Repainting cost

[mgmann]

This is the year I’ve finally decided to have my 88GW painted, and since the last time I had a car painted was in the early 70s I don’t have any idea what a fair price would be. I took it to a local dude who has pretty good recommendations to see what he thinks.

The car has no rust and just a few minor dings and dents. The vinyl needs to be replaced, but the moldings are in very good shape and the body man told me he could reuse them. He would remove the windshield and side windows and paint the door jambs.

I volunteered to remove/reinstall the bumpers, grill, roof rack, door handles, logos, marker lights, etc. I would have to provide the replacement vinyl and the rubber for the windows. He would do all the body work and paint it the original white with clear coat.

His estimate was somewhere between 6 and 7 grand. That doesn’t surprise me but it still seems a bit high considering I’d be buying the vinyl and doing much of the grunt work myself.

So, what do you guys think? What have people been paying to get a similar job done? I plan on getting a few more estimates, but hope to get some information from you to use as bargaining ammo.

[Tripwire]

thats a typical price for using plain old paint - throw in a metallic and the price per gallon doubles for some colors. i painted my own at home and had to buy everything but the compressor and it still cost me like 3.5 K.....not to mention the time which was several weeks

[61Hawk]

thats a typical price for using plain old paint - throw in a metallic and the price per gallon doubles for some colors. i painted my own at home and had to buy everything but the compressor and it still cost me like 3.5 K.....not to mention the time which was several weeks

Yeah paint has gone stupid expensive the the past 5-6 years. High build primer is now $100/gallon. Look at red paint, it's double what any other color costs.



The grunt labor the OP is talking about is the easy part, there's a ton of surface area that needs to be sanded, sanded again, sanded again, wet sanded and then buffed and polished. I don't paint, but have helped paint three of my restored vehicles, if there's body work done you could spend a day just doing a door correctly.

[goldhammer]

Not a bad price at all for a decent daily driver job....10 years ago a gallon of clear mixed and ready to shoot with the hardner was around $350.

You're lucky it's white....some of the new translucent reds are around $800 for a 1/2 pint......

You think reds are nuts for $$$$$, get into some of the purples and lavenders

[Tripwire]

yea try buying 2 gallons of garnet red metallic My OEM color....

steve

[rang-a-stang]

I think that is a good price. The last 2 folks I have known to have their cars painted like that (you do a bunch of the work, they paint the door jams, etc.) paid $5k (2003 GTI, 2 door) and $6,500 (66 Mustang).

I have heard removing the old vinyl is a horrendous job. If he is removing the old vinyl, you are getting a good deal.

[ZackN920]

I got a quote a few years back(don't remember how many now, but ive had it since 13') for the Cherokee(XJ) at $4K *IF* they found no rust. They didn't go into what it would be if they found rust. That was for the dark blue color that it is.

I didn't get it done, there was rust (that I later took care of myself) and it didn't seem right putting $4K into it just for a paint job.


Someone above mentioned about prep work being easy and paint work being hard... For myself, I have found that it is the opposite. For the most part, what I have painted looked good. The prep is where I've had the problems at, and is what I would think would cost the most. Just think. You have to (at least I have) spend days getting the metal to look "right" with all the sanding and bondo(shaping) work. (that's after getting rid of rust or damage) Then all the time spent laying plastic/paper and all the tape work. That all takes time. Then after your prepped, you lay the paint. Depending on what I'm doing, that takes like an hour or few. Then I'm done. Easy peasy. Not too often where I have to re-do the paint. Only time I've had problems is when I got bad paint. (spitting)

Gotta add that I've only sprayed with cans, never an actual spray gun. I get the paint from a company called automotive touch up and they match pretty darn good.

[JPSwapMohn]

It cost over $1400 just for the paint on mine, a slightly custom version of Toyota Sunset Mica Bronze. They warned me, but I decided it was what i wanted and didn’t want to regret settling for some other color later.

We won’t get into the overall cost of the job, but the paint was insignificant! And there was no rust anywhere, even when they took all the pieces apart..

[Tommy854runner]

The previous owner showed me the receipt of what it cost to paint it. They also replaced the woodgrain and molding and some trim pieces but the final tally came to $14850!!

[Wagoneer Taylor]

Minus the Dash post, I am also interested in what people paid or think is reasonable. I am no where near painting mine, but have been waffling between paying or painting.

With these prices i may just do it myself. I have most of the equipment already.

[Rusty76]

The cost of painting these old rig is shocking to me. Believe me I've had many $shocks$ with my project. I'm probably going to try the old 4 inch roll on method.
Interlux Brightside thinned with mineral spirits. If I told my wife I needed another 5-10k for a paint job she would probably do me a favour and burn the 76 Wag to the ground!

[wiley-moeracing]

here is an option to painting, try and find a local high school, community college or trade school with an automotive class that does painting and body work. they may take it on as a class project, down side is you will be without the vehicle for a while but will save a lot of money and help up and coming mechanics, painters etc.

[Rusty76]

I will probably look into the high school / trade school route. I also would like to learn a practice myself.

[tgreese]

Sometimes you can find painters that will do your respray as a side job. Check your local Craig's List. Or, I have done two cars now (and two more with my Dad) using the local one-day shop to shoot the paint. Do all the prep yourself, and let the shop shoot it. This works even better if you do not change the color - mask the door seals and block the hood and door cracks, and leave the doors shut.

IME body shops won't want your business - typically they make their money on collision repair and can't price a respray low enough to get your business. Or, they do quote you a sky-high price, hoping to either send you away or make enough to interrupt their work flow.

Again, I'd look on Craig's List for painters, or ask at the local car clubs/forums to see which shops (or individual painters) are willing to repaint for a reasonable price. No experience with the trade school or community college route; worth investigating but I think the chances are slim.

Body work or rust repair is an entirely different question.

Kirker Paints are inexpensive and said to be good quality. The hot rod guys really like them. Only off-the-shelf colors though, no custom mixes. http://dadscustoms.com/autobody_supp...ducts-1/kirker AutoBodyToolMart will send a chip sheet for free https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/kir...s-p-12659.aspx