for panels no one sees - honestly probably better than any cheap paint job as long as you use a good gun and paint, you just run the risk of having a little more dirt than a true paint booth. This can save a lot. When we got quotes for a shop doing all the hard-to-reach and internal areas that required labor prices went way up...
 
I paid over $2,000 for materials alone, this was House of Kolor base/color/clear.I was able to find somebody that painted cars at home.The deal went bad and he used my money to finish another project, so i had to kick in more.My car ended up being there for about a year till i dragged it out and had to reassemble it.The body work he did is excellent, but 6 year later im seeing wierd patches that look like moisture coming through. I would never use this paint again on something that i didnt care aboutbecasue it cannot be matched and weve tried. If it was a daily driver, stick to something that can be repaired.

But in all, i paid about $3300, so it wasnt that bad of a deal.
 
so as the OP can see, the higher end materials are going to cost a lot more, and then there is the labor to lay down the paint. and if you go from a single stage paint, to a base coat/clear coat system, the prices goes up further. and in my opinion forget about pearls, candies, and other custom paint systems, unless you are building a show car, and then expect to pay up to $50 grand for a paint job.