I went over to Bob Fisher Chevy today just to see what it would cost. I told them when I bring it over i'll have all the badges and molding off, i just want them to paint it all white and nothing fancy.

I was quoted $1,800 plus anything extra for moldings or stuff that comes up. They told me they take everything off and paint and do it right and it would take about two weeks or so. One thing though, I dont remember them saying anything about a clear coat so I dont know if thats included or not. I know it wont be show quality, but I only drive it on the weekends and I want something just half decient. This was the first place I have been to so far, but what do you think of the price. It seams kinda cheap espically for a dealer

 

more than likely if a dealer is painting it I would think it would have a clear shot on it.

 

1800 is cheap??? just to look good, go to macco, or something and you'll pay less the 500

 

My 91Z was repainted by a dealer in '92 because the factory paint was falling off the entire car. Back then, the cost was $1300. $1000 labor, $300 for paint. The receipt indicates the $1000 labor paid for a "strip and refinish complete exterior body."

Nowadays, the labor cost is probably a little more expensive, and the paint is probably a lot more expensive. So, $1800 is probably reasonable. For the money, I would make sure they are using a reasonable quality paint, but they probably are anyways.

On my 91Z, the paint isn't concours quality (you can see where they masked well inside the doorjams for example) but since it was not a color change - no big deal. otherwise, the car looks excellent and the paint is now 9 yrs old! Check my sig to see a pic. With you taking all the trim off and making their job easier, I think you should be very happy with the outcome, provided the dealership knows what they are doing.

Only one catch - the owner of my Z at that time only paid $100 deductible for the paint because it was under warranty

nick

 

With regards to suggestions to use Maaco, if you are selling the car quickly (within a year), then Maaco will save you some bucks... but in the long run the dealership paintjob should be better quality and last longer, and I would think the dealership is more likely to prep the body better first. For your money though, it is probably worth it to talk with your local maaco and see what they say, maybe even call a pro paint shop or two and see what they can give you for your $1800. Doesn't hurt to check around.

 

I have seen some vary good pant come out of the local macco ovrclck350s paint was done there I didnt' like the way that they didn't seam to put much with lineing up the body pannels. I will say the paint looked really good.

 

i bought my car a year ago with a few years old maaco paint job. other than the previous owner not prepping it good, the paint looks great. i'll probably take it back to maaco when i finish the body work on it, (a tree fell on it before i bought it).

 

I heard mixed reviews on Macco paint. I all ready have the car for 4 years now and after all the money I dumped in to the engine im not giving it up anytime soon.

The guy at the dealer sounded like he knew what he was talking about and he said he takes everything off to paint (no leaving everything on and masking it) and they want to keep it for about two weeks to do all the work and make sure its good.

I think im going to check a few places just to see prices, but I think if all goes well im just going to take it to this dealer. Of course it will be more then $1,800 with taxes, molding, and any other work that needs to be done.

Thanks for the response!

 

Talk to the dealer and ask them what steps the go through to paint a car. Ask them what kind of paint they use. How much is you painter payed a hour or commission. How long has he been there and post that info here. Then you can find out why the price is cheap.

 

i know at the GM dealer i work at, we send the paint jobs out to Maaco!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:nono:

 

I consider 1800 VERY cheap for a dealer. I took my 89 RS out to
my local chevy dealer for an estimate to repaint it the same stock Gunmetal Metalic. The car needs very little body work. They quoted me at $4,995! They bake the paint on there and they basically dissaseble everything they told me. I am still debating because you can't beat a baked paint job. Its just like factory. On the other hand My car blue book is like 3,000.... I guess I need to get some other Estimates...

 

The bodyshop I paint for, we charge about 3500 for an allover, the typical painter gets paid about 15 dollars per hour on a job, and they get so many hours for the job, the rate are different for prep time and paint time though, we get 13 an hour to prep the car, 1800 is way to cheap that is low. i think you should find someone else that will do a little more expensive job because you'll have paid your moneys worth in the end. baking helps cure the paint and makes it dry faster, you guys would not believe the amout of car that are not backed after they are painted, this is just a process to keep cars moving in and out of the booth really. back to the point if you want a better job than that then the above quoted 4thousand something would also fall in, this seems like a job that is inside the doors and in the jams, any professional shop would remove the doors to do this not just open them all the way... thats just a painters opinion

 

$1800 is WAY too much for a car that is regularly driven on the street. Scratches, dents and what not happen all the time and this will kill you when it takes its toll on that expensive paint job. Just prep the car very well and get a maaco job. If you do it right it will look good ( Not Perfect but good). The more expensive job will last longer but for the price you could have almost 4 maaco jobs. Just a thought.

 

If i were you i'de ask around and find out who does good paint work in your area, just because it,s a dealership doesn't mean you'll get the best job. I bought my car from SUTLIFF CHEVEROLET in PENNSYLVANIA and it was a 92 left over that had like 29 miles on it,within 6 months the artic white paint turned a yellowish color on the two front fenders and passenger side door. The dealership tried to say i bought it that way and it took some fighting but i finally had then redo it. Result some of the POOREST painting i have ever seen, runs,tons of fish eyes and they even painted over the door handle and the paint wasn't even. I had to fight with them and they had to redo it 3 times. In fact i had my car repainted last july by my friends dad who painted fire engines for a living and i find out that he is also painting the owner of SUTLIFF'S car for him. Let's just say i wasn't suprised that he didn't trust his own body/paint shop to do the job. So check around.

 

I wouldn't consider $1800 all that bad for a complete paint job, and you're saving yourself money anyway by taking off the badges and moldings yourself. Does that price include the door jambs and such? Have you seen of this dealer's paint work before? Do they stand behind their work? Just a couple things you might want to check out before committing.

Brian

 

$1800 is to cheap for a complete paint job. Any good respectable shop would charge at least $5000 for a basic paint job which includes stripping the whole car of everything. Also, Solid colors such as White do not need a clear coat. The Clear actually has a yellowish tint to it and will make the white paint look cloudy when applied over it. Clear is only used for final application over Metallic colors to protect the metallic paint from fading.

 

dude....dont get raped
do a search ask around ill bet you can find a guy to do it for you
at a reasonable cost...
the guy doing mine is known for good paint work..i buy the pain and beer and he is doing the rest...
Think about it.....plain white paint job 1,800 dolars maybe more
comeon man..thats a rip..hold out

 

My opinions about paint jobs is:
"If you're paying to get it done and it sounds too good to be true.... It probably is...."
And
"You get what you pay for"

The next paint job for my Camaro will be all me and my dad. My dad did the daytona hood (I prepped it) and the hood is FLAWLESS. The rest of the body that was painted after an accident I had, well, I got what I payed for ($1,500 fixed a destroyed quarter panel and painted the whole car). Too good to be high quality.
I found out the jacka-- that did the job did great on the quarter panel, but did a horrible job prepping the car (I can see sanding marks I MADE under the paint). Plus I told the guy to paint the car and the ground effects seperately.... Especially considering I already took off the ground effects off.... Well, a year or 2 later I found he did not paint the body and fx seperately (under the effects are primer gray that I applied to the car before giving it to him)....

Once again, get what you pay for. I'm just glad the quarter panel is a solid deal. But my Z will be repainted once more and it will be done RIGHT. But, eh, I need my own garage first

 

UPDATE: I got another estimate from a body shop for $3,500. There going to strip down the paint, any dings or dents there going to fix, primer it, paint it, clear coat it, and put it back together. I know that sounds really high, but the guy took me into the shop and showed me a corvett there working on and what there doing and gave me a tour. I know its high, but if they do as good of a job as they say they will, it'll be worth it. The appoiment is for the end of Feb and they want it about 3 weeks. I'll post pics when its done.

 

traxxxton, sounds like you've found your place. And with what you say, it sounds like these guys are true pros!

This is important. I feel like I'm going to sound like a real jerk (but this is only because I was burned by it), you may want to see if you just pop in and see how it's going. I only say this because you have a right to make sure you are getting your money's worth.

When I found the shop that last did my Camaro, I saw some of the work they had. OH, these guys did show room, competition paint jobs. They can also do some cheap ones. The biggest thing that has me ticked with the guys that did mine is that I told them before they quoted the price, I wanted the body painted seperately from the gFX. I have proof they did not.... Too little to late.

Just givin' ya some things I've learned in my time.

But it sounds like you've found a good place if they gave you a good tour of the shop and showed that they actually do what they claim. Look forward to the up coming pics when it's all done

 

I am confused as to why it seems the mass thinks it's perfectly alright to get raped by a body shop that spends only a few hundred (at best) in materials/time & charges thousands for. They aren't buying a magic elixer to put on your car,, it's the same crap you can go in and buy yourself.

$1800 for white paint (when true material cost is about $350 total at best) is getting yourself an existing body orifice reamed.



$150 so far & a very light clear coat over the white base.

 

deadbird,

If you do it yourself, ya, having it painted is just a waste of money. But how I understand it, to pay and have it done, you have 2 options:
1. Take the low bidder, who probably does a half assed job
2. Be willing to shell out some premo dollars to have it done right by a true professional.

Now, I paid jack for my last paint job. It was $1,500 for a quarter panel replacement and paint job (to me, that sounded like a free paint job, considering, I was going to pay $1,800 at another shop just to do the quarter and no paint).

But since my father has the tools and the talent (proved after he did the paint job on the hood for my Camaro), I'm taking every chance to learn from him. He knows what he's doing with painting a car. So I hope the next time my Camaro is painted, it's premo quality at only material costs and some sweet equity. That will be a do-it-myself job (not a get raped by a pro job)....

I'm going to have a chance to really learn about car restoration, since my dad, 2 step brothers and I are planning on restoring a '73 VW Beetle my father bought.

 

For the the multicolored f-bodies out there do the prep work you self....IT IS NOT HARD....go to MAACO...they can paint, just not prep....WE got the cheapie 200 dollor job..we preped in a day. 6 months later it is still shining...it was my brother beater and it hardly washed..kep outside, never waxed. Now my Friend dad got his car preped and painted there....it started to peel in a month or so.

 

.

 

hmm getting basically two responses here; eather do the prep work yourself and take it to macco, or spend the big bucks and have a pro do all the work. I actually wouldnt mind doing the prep work if I was still in high school, but I just dont have the time anymore. Im really busy with work and there are days where I work 8am to 6:30pm. Plus there are a few dings and dents there going to take out.

I actually gave it alot of thought and since most of the time its garaged (since I got my other car 3 months ago I only put on about 200 miles) I might as wells spend it all and have it done right since I wont be out driving it much.

The_Maniac, you have a good point there. I was actually going to ask the guy if I could come by with my camera sometime on the second week.

Just for kicks and giggles Im posting the estimate. If you have any comments or see anything wrong, feel free to comment.

 

hmm, dbl post...

 

Does that come with a complimentary tube of Vasoline ?

 

Deadbird, nobody's getting raped, there are a lot of opinions on what is a good paint job. Like for example, I notice that on your car the paint has a dull orange peel look to it. Yes it looks shiney but, it doesn't look like the type of quality that I would do. I'm sure you're going to Wet sand the orange peel out with 1000 grit paper followed by 1200-1500 grit before you final buff it with a wool pad followed by a foam pad. Also, I don't know why you bothered to only put on a thin coat of clear. If the paint is a solid color without metallic it doesn't need clear. If you were going to use clear anyways, then you should have put on at least 3 coats for protection. On White colors the clear will make the white look a little cloudy and not as bright. Not trying to offend you, just an observation of what I see.

 

No offence taken and you are right, the paint does have a somewhat orangepeel effect, there's really no way to avoid that (especially with me at the controls..) but, that's why 2000 grit paper & buffing compound was invented . Even the best of best paintjobs have to have a little extra done to them to make them look that good. Painting isn't a perfect system. With just rubbing compound & meguires body scrub, you can make duplicolor spray paint looki like this..


When using a basecaot/clear system, you have to use clear if you want gloss, basecoat paint by itself is semigloss at best. More clear can be put on at anytime, all that is, is more work on my part I have to do. I'm aware it's better to do it all at once but, I like to live on the edge... lol. I don't have any problems with it looking foggy either, but that may be from using a good clear paint (PPG Concept 2021) which has very little yellow color to it as compared to low buck clears. I stopped because of the doors, my own laziness caused some flaws to show thru in the basecaot so I stopped, then I got the crazy idea to put new doorhandles on.

It more a personal thing against bodyshops ever since my 1st wreck & I learned how the place operates which, led me to learn how to fix my own stuff. I just see some of the prices/estimates am amazed what some people are readily willing to shell out (and I'm not referring to people here alone). I've been amazed at some of the estimates I've recieved for my cars as well. such at the $4100 (lowest bid which was ) for my firebird after I had a wreck, the bodyshop would have made a killing from the insurance company because I had already estimated it myself before I got theirs. Me, knowing this, took the check & ran & got all the TA goodies (which I somewhat regret now). If people want to dish out their hard earned money.. so be it. Bodyshops will always be around & there will always be people willing to pay who don't know the 1st thing about the cost & believe they are getting a good deal. The $3500 estimate above is (IMO) absurd.

Ultimatily traxxxton.. it's up to you if you feel it's worth parting with that kind of money. Well... I guess I'm done being annoying.

 

Like I said, deadbird does have a point. It's just two fold.

1st side is the do-it-yourself
2nd to have it done.

And to have it done by a pro that will do it RIGHT will cost bucks. And there are differences in opinion on right. I was taught that if you are doing a standard color paint job, that each part of the car that bolts on gets removed and painted seperately (fenders, ground fx, and so on). Some people feel differently.

Do your homework.

traxxxton, you want to have some one do this. And that's fine. By the same token, I would be with deadbird on the do-it-yourself. BUT, that's me.

There are plenty of fine reasons to pay the bucks. If this car is a treasure to you (and of course it is, it's an F-Bod) and you don't know enough about painting or don't have the time (which you've gone into), you have accepted option 2. And you seem to agree that to have a pro do it (and I mean a guy/team that has the talent and will do right by the car owner) it will cost bucks. Just make sure you keep'em on their toes (check up on the work).

I'm mad that I asked my car done one way and found it was done another (can we say "Hello, re-rusting"). So, since the next time my Camaro is painted, I'm also doing the engine and spending time, I'm doing it all myself (I expect the car out of commission for quite some time, but I accept that as part of option #1)....

Sorry.... I look at this e-mail and feel like I am some rambling *******. But I think I politely made my point. To any one else, option #2 is not horrible (not everyone is cut out to run a spray gun and finish the car right, or have the time).... Just make sure that if you know how it *should* be done that you inspect progress and make sure it's on the agreed terms.

OK, there is my 2 cents.... I go now. And traxxxton, look forward to the finished product!!