Paint Job really badly
- Thread starter savegoodautonfg
- Start date
DMAN302
My mom says thanks for the pearl necklace.
any...ANY decent color change with bodywork is going to cost you a minimum of 3000. To be honest I wouldn't let anyone even sit in the car if they quoted 2500 or less. Black requires the car be EXCEPTIONALLY straight...any shortcuts on the prep and the car will look like a wrinkle wraper that not even wet sanding could save. Save the money and wait on a quality job...you won't regret it.
bloopbloob
Member
i agree with dman. a decent color change will cost a lot more than that from what i've been quoted, even if its a private deal. my car and paint is in excellent condition, and just to change from white to pearl white exterior i'm looking at over $3000 at best. If i want a really good job, with all the hard to get places painted it could go over $5000 easily... with a color change this would be almost mandatory. Unless u r willing to strip your entire car down yourself, or settle for just an exterior paint job, that price range is out of the question imo.
There are alot of guys like me that do it on the side as more of a hobby than a career. I will say that a complete color change is going to be the most expensive option there is. I am doing a 2001 mustang as we speak. It is going from silver to Diamond white tri-coat( color you see on the newer caddys). Paint and supplies was $1000. Labor is another $1200. Basic black single stage paint might run you $250 or $300 for materials and supplies,(bc/cc is more) then another $1200-$1500 for labor, or more if the body is real bad. I have my own 90 mustang gt to repaint and I will say that it is more difficult than the newer models. Primarily because of the way the ground effects and bumpers attach.
You might get lucky and find someone near you that will let you do some of the grunt work and save a few bucks. Stripping the car of all the mouldings, ground effects, bumpers, weather stripping, etc, etc.
Like DMAN said, quality paint jobs are not cheap.
Another example is my next job, a 99 gmc truck, I am charging 700 for it. He has already done all the body work and primed it. He is also supplying all the paint and supplies. Basically all I am doing is sanding the primer, masking, and spraying the bc/cc. And remember, these are jobs for my buddys. A real shop would charge almost double my labor. And the prices I am giving are for southern Louisiana. I have been to NY/NJ, labor is quite a bit more up there.
Good luck getting a decent paint job that is a complete color change and includes body work for $1500
You might get lucky and find someone near you that will let you do some of the grunt work and save a few bucks. Stripping the car of all the mouldings, ground effects, bumpers, weather stripping, etc, etc.
Like DMAN said, quality paint jobs are not cheap.
Another example is my next job, a 99 gmc truck, I am charging 700 for it. He has already done all the body work and primed it. He is also supplying all the paint and supplies. Basically all I am doing is sanding the primer, masking, and spraying the bc/cc. And remember, these are jobs for my buddys. A real shop would charge almost double my labor. And the prices I am giving are for southern Louisiana. I have been to NY/NJ, labor is quite a bit more up there.
Good luck getting a decent paint job that is a complete color change and includes body work for $1500
Don't kill me for asking this but I know nothing about paint jobs.
"You might get lucky and find someone near you that will let you do some of the grunt work and save a few bucks. Stripping the car of all the mouldings, ground effects, bumpers, weather stripping, etc, etc. "
You stated that above in your last post. I was thinkin you would have to just sand all the paint off and everything else, but you have to take all that shiit off the car?
DMAN302
My mom says thanks for the pearl necklace.
sand and strip everything...nothing is as easy as it seems..and with paint jobs you definately more often than not get what you payfor...hell even when you pay top dollar you still end up getting screwed. It's a big job when done right.
Take a class and learn how to paint it yourself. You'll have access to the teachers for adivce and can use the schools paint booth. You will need to pull the engine to paint the bay or it will look like crap everytime you open it. It would be easier and less expensive to just get a good white paint job.
Yes, you have to remove everything from the car. If not, at the very least, you will still see areas of the factory color. Worst case, your new paint will start peeling because it wasnt tied in properly. Here is my procedure on this 01 stang. The fox will be similar:
1)Remove everything from car
2)Sand everything(in my case we are going to bare metal or plastic. he is helping)
3)prime bare metal with etching primer
4) reprime everything with filler/primer
5) body work
6) apply guide coat and block sand entire car
7) apply sealer
8) apply basecoat to entire car( dont forget the bumpers, moldings and trim work have to be done also
9) loosely assemble car and spray mid coat until desired color/effect is achieved
10) disassemble car again and shoot everything in clear
11) wet sand everything with 800 or finer depending of amount of orange peel. Work up to 1000, 1200, and 1500 sandpaper
12) buff to bling bling finish
13) CAREFULLY REASSEMBLE CAR
14) admire work
15) stick out hand and collect your hard earned cash and swear you will never do another one so cheap
16) start on next cheap one
I will also be removing the doors, trunk lid and hood to allow easier access to the jamb areas. But they have to be on the car when the mid coat is spray. In your case, with black, everything can be sprayed without having to put the car back together. You will find that the majority of labor cost are tied up in preparing the car to paint, not the actual spraying. If all you have is $1500, I would stay with the same color and try to cut a deal to do as much labor your self including sanding and such.
1)Remove everything from car
2)Sand everything(in my case we are going to bare metal or plastic. he is helping)
3)prime bare metal with etching primer
4) reprime everything with filler/primer
5) body work
6) apply guide coat and block sand entire car
7) apply sealer
8) apply basecoat to entire car( dont forget the bumpers, moldings and trim work have to be done also
9) loosely assemble car and spray mid coat until desired color/effect is achieved
10) disassemble car again and shoot everything in clear
11) wet sand everything with 800 or finer depending of amount of orange peel. Work up to 1000, 1200, and 1500 sandpaper
12) buff to bling bling finish
13) CAREFULLY REASSEMBLE CAR
14) admire work
15) stick out hand and collect your hard earned cash and swear you will never do another one so cheap
16) start on next cheap one
I will also be removing the doors, trunk lid and hood to allow easier access to the jamb areas. But they have to be on the car when the mid coat is spray. In your case, with black, everything can be sprayed without having to put the car back together. You will find that the majority of labor cost are tied up in preparing the car to paint, not the actual spraying. If all you have is $1500, I would stay with the same color and try to cut a deal to do as much labor your self including sanding and such.
gcwh02
New Member
do the body work yourself, it is not hard and it saves you a ton of money. I'm in the process of sanding down my car and I have a buddy that is painting it only for a little marij... errrr i mean money. Total cost of paint job will be like $40 bucks +sandpaper and paint.
gcwh02
New Member
well first do you have a DA or any sanding tools? an air compressor? these all make the job go 20 million times quicker..
just search "automotive paint forum" in your browser. Also wouldnt hurt to buy a book or two. The $1500 you have will barely put a dent in painting your car yourself. Granted you can do all the sanding and body work by hand, yoiu still gotta have a compressor and at least one paint gun(preferably 2 or 3). You could go to harbor freight and buy a decent 60 gallon compressor for $400 or more(then add in cost of wiring it up). Now you need a spray gun. I will tell you from personal experience, if you want a decent finish, you need a quality gun. Ok, so you bought the compressor and wired it up, you hand sanded the body and did all the body work, you spent money for a gun, now where you gonna spray the car? Dang, now you gotta build a booth of some type. More money. Dang, forgot you gotta buy paint too. Not trying to discourage you, but it all adds up no matter how you go about it. Only reason I do it is because I like to and because I am a tool freak.
