For you own sake buy paint from your local jobber.

If you can speak spainglish maybe you can get what you ask for .if not you wasted your time with most of the jobbers in Houston..

 

PPG.....way to pricey or me..............

 

You don't do high volume work, but they are GIVING you a custom mix of clear to spray a car with? No charge?? Wow! You are a very lucky man.

 

I have the best of both worlds. I buy locally; that is 60 miles away but we call it local. I pay the high price and they don't have any extra knowledge to share. I go to the various forums and PPG web site for information. Just gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling. So, again, tell me why I buy local?

Neal

 

I like rustoleum from home depot...8 bucks a quart

 

might have to do with the 47 years of loyalty? just a thought..
and it wasnt the clear, it was the base coat..not that it matters
I'd give a 47 year customer a deal..wouldnt you? You know he will be back, and than some.

trust me..PPG and that store will get a ton of free advertising if i know the HIGHLANDER like i do, and that will more than pay for the gallon or 2 of color

oh and he was right...it was going to piss some of us off

I for one want to see the end result

 

You guys act like the online shops are some faceless machine. Most of the shops on the net (if not all) ARE somebodies local shop. The only difference is some B&M shops are to stuck in there ways to get with the times and offer there products online as well as via walk in sales. I can never understand why any shop would not open their doors to potentially unlimited number of customers by selling there products online which will allow them to increase volume and lower prices for the walk in guy. Knock TCP all you want, but I'm from San Diego. I've painted 3 cars with paint from TCP, first couple I went in talked to the guys went threw the books got the info I needed and was on my way, the 3rd (i moved out of town now). I ordered over the phone with the guys, and I will soon shot a 4th the same way.

 

Very succint point, thank you!

 

Look man, I'm not knocking TCP or any other mail order company. I'm sure there are some mail order businesses with fine knowledgeable people who sell comparable quality products at a discount, as you local jobber.

However, I stand by my original post.

" .... the knowledge of a good paint jobber is a valuable ***et."

"I'm not bashing internet or mail order suppliers."

In General from my experience.

" I just think, that the money you think your saving by ordering paint mail order, may come back to bite you in the *** later."

Maybe, I have been fortunate to have a quality service and products from my local jobbers. Unless things drastically change, I will continue to patronize my local jobber.

 

Part of the problem, at least in my area, is that a huge chain...lets call them "Finish*******s"...bought out the existing, reasonable jobber and the prices shot through the roof before they even had the new signs up. All the experienced, helpful people I had dealt with over the years were gone, replaced by the paint store equivalent of your average Auto Zone employee (someone who was saying "you want fries with that?" last week). They don't want my business, and they won't get it.

I tried Summit's paint, before they had a true basecoat/clearcoat system (on a friend's work truck), and I wasn't impressed at all. Never again.

Since then, I have been using our local Martin Senor/NAPA paint store, and I have been happy, with the price, service, and the quality of the products.

 

As soon as TCP or others online start helping to keep my Library open and my streets paved and my grandsons teacher paid and my water clean etc. etc. I will switch from my local shop.

 

I would realy like to buy from my local jobber but my last paint from him would have been $ 350 more . I just can not give that much away because he is local

 

Painted my '65 GTO back to the factory color (Iris Mist - Evening Orchid for the chevy crowd) in 2007.

PPG jobber - $800+/gal for one gallon of basecoat ONLY. I was looking at the screen with the guy at the counter and it had a note by it that it wasn't an exact match to the factory color. Luckily I had the older guy who works there helping me. I've been there a couple of times since and the younger guy who works there has been a **** both times.

Our local NAPA sells paint (rebadged Sherwin-Williams). I've used their primer before and it was actually compe***ive with online prices. The guy was almost apologetic when he said a gallon of basecoat in that color would run $600+. I still use these guys on occasion for primers/fillers/etc if I need them ASAP.

Went online and found a Valspar dealer. Asked if they could mix my color and he said "sure". Took a chance and ordered 1.25 gallons of basecoat, 1.25 gallons of basemaker (basecoat mixed 1:1 - 2.5 total gallons sprayable....wanted to make sure I had extra in case I screwed up or needed to repair in the future), 1.5 gallons of clear w/hardener and reducer. Grand Total? $410 shipped to my door, it was an exact match to the original color on the car ,and looks great several years later.

Any questions I has were answered anytime day or night by doing a search on several excellent autobody forums and reading the instructions that came with the paint. The paint job isn't perfect, but I have about $1000 total in materials (including primers/fillers and patch panels) into it and I've seen worse come out of shops charging many thousands of dollars.

 

Local jobber for custom mix or in a hurry...otherwise I'm getting my stuff from TCP or CoastAirbrush....especially all my House of Kolor and metalflakes supplies...

 

ooops

 

TPC has good tech support I have no clue why anyone would pay twice or more for quality material. Any and all info is on the net for free, Christ if you ever had a paint tech question you could simply ask here and get all the info you need from friendly people.

 

key phrase, consider your self lucky

paint shops in general usually ****, if you don't know what you want your asking someone who doesn't ever paint anything what works best. may as well head over to home depot for some electrical advice in aisle 23, i'm sure the kid working there knows all about it

another great thing about paint shops is wondering what the cost will be on supplies depending upon who is at the counter when you get there...

 

As a tech. rep. for a local PPG jobber let me just thank you all for the last 30 minutes of entertainment!!

Personally I could care less where most of you buy your paint. But don't think for a second that the $89 quart from PPG and the $22 quart from Napa or online (name your supplier) are of the same quality. Just like Highlander said, there is a huge reason for the high cost of some of the topcoats, it's called UV screeners. DC4000 clear is around $200 for a gallon set up, Omni MC270 is $100. Even though they are both made by PPG do you really think the quality is the same? Not a chance. I had to go look at a car at a local body shop that repaired a BMW in 2003. The clear is falling off the car now. Why, because he put down $90 a gallon clear that doesn't have the same UV protection as the expensive stuff. Now that being said I also see where a hot rod that you are doing in your back yard that will be in the garage 90% of the time over the next 10 years it will probably not really matter. But for that daily driver of yours sitting out 24/7, you may want to think twice.

But a shop that is giving a warranty, or putting their name on it and staking their reputation on the job, well then that guy is a fool for buying off brand products for a customer pay job.

Glenn

 

No Jobbers in my town, NAPA doesnt even do paint.....

HAve to drive to Augusta or Columbia to buy paint and supplies

 

Last time I went to local Auto Paint store the guy behind counter had Green Teeth,EWWWWWWWWWWW.
That store was in myrtle beach and is closed now.He probably scared everyone off like he did me.
Probably a good idea to go to one if it`s not staffed by weirdos like that one was.
I buy mine off internet or at swap meets now.No problem so far.

 

Wow! All this has been pretty interesting. I was wondering when someone would bring up Martin Senor/Napa paint and then BulldawgMusclecars obliged. I just purchased a vehicle done with their paint, Sherman Williams badged per Hot Rod 47 which is fine, and it appeared to be a very decent job. Now this was done by a local body shop in AR and I know that they have a lot more experience than I do. I do know that prep is 90% of a paint job as I grew up with a house painter who taught me some things that made me respect his knowledge.

I don't know if I'll ever paint one of my two Ford AA's that I'm working on, but the cost of having a shop do them, and with top of the line materials, is daunting. My father painted a 47 Nash coupe that he had purchased from an older woman whose husband had left it behind when p***ing and she didn't drive. It needed cleaning up exterior wise and he was sanding it and I asked him if he was prepping it for someone to shoot it and he said he was going to paint it himself. Now this was back in the late 50's/early 60's and when I came home the next day he was painting it with a brush. A two tone gray paint job. I exclaimed it was going to have brush marks and look like hell. He just calmy explained (marked that one on the calendar) that I was to just relax and give it a chance to flow. I'll be damned, it was one of the nicest paint jobs that I had seen to date. The material was a brush automotive lacquer and I wish we could still get that product. It was mfg. by DuPont and I emailed them to see if it was still available, but of course not, it was too practical to still have.

The above made me think of the boating industry and their paints. Not that they can't be pricey as well, but they brush more than they spray and their paints have to hold up to the elements just as vehicles do and in some cases even more harshly. I've been considering doing some tests of their paints to see what they would look like over properly prepped parts. Anyone out their ever considered/used marine paints? Bye the way, marine paint jobs are brushed/rolled on steel hulled boats, not just wood and fibergl***.

 

I agree, this has been a fun thread to read. A couple more things for you guys to chew on. Having worked both sides of the street here, I have been privy to a few things you might consider. I have always been taught to support my local community.
1. someone who is in business to paint cars will get a better price on materials than a person that shows they're face once a year. A person that mixes they're own bank of materials will get an even better deal on materials, but it costs more up front to set up.
2. Smart shoppers can find affordable deals on professional materials if they ask for it, BY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE SELLING. By the way, if you thing it takes 4 quarts to paint a t-bucket, you should not be selling paint. If you believe it takes 4 quarts to paint a t-bucket, you should involve a second opinion.
3. If you buy a particular brand of material, don't mix brands of other materials with it, unless you know exactly what you are doing.
4. If you don't think I know what I'm doing, thats cool too, I take no offense, however, my credentials are this: AAS- collision repair with 4.0, worked co-op at body-shop while in college, worked for automotive supply for 3 years mixing paint and making shop calls with service reps, work my own shop for 20+ years doing restorations and custom work, have tried most all brands and have had alot of experiences for the good and the bad, but have been up front about the end result with amount of funds wanting to be spent. My best buck, for the best price, and most knowledgeable counter-girl which keeps me up to date and in good with my customers is a 20 mile ride to sherwin williams, but all things are considered and adjusted for. If you want a 20 dollar paint job, I can do it, but my sata wont be used, the roller from lowes will.