How much to paint a 32 highboy?

What do you think I'm looking at to get a fibergl*** 32 roadster highboy painted black. I know a lot of blocking will be involved but I am not looking for absolute perfection, just something I can drive and not worry too much about. On a scale of 1-10 maybe a 8. Something good enough no to be embarrased over but nothing too good to cry over a few rock chips.

 

A buddy had a steel 32 5w highboy painted by the top shop here in town. Final bondo, blocking and 3 stage paint = $20k. It is PERFECT paint.

 

If my memory serves me well I think you are about 20 miles from zman here on the Hamb and as I recall he does painting in your area,,

He will treat you fair.

He is in Raleigh, NC. HRP

 

Just go to tractor supply and get some cheap enamel, you can use brushes and rollers, it'll be nice and cheap. Well, cheap anyway...

Seriously, a minimum of around 2K, for single stage paint, not cut and buffed. There's good, and there's cheap, but they don't go together.

 

I'd really be pissed if it wasn't.

 

Thanks... just come on by and talk. We're right by Ray Price Harley Davidson in Raleigh.

 

I asked a shop in Salina Kansas some time ago that does top notch work that same question. I have an all new 32 roadster in bare metal, and he said it started at 15K and went up! Theres a reason my handle is Krylon32.

 

Amen to the Krylon. I've done some good work with that.Back in the 80's I had the stupid Starsky and Hutchism's all over my Karmann Ghia. Before the week was out 4 of my friends had em too. Now its mure "adult" but still Krylon. Love it.

 

amen

 

Something like this would actually be about a 5.

 

look to spend 9500 plus.
never tell your painter you want just an ok job



skull

 

There are a good number of cars here on the HAMB with paint jobs well over 20 grand.

Twenty is CHEAP ... for a really good job

Like Earl Schieb ( here on the HAMB ) says

... I'll paint your car GOOD, FAST and CHEAP!(pick any two) ...

 

i like your at***ude

 

$20k is RIDICULOUS for painting a 'gl*** roadster body...especially for a driver.
Maybe because it's a '32 so ya figure he's got the coin? Haha!

If the body is of nice quality and gaps all line up, I can't see much more than 5K to shoot it....very little in materials really....

 

Hell i was thinking the same thing

 

One of my dads friends has $4000+ into materials on his 1938 chev coupe, then again he picked an HOK color he "had to have".

 

Ridiculous prices out there! Got my '32 highboy roadster preped, blocked and painted for around $1,600 by a friend of mine. Satin finish black - great job! Thats the body and grill shell, no hood or top. He talked me into doing it "right" after I boasted we should paint it with a brush or rattle can it. I'm glad I did it this way. But if we were looking at $4K or more it woulda been brushed or rattled on. Hey, we want to drive this thing!

 

I say it's a perfect time for you to teach yourself bodywork.
It's a small body,and you're not after perfect...Do it yourself.

Or take it to Zman.And get a nice job.

that's the only two options I can think of.

 

I've been painting for 30 years on and off. I do know that here,,if you buy eveything needed to paint an old car it's been running right at a $1000.oo.
My friend wanted me to paint his truck and I couldn't get to it fast enough so he went elsewhere,,guy charged $1K material and $2K labor for 4 days. As you said it ended up an 8 or less. If it was mine I'da been pissed.

 

$250 at One Day or MAACO, but you do ALL the blocking you mentioned before taking it to them,
OR $20,000 and *****-about-it rights.
Not much in between.
A $2,000 paint job will only accidentally be good enough to be an "8 out of 10."
Even a $20,000 paint job might only end up a "9 out of 10" on ever flexing fibergl*** and if it's out in the sun for a weekend the sun's going to render it a 7 by sunset Sunday.

 

Get a deluxe Maaco paint job for $600.00........you block it out. With a $600.00 paint job, you can drive the wheels off of it!

In my opinion a $20,000.00 paint job on a hot rod is just plain stupid if you plan on driving it, and might even be stupid if you don't drive it.

Nothing takes the fun out of a HOT ROD like an expensive paint job.....well maybe a 1000 hp might do it too.

Like VAPHEAD said, buy some equipment, and do it yourself. A panit job is only a temporary covering on the body..........you can up grade in the future, as your skills improve.

 

I'll shoot some Blitz Black on it for 10k! Half price!!!

 

leave the tractor paint for the tractors....

 

this is the kind of customer I loathe. i can pretty much guarantee you that if a painter painted the car exactly as you described, the customer would come back *****ing about this and that not being good enough. pay up for a good paint job or do it yourself.

 

if you ran a paint shop youd be broke in a week. how much fibergl*** have you ever painted?

 

that question can't be answered... only guessed at

 

Including Diesel Rigs?,,lol?

 

yea we would charge about 10k for paint plus body work. Black shows everything so we dont skimp on the block work. 3 coats then roll it out the booth and check it then fix it then back in for about a gallon. cut polish ..........fn black kicks *** Cypress autobody Cypress Ca.714 952 9181....Rob

 

This is the answer.


Too many factors to put a real price on it. If Zman is in your area I'm sure he'll treat you fair. I'm sure it'll cost more than $1600. I'm also sure it'll be less than 20K. I'd say the 10K-13K is about right for the average job on an average car. Now a fenderless and hoodless rod should be a good amount less but quality and condition can change that too. Just remember, You will get what you pay for.
And that Maaco deal has never worked out for anyone I know. My friend took a lot of time to prep and tape his car and thought he would let them shoot the car and he would rub it. They did not put enough clear on the car and he sanded through in a second (he does body work professionally but had no place to spray it). They told him they would "re-do" it. He brought it back and they promised the world. They painted the entire inside of the car as they never taped the thing up again. He got his money back which meant he only had to do all the stripping and everything 2 times. And spend 2x the money. He sprayed it in one of those tent/garages himself. Came out pretty good. At least he could rub it when he was done.

 

Yes, 20K is alot of money but it also depends on what else is being done as well. Hood, grillshell, ch***is (along with fitting and detailing those parts) all add up to alot of time and materials. If the owner is going to help with prep work, dis***embly and maybe block sanding then the costs may go down (however, it ususally cost more money to have the customer kicking around slowing things up on these projects). I've spent ALOT of time in a Ford-Mustang-Shelby oriented resto shop back in the day and also had to do a couple gl*** dune buggies and all gl*** rod bodies while I was there too do so I've got more experience working on fibergl*** hoods, fenders and bodies than I ever wanted...don't even get me started on the boat restoration work I've gotten myself into. I can garan****ingtee you that there's NO such thing as a nice quality, all gaps lined up fibergl*** body or panel right out of the box that needs only a little blocking and a prime/paint to be an "8".

....to make ANY fibergl*** ANYTHING look remotely presentable (let alone "an 8") is going to take many many hours of panel fitting, gap correction and more block/fill/prime than you can imagine.

-Bigchief.