I plan to have my Camaro completely repainted. I would appreciate suggestions, based on your experiences, on where to have it done.

I am especially curious to know how much I should expect to pay for a factory quality (new car) paint job. Another big question that remains is whether an independent body shop or a Chevy dealership will do the best job.

I have ruled out discount paint shops like Macco (unless some of you have great experiences I should know about).

 

ive been told that a good quality oem paint job will be somewhere between 1800-2500 bucks. as for which shop to go to, every paint shop is different, as are the chevy dealerships. your best bet is to research all the shops and dealerships in your area, and then make your decision from there. personally i wouldnt trust my chevy dealer to change my air freshener, but thats another story....

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86 Z28 red,
originally LG4,
new 350,
non comp Qjet,
T-5 five speed with new clutch,
stock 3.23 gears, Edelbrock Performer intake,
crane 272H cam,
Accel 8mm wires,
Edelbrock performer cat- back,
Homemade cold/forced air intake.
KYB GR-2 struts and shocks.
Grant GT leather wrap steering wheel.
Sony X-plod stereo.
Optima 6x9's

Future mods:
NOS,
Edelbrock TES headers, hi flo cat.
MSD igniton,
3.73 posi rear

cars i've beaten:
95' Avenger, 88 Mustang GT, 70' Mustang , 97 Dodge Ram, 94 firebird formula, 92 Mustang GT, 94' 3000GT VR4, 97' Honda Accord (just barely), countless many ricers....

 

IMHO,

1) Dealers are too expensive. They also just want to bang it out as fast as they can. You wont necicarily have better luck going to a dealer.

2) No matter whrere you go, get to know them well. Talk to the owners as well as the workers. If they seem like they don't have time for you, don't even bother giving them any buisness. But, if they don't work, and just talk to you, they're not going to be putting too much time into your ride.

3) I have seen alot of Maaco, or 1 day or Earl Shcieb, or who ever that do look good. Their problem always lies in masking or lack there of.

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'82 Firebird, dead stock, 9 bolt disc rear, over 200,000 miles and still going strong, more to come...

 

Mine cost me near $3000 back in 92. I got it done at an independent body shop and went there strictly on what other people I knew had said about the quality of their work. I spent a lot of time talking to the owner before getting it done. Get some referrals from people you know. If your not getting it done right away car shows and cruises are also good places to check.

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1984 Z28 350
Never argue with an idiot, they'll just bring you down to their level and beat you with experience
My Web Page

 

If you are looking for a very high quality paint job, I would go to the local cruise nights and car shows and start asking guys where they had theirs done. After you hear the same names a few times, your search will be a lot more narrow. Don't expect to walk away with a great paint job for under $2500+ though. If you want it done right, that means doing inside the doors, inside the hatch, pulling off the hatch, pulling off mirrors, moldings, etc. That's very labor intensive and costs big bucks. But, unless you want mask lines, that's what you need.

For $1200-2000 you can expect a quality paint job, but without the exceptional things like hatch and molding removals, no mirror removal, etc. If masked properly it will still look extremely good, but upon up-close inspection you will be able to quickly see that it has been painted. This is about the level of quality your average good body shop will give you unless you specifically request the primo job mentioned above.

When you start getting below $1200-1500, that's when you start getting into ****ty prep work. It may look just as good as the $2000 paint job when it rolls out of the garage, but in six months your paint will start cracking and flaking off in places where they neglected to hand sand it, especially around the front and rear bumpers, around the crevaces on the hood where the louvers mount, etc. Once that starts to flake off, it really looks like hell. Any rust repairs will start to get bubbling filler because they didn't sand-blast the rust and now it's coming back. It makes a huge mess.

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The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

I had a Maaco job. i like it. Just tell them EVERYTHING you want done special and when you pick it up, make sure. The Presidential package they have offers a 2 yr gloss warranty, and 1 year chip warranty, and if you hurry, it's only 379 on sale. I however payed $550 for my job because I had a lil extra I wanted done.

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92 Bird 3.1L Auto
Best $750 I ever spent....

DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!

Kills:
93 Mustang LX (Before Mods)
98 or 99 Dodge Stratus (tough one, edged out at 40)
Mods-Jet Stage 2 Performance Chip, Accel Cap/Rotor, Accel 8.8 MM Wires, Accell Coil, AC Delco Rapidfire Plugs, Dynomax Catback, K&N

AIM name OVRCLCK350

 

Remember this one thing. You get what you pay for. If it were my car I wouldn't go to a body shop that did not quote me an estimate for atleast 2g's to paint the car all over.

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