Hey guys, I am kinda new to the site and haven't yet posted in this section, but i gotta question. How much would it cost to do a good paint job? I was thinking black but I dont know how much it would cost. thanks for the help. Oh and PS if anyone is near chicagoland, wheres the best place to get it done. thanks

 

BUMP

 

Depends on how 'good' you want it. You can get a Maaco job that wont look too bad for 200 or so. Until you pop the hood, open the doors, or pop the trunk. And as soon as a little peice of gravel hits it. To completely change the color will take time and money. That includes engine bay, underhood, door sills, painted areas under the hatch, ect. Some people have gotten a decent paint job out of 1,000. Some have got a fantastic one out of 10,000. It will be within that range though. Do the prepwork yourself, save time and money (do the masking yourself too, possibly in the parking lot of the shop haha)

 

Not sure about in your area, but when I went around to body shops to get quotes for a paint job, I was pretty much told around 5,000. I got lucky and found a friend of a friend that paints and he did mine for 1,800. He did a pretty good job too, check my garage if you want.

I don't know what kind of work yours needs, but when I was getting quotes my Maro needed the clearcoat stripped and then then the paint prepared, didn't have any dents or rust but 5,000 is what all the body shops quoted me. Good Luck!

I think Macco paint jobs range from 200-1000 depending on work to be done, just an option.

 

exactly right, the macco piant job will look ok for around 6 months, then it'll look like crap (the $200 one). also if you can do your own prep work it won't be 100% straight, but you'll save alot of money. it all comes down to what your looking for in your car, an extreme show car or a nice looking driver.

 

Hey , go to the nw indiana/chicago boards. Hit up jay he does good work(at least thats what everyone on there says lol)

 

thanks guys

 

I went around looking when I needed to paint my car and I found it for $500 and it was a grade A paint job. It all about the how they do the paint job and such price has not guaranty of quality. I agree about the macco paint job as my friends say "you can see it flack off as you fly down the road".

 

I was told around the $8,000. And the car will allready be blasted to rare metal. But that is paint in out. Sprayed POR-15 underside, 3 layers of black 3 layers red for stripes And a alot of clear. I will help with putting it back together.

I know it seems high but it is a lot of work and when it is done every mm of the body inside,under, and out is %100 top show quility. I thought if I was going to do it all I was going to do it right.

 

You could always paint it yourself. Everything can be learned after all. Just get lots of practice in, and lots of free time. I will say this. Maaco does a fantastic job of spraying. The only problem is thats all they do, is spray. This is why their paint jobs don't look terrible for the first couple of months. The issue is they don't do any prepwork (basically just rough up the old paint, spray on new stuff, and dry it). And they don't color sand, which is ridiculously important for a good paint job on urethane paints. Urethane paints will naturally make a very slight orange peel effect, just because of the nature of it. The only way to take this off is color sand, then buff it. This step lacks from their routine.

If you do it yourself, you can do as much, or as little as you want. Also, don't think that just because it wasn't done in a professional booth that it wont look good. If you do a great job on prep work (don't cut corners), spray good (practice), and finish the paint, it can become showroom quality and last you 20 years (depending on environment and how much it's driven).

 

I would love to see a first time do it yourself guy produce showroom quality bodywork and paint work...

 

About 8 grand at the shop I work at. There is always a right and a wrong way to every paint job. Alot of the guys that do it for "cheap" don't take anything apart. They will mask up the glass, weather stripping, headlights, bumpers....the list goes on and on. For a nice, quality paint job...it'll cost. But...you get what you pay for.....that's for sure.

 

don't mean to hijack the thread but i need my chin spoiler repainted. now Macco is bad but how would i prep it? The clear is cracking (only place on the whole car, which is weird) and in a moment of extra chromosome syndrome i rubbed a curb pretty bad. It's down to the primer in some spots. should i find a place then just go at it with a sanding block and 100 grit? I'm clueless about body work and paint.... that's why i avoid it! lol.

 

At any bodyshop painting a chin spoiler isn't gonna run that much,they can blend it too to match the older paint, My 91 rs convertible is almost done after some stuuuuuuuuuuuupid woman hit me in the side, the good thing was I had the whole car stripped and painted and the r/f door and quarter repaired for about what I got from the insurance company

 

wow i like the graffiti finish. looks like something i saw in Cleveland. lol!

 

Depends what you mean by first time. First time taking a spray gun to a car, or first time handling a spray gun. Of course a first timer at handling a spray gun isn't gonna come out the best. If you practice before you get to the car on sheet metal or any scrap layin around. Or even on your car then sand it off, it's very possible to get a very good paint job out. Of course, a 40+ year veteran will beat you two-fold at quality, but it can still be a multi-thousand dollar quality job. Plus, you've got bragging rights (especially the first timer), more money left in your pocket, the experience which can only be built upon from there, and the fun doing it (who doesn't like to spend time with their baby?)

 

i got quotes to paint my car.. and it was from $1200 to $3000.. i ended up painting it myself, it cost me about $800 to do it..

 

very true, and if anything goes wrong spraying it'll wet-sand and buff out.
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lol, thats guide coat, body guys use it to find hidden dents/dings, its some cool stuff.

 

i just got a quote for about $600 for consumables alone. add in the cost of prep work supplys and $800 sounds about right. that is if you have all the tools.

 

BMAN90RS, you mentioned that you were thinking about changing the color of your car to black. That is going to add to the cost ALOT if you get it done properly. If you go cheap on a total color change your car is going to be hacked out with mismatched jams and trim from just shooting the outside. When you change colors the car has to be completely disassembled so all the recessed areas can be spayed the new color.
Another thing to consider is that you are going from white which is a low maintenance color to black which is the hardest color to keep looking good. It will show every body imperfection if your lines aren;t strait and it will show dirt and scratches big time. If you aren't willing to work at keeping it looking nice black can look crappy really quickly.

 

I paid around $4000 for my paint job. This included a complete strip down, a substantial amount of body work on the rear quarter panel, installation of a new hood, SFCs and wonderbars. Most of the cost was for the prep and bodywork. You definitely get what you pay for.

 

ok, thread hijack! My car was garaged, so the paint is fine beleive it or not. But the heritage strips are peeling off and crappy. How can I saftly get rid of those strips?

 

You could use a eraser wheel but I wouldn't. I would use plan old hands.


After being told my $8000 was "way to much to pay" I whent to four other body shops and got ideas on price.
$6000
$6000-$8000
$10000-$10000

 

This is all true...but...once you go black...you never go back...I paid $2800 with some minor body work but I shoped around and have the entire Chicagoland area to find the right guy...plus he allowed me to bring the car back to correct any imperfections which black will show as soon as you start waxing and buffing. don't do black if you are not willing to clean your car at least twice a week. But when clean they leave a lasting impression, both day and night. Also be sure to invest in how to wax and buff skills.

 

Ive got $500 in my paint, but me and a couple friends did it at work. It wont win any awards, and needs some detailing, but its my daily driver, so thats what I wanted. Your going to pay more for a color change also. Most of my cost was paint, because I wanted the factory color. If your driving it everyday, theres no need to take it all apart. Your just going to ding it (mine lasted 3 days, and a guy at work backed over it), or something will happen. If its for show, or restoration, or youre just really ****, then save your money. 6 to 10 grand is close.