what to charge for Pinstriping.

I have worked plenty of times with Vance and El Vago...They are great pinstripers ,great friends and lots and lots of fun to work beside

 

oh fuck !
i love this ..if i ..or von franco ,hot dog or any the established pin stripers were getting paid the first year and a half in ...

you should be paid a salary .based on the production and minimum wage rate .i think theirs a union up there too ..

striping was like tattooing you earned the priviledge to get paid ..when frank palmer said ..shit your pretty good ..i thought ,hell yes ..then i waited another 2 years for paying jobs .

now ..anybody can got to the swap meet stripe a car ...now your on lucky 13 clothing ..steping on toes and all .under bidding and ruining cars on the way ..

good luck

 

having lived in Idaho, I would advise you to hit the truck stops and ask the guys with the big trucks what they paid to have theyre rigs done and where they had it done, then you can get a feel for whats going on around you. When I went to school, I was told to never do anything unless I could get 100 bucks for my time. For stiping rule of thumb back in the 80's was 10 bucks a panel, and the hood and truck count twice for size. good luck Super Spud

 

I know nothing about pinstriping.... Absolutely zero, so maybe the advice I could offer to you would be helpfull as I could be a potential customer... Maybe not... But I'll throw it out there anyway.

Since you have no competition in your area, price means nothing.
Of course, you will want to offer value to a customer, but if I really wanted my car pinstriped, and someone told me it was gonna be $500, well, I'd show up with $500.... Simple as that.

If I was "sitting on the fence", and learned it was gonna cost $100, I'd probably jump at it.

Now having said that, if I paid out $500, I would expect a $500 job. On the other hand, for $100, I would be much more willing to accept flaws and problems. If the guy performing the work is cool, those problems are much easier to live with and accept. If the guy was a jerk, I'd be pissed with a $50 job.

I hope you get the feeling of what I'm trying to say.
If your really good, then charge people for it.
If your work is only pretty good, set your prices based on your "people skills"
If you suck, dont do it,,, except for friends at discount rates.

A portfolio is a nessecity, but I tell you something I'd "value" even more is a rolling portfolio [of sorts].
Find a 60's or 70's "big car" like a caddilac or lincoln, and cover every pannel with a "different style" of pinstriping so people can see exactly wht your talking about in real time. Maybe even pinstripe a price guide right onto the car

Hit a few local shows and cruises, build a rep, and take it from there.

 

check out here:

http://www.pinheadlounge.com

maybe they can help you with rates in your area...

 

You should only get paid if you are a professional.If you cant walk into a Honda dealership and freehand 2 1/32" straight lines,you are not a professional.People should focus on learning the craft in its entirety.

 

Me and my business partner will be opening a new restaurant within the next 5 weeks.... I am not a professional restauranteur, nor am I a professional Chef..... Does this mean I should give food away untill I "master my craft", and only then charge premium rates to feed hungry people?????

I think the original poster made quite clear that he was not a professional, just someone who enjoyed his hobby, and was inquiring as to what would be a fair rate to charge while he continued to learn his craft.

 

Wherebouts in Idaho? I'm way up North and could possibly give you some business.

 

Pir8Darryl, if you start giving away food, I can be there in under 2 1/2 hours!

This reminds me of the episode of American Hot Rod, (yeah I watched it, sue me), when Boyd was busting Duane's chops about firing that kid. Boyd asked him if he was born a hot rod builder...

Ya gotta learn somewhere and somehow. Trial by fire is a good method. If he goes out to local shows and has shit in his photo albums, he's gonna starve. The faster he gets good and maintains that, the more he can charge and sleep at night knowing he's not cheating people.

Another quote I always like to remind myself of it when rock guitar guru Joe Walsh was asked for the one piece of advice that he could give a beginner... Joe replied, 'Get out and play. You'll never get famous playing in your mom's basement.' That can and does apply here.

Vance

 

Whatever....The guy wants to make enough money to improve his hot rod.That my friends is expensive!It takes a year of running around like a fuckin maniac to make 45000 doin design work and thats comin from someone who always charged too much for it.If straight lines arent mastered,there aint no money. As a matter of fact,you end up not bein able to do 1/2 the jobs you get.If youre outside NY/NJ,What are you gonna make on a hood ,trunk,headlights and taillights if your just a decent design striper?$140 after drivin somewhere to do it?

 

Oh man! Thanks for the advice everybody.
I have decided not to take the job with the Kustom Shop, and instead just go freelance at shows.

safariknut<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_2579665", true); </SCRIPT> - Thank you SO MUCH your advice was unbelievably helpfull!

00 MACK<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_2652216", true); </SCRIPT> - It's not like that. I'm not trying to make enough cash to Restore my car, If I make some some pocket money off my lines, I'm happy. I have a job.

As for the guys stickin' up for me - I appreciate it. You guys don't even know me, and you're actin' all Hep.
It's cool though, I get this from time-to-time. 'Most Every old Pinstriper I have met has been Friendly, Helpfull, and supportive, But then there are always one or two guys who are just bitter. Some people just don't like young blood.

Thanks Again Everybody.

 

Can't you do both the kustom shop and freelance? I'd do both if I could!

 

Yeah, I could do both, but I have a pretty good job already, and even though the Kustom Shop would've been a much cooler job, it would've actually paid a little less.

 

wow i need to start striping more offten

 

I drove 160 miles, spent 10 hours on a 39 Chevy, (Four driving, plus two for looking at the car - the guy's a talker) put a stripe in a narrow channel on both sides, plus two stripes on the wheels, and lettering on two licencse plates. I charged $350 and the guy, while loving my work, thought I had "taken" him. He didn't balk when he paid me, he waited three afterwards to call and complain.

So, does anyone think I overcharged the guy? It comes out to $25 an hour, plus 50 cents a mile and sales tax.

I'm curious to get other striper's opinions, thanks.

 

I would have told him up front about a travel charge...whatever you feel is fair that way you could always tell him he can save that money by coming to you and not wasting a whole day of your time! I don't travel more than an hour to stripe....but there's more of us out here I'm guessing.

 

My prices depends on my mood and the person I'm doing it for, If they are real assholes I'll double my prices because I really do not want to deal with them aanyway. If they let me do it then I'll put up witheir BS and then they get my attitude in return. Works for me.

I don't charge by the hour but it averages around $200. I have a minimum that I charge which is $150 and they have to come to me for that.
That may seem like high pirces to some but I have speed working for me. I learned years ago if you cannot do it fast a good you'll never make any real money.

It doesn't have to be perfect, just believable.

As for my pricing, on average a nice 2 color on a hot rod, front, back, lines down side is 200-350 for about 1-1-1/2 hour and that includes all my wacky talk while working. I give that away for free.

A late model with two color on sides, back, front, etc will be the same. I have an HHR to do Monday, striping will be one line to seperate the black/orange two tone no custom stripes for $250. Of course there are variables.

I did an airplane two weeks ago where I did a single color outlined on graphics about 40ft in length both sides. Took 45 minutes to drive to the airport, striping took 3 hours, for $1000. It was fun too, watching all the vintage planes fly.

Yes, I'm higher and faster than most custom stripers here in central Texas but I believe that if you want to support yourself at this you cannot give it away. And I have not had a job since 1979 so I must be doing something right.

One important thing I've learned about pricing your work, it is alwas easier to go down in price than up.

Another thing I'm doing now is adding consultation fees to the job. I had a guy call me 4 times this week about a stripe job. I never really gave him a pirce but since he drove me crazy, I aded anohter $100 to the final price. People seem to be okay with it becaue they don't even know that I'm doing it.

Times have changed. You are not a commodity. You must consider yourself an advisor, artist, technician, business person, and above all a professional who must be paid properly for your talent and time. If they do not want to pay you, why in the hell would you want to do business with them?

For more on selling yourself as an Custom Automotive Artist go to www.autopsycho.com

Mikey
www.mikeyspinstriping.com
"Does Bad Things to Good Cars"

 

I live in a small SW wisc. town and there is a guy here who goes by the name "Scarecrow". Really good. he gets top dollar for his work, but alot of his work is on Honda Goldwings and Snowmobiles. He will sit down and discuss your job with you but tells you up front he wants a free hand to a point, and you'll get a couple of hours for about $250.00. My point is I don't think living in Idaho will make a big difference in what you should charge, hell if someone wants something striped they should be glad that your close. I know when I'm ready for some stripes I'll give Scarecrow a call, If you're good you'll be busy. Like everyone suggests though, get a book of your work and some samples on painted lexan.

 

Why not go to a few shows and see what price their doing a car for

I would not even let a drama queen next to my car.

..As for how much to charge, for me it depends on who it's for, if I like the car, and how much they want done. If I don't like the person, love their car, and they want a lot done, I'll charge them $150 bucks for a 2 hour striping job. If I like the person and like the car I'll charge $100 for the same job. If I don't like the person or thier car I won't even mess around with them.

....My prices depends on my mood and the person I'm doing it for, If they are real assholes I'll double my prices because I really do not want to deal with them aanyway. If they let me do it then I'll put up witheir BS and then they get my attitude in return. Works for me.

 

I built the scalloped Watson grapevine clone, when the striper outlined the scallops he charged me $200..I gave him $250 cause he done a great job and it was almost Christmas time....If I remember correctly what Watson said about 1955+ era to pinstripe a complete car...DUTCH was $50; JEFFRIES was $40; WATSON was $30; and ROTH was $25...or something similar.. just to give you an idea of possible pecking order and senority in the trade...Best to you~ as I'm always amazed and impressed by talent (artistic,musical,creativity,etc..)and love it when somebody uses their talent rather than never do anything with it and basically lose it!! JUST DO IT, you'll figure out the details

 

DUDE>>>>your an artist, there is really no way to put a value on creativity...if your good people will pay whatever you charge...no fucking discounts...same prices for all...you have a monopoly in ID....practice, practice, practice...

 

Sometimes you cannot judge the prices charged at carshows. I went to a show that I've done for 10 years a while back and there was another striper there. My normal starts at 150-200. He was charging 50 bucks. I had cars lined up steady and he did only one. When he asked why I had more work than him I told him..."Well, I guess when you earn your reputation by struggling and you are there even when theres nothing to stripe you earn respect from the customer, then you can do that too." It don't come easy. And yes, drama is part of the show but so is having fun. Sure there are people who will not let me stripe their car for price, attitude or just becasue they don't like my style. Thats okay. Not everyone can afford Macy's either.

Mikey

 

Where in Idaho? I live in Nampa & I've been striping for about 10 hours! Suprised you hav'nt heard of me!Really though,I,m trying to teach myself and I suck but my Uncle Ed has been at it since 50's-he lives here too,right down the street.I'll ask him.-----Why is Mikey up at 3:59 am?

 

Mikey cannot sleep! I have severe Diabetic nerve pain in both feet and legs which interupts my sleeping so here I am. Besides I get bored when I'm sleeping. I's 5:59am here.

 

Sorry,I'm an ass.

 

That's okay Sambo, all us stripers are assholes, pricks, prima donnas...first lesson in being a great artist.

 

...plus when we get old, we get really grumpy !

 

Hey Grumpy...you might agree with this..my wife always tells me to be nice to customers but when they ask me if I did my own car, well, you know where that's going. We don't get grumpy by our own account, people asking dumb questions makes us that way. My customers know my demeanor and sometimes I treat them like shit but at the same time have fun with them. And guess what? They keep coming back for more. I learned that trick from Steve Jobs and Apple. If you put on a good show and give them what they want, they throw money your way.

Mikey
"Does Bad Things to Good People"