Cost to Paint our cars?

[jwheelz1212]

i did all the work my self and did base coat clear coat and it cost me about 600 bucks

 

[TurboTnZ06]

I think I spent like 4800 to get my car painted. Took over a year and in his spare time. I paid for the parts like weatherstripping, carpet, fasteners, door panels, etc, so figure another couple grand for that stuff....

 

[L8TRH8R]

What a car! That thing is a beauty!

Thanks!

 

[justin84]

you did it or the shop?

I didn't think it was that hard to read? The bodyshop did the paint, all the weldind, and I did the interior and drivetrain.....

 

[Blown&Injected]

I used SPI products. Epoxy because I took it to bare metal, 2K Primer, and High Solids Universal Clear. The base coat is House of Kolor Black.

It worked GREAT for me. It is my first paint job so I am no expert but I have found many experienced painters stating the SPI products are Top Of The Line, comments like nothing better, and their customer service is over the top!

The clear is $210 for a 1 gallon kit - 2 gallons sprayable.
2K is $85 for a 1 gallon kit - 1.25 gallons sprayable
Epoxy Primer, also a sealer when reduced, is $145 for a gallon kit = 2 gallons sprayable
$40 for a gallon of reducer

Then there is the HOK BC25, got it from Summit, do not recall how much it was, but the total was maybe $650 for just the sprayed material, but there are other consumables and by the time the W&G remover, thinner for cleaning, tape and paper, tack cloths, and sandpaper is done - it will be $900 just to get the materials to the door step. You will have more then you will need to do an all over job.

Once you start taking it apart to do the minimum necessary for a good job you will probably just say screw it - it is all coming off/apart. - then ya get the jambs and all done too. It is lots of work but you can do most of it. Get your digital camera, a box of zip lock baggies, a block of post it notes and a Sharpie pen and get toit.

 

[turbo39151]

Either way you cut it, you're gonna drop some coin on a decent paint job. I think that some people go overboard with their paint but that's just me.

I've had a few cars painted in the past. I've had them stirpped to the metal and the panels and glass removed.

Mind you, when I deliver a car to the shop, I have gutted the interior (lets them be more sloppy and I don't have to worry about my interior), removed all of the molding and weatherstrip, the bumpers, filler panels lights, door handles, locks, etc... I also advise the shop that I will do the re-assmbly. All I need is to have the car stripped, prepped and sanded, painted and wet sanded. Also, I tell the shop that I am in no rush.

My last paint job took over 6 months. The body was straight and rust free. They spent alot of time stirpping the original paint and lots of time blocking. They also spent a lot of time doing insurance work so my car was on the back burner...

After they finished, I asked if they wanted to shoot another one for me. The said "not no, but hell no!" Too much work and not enough money...

I guess the best advise I can give you is to do as much of the work as possible. Heck, if you can sand the old paint off, I'm sure you can save even more money. (I think I'm going to convice the neighbor kid to come over and start sanding my car and I'll pay him an hourly wage to do so. He's 16, loves the Buicks and could use some gas money...)

Good Luck with whatever you decide.

 

[hang10]

If you have the garage space and time,you can do alot of it yourself and save a ton of money.2 years ago i redid my 70 Nova,my buddy and me stripped it down to bare metal,did all the body work,preped,sealed,primed and block sanded it,and block sanded,and block sanded it . Then i had another friend spray the car in another friends paint booth . As you can see,its nice to have friends !:redface:. After the base coat / clear coat, i wet sanded and then buffered her out. It turned out great,better then driver quality. I used PPG-Deltron line of paints and hardners,clear etc,,,Total i had about 1600 tied up in materials and 3 months of part time labor.I would do it again, i was a real learning experience

 

[RTCarlin]

Wow... I've seen a bunch of GN's for sale in the $15-20k range with presentable paint jobs... So it would be more cost effective just to sell my current car and pick up one of these???

I just can't seem to fathom that all these Monte's and Cutlass's I see driving around with 24" wheels and custom paint have $10k + wrapped up in the paint job...

 

[Bruce Urie]

And somebody please tell me...what's with all these Montes, Cutlasses, Turbo Regals, Grand Nationals running around with 24" wheels? Has the world gone insane? Please don't tell me this is artful, I can't get past how REDICULOUS they look. What in hell is the point of these oversize, ugly wheels? Or do I need some glasses?

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[CH@Dbee]

And somebody please tell me...what's with all these Montes, Cutlasses, Turbo Regals, Grand Nationals running around with 24" wheels? Has the world gone insane? Please don't tell me this is artful, I can't get past how REDICULOUS they look. What in hell is the point of these oversize, ugly wheels? Or do I need some glasses?

Bruce '87 Grand National

i agree bruce.....its REDONKULOUS

 

[Bruce Urie]

i agree bruce.....its REDONKULOUS

Very good.:biggrin:

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[CH@Dbee]

Very good.:biggrin:

Bruce '87 Grand National

thank you, thank you....ill be here all week :biggrin:

 

[hemi8]

Here in the DC area, 7 to 10K for a quality job, thats with no body work but does include taking off everything and a complete strip to bare metal. IMO it is cheaper to buy a GN with a great body than to reserect a POS especially since these cars are only worth less than 20k. If it was a expensive car and there was a payoff come selling time it makes sense. I would much rather spend time and money on mechanical things. But then that is true for all hot rods, it is always better to start with a car in great condition. Just my 2 cents.
Mike

 

[SIXBANGR]

do it yourself

buy the tools and supplies, and do it . It is not top secret stuff that you can't do. There are DVD's, books and forum's. Yes, it is alot of work, but you can do it. And you can do a good job. I have been working on mine since October, it is in epoxy right now and will get primered when the weather gets better. I will be finished for my first show in May. I have not let someone else paint my cars in over 25 years. I do all my other work on them too. You guys must have alot of $ to throw away, or your afraid to get your hands dirty.

 

[mat231v6]

well why dont you paint your own car. I did when i was 17 years old look at my slideshow in my sig. it turned out real nice i even got second place in my first car show. its just alot of work. i brought my whole car down to bare metal and worked up from there. If i could do it at 17 anyone can paint there own car. just get a how to dvd or book thats how i did it. i even did rust repair. i attached a pic of the car.

 

[mikemcvaney]

Mike what kind of products are you using.Im using ppg and i love it but it is very expensive.

Ilike rm diamont and ppg products. ppg has a cheaper paint line it works very well if your not doing a show car it looks the same but dont know about long term hold out.Mike

 

[G NASTY]

BuyIng a car with good paint for 15-20k is still a car with good paint. A 7-10k job is a show paint, big difference. So buying a car for 15 and drop the money on show paint is just a waste over buying one for 6k and spending 10 on paint

 

[GNRick]

Ok, Mat231v6 provided some inspiration. Beautiful job, Matt. Due to some financial obligations, I really don't want to pay the body shop for something I can do myself. Here is my game plan: I have an extra hood and trunk lid that I was planning to practice on. I can strip the old paint (just like the body shop was planning on doing). Then, after watching the Duplicolor video, I can spray Duplicolor premixed primer, basecoat and clearcoat. As for the roof, there is some hail damage so I can get the bodyshop's estimate to smooth it out with bondo and primer it. Heck, I have a sunroof, so that might save me money, right? Then, as for the doors/fenders, bodyshop wasn't planning on taking it down to bare metal, so I won't either. It has original paint except for driver side rear quarter panel which had a repair done to it. I'll let the bodyshop address that for me, too. I'll do the rest of the car myself. I still need to buy an air compressor ($400 at Lowes) and a paint gun (hopefully they make one requiring 5 cfm or less). Anybody have a recomendation for a paint gun requiring 5 cfm or less? Also, I need advice on temperature/humidity. It is winter here. I can run my kersosen heater in the garage which gets it up to 60-70 degrees or so. Humidity seems to be high around here, like 70% sometimes. It's actually raining right now! Is it ok to paint in these conditions? I'm not expecting a show car. Should I build a paint booth out of 2X4's and plastic sheeting to keep the dust down? Thanks guys.

 

[TARZAN]

After reading this I feel better and better about my paint job....I traded some parts, had to buy paint (thank the Lord for good connections ), and payed $1K. I still need to have it cut/buffed, but it looks loads better!

-Will

 

[GNRick]

After reading this I feel better and better about my paint job....I traded some parts, had to buy paint (thank the Lord for good connections ), and payed $1K. I still need to have it cut/buffed, but it looks loads better!

-Will

If you could paint it, you should be able to buff it