hey guys, i live in northern VA (dulles area) and I'm planning on getting my 87 IROC painted sometime in the coming month. I really dont want to spend more than $1500 but I also want a decent paint job that will last. I know that everything in this area is WAY expensive but i was hoping that some of you guys know anyplace around here that could do it for around $1000. Also, if any of you guys do good work, let me know.

THe paint on my car right now is in somewhat bad shape. Its fading on the wing, has light scratches all around the doors and on the hood and front bumper there are some caked on tree sap or something. I just bought this car but the previous owner didnt take good care of the paint.

 

I live in the same general area. I have an 88 Camaro and looking for someone to paint it real well. I am yet to go look around for a place but from what I hear most body shops are not too anxious to paint full cars. They are more open to paint cars for insurance jobs versus restoration. If someone has a shop that has painted a third gen around here it would be great.

My car has some rust around the top of the hatch but other than that nothing really. Just a ton of paint is flaking off the surfaces of the car and oxidizing. Suggestions are welcome, heck maybe a shop around here would give us a volume discount for a number of cars.

 

All the paint work for me or my dad in the past has been through friends and hook-ups.

Me and my gf may be looking at painting her car also sometime soon hopefully someone else around the area and chime in on a decent paint booth around...Id prolly do all the body work first then just have it shot.

 

My b/f has his own bodyshop and he will do full car paint jobs, but he uses PPG paint and it's not cheap for the paint or the clearcoat. If you tell him I sent you he'll give you his best price, but I don't know if he would do a car for $1,500...granted mine has a custom paint color but he said if he were to charge someone to do it it would have cost around $7,000 -- paint (not including clearcoat) was $3,300 -- that's no body work, no prep, just paint.

Anyway -- if you're interested his website is Sam's Custom Auto Body -- phone number, location, etc. all listed as well as before and after photos of some of his work.

 

What a repaint usualy run with minor body work? (Removing some small door dings and aligning some fenders)

 

the ting to remeber abuot painting a car or actually anything for that matter is you get what you pay for. mine was 3500 10 years ago. people thought i was nuts but it still looks like the way it did when it came out of the booth. today like fordgirlgonebad said around 7000 for a good quality paint job. i have had friends get there cars apinted in the past 2 or 3 years and the cheapest one was a 2500 paint job that didnt include wet sanding, and that was a friend of my family so that was discounted. just something to think about. good luck

 

What I want to know is how you guys can come up with this huge sum of money at one time??

 

We have these things called jobs.

 

well i was hoping somebody around northern VA has found a shop or at least someone who has charged as low as 1500 for a good paint job but i dont think I'm gonna find it here. Right now i have 2 options, a guy who painted my Beretta GTZ for only $650 about a year ago (still looks good and has that wet just painted look) or this other guy my cousin met through his STi forum who charges no less than $3000 but since he thinks my cousin owns my camaro, he is discounting at $1500 (he says he sands all cars down to the metal). The only reason I havent been to eager to call the $650 guy is cause even though he did a good job on the Beretta, he only took less than a day to paint it and since its so cheap i was sort of suspicious. And this guy doesnt have a cell phone or a home phone and the only way to find him is through whatever body shop he is working for that month.

 

Me too or I wouldnt have over $2000 in recipts for my RS.

 

too bad...i totally could have done this for you...but never again. id see what you could accomplish yourself prepping it, its really not too hard.

 

Your car might look good for one year with a cheaper paint job, but what's it going to look like in five or ten years and do you really care. That's how you decide on whether or not to save up for the best you can afford or just go with the cheapest you can find.

 

I spent $1000 this winter for miscellaneous repairs to the body on this car.



The paint that was not damaged on this car held up very well. The previous owner had it painted in the early 90's and paid dearly for it.

I wet sanded and buffed it over the 4th of July weekend.

 

wow that looks awesome. your car remains my favorite of the local tgo crew.

 

Thanks!

 

Sad thing is I gotta paint two cars.... anyone offer deals for a pair? lol

 

ok, for you ill still do it though. like i said as long as you got the place, ill help you out.

 

We have painted several cars over the last 5 years. To do the job correctly the jobs have run from $2100 to $4000 for a base coat/clear coat. The price largely depends on the condition of the body, color of the paint, how much "prep" work the owner is willing to do and if it is a full color change.

The materials alone can run from $700 to $1500 using brand name paints. When it comes to paint jobs, you get what you pay for. The prep work on a basic full body paint jobs runs from 35 to 50 man hours of labor, so even at $40 dollars an hour labor rate, your paint job will cost at at a minimum of $2100 and that is a good deal. Most body shops have a shop labor rate much higher then $40.

Show or custom paint jobs are more then double this price.

So I would not trust any job less then $2000 unless it is your friend doing the work and you are willing to do most of the prep work yourself. It only takes 8 to 12 hours to apply the primer, base and clear coats once the prep work is done, so you can "shoot" the car in one (very long) day.

We usually take two days to shoot the car. One day for the primer sealer and the next for the base/clear.

Hope this helps...

 

I know paint isn't cheap but gosh. When I was going to school at Virginia Tech two Chevy dealers offered to do it for $2000 including prep work. I guess I will have to shop around the area and see who wants to spend quality time with a third gen. It's one thing to spend the money but another to spend it with someone who isn't familiar with a third gen. I'd like to find someone with experience.

 

Anybody here that has been looking for a good place/person to get a paint job and has found it, let me know because I'm also still looking.

 

laugh all you want but after spending $2500 to get my IROC painted last year (and being so unhappy with the dull spots, pits, crooked IROC decals, runs down low where I didn't see them when I picked it up, etc.) if I ever pay someone else to paint a car I'll take it to MAACO. I've got another IROC that the previous owner had painted at MAACO 5 years ago that I haven't washed or waxed in four years and the red paint is still beautiful and not faded. My 83 Z28 was painted MAACO just prior to me buying it for my son 9 years ago. My son didn' t know what washing and waxing was. I have to admit it has faded some on top over the last 4 years but it hasn't been washed or waxed in the last 2 years. I know from when I washed and waxed while my son had it that a good coat of wax really made it shine. It would be very hard for me to justify spending more on a paint job than I spent when I bought the car. I guess I'm too cheap. I'm more about how it runs/handles than what it looks like.
PS. neither the red IROC nor the 83 have been on the road for several years. They just sit in the back yard waiting on me to get time to get some time to put new engines in them. Otherwise they would be getting the wash and wax treatments.