Technical Why Paint Is So Expensive

before retirement, I used to do aircraft paint booth repair and service....us car guys have nothing to complain about when it comes to an automotive job paint cost......but yes, I remember buying Freuhauf trailer black enamel for under $10 a gallon and I have a couple of big truck fenders I painted with it...and they still glossy shine after sitting outside for all these years...
gonna go clean my roller...got a paint job to do....

 

The cost of high end paint has increased far more than the cost of oil. Adjusted for inflation, today a barrel of crude oil costs just what it did 50 years ago.

But the other chemicals in modern paint can be pretty outrageous. Figure out what they are, and how much they cost to purchase today, let us know.

 

They gotta pay for those race teams some how

 

Jim, all I have is cheap paint cans such as Summit and Kirker. But if we factor in non-petro then the alum for metallics and the pearls have to be a significant portion. If you remember back in the 90's when PPG released their pastels and higher content metallics, that's when I remember prices really escalating. I remember when the flip flop pearl was released at 2 grand a gallon as I recall. Trusting my memory has proven to be counter productive. What portion is administrative , research and other fixed overhead portions?

 

Modern paint jobs and older paint jobs have one thing in common; both took the same amount of labor to do. The cost of that labor back in the 50's and 60's was much less, so naturally the cost of the job was also. Material costs have gone up, but as mentioned much of that cost is increased oversight by local government agencies. The feds charge the same taxes and fees on paint made to sell to businesses that also is sold direct to consumers. So you might pay $700-$1000 a gallon for paint a shop sprays on, yet maybe buy it yourself direct for much less.
The paint on my old Austin g***er between base coat and clear cost close to $1000 back in 2012, but a few years ago when I ordered paint direct from TCP Global to paint my '39 myself I paid $208 for the whole paint kit. It was single stage, so no clear coat, but still much less than what a shop marks it up if they shoot it and have to pay all the local environmental fees.

 

At the risk of going off topic, around where I live I see more Cybertrucks with wraps than without.

 

Sounds about right. In '06 or so I bought a gallon of color flop pearl base coat (PPG) for $3900

 

That 72 Chevy Placer gold lacquer I painted my 48 with in 1973 cost 33.00 a gallon in Waco, that equals 240.79 today. I was making 3.50 an hour at Ryder truck in 1973 and that would Equal 25.54 and hour now. TCP Global shows 284 for a similar gold for a gallon of color only.

 

Like everything in these United States these the main industry to blame is wealth building. Specifically the Private Equity Fund and it's buyout strategies. Less compe***ion and bean counters downsizing the resulting companies. ***et management companies. The recent flap over Fram and it's bankruptcy symbolize this. Automotive Paint is no exception. Think of all the brands that were available years ago. Ditzler, Rinshed-Mason. Nason, Martin Senour, DuPont, and more that I have forgotten. PPG still independent after selling off it's coatings division. DuPont gone. Now we have Axalta and BASF. TCP Global makes HOK paint and a lot of stuff like Eastwood and Summit paints. Profit drives the investors and prices must rise. No more Delton or Imron, no more DUCO. Boring maybe but that's what you have today.

If you live in the Los Angeles/Orange county area the VOC stuff is what the AQMD has imposed. Maybe if you live in Podunk it seems ridiculous but but there must be 10,00o body shops spraying cars every day here. Adds up. Don't like it much but so be it.

All the nearby paint stores that carried PPG paints have closed, I suspect because prices were too high for the average guy. Most are selling the Made in China stuff that is more reasonably priced.

 

As someone who works for a manufacturer whose primary raw material is resin I can ***ure you the cost of resin has no correlation to the price of oil.

There are lots of things that drive up the costs. There have been multiple fires at resin plants over the last few years that have lead to price increases. The war in Ukraine meant that the primary source of ***anium dioxide that companies were using for white was no longer available. It's not as simple as the price of oil is down so someone is ripping everyone off. Now I am not discounting the fact that companies are in business to make maximum profits these days but that is not something to discuss here.

 

**** hasn’t ever been cheap.
You can save $ by looking at lesser know paint.
The resin comes from the same places anyway.
TAMCO is one suggestion.
SPI has great epoxy and clear.
PPG industrial has great epoxy
Fleet paints
Autobahn primers
I’ve had great luck at school with generic reducers. But I have seen a difference with cheaper reducers on single stage for some reason.
If using base/clear, use a cheaper 4:1 clear to trim out with. I’ve bought gallon setups under $75.
Save $$ on the base by using a lower priced line and spend that savings on a better clear.

 

I love Summit inexpensive clear urethanes. The gloss is fantastic, especially on the woodcarving and other wood projects. Give a gl*** like surface. Just as good on cars too! And their 'satin' clear is absolutely dead flat. I would recommend it for rat rods who want to keep the junkyard patina but protect the car at the same time. Great for anything you want to protect but look unpainted.

And as far as price is concerned, don't forget government regulations. When they get involved, cost always skyrockets, regardless of the subject. My favorite government story is when I lived in Kalifornia, I went to my local paint store to get some lacquer primer for my rod. Salesman warned me that it was only legal in the state to use lacquer on furniture, a crime to use it on metal surfaces.

 

The resins may come from the same place but there are varying qualities of resin that come from those places. Also the additives that companies put in are not all the same either. So they are not all the same.

 

Not remotely. It's like saying McNaughton's is the same as Pappy Van Winkle's just because they are both whiskeys. One is $1400 more per bottle for some very good reasons. The Pappy's is probably wasted on the m***es.

I have sprayed the cheap stuff, and I have sprayed the post expensive paint I can afford. They will both put colors on your car but there is good reason for the price difference. But again, the m***es...

 

Nope. They sure ain’t the same
Rustoleum is $50 a gallon and a red base or can cost over a grand.
if you need that red base coat t then it costs what it costs.
However, lower line paints aren’t investing imto paint matching for collision work at all or near the level of the higher end stuff. Probably aren’t purchasing booths, b*** boats or trips to the beach for shop owners.

 

When price increase discussions happen, no one can forget one of the consistent causes of the price increases. Government involvement is always part of the story, but some prefer to ignore the facts.

When ever the government gets involved, the price of any product goes up. Any time peoples' "health" is involved, it requires the government to get involved. The process of painting involves peoples' health, both those doing the painting, and those that may live near by.

Its not a political debate because no one is picking sides, everyone is drug into the battle, and our pocketbook always looses.

 

One thing nobody mentionned is the cost of operating a paintbooth. Changing the filters regularly, heating it and maintenance are not cheap, especially the heating part, it's not like painting in the garage after hosing it down and have a fan in front of the door or doing it in the backyard.

 

Local paint shop has a table up front. Always a few gallons and quarts on sale for whatever reason.........I don't think I've ever seen a gallon over $140. Many times cheaper.

You just can't be picky on color. Lol

 

Almost all those brands you list either still exist or have just changed name like Ditzler to PPG. Most now fall under difeerent ownership but they still exist. DuPont is Axalta same paint different owner. Nason is a line within Axalta, Imron is a line within Axalta. Martin Senour and HOK (TCP Global is just a distributor they do not make it)are lines owned by Sherwin Williams.

I'd guess it wasn't PPG price that caused local jobbers to close. It's far more likely they lost all their good shop business because their good shops joined a banner program that was not affiliated with PPG. Paint shops are becoming less and less able to decide on what materilas they use and who they buy them from these days. If you are Gerber shop for instance you have a list of products you are allowed to buy and usually a specific jobber you can buy from and buying outside that ecosystem is frowned up and made very difficult to accomplish. If you are not tied into one of those banner programs as a jobber your days are numbered or you are chasing C and D shops who buy the cheapest they can find and a are PITA to get money out of.

Those are usually mis-tints.

 

Like I said, if you aren't particular on color. LOL

 

https://www.ebay.com/b/Autobahn-Automotive-Paint-Primers/179430/bn_116835728
I’ve used a good bit of these products at school. Paintguru(wish he was still around) used to sell this stuff. It’s very reasonably priced if you can purchase as a jobber.
Honestly, I’ve really had only one paint failure from a low cost product. It was a name store labeled clear.
Products work when used as designed.

 

Hey, Anthony;
Do you know what happened to PaintGuru, or why he bailed?
IIRC, you knew him & he lived around you?
Was looking forward to patronizing him & using his stuff, when I eventually got there. Guess I'm a few yrs(decade?) too late.
Can PM me if it's "political"...
I miss his writings & info, even though I haven't got to any paint-stage yet.
Marcus...

 

I think he took another job/business opportunity
I lost contact with him but I have a friend that might know where he is.

 

I often wonder how much an unopened gallon of Honduras Maroon Enamel that has been on my shelf since 1985 would bring at auction?

 

OK, thanks. Please tell him, if you or your friend, ever see him, he's missed here.
Marcus...

 

Labor rates in my state is 80 an hour some states its even lower at around 60 an hour so its not that although some indy shops are north of a 100 an hour. Paint materials have been going up since covid sometimes daily we spray a PPG clear thats 1000.00 a gallon that tops the water that is sprayed the cost of that would blow your mind, big government is involved so it will never get cheap shop around for a solid paint that might get you there syay away from the reds very expensive color.

 

My car has a 50-50 paint job. Looks okay from 50 feet away when going by at 50 mph. This sticker says it all:

 

I'm curious about using vinyl wrap. Would it be practical to to prime, block sand, and seal a car and go directly to wrap? I imagine that it would be difficult around external hinges, drip rails and such so maybe just paint the really awkward stuff?

 

Not sure there is a point once you have gone though all that work. Wraps last about 5 years and are a few thousand dollars to apply at a minimum. Once all your body work is done the paint portion doesn't cost that much for labor. You are probably no further ahead cost wise and you have a product that doesn't last very long.

 

Wraps are an “economical” alternative for commercial vehicles and color changes on newer cars.
My old shop wraps a lot of high end cars. 7k to wrap that fancy sports car is a lot cheaper than spraying.
Plus the resale isn’t affected by it. Customers will have a car wrapped, drive it for a while then remove it or change it out for another color.