How much is a GOOD paint job worth?

[Jebadias]

I got a quote the other day to repaint my GN. $4000 to strip, fix all the dings, then prime and paint. Of course I need to see some of the guy's work first but if it's as good as I am hearing does this sound too high? I want the job done right, not some maaco $100 special but I'm clueless about bodywork.
TIA

 

[84GNTTYPE]

Is he going to disassemble everything or are you doing some of that? Is there any rust on the car? Those are the only additional variables I can think of right now, but I'm sure there are more.

 

[turbot2112]

thats probably about what you will pay with anybody descent. i paid 2500 and got a really nice paint job and he also stripped it. i stepped in sh@t on that one though. the only thing that sucks is be prepaired to wait. they had my car for 2 months. you will be happy though

 

[DKREDT]

I paid $6900 but had a new rocker panel and a couple of rear 1/4 patch panels welded in.

I took off all trim, header panel, bumpers etc and had the car flat bedded to the shop. They stripped to metal, fixed dings and above.

They had my car 11 months. I did a lot of research and probably could have paid less, with less trust and faith in the people that did the work.

HTH


Joel

 

[Jebadias]

I think he is going to do most or all of the dissassembly. I met the guy through a friend of mine. The guy is a local mechanic who also works on the side. He had the car a few weeks back checking out some mechanical gremlins that I couldn't find, and looked it over pretty good so he has seen any problems like rust and dings as well as anyone can without actually doing it. I don't think there will be any surprises once we start though. It's a pretty solid car, just has some paint issues.

I REALLY hope it dosn't take anything like 11 months!!! I've managed to find myself out of the country for the past two summers and really need to be behind the wheel next year. I do want it to take about 5 months though, that way I don't have to find a place to store it over the winter

So it sounds like a reasonable price? Now I just have to see something he has done... and figure out how I'm going to get myself to part with a $4000 check.

Thanks for the help

 

[cwelk87gn]

I work as an estimator at a very well respected body shop, and deal with this sort of thing everyday. Our paint jobs START out at $2500 and that does not include any body work. When we paint one we sand the body, remove all the trim and moldings etc and lay down a beautiful base/clear paint job. Just about any shop you take it too that's worth anything will probably have your car at least a month possibly more depending on how busy they are. We have 1977 Datsun 280z in our shop that has been there for 5 months, but when its done it will have a show quality paint job. If the guy is good, (and you should see a couple cars he's done) it is worth the money.

 

[zam70]

cwelk87gn
Me Too estimater/project manager.
Not as easy as it looks is it?

 

[cwelk87gn]

No it's not! People are CRAZY when it comes to their ride!

 

[turbot2496]

Sounds like a risk to me with that guy

I've had friends who tried to get cars done by guys who do it on the side and do they have some nightmare storys to tell. One guy had the car for 13 months when my buddy finally went to get it. No paint job and around 2000 invested with the guy for materials and labor so far. Take it to a professional shop with a good reputation.(ask around and look at some of their work) You will probably have to wait to get an appointment to take your car in but they shouldn't actually have your car for no freaking 5 months. That sounds like a car thats in for a full restoration or something, not just paint. I would think a month would be more than enough time for them to have the car for the paint job you want. 4 grand should be enough to get you a pretty nice paint job at most places depending on the amount of bodywork. I've seen some guys get some really nice work done for alot less. Good Luck.

 

[Loosenut]

I paid close to 5k for mine. That was all body work, media blasting, prep and paint. I took it apart and put it back together myself.

Look at the pics in my sig.

Andy

 

[BEATAV8]

That price sounds pretty reasonable.

Mine was well over $7k, but it's a show winner. Lots and lots of hours were spent straightening out the factory imperfections.

Nice paint and some minor body work for a daily driver should run $4-5k, properly done.

 

[yruslow]

I had mine painted for about $4500. That includes stripping and Fixing the crappy welds around the top by the little side windows and other custom item the factory forgot to do . Paint is as smooth as glass

 

[turbo nasty]

3k here...with sikkens.
It took em 5 times to get it right the paint kept coming off in chunks once finished. Had to call in a guy from the freakin place where they make it and walk em through the process. First couple of lots of paint were supposedly bad. What a nightmare months of agony ..get it and then the paint starts coming off. It is on the money now. Except for the pass side is now PPG thanx to some &^$@!&() people that thought it would be cute to key me and my neighbors car all the way down to the metal.

Sikkens, PPG, Dupont are the best.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

A master of all??

Didn't I see a comment that this guy is also a mechanic? If so, I'd be checking out which of his talents is the better of the two., and which he spends his time doing....

In addition, what does he have for a paint booth, shop??

I would do it ONLY w/ a written contract stating a timeframe, what EXACTLY is included, what kind of paint and primers, etc, are to be used...yadda, yadda....Don't forget the payment schedule, and penalties if not correct or on time.. 5K is alot of bucks to just hand out without a thorough BI..

Oh, don't leave out the insurance part either.. If he has no liability/garage keeper's ins, and the place goes up in smoke, gets broken into... where do you stand?? Covered, or SOL???

 

[GN ERGY]

I paid $4000 and had to help the guy too. It took us 5 weeks to remove everything and strip it all including the bumpers. It turned out really GOOD.
Tarey D.

 

[Ricks T-Type]

$4000 sounds like a good price if it's done right.

 

[PhilM]

I just painted my regal pearl flake black (HOK) and it took me about half a year to do but looks awesome. The paint materials alone were well over $1000.00 and that was with a discount. Typically, the more you pay, the better it will look. I would say around 5G's for a decent job as long as there isn't major welding required and the car is relatively flat. But please, dont do it yourself - its a pain in the neck!!!!!!!! lol

 

[MR. BUICK '72]

I would definitely follow CHUCK's advise. I had a horrible expirience with someone working on my '72 SKYLARK.

Also make sure this guy dosen't have any other projects going on the same time he's working on your car. Your car should be his main focus. $4000 is nothing to sneeze at.

Good Luck

 

[klrv6]

Go with House of Kolor

Mine will be covered in HOK black "Kandy" Stay away from PPG black!! I have seen way too many "black" PPG jobs that are really dark dark brown Mainly base/clear jobs. I think there are cheap fillers in there.