Stupid thing I discovered about getting my car painted- tell me if Im crazy-

GNN60GT500 · Nov 7, 2005

I took my car to several reputable shops-

Every one of them was quoting $8500- $10000

So I take my car to one shop that quoted $9000-

I ask how much to repaint the hood and the 1/4 panels-

I am told they will do it for $750-

I ask how much if I just wanted to do the fenders and doors-

I get told $600-

I ask how much for just the roof and trunk- they tell me $800-

They also tell me it will be 3 months to paint the entire car-

but 1 week for each of the above combinations-

So entire car= $9000 and 3 months-

or I can break it up into 3 parts-

1/4 panel/ hood

doors/ front fenders

roof/ trunk

for a total time of 3 weeks (1 week for each combination)

for a total cost of $2150-

Am I missing something here?

Do all shops work like this?

68rustang · Nov 7, 2005

I think he was basically telling you that they didn't want the job. But if you would still want them to do it they would make a good buck doing so.

Also doing a whole car is alot more work that one or two panels at a time.

ttoney · Nov 7, 2005

Ha, that sounds like they are craZy ones. Or, all of the money is in the full final assembly and non chipped completed job.

dmoody · Nov 7, 2005

8500-10k just to repaint a car? That didn't include any sheetmetal repair or body work?

If you were to repaint your car in three different sections you would end up with three slightly different colors.

david

amorrow · Nov 7, 2005

I've been getting quotes for my '65, and from what I understand, much of the $ in a $10K paint job comes from labor associated with re-assembly (fitting the panels and doors, etc). Your quoted prices make sense to me if having the doors/fenders painted means bringing him the parts yourself and not requiring him to fit the parts back to your car.

Jimmys66 · Nov 7, 2005

I got that same load of garbage. They don't want to do it. Most places make more money doing insurance collision work. Spray a new fender, slap it on and out the door.

I actually brought my car for them to look at and most places wouldn't even take the time to walk outside.

You need to stay away from big collision shops. Look for mom and pop places or guys that do "custom" paint jobs, they'll be more inclined to paint whole cars. Make sure you get references, these places can also do poor quality work.

And remember the more you do, the cheaper the bill.

Edbert · Nov 7, 2005

I'm guessing there's a lot of labor cost involved in mounting the parts on the car and aligning them. If you carry your hood/trunk/fenders hom in the back of your truck and put them on yourself you SHOULD save a lot of cash.

Silver66FsBk · Nov 7, 2005

new guy here to get a hi quality paint job that sounds about right

when i got my car done it costed 4,300 to get the car metal finish with
absolutly no Bondo at all and if there had to be some filling done it was
done with lead.after the car was metal finished they lined up all the panels
correctly so that all the seams are lining up perfect.

then came the Paint job that was close to 6,000.00 and all the panels were
painted in individual sections but before they painted the car it took about
three weeks of block sanding and that is were the $$$$ comes into play

the paint I chose was a little over 1,000.00 for paint,reducer,and clear
after that comes the color sanding so it all ads up.

65ShelbyClone · Nov 8, 2005

I cant help but wonder.......if you spend $10,000 or so on "best of show-quality" body and paint, how would you feel about driving the car? You know, on a road.....with sand, gravel, tar, potholes....

For a normal body and paint shop that isnt goint to pull the car apart to do a job like that, I agree that a $10,000 quote is their way of saying they have better jobs to take with less work involved. Only if you decide to pay anyway is it worth their time(because they'll do a $2000-3000 job and pocket the rest).

Oh yeah, avoid Maaco and Earl Shieb like the plague.

Silver66FsBk · Nov 8, 2005

65ShelbyClone said:
I cant help but wonder.......if you spend $10,000 or so on "best of show-quality" body and paint, how would you feel about driving the car? You know, on a road.....with sand, gravel, tar, potholes....

it wouldn't bother me at all, sure the car isn't going to be a daily driver but
it's not going to be a trailer Queen either.

you could check out my ride in this post.
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=592957

RGS0907 · Nov 8, 2005

What type of Paint?

I'm curious about everyone's opinion on whether it's better to paint the car back to original (usually one stage lacquer or acrylic) or use the modern 2 stage materials with clear?

I last had my car painted in the early 80's & people still think that it's a stock factory paint job, but the old paints do chip a lot easier.

68rustang · Nov 8, 2005

What is your version of better?

The newer BC/CC paint systems are more durable than the old stuff.

Better as in concours correct?
Go with original style paint.

GNN60GT500 · Nov 8, 2005

Wait I guess I should clarify-

When I divide up the paint job-

It means THEY are still doing the taking apart and reassembly- lining up the doors, trunk exc-

so either way- they are doing all of the taking apart and putting together-

This is a small Mom and Pop place-

Actually there is no body work to be done at all- as the body on the car is absolutely perfect- and everything is all ready lined up though- I should ad that as well-

I asked them more questions, and they said it is just easier for them to paint small sections of the car like that then to do it all at one time-

does this make sense? Im still lost- lol

DarkBuddha · Nov 8, 2005

65ShelbyClone said:
I cant help but wonder.......if you spend $10,000 or so on "best of show-quality" body and paint, how would you feel about driving the car? You know, on a road.....with sand, gravel, tar, potholes....

For a normal body and paint shop that isnt goint to pull the car apart to do a job like that, I agree that a $10,000 quote is their way of saying they have better jobs to take with less work involved. Only if you decide to pay anyway is it worth their time(because they'll do a $2000-3000 job and pocket the rest).

Oh yeah, avoid Maaco and Earl Shieb like the plague.

I agree with the sentiments about spending a bunch of money on a high end paint job and getting chips and scratches... it doesn't make sense. That said, I kinda disagree with the comment about avoiding Maaco for exactly that reason. They offer the possibility of getting a decent paint job that won't make you cringe every time it gets nicked or scratched. I had my Mach painted by Maaco with decent results (notice, I said decent, not fantastic or great) and for a lot less than the typical only-slightly-better-than-decent $2k-$3k jobs. You can read about my experience and see some of the results here: http://groups.msn.com/DBsMustang/budgetpainttips.msnw

67CoupeDriva · Nov 8, 2005

Chances are, if they do it peicemeal they aren't going to remove parts, but mask them. Also when you're talking about the whole car, they are also (probably) thinking of trimming it in -- door jams, hood and trunk undersides and jams, etc. Are you talking about a color change? Are they assuming that in the three-phase approach? Also the previous poster was right on...you'll have three slightly different shades if you don't get it done all at once.
You can price the materials at a paint shop, I'm guessing anywhere from $1000 to $2000 depending upon the brand, type, etc. Everything else is pretty much labor & shop time.
I just had my '67 coupe completely repainted; a color change from lime gold metallic to BMW Steel Blue (it's gorgeous). I paid $2800 and got a job that I'm very happy with, but not afraid to drive. I took the shop what amounted to a drivable shell. I removed every peice of trim and glass, gutted the interior (I was replacing it anyway and it was that much less they had to mask), even removed some body panels (headlight doors & rings, rear valence, bumperettes, etc. etc.). I also put it all back together, so that was a lot of labor I didn't pay.
It won't be cheap but every nut and bolt you turn will save you some money.

65ShelbyClone · Nov 8, 2005

DarkBuddha said:
That said, I kinda disagree with the comment about avoiding Maaco for exactly that reason. They offer the possibility of getting a decent paint job that won't make you cringe every time it gets nicked or scratched. I had my Mach painted by Maaco with decent results (notice, I said decent, not fantastic or great)http://groups.msn.com/DBsMustang/budgetpainttips.msnw

Well, from my experience and reading of others' experiences, you typically have a 50% chance of Maaco or Earl doing a halfway decent job the first time. Most of the time they paint everything under the hood as well. Just my take on it. Some of the Maaco paint on my previous '65 came right off with the striping tape, not to mention the area on the trunk they blew dirt onto. I'd rather paint it myself, and thats what I plan to do witht he '68. Just my take on cheap paint.

Also, when I say I could never drive a $10,000 paint job on the street, keep in mind I am in CA which I believe now has has some of the worst roads in the country.

DarkBuddha · Nov 8, 2005

Certainly Maaco isn't a high quality optiion, but you don't pay high quality prices. They do decent work for a reasonable price, and while I'm sure they screw up a bit more often than most shops, I'm sure we've all seen ridiculously substandard work come out of supposedly "reputable" and expensive shops. In any case, you have to be your own advocate. I've also read lots of negative feedback regarding Maaco paint jobs and durability, but I really feel that most of those negative experiences could've been prevented with quality preparation (which I highly recommend doing yourself), which is where the real "quality" of the final product is.

Anyway, I hear ya about $10k paint jobs on the street... it's the same everywhere these days... heck, south and central Florida are plain frightening... and look at all the CA people who've moved to Seattle... I wouldn't drive a $10k paint job anywhere anymore, even if I could afford it.

danny clemens · Nov 8, 2005

I'm going to paint my car myself. I've painted a couple acrylic enamel jobs several years ago and they weren't too bad. I just bought a bigger compressor and am going to buy an hvlp paint gun. There are cheaper paints that are very good. A few hundred dollars for materials and I'll be ready to go. Even if I do mess it up (I don't think I will) I could paint it again and still be a lot cheaper.

Hissing Cobra · Nov 8, 2005

If you want to save money, disassemble the ENTIRE car yourself. This includes the interior, glass, trim, chrome, emblems, etc...etc...etc....Then, deliver it to the bodyshop for the paint stripping, bodywork, sealing, priming, painting, and sanding. When done, pick it up and reassemble everything yourself. It's kind of like building a model. Also, it's as easy as playing a game of checkers. If you can wield a screwdriver, wrench and socket set, you'll be fine with the reassembly.

I did this on my '79 Cobra back in 2001. Because of this, I got a show quality paint job that was done with PPG basecoat/clearcoat products for $4,900. I get compliments on it at just about every show and I got it featured in a magazine this past summer.

I have no problems driving it either. The only thing I'm cautious about is where I park it. I don't want any dings in the side body panels.

Just my thoughts.....

Stang_1973 · Nov 8, 2005

i say take it to an on the side guy who you know does good work and have seen his work personally. The first time i painted the '73 i took it to this guy who said he knew what he was doing. he charged me $850. After a few months some areas looked very faded, bubbled and it chipped relatively easily.

The second time, after the accident, i took it to another guy. I saw alot of his work and the current car he was working on while he was working on it. Turns out he straitend the whole thing, took out all the rust, I mean all of it, every thing. I went to check out the progress every few days. It took him two weeks for a complete straitening of the body, body work and painting of the whloe car with racing stripes on the hood and Boss 302 styles stripes on fenders and doors. It has a high gloss finish and has not chipped. Total w/out parts came out to $1700.

Stupid thing I discovered about getting my car painted- tell me if Im crazy-

GNN60GT500

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