Re-painting Cost?

[tomblin1]

I had my '93 repainted 3 weeks ago at Earl Scheib here in SoCal. It was a tough decision because I work as a vehicle damage appraisor and I have seen terrible low cost paint jobs.

My situation was this: My clear coat had failed on the hood and roof, was starting to peel. You have all seen this on late 80's-early 90's Fords. I had a coupon and chose their best quality (seems like an oxymoron!). This was 2 base coats, a base coat/clear coat combo, and an actual clear coat. I put in about 8 hours of detrim myself, they will not do this for you!! Almost the only things I left on were the 1/4 glass, and side moldings.
This made all the difference!

My Explorer actually came out looking fantastic compared to how it looked before. There are areas where is can see grind marks from minor body work and a few other imperfections in the paint. But from 4 feet away the thing looks great!
** I did chose as close as possible to original color so jambs, etc did not have to be painted.

$350 for paint package
$100 for some ding removal
$100 to strip the peeling clear coat

Although mine came out great, I honestly felt it was a gamble till I saw it completed. I would not recommend this to someone who's paint looks good but just wants to change color.

If your Ex looks good but you just dont like to color, you should either sell it and buy the color you like, or pay the premium for the quality paint job. If you don't, you wil more than likely be sorry.
My 2 cents

 

[Glacier991]

Tomblin

You make a good point. A lot of prep work is simply "grunt work" that anyone can do with a little instruction. I have no quarrel with the painters at "those" places, hey, they shoot a lot of paint and are probably pretty damn good. IF *YOU* do a lot of the prep competently, and let *THEM* shoot a high quality product (defined elsewhere), you CAN get a good end result.

"High Quality" - The paint I am going to shoot on my Explorer, with clears and primers etc, costs nearly $400- and it isn't the highest of the high end stuff. Most good Urethane bc/cc's are in that range and up. If a paint shop is going to shoot THAT level of quality - AND pay wages, rental, overhead, etc, what do you think it will cost to the customer?. Now add prep work if they do it. OUCH.

Moral? Do as much prep as you can, specify high quality paint and you could end up happier and richer than the guy who rolls it in and hands over the keys and comes back a week later. My 2 cents worth.

Excellent post btw.


Happy Exploring


Chris

 

[tomblin1]

Exactly, Glacier991

You do get what you pay for.
Better materials...... $400
Better prep...... as much as you are willing to pay for
Better painter...... the result is only as good as the artist
A paint job to be proud of.......Priceless

Choose wisely Grasshopper

 

[DaHeinah]

Glacier991- I think you hit it on the head in reference to getting what you pay for. My friend's paint job does have some sloppy errors, namely running in the door jambs...and who knows about the paint.
What type of paint do you recommend? Mine was done with Dupont, and I have to say so far so good. Have you had good experiences with this paint?
My friends had some name I've never heard of, heck I even forgot the name.
In reference to the prep work, you guys are absolutely right! Taking off the emblems, the roof rack, the side moldings, bumbers, etc... can really save the $$$. It's amazing what two guys, six hours, and a six pack of diet Coke can do (we're not 21 yet).
Thanks for the info Glacier!!!
Greg

 

[Glacier991]

Greg... I don't have enough experience with various brands to paint to have an opinion on what I prefer, let alone what might be best. The autobodystore website has this discussion come up from time to time and even the pros do not agree. I think it mainly comes down to which brand is sold and supported in your area. Sacramento seems to be PPG country. My paint dealer moves a lot of it. In every brand there will be a heirarchy of quality, I'm going to assume the paint nearest the top of the line will be decent paint. The name Glasurit always comes up when you get to talking top end, but I've no experience with it. I think it is made by BASF - high end cars like Mercedes and BMW I think are factory painted with it. Me ? I shoot PPG Deltron Base coat (DBC) and their 2042 fast drying clear, and like it. Monmix may be able to give you a better answer.


Happy exploring

CHris

 

[MONMIX]

My shop uses Sikkins, we have used Sikkins forever.
I am a body guy not a painter. Kip our painter really likes Sikkens. He has used other stuff and prefers it.
I hear good stuff on PPG that it is and easy spray.
We warrenty our stuff for as long as the customer owns the car so our paint HAS to be durable.

 

[expo5.0]

i have a question- i'm looking to add blue with pearl outlines flames on the front end of my truck. i will need my air dam and bumper pad painted the solid blue and then part of my hood and front fenders painted blue and then the pearl outlines applied as well. i know i can save money by keeping the flame design on the front fenders and hood only- my question is how much would a fair price for this be? how much does the materials cost/how long would it take to tape this off? i can remove my air dam and bumper cover for them.

also anybody had custom work done in minnesota? there aren't many paint shops i can find here who have experience/who would be willing to tackle this job

 

[expo5.0]

also, will i save money by only going with pearl? i think pearl alone might look pretty cool also

 

[Glacier991]

Expo... you are in an area I have zero experience in. If no one else chimes in here, I would suggest you go to the autobodystore.com website and post the Q in their forum. You'll have lots of help there.

Happy exploring

Chris

 

[MONMIX]

I don't know how much it will cost but I do know this it will look sweet !!!!!!
Blue with pearl on the white. I am getting giddy just thinking about it.

If you do get it done it will be costly I can assure you but well worth it I am sure.

Post pic's

 

[expo5.0]

hopefully it won't be that much more than just simply repainting it all white (which is within my budget for next month) i'd be willing to put it off a little if it helped me get this done as i want to.

 

[makaveli911]

well i too em kind of interested in re-painting my car. its a 94 and it is black so the paint on some of the places looks more like white with all the spider web marks. anyways i want to re-spray it black again and i am wondering if you recomend me sanding down the entire car to the metal and primering it then sanding it down primer sand etc etc? Also i would like to take all the modling off and primer those and have them sprayed as well. I dont mind spending 20+ hours preping it, but i am concerned about keeping the price low, yet looks high. or do you think it would be just as good to have them spray the black over the original black paint? Also if you suggest to primer it how many coats would you recomend? thanks brian

 

[Glacier991]

Makevelli911 -

It's kinda difficult to answer your question. In a general sense I see little point in totally stripping off an old finish if it can be sanded to an acceptable level of smoothness to be repainted. They make what are called "hi build" primers that can fill minor scratches as well. I think in the abstract, I'd sand the car until the crazing disappeared, and maybe follow that with a high build catalyzed (2 part, or 2K) primer, and then paint.

(A note about catalyzed urethane paints - they give off isocyanates as they cure, and these are harmful to breath. Anyone remember Bhopal India and the Union Carbide disaster? That was isocyanate gas! Breathing protection is a must using this stuff! Be safe! I invested in a supplied air breathing system to protect my lungs, though there is some suggestion that the high end respirator masks using the right cartridges may be ok for short exposures. Ok enough preaching, just wanted you to know)

A single coat of high build ought to be enough. Thick films are often a path to trouble. Some folks like to add a sealer coat as insurance against any reactions between the old finish and the new. Some feel it's unnecessary with an old factory finish. There is no hard and fast rule here, and lots of opinions. I'd venture a guess that if your paint is factory, it'd be fine without a seal coat in between.

It sounds like you are going to have someone do the actual painting. I'd definitely recommend you speak with whomever you plan to use so you are both on the same page. Your painter may have some tips or suggestions much better than mine! Plus he may be using a particular paint brand - and it's never a bad idea to stay with the same manufacturer's line of products (probably unnecessary, but an oft repeated bit of advice I pass along blindly here). Hope this helps. You might also try the autobodystore website mentioned earlier.

Happy exploring

Chris

 

[emon]

Since it is so expensive to repaint the whole truck I think I'll just paint the bumpers, roof, and hood with Black Paint.

Go for the 2-tone look. Atleast all the chrome and some gray trims will be all gone.

I wonder how that would look?