Paint jobs
Josh Kaplan
Has anyone investigated the cost for a quality paint job? I am considering
getting my two-tone '89 GT painted metallic silver and was wondering where
to go and what to look for. Is Maaco someone to avoid? How much should I
pay? What should I look for?
thanks,
-josh
--
The opinions expressed in this message are my own personal views
and do not reflect the official views of Microsoft Corporation
Dave_...@vos.stratus.com
In article <01bc51bd$b24c39a0$1863389d@v-joshk> "Josh Kaplan" <v-j...@microsoft.com> wrote:
> Has anyone investigated the cost for a quality paint job? I am considering
> getting my two-tone '89 GT painted metallic silver and was wondering where
> to go and what to look for.
I paid $3500 to get my 88 GT painted last year.
It was blue+grey and I had it changed to all black. The old paint was
starting to fall off in large chunks (thanks, Ford) and the bare spots were
starting to rust. Also had rust along the top of the windshield and a whole
bunch of other, minor problems. Think it broke down to $2500 for the paint
job, $500 to fix the problems and another $500 to change the color.
They did a great job - car looked totally new. They painted *everything*
black except the engine compartment (which I could have gotten done but I
ran out of $$). I mean everything - under the hood, under the trunk, in-
side the doors, wheel wells. The whole works.
> Is Maaco someone to avoid? How much should I pay?
Maaco? Well, IMO, like most everything else in the world, you get what you
pay for.. To get it done right, I'd expect to pay $2k+ plus some to change
the color. Add more to fix rust/dents and replace dead plastic like the
molding that runs across the doors.
> What should I look for?
I went to Al Brodeur's here in Marlboro, MA. I just asked a ton of people
(at work, folks with nice cars on the street, etc) and at a few nice-car
dealers (Volvo, Lexus, etc) to see where people went.
Ask around, get estimates, chase down other people who look like their cars
don't have stock paint jobs, ask car dealers who they refer people to.
Personally, I'd avoid anyone who doesn't do free estimates. Also, when I
went to Brodeur's, they gave me a *very* nice estimate detailing exactly
what they thought was wrong and what it'd cost to fix each section. Very
professional.
Good luck,
-Dave
Marc Warden
In <01bc51bd$b24c39a0$1863389d@v-joshk>, "Josh Kaplan" <v-j...@microsoft.com> writes:
>Has anyone investigated the cost for a quality paint job? I am considering
>getting my two-tone '89 GT painted metallic silver and was wondering where
>to go and what to look for. Is Maaco someone to avoid? How much should I
>pay? What should I look for?
>
>thanks,
>-josh
Hi Josh.
I helped paint several cars years ago with a co-worker who painted cars and
trucks on the side.
While my experience doesn't make me an expert, maybe I can offer some things
to look out for.
For one thing, probably the first thing, I would decide what I wanted from a
paint job. There are various levels of paint jobs, from show car quality down
to covering up rust and dirt for a quick resale. A good paint shop should
help you decide.
As a balance to just talking to paint shops, find a car which has
a paint job that you like and find out where it was painted. Ask questions of
the owner.
At some point one is ready to shop (visit) various paint shops that offer the
level of paint job one has (maybe tentatively) decided upon and that shoot
the type of paint desired.
If possible, try to find customers of these shops to learn how satisfied (or
unsatisfied) they were with the final product.
Seeing the work a painter has done can really tell one alot. Look closely at
paint surfaces that border the body the trim to see if the trim was masked or
removed. Sight along side the car in sunlight to see any imperfections,
dents. Now on some paint jobs, small dents, not dents really, more like
depressions, are not fixed. It's all determined by the cost which is
determined by the type of paint job desired.
Look for consistency of color and color shading on the large areas of the
body. Compare the sides to each other, to the top, to the hood and trunk.
Look for sand paper grit marks. (Bring a magnifying glass and good flash
light. Oh, and in sunlight, be careful with that magnifying glass! You
can burn/bubble paint with one very quickly in bright clear sunlight!) Open
the doors and check to see of the painter carried the paint into the door
sills and on underneath the floor covering.
Lay on the floor and look at the rocker panels, under the front and rear
bumpers. Look inside the engine compartment and trunk to see if the painter
stopped at the hood or trunk to fender lines.
Check around the windshield and rear window rubber to see if the glass was
removed or if it was just masked over.
Now some of the points to check may or may not matter, since the quality of
paint job varies depending upon the paint job desired. I mean a show quality
job, one shouldn't be able to find any imperfections, evidence of short cuts,
etc. On lower quality paint jobs, well, there's always some to find.
For a good paint job, preparation is important. In the paint jobs I was
involved in, we stripped the trim, including bumpers, badges, etc. We removed
the hood, trunk, and doors. We stripped or sanded away the old paint (one
Corvette had three layers of paint, all from previous paint jobs) down to the
primer. (Good paint on a bad base is a waste of good paint.) Body damage was
fixed.
The areas to be painted were cleaned and prepped, masked, and primed
according to the needs of the type of paint.
I could go on but the point is that prep is very important.
Most people (and this includes the painter) are anxious to get the paint on,
to see the new color, to see the car complete. However, attention to details
during prep are very important.
Good prepping is hard work. It is boring and labor intensive. It is a
thankless job since during this time the car very often looks worse than when
it was brought in and if the customer sees the car in this state, well, one
shouldn't see a car being prepped before painting... And so often, prepping
is turned over to those at teh shop that hvae the least experience. I like to
find out who's going to shoot the paint, and find out who's responsible for
the prepping. If they are one and the same, well, that's a plus, provided
I've seen previous examples of his work and was satisfied with it.
A good prep job alone, however, will not guarantee a good paint job, but a
bad or just inadequate prep job will almost certainly guarantee a bad or less
than satisfactory paint job outcome, not matter the type of paint, the number
of coats, the cost...
Sincerely,
Marc Warden (ma...@ibm.net)
Rodney E Geraghty
Josh,
I have to agree with Marc. The quality of a paint job is definitely
going to be affected by the amount of detail put into the prep work. I
would add that you could save yourself a lot of money if you are
mechanically inclined and can do some of it yourself. This could include,
as Marc pointed out, removing trim around the doors and windows, removing
the rear quarter windows (this requires hauling out a lot of the interior
including the back seats and interior quarter panel trim to access the
nuts), removing badges, etc. Talk to the paint shop your going to deal
with to see if they'll do the job this way and find out what the price
difference is. At 30-60 dollars per hour it can make quite a difference.
I once did my '87 GT and did all the prep work and had a couple of good
freinds do the shooting for me. The prep took 140 hrs and by the end I had
no finger prints left from sanding. The car looked great (red and black
two tone with 4 coats of clear coat). A couple of years later someone hit
the car and it was repainted at a Ford dealership. The job was so bad
(orange peel, paint over defects, etc, etc, etc.) that I had to finally get
the insurance company involved since they couldn't get the job done to any
level of satisfaction. e.g. They insisted that the fact that the top
bumper lip stuck out 3/8" in front of the hood lip was normal and could not
be adjusted after 4 trips to the shop. It took me two minutes to do with a
socket wrench. Yep, absolutely impossible you idoits!
But I ramble. The moral of the story is TAKE MARC'S ADVICE if you want a
good job. Had I seen some of their work ahead of time I would have
definitely avoided them.
--
Rod Geraghty (:>)
GERA-Tech
Ottawa, Canada
ger...@ibm.net
Marc Warden <ma...@ibm.net > wrote in article
<5k07a5$srs$4...@news-s01.ca.us.ibm.net>...
Dino Theo
Josh Kaplan wrote in article <01bc51bd$b24c39a0$1863389d@v-joshk>...
>Has anyone investigated the cost for a quality paint job? I am
considering
>getting my two-tone '89 GT painted metallic silver and was wondering
where
>to go and what to look for. Is Maaco someone to avoid? How much should I
>pay? What should I look for?
>
>thanks,
>-josh
>--
>The opinions expressed in this message are my own personal views
>and do not reflect the official views of Microsoft Corporation
While in college I worked at my dad's body shop. I will try to answer your
questions. The best answer that I can give from what you supplied is "it
depends". First off what do you need the paint for? Do you want to paint it
in order to sell it? If so go to Maaco and get their $700-800 paint job. It
will look pretty good for a little while. Do not bother with those $199
paint jobs. If you want a paint job that will look good and last, take it
to a reputable body shop. Make sure that they have a decent paint booth.
Also something important to know is how much damage does your car have? If
it has a lot of dents and dings it will raise the price. Is there any rust?
If so this will really raise the price because you will want to sand down
to the metal and have all of the rust cut out and new pieces riveted in.
Changing the color will also raise the price if you want it to look right.
What I mean by this is that you can change the color and keep the price
down by not having the areas such as door jambs and under the hood. (I have
had a customer ask for this once to keep costs down but I would NOT
recommend it...it looked really stupid when he would open the door) Also
for a really good finish you will want a quality 2 stage paint like a
lacquer. (I prefer Dupont) And if you want to get bold and use those flip
flop colors Dupont has some that are just out or just about to be released,
expect a major price hike. 1 gallon of the paint alone will cost around
$2000. So all of this can run anywhere from $2000-5000. The high end being
for a car with some dents, rust, a color change to a flip flop color. Also
expect to pay a couple of bucks more for a red paint. Supposedly the
pigments used in red paints is more expensive.
Good luck,
Dino
96 Mystic Cobra (Don't even ask what this car would ever cost to repaint)
ri...@interactive.spamthis.net
In rec.autos.makers.ford.mustang Dino Theo <dino...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
:P~ Josh Kaplan wrote in article <01bc51bd$b24c39a0$1863389d@v-joshk>...
:P~>Has anyone investigated the cost for a quality paint job? I am
:P~considering
:P~>getting my two-tone '89 GT painted metallic silver and was wondering
:P~where
:P~>to go and what to look for. Is Maaco someone to avoid? How much should I
:P~>pay? What should I look for?
:P~>
:P~>thanks,
:P~>-josh
:P~>--
:P~>The opinions expressed in this message are my own personal views
:P~>and do not reflect the official views of Microsoft Corporation
:P~While in college I worked at my dad's body shop. I will try to answer your
:P~questions. The best answer that I can give from what you supplied is "it
:P~depends". First off what do you need the paint for? Do you want to paint it
:P~in order to sell it? If so go to Maaco and get their $700-800 paint job. It
:P~will look pretty good for a little while. Do not bother with those $199
:P~paint jobs. If you want a paint job that will look good and last, take it
:P~to a reputable body shop. Make sure that they have a decent paint booth.
:P~Also something important to know is how much damage does your car have? If
:P~it has a lot of dents and dings it will raise the price. Is there any rust?
:P~If so this will really raise the price because you will want to sand down
:P~to the metal and have all of the rust cut out and new pieces riveted in.
:P~Changing the color will also raise the price if you want it to look right.
:P~What I mean by this is that you can change the color and keep the price
:P~down by not having the areas such as door jambs and under the hood. (I have
:P~had a customer ask for this once to keep costs down but I would NOT
:P~recommend it...it looked really stupid when he would open the door) Also
:P~for a really good finish you will want a quality 2 stage paint like a
:P~lacquer. (I prefer Dupont) And if you want to get bold and use those flip
:P~flop colors Dupont has some that are just out or just about to be released,
:P~expect a major price hike. 1 gallon of the paint alone will cost around
:P~$2000. So all of this can run anywhere from $2000-5000. The high end being
:P~for a car with some dents, rust, a color change to a flip flop color. Also
:P~expect to pay a couple of bucks more for a red paint. Supposedly the
:P~pigments used in red paints is more expensive.
I agree with the sentiment in most of the replies. My family's
service station used to also do body work. 90% of the work
involved in a good paint job is in the prep. It's a painstaking
and slow process. To get a good job takes time and a guy who
knows what he's doing is going to get a premium for that time.
For a car with only a few door dings and no rust, I'd expect
to pay $1200-1500 for a good paint job using the same color.
For a show-car quality finish, I'd expect to pay $3000-5000.
Personally, I like Imron paint. If you can stand the stench
of the paint for the first month after it's applied the
quality of the finish is top-notch and will complement a
well prepped car.
And you're better off avoiding the $200 paint job places.
If they don't run the paint or orange peel it, you're
very very lucky.
Good luck.
Chris
--
Christopher Mauritz | For info on internet access:
ri...@interactive.net | finger/mail in...@interactive.net OR
IBS Interactive, Inc. | http://www.interactive.net/
Bertine503
i'm an appraiser here in raleigh, nc and i come in contact with tons of
body shops in this area every day. most shops in this area charge about
1200-1500 for an exterior surfaces/same color paint job. count on 2000
for a color change (inc jambs, etc.). then add fixing damages.
make sure you see a certain shop's finished product before you commit.
brian
Bill Kiene
On 25 Apr 1997 21:14:54 GMT, "Josh Kaplan" <v-j...@microsoft.com> wrote:
>Has anyone investigated the cost for a quality paint job? I am considering
>getting my two-tone '89 GT painted metallic silver and was wondering where
>to go and what to look for. Is Maaco someone to avoid? How much should I
>pay? What should I look for?
>
>thanks,
>-josh
>--
>The opinions expressed in this message are my own personal views
>and do not reflect the official views of Microsoft Corporation
Don't waste your time and money if you aren't going to do it right. On a car
that has been repainted, about the only way to do it right is to strip it back
to the bare metal.
Bill Kiene
Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento,CA,USA
bki...@ns.net
800/4000FLY