I dont have a ton of cash, but Im restoring a '65 mustang fastback to sell so I can get the money to start my '27 dodge project. The paint needs to be good. Some shops offer $800 jobs, others offer $10,000 jobs. Im willing to spend somewhere around $2000. Im not looking for Barrett Jackson quailty, but I dont want a shitty tape job with shotty paint either. I just read a bunch of horror story threads on here, and I wish I could just paint it myself. But, I'll be honest, I dont have the space/experience to do it. Is there a happy medium here? Have any of you guys been happy with a $2000 paint job or am I just dreaming? Thanks Also, can anyone recommend a decent shop in the Portland area?
A lot of it will have to do with how much body work there is to do. Even with budget materials, primer, filler, sand paper, tape, masking paper, sealer, paint, clear and activator, the materials will easily run 800 to $1000 (at least in my parts) I would suggest a non metallic, non pearl color. Solid colors are easier to shoot, so your more likely to get a good job for your $2000. If the body is straight, the color is not mottled or blotchy (why I suggest no metallics) and 3 good coats of clear, you should be able to buff out dirt and trash and should get a decent job. Remember, darker colors show more body imperfections, so med to light tones might be a good choice if your not sure of the body work. May all be things that you know, but making the right choices will make the most of your budget. Just because someone may do a budget job doesn't mean the painter is a hack, but they're not going to put they're biggest effort into it, so it's best not to make it a harder job than it has to be. Simple and straight forward. Just my thoughts.
Word here is NETWORKING. I personally know paint shop painters who LOVE to do something other than panel sprays and color match. A couple of them are top notch painters. One in particular has an agreement for 'custom' jobs after hours using the dealer booth equipment. I buy materials and pay a deeply discounted labor rate. We're both happy in the end. As for in the Portland area, sorry no info there. Beware of the MAACO and chain sprayers - I've heard and SEEN bad stories about what otherwise was to be a nice ride. One guy locally parked his very badly painted 50's Chevy across the street from Maaco with a 3 foot sign saying this is what Maaco did with my $3000. My son and a case of spray paint couldn't have done much worse. Good Luck
lil toot, thanks for your thoughts! Im doing all the body work myself. Ive been at it for the past 4-5 months. Im trying to get it as smooth and straight as possible. Thats a great point you make about the metallics and pearls. The original color is an ivy green, and its kinda dark. I may consider a med ivy green tho. I have removed all the chrome, emblems, handles, lights, wipers antenna, etc to make it a breeze for the painter, and reduce the chance of poor taping. I thought $2000 was a resonable price to shoot for.
mike, damn! they messed his chevy up and he paid $3000??? Maybe $2000 is too low then? I mean, obviously, the more I pay, the better quality I would expect. But I thought the Maacos were the "under a $1000" group, and that I was going above that for $2000. Sounds like I may be wrong?
im in the process of doing body and paint on my wifes 1940 Ford pickup. I've got about $1500 bucks in materials alone on this, to do it right, when you include all the materials to strip to bare metal, mask, etch, prime / surface, filler, sand, seal and base, etc... hell in my costs, im not even doing a clear as its a suede job. that said, getting something done for $2000 bucks will all depend on the material used and the amount of work (more specifically lack thereof) the painter will have to do. damn this stuff is expensive nowadays huh? -scott noteboom
It was a white pearl paint job, and I dunno there max... i know they advertise package deals. But they sprayed the whole thing, inside outside, jams etc. The Maaco in question was around the block from where i worked (en route to Carl's Jr.) and he had it parked there for 3-4 weeks with a big A$$ sign. Sounds like you're doing 90 % of the work yourself (the prep) so $2k is very doable in my book. You also didn't mention if you were just doing jam and exterior, or a whole shoot. An entire shoot with undercoat and trunk/engine compartment, etc. will definitely be out of your price range. I agree with Toot tho, w all your doing and the right color choice, you should come out ok.
how close to paint will it be? Does it need to be jambed inside and out? Doors and trunk lid off? Will it need priming and blocking or basically just final scuffing/cleaning and spraying?
If you deliver the car to a painter with the car in 'ready to paint' condition (ALL of the prep work done) then you should very easily get someone to spray it for less than $2k. Look around for the guys who can do it outside of shop time so you aren't paying the full blown business day shop rate. Some folks have a booth right at their home. Deluxe
I had a 67 Mustang convertible painted at One Day auto paint here in town, chain stores, kinda like Maaco. Turned out great! $300 cash. Paint got high marks on the appraisal. Its all in the surface prep. Same story, friends Chevelle, at maaco. He prepped his well, came out with a real slick dark metallic blue.
I did not read all of the posts, but I will recommend a light, non-metallic color, close to a factory shade, so it doesn't scream "repaint!". History will tell you that green sells poorly, and red sells well, though red paints do usually cost more.
As has been stated, surface prep is key. Go to SmartFlix.com and rent some videos on autobody work...you will find that much of the prep work you can do yourself once you understand the process. With the 2-stage paints on the market now you can get by with a minimum amount of the more expensive color base coat and get a slick looking job by focusing on the clear top coat and color sanding.
For a scuff and shoot, with halfway decent materials, I'd be willing to bet $2K will get you a medium-good job in your area. Somehting you can list on ebay and not shit a brick if a buyer comes to look at the car in person. Find a body shop with a 70 yr old owner that smokes cigars and still has suction feed guns hangin on the wall. I'd bet he'll do you just fine.
notebooms- yes, it seems to be getting very expensive! mike- I'll be doing a full paint with both door jams, under hood and trunk. bondoboy- It'll be ready for paint. Doors, trunk, hood stay on. Side quarter vents are off. No engine bay painting. Its a satin black like stock factory. Basically just a scuff and spray. Do you paint? deluxe- The idea of off time is a good one! Never thought to ask that 1950chevysuburban- great info! Im glad to hear at least two guys got a good paint job from the chain outfits! hotrodpaint.com- Good points! I understand green isnt a great seller on most cars. But the dealership option was ivy green with ivy gold interior. A lot of mustang buffs want the factory/dealership color combos when looking for a stock 65. If it was muscled up or raced out, then I could see a cooler color, but I'll keep it a stocker. charlieled- Good ideas. Are you suggestiong that I paint it myself? Do you guys think that would be a better route? slowandlow63- Ill keep my eye out for the old timer!haha Thanks for all the replies so far. I called a handfull of shops today at lunch. The chain shops said they could paint it with my prep, body work and primer, but they wouldnt warranty anything due to their paint may react with my primer. The custom shops had no problem with all the work being done, they said they would skim on an epoxy coat and nuetralize everything so there wouldnt be a reaction. One even said if I brought it to them with primer on it, he would have to strip it to steel. But I have body filler in some spots! This isnt a bondo bucket either by the way. I had to repace the rear section, trunk and passenger quaterpanel. I filled in ares where I stitch welded on the panels. Where ever I found rust, I cut it out and stiched in a patch panel of steel, and used body filler to smooth it out. My main concern is if the shop saiys they need to prep sand it, theyll blast the edges of my body work all to hell, and Ive spent so much time getting it nice. Does anyone here think it would be a good idea to paint it myself? Ive painted before, but I wouldnt say Im experienced. Would the price of a good gun, a heater and paints equal, beat or exceed the 2000? At least I would know how many coats went on, and I would do a great job with sanding and taping. Thanks for the input!
You would definitely beat the cost doing it yourself. Thats a call you have to make. Out of curiousity what primer is on it? I know most Maaco's use lines of PPG. If I were you, I'd run it to Maaco or one of the shops that will shoot over your work. I personally wouldn't shoot over someone elses work until I at least ran a couple coats of my primer, that I'm confident with, on. So those shops that said that aren't out of line by any means.
As everyone has said before me prep is key. If it were were mine I would take it to Maaco and have it shot in a single stage solid color. Bring it home wet sand and buff. It's amazing what wet sanding and buffing will do. Gary
Okay, Im not sure what the difference is between a single stage and a dual stage or two step stage. You guys have brought it up a number of times. Its obviously something I need to understand to make a good decision. What are the differences? Which one is better and why? Also, why just solid and not a light metallic? Is it just to insure there wont be "stripes" of metallic instead of it being even? Is it just to eliminate one more thing that the paint shop could screw up? Thanks again
Single stage is easy to spray and cheaper because you are only buying one stage. Dual stage or BC/CC is better for a number of reasons including color holdout, gloss, repairability, among others. But it is a little tougher to spray and costs more because there is a basecoat and then a clearcoat. Solids are tough to F up. Metallics or pearls can end up blotchy or mismatched panel to panel. Basically we were aiming you in the cheap and easy direction. Especially for somehting you aren't keeping.
Single stage cut's down on material's. Solid color will be easier to get even coverage. Metalic's are 'suspended' and can collect in corner's, ect. You can color sand and buff soild's (if need be). You may use a 'sister' paint of a major brand. Price your favorite brand's and ask them about the cheaper choice's. Some feed-back from other HAMBer's will help as well.
Ok, so single stange is just a base coat, where dual stage has the base coat and the clear coat mixed together?
what has happened to life?? I used to charge $30 to shoot stuff 20 years ago, the worlds a changing, and i had to try to save their nasy bodywork so it looked good.. in the early 70's I painted tractors with clean up ,sand ,and materials for $65.. now trying to get ;lacquer primer is even a problem, am useing spray cans on my model A FD looks like the VOC isues are a lot to do with the cost of stuff, being lacquer primer is $150 a gal now used to be less than $20. with the curent laws paint will not even be for sale to hobiests soon
No! Single stage is paint with the color in it. Just like any other paint you have used. Pros. Cheaper and easier to spray. Any mistakes can be wet sanded / buffed out Get a deep scratch it's easy to repair just shoot some more paint and buff it out. 2 Stage is a base coat and then a clear coat. The base coat is a dull coat of paint that goes down first. After that has been applied then a clear coat is applied and this is where the paint gets its gloss from. Gary
Damn! Lacquer primer is about 40 bucks a gallon down here... but you can't get lacquer paint tho.....
its a funny thing that paint and how much it cost came up. i just left the paint store friday and for the materials to shoot my 51 was going to be $900. now after i picked myself back up from the floor(got REALLY light headed) i said WHAT?!?!?! the same paint job 6 years ago set me back $335 and i used all top shelf items, and still had a gallon of clear left over!!! the pricing i got today was for budget hardener, baseline reducers, and the mid rate clear. it was going to be well over $1200 for the materials for topshelf and i get a high volume paint shop discount. im glad the kids arent going to collage for the next couple of years because daddy is going to have to dip into their cash at this rate!!!!
Ok, thanks for clearing that up Gary, it makes a lot more sense now. Its obvious I dont know much about auto paint and need to do more homework. One other question. I assume most people that dont own spray guns use a rattle can sandable primer along with their body work to check for highs/lows etc. The painter will spray his own primer on before laying color. I understand his primer neutralizes any car or rattle can paint below the painters primer from reacting to the new paint. Is that correct? You guys have been very helpful! Im getting really close to paint now, just getting rid of any obvious sanding marks.
Yes and no. Provided his primer doesn't react with your primer, then yes. There are really too many variables and paints to make an affirmed decision, but in most cases it should. I typically don't use any primer but the "real" primer that I use on my jobs.
Hey, Scott and I have '60 Cadillacs. I, for one, am pretty intimidated at the cost of a decent paint job... ESPECIALLY if I do all my own filling, blocking and panel beating! What about you, Scott? Did you have to sell the farm for paint on yours? ~Jason
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