Technical Paint cost!

I randomly came across a YT a few days ago about a guy who took his 90s Range Rover to Macco. His expectations were pretty low, but it still cost US$3K. When he first saw it, he seemed to be pleased, but later when he got home, he really wasn’t that pleased as he mentioned that he had paid for “body work” as part of the $3K cost, but it was evident there was no body work done, or very little (lots of dents dings). He said it was his first time going through this type of thing, and was upset with himself for not having a better look when he initially went to pick it up. The paint itself looked not bad, but it was bad to see all the dents and dings just painted over. I thought then that $3K seemed high, but now not so sure. Lol!

 

The problem is that a lot of shop rates are $100+/hour ,doesn’t take long to rack up a big bill. I repaired and painted my last late model OT driver rear quarter. I had $250 in supplies but if I charged myself $100/ hour I would’ve had a 5 or 6 k bill. The truck at the time was worth maybe 10000. Paint prices are higher , everything is. Some of the newer paints are pretty darn good.
Dan

 

And therein lies the issue.

The paint job cost him $3000, and they painted right over the dents and dings. I'd be willing to bet they probably did fill and sand over the really bad ones but left the rest that weren't in the budget. The dude isn't really happy with the job, and it still cost that much money. So inevitably, for him to have paint work that he is actually happy with, he will have to take it to a better shop and pay probably several times more to get something he is pleased with. Which will probably cost even more because they'd have to strip off all that Maaco paint to do the job right. That makes no sense. In the process of trying to do it cheap, it costs even more. Buy once, cry once.

 

Yep. Seen folks put a cheap paint job on so it looks good until they can afford to do better.
Cost more now than it would of have if they left it alone.

 

I spray a lot of stuff from TCP Global.

It works just fine.

99.998% of a good paint job comes before the topcoat. Do your best.

Use an in-stock color. If parts of the job don't look good, fix and respray.

When you let the perfect become the enemy of the good, you put yourself on the path to madness.

 

here's a positive story about paint and supplies. I bought a brand new Devilbiss 3 Stage Desiccant Air Dryer 15 + years ago for $400.00. I only used it a few times. about 2 years ago I was going to sell it for $200.00 but looked it up and new ones are like $1,000.00 now. so I sold it for $500.00 and got my money back. sold real quick, maybe I should have asked for more $

 

painted my 55 Chevy p.u. a few years ago for $11.00, including the $3.00 brush...Walmart house paint in my color choice, laid down really smooth,actually looks spray'd on,never sanded it except to patina the edges a bit... looks better than what I started with...and good enuf for a daily driver...

 

You are correct, I needed to read it more carefully. So basically 5-7K in materials and 10-13 in labor. That sounds more reasonable. But, clearly wasn't where the posted owner wanted to be. There are a lot of things we can do ourselves that we opt to pay someone else to do to save time and hassle. When our time is worth more than the labor costs, we choose to let others do the job. In this case it appears that not only did the poster not want to pay the labor rates, but chose to use less expensive materials to get the desired result.

While some people do expect perfection at cut rate prices, some people don't mind paying a good price for good work or an premium price for premium work. But, "my prices are some of the highest around while my work is only average", said no painter ever. Paint jobs are very difficult to get perfect and the painters that can do them deserve the premium price they charge. Unfortunately everyone that can push the button on a rattle can thinks they can produce that perfect paint job themselves. Some then want to charge others perfect paint prices for their less than perfect work. I think everyone will agree if we feel the work we received is less quality than what we paid for, we will nit pick and freely point out the problems we see.

 

True to a point. The problem is 99% of the people have no idea what is involved in terms of both work and cost in producing any paint job so they also have no idea what a "nice" paint job should cost. How many threads do we see on here complaining about the cost of paint/filler etc? That is from guys who think they know what they are talking about and they don't realize how expensive it is and those costs never even includes the piles of additional supplies/costs that are required to perform paint and body work. The average person has ZERO clue so how do they know if the got the quality they paid for? What you think it should cost and what is should actually cost are two very different things and most have no clue about the former. Of course there are some unscrupulous people out there, like any industry, but I would bet the vast majority of "I didn't get what I paid for" in paint jobs is because the customer has no idea what they should be getting.

$3000 for a complete paint job with body work on a Range Rover like Ziggster mentioned he saw on YT is a pipe dream but that's what the vast majority of people think it should cost. I can guarantee if you asked most people what a "daily driver" body work/paint job is they would equate that to the same quality that a new car has (that's my daily driver) and the work and cost that is involved in making any old car meet those expectations is way more than anyone that hasn't done it themselves realizes.

Listen I wouldn't pay $15-20K for a paint job either but I certainly understand why and how a nice paint job costs that much. I also understand what $3000 gets you and it's not much. It would be interesting to see what most "car" people who have never had a full paint job quoted or done think it should cost. My guess the vast majority would way underestimate it.

 

We’ll said, anyone who has done some body work knows the amount of labor involved, pull dent hammer hammer hammer, fill imperfections with filler sand sand sand prime sand sand sand on and on… I’m no pro but even if a pro takes half the time I do , it’s still a lot of work
Dan

 

Well said. I don't think anyone wants to pay that kind of money, or more, for a paint job. But that's the reality of how much it has to cost to make it economically viable for the shop. I don't think they're ripping you off.

Take the high end of that labor estimate above. $13,000. At a shop rate of $100 an hour, that's 130 hours. Technically less since in NJ we pay 6.625% sales tax. If someone dropped their car off, could one person, working 9-5 Monday through Friday only, turn the car from what it came in as, to fully prepped, primed, blocked, damage repaired, sealed, painted, cleared, cut and buffed, and reassembled, in basically 3 weeks and change? Not a fucking chance. Something has to give, and something is going to get shortchanged in the process. Corners have to be cut to make that labor estimate a reality. And this is also why high end paint costs tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, if you pay a reputable shop to do it. And I emphasize reputable because there are precious few shops that have the reputation of consistently producing high-level finishes like that. It's not a coincidence that almost every year Charley Hutton has a car he painted in the Great 8. He's one example. But lots of charlatans would be happy to take someone's money with the promise of high end work and deliver a mediocre product.

I get that not everyone can afford, or justify, cars with that level of finish. But the idea that it's insanity to pay that much for paint is equally wrong. Many of us here have no interest in building cars that are painted with tractor paint, Rustoleum from Home Depot, or rattle cans. Additionally, many here, whether they want to admit it or not, don't have the talent to do really high quality bodywork and paint on their own. I include myself in that group. There can certainly be a middle ground. Finding materials that are a strong value but are not ultra high end. Cutting corners on certain work but not others. Doing as much work as you can on your own and passing it off to someone else when you run out of talent. That's why it's so important to find a shop that can achieve your ends and work within your budget. But it's also important to have a realistic idea of the amount of time it takes to achieve a desired result. I don't think most people get it.

 

I damn sure can’t afford a 10k+ paint job and I damn sure don’t have the skill set to get that level of a paint job so I’ll have to live with a $1000 paint job including materials, I sure hope my skills live up to a $1000 job! Personally I prefer to do the work myself , very satisfying even though I can’t do top shelf work. Oddly enough I’ve seen some pretty darn good rattle can jobs, in my own experience it’s much easier to spray with a HVLP gun than a spray can, my hat is off to those who perform artistry with a rattle can. A complete rattle can job has to cost a few hundred at minimum I’m thinking.
Dan

 

This cheap paint job doesn’t bother me…it’s a killer Hot Rod. The whitewall on the back…now that bothers me!

 

I’ll chime in in a few days, got the word it’s going to paint phase. I’ll be buying all the materials. Single stage

 

I got my HAMB handle about 20 years ago when I painted my deuce shop truck with satin Krylon. It wasn't very expensive back then and I got it on all the sheet metal without dry spots,streaks or runs. I did the normal prep work before top coat. See October 05 Rod & Custom for a feature on the truck which first went to England and is now I think in Finland? I've done several other 32's in black suede of some sort including 3 chopped highboy tudors, 4 pickups, 1 five window, 2 highboy roadsters. The suede paint jobs did not seem to affect the price as all of them I sold brought good money, including several of them 6 figures. Shiny ain't for everyone..

 

its really stupid but everything is going up and up!!!

 

in the future paint will be outlawed and cars will be wrapped with whatever that stuff is they are wrapping cars with now.

 

I'm about to pull the trigger and have my '54 painted. The painter I've known for 30 years. He painted my '69 Dodge Dart 20 years ago. We haven't discussed price yet. He just said time and materials. I'm hoping for $3k-$5k.

I've stripped the car to bare metal, done all bodywork, covered it in 2 coats of epoxy followed by 3 coats of SlickSand, followed by judicious block sanding followed by 3 coats of 2k primer. When he's ready, I'll sand the 2k primer down with whatever grit he recommends and the car will be stripped of all trim. Basically, I need it sprayed by a pro with a booth. I want the car two-tone. The top white and the rest metallic green. I'd like base coat/clear coat. The paint doesn't have to be a high end brand, just something that'll look good. I brought my Dart to him 20 years ago in the same condition as my '54 and he charged me $1k, all in. Am I completely out of mind hoping for $3k-$5k??
What does the HAMB world think?

 

Painter fiend once mentioned that the customer never complains about the high dollar crate engine or the wheels and tires but strokes when they see the paint bill.
But I saved thousands by switching to rust.

Been there, done that with the high end paint and body work. Got the T-shirt. Loved doing it. Still love looking at it at shows.

I’m glad I’m past that for my personal crap.

 

I like '52-'54 Fords, BUT that style of parking is reserved for Deuces, Model 40s, and 1940 Fords ! Just sayin' ! LOL

 

You guys spot details. Eagle eyes for sure!
Still tryin' to figure if $3k-$5k will do it, though......

 

Threads on the HAMB.
High cost of paint.
High cost of body filler.
High cost of upholstery.
High cost of wiring.
High cost of engine machining
High cost of tires.
High cost of parts.
Noticing a theme here?
It ain’t (pick a year) anymore.
Somebody set out a tray of cheese.

 

Rust is free.

 

Nice car let us know the cost and please post finished car photographs. Looks like most of the super labor stuff done!
Dan

 

Cool ain't cheap.

 

I never expect perfection in my paint job. I painted this with Utech polyurethane semi gloss. This paint is hard as stone…can wet sand the next day without paint balling in sandpaper! $400 CDN for a gallon kit and I managed to squirt 3 coats with my Purple HF HVLP spray gun. My body work is not worthy of a professional paint job. Trucks new owner is my son.

 

Id recommend having him do it with single stage. Then a few months later or even the next summer scuff and clear coat it. End up with a deeper shine clear coating single stage