Trying to get an idea of how much I need to save for a paint job for my daily driver RS.

Car is currently red with green fenders and bumper covers. Factory red paint is completely shot. Car feels like a chalk board. I would be willing to disassmble the fenders, bumpers, lights, GFX, as much as I can and bring the car to the shop in pieces to save on labor, assuming the shop would let me do this (would they?).

Looking for a factory color re-paint, hopefully rather glossy and with black headlight buckets. Hoping for quality I can be proud of and doesn't look "cheap", however like i said car is a DD.

I would want them to apply black heritage stripe decals (the ebay ones) and black/silver IROC stripes along the bottom (also eBay).

Is $2000 realistic? What kind of warranty can I expect?

 

i charge bout 2k, but i have nowere to work right now.

 

its all in the prep. If you prep the car yourself, you could drop it off at maaco and get a good paint job for about $500.

Zrated83, a member here did this and his paint looks great.

 

Taking it in with the fenders off won't really help much. You need to have the fenders "cut in" (the inside edges painted) and then get it reassembled and fitting good before you take it in, although like you said, the bumpers and any thing else that touches the paint should be removed, like the mirrors, handles and locks, mouldings, tail lights, ground effects and stuff. The prep work is a large expense, but we are spending about $800 just for materials, at the shop, to do a complete basecoat clearcoat paint job and that wouldn't include the door jambs or under the hood. Then you need to work on the paint that you have. If it's really bad it may need to be stripped off completely. That adds up fast.

Go, talk to a shop or two, see what they say. Right now people aren't spending money ... it's a great time to ask for a deal!

To be honest, around here (Seattle) $2000 won't get you much at a regular shop. $5000 would be more realistic. You need to talk to an autobody supply store and ask them who's painting cars at their house. Or take a night class at your local technical college and do it yourself.

 

I paid $3500 with the paint and labor (little body work on cowl hood) and I disassembled and reassebled the spoiler,gfx,nose, and bumper. My IROC is driven daily and the hood shows it. The newer paints chip easier.

 

You're on the right track by being willing to do a lot of the prep yourself. I know of several people who did the sanding and take off prep before going to MACCO for the better quality paint. Because they use materials in such heavy bulk, they can market these lower price squirt jobs. Where they cut corners is in the prep. Plus, the guys shooting the paint guns are pretty good, since they do spray after spray.

Materials have tripled over the past decade. I just repainted a full size dodge truck and spent $1500 in just materials. If I would have had to do a bunch of primer build-up for extra flat panes, it would easily have added an extra $500 in cost. $2000 is very reasonable.

Daniel is correct; the paint does chip easier. I add a chunk of 'paint-flex' additive; which is used for plastic bumpers so the paint dosn't shatter when bumped. When I finally shoot new color on my IROC, I'll mask the front portion and the rockers with that 3M clear material.

Do you know how to long block sand?????
Nitro

 

I don't know how to block sand and I don't know anything about body work but that doesn't mean I can't learn...the car also needs bondo in quite a few places.

 

You're probably in trouble $$$ wise then, unless you're going to paint a light color.

I made friends with someone who owned a body shop and traded cleaning up time for some basic dent lessons. The best thing that happened in my learning curve was being introduced to a body stud gun. They are the greatest tool and I've hardly ever had to use a 1/10 as much body putty since. The next best thing is to just pop for a high quality video instruction item. Reading a book dosn't cut it.

If you got a CD/Video instruction film you can figure out how to make sure your surface is prepped correctly, so even if you didn't get the final glaze coat perfect, a professional could come behind you and finish it off. To bad you live so far away. If you really get determined about it feel free to drop me a call and bounce some ideas around. Would you feel better if the bumpers matched the body color for now? I could talk you through that part easy enough.....

 

Am I correct in saying that MACCO won't warranty their work if you bring it in with primer?

 

Absolutely they'll deny the warrenty. Not all primers and surfacers are compatible. He'd have to check with the shop who's going to shoot the top coat(s) for material reference.

I believe that was the case with General Motors in the early/mid 1980's when their paint jobs started peeling off in the wind. They had one company farmed out to do the pre surfacer and another do the actual paint supplies. That, with the combination of going to the new low VOC water based paints caused the paint to lift off in big strips after a cold snap or a extra hot day.

Just as another side note: Don't EVER just D.A. the old paint surface and go straight to color. People usually think that because a panel is metal the surface has to end up flat. It leaves countless dips and grooves. Usually those cars end up looking like the surface of a walnut shell.

Good Thinking, Kevin....

 

This thread reminds me how clueless I am about body work and painting. Maybe I'll just suck it up and plunk down 5 grand to get it done right, I have no clue what needs to be done and more importantly, in what order. So sick of driving around in a "joke" of a car.

 

Suck it up man..Get yourself educated. Read, watch a vid. Then go get a fender from the junk yard. Practice some of your new skills on it. Put some filler down, learn some sanding techniques, then hit it with some color. See how you do, then decide if you can or can't do it. There is nothing more satisfying than to know how to do some of your own body work. Save that $5000 for that ZZ4/350 you've neen wanting.

 

You know where I can find some quality instructional videos?

 

Is there a technical college nearby?

There is one here that has an evening hobby class. One night a week you get to go in and work on your project. There are instructors to help and equipment to use. The basic tools are cheap to buy so you could work at home on other nights. I do autobody for a living but took the upholstery class. I learned a lot, had some fun and reupholstered my boat!

Skills and tools ... 2 things I will never be without!

 

Check with you local Maaco, there is no reason to spend 2,3-$5000 on a paint job unless its a show car w/ a bad *** drivetrain. Go over & check out some painted cars by them, You'll be surprised.

Theres nothing like having a nice paint job, & parking next to someone who doenst appreciate it & getting a new door ding.

I'm thinking about "wrapping" mine!

 

If time permits, apply for a part time job at a body shop. ask them if you can sweep up or something? maybe you can trade it out???

 

Here's something to get you started. I hope posting this link works. http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...dc0HFbE&page=2