Paint job on 1980 C3 Corvette.
E_Tar
project 1980 Corvette.
then I will replace whatever needs to be improved in the interiors and
dash.
I am leaving the paint job for last after the hood doesn't need top be
opened so often.
Here's my question. It is Paint related. I know all of you have some
paint related story you have learned from.
The paint is faded in many areas and there are a lot of nicks and wear
on the nose of the corvette, so I assume, sanding, filling and priming
will be the order of the day before painting. The body is more or less
blemish free.
1.) Paint jobs seem to cost the Earth (I had a quote for $7000 from a
dealer who seemed a little too eager to sign me up and used the
emotional blackmail approach to "restoring my car to its original
beauty" approach, I hate that kind of pressure and being talked down
to.)
2.) Since the car body is fiberglass, is there any other pre-paint
process, or do's and don'ts I should be aware of sooner rather than
later ?
3.) If the car is a dark color like grey, will it be necessary to
completely sand out the original color, or can I leave the original
color underneath.. ? I want the new color to be a very deep metallic
blue (on the darker side of blue)
4.) Clear coat gives gloss right ? or am I mistaken ? If I give it one
or two coats of the metallic blue and 2 coats of Clear coat, is that
more gloss ? What about an Enamel finish, is that needed ? how
effective is it really against light brushings (example if bushes
rubbed the side of the car, or someone's wedding ring or some jewellery
made minor scratches in it. A friend of mine wearing levis once leaned
against my '99 passat and the little rivets on the jeans pocket left
tiny scratches.. nearly gave me a coronary...)
5.) Would anyone recommend the volume paint shops ? example
http://www.maaco.com ?
Anyone had any experience with them ? Or would it be a case of "I get
what I pay for" ? I just heard of them, so I'm asking...
6.) Do paint shops cover up the emblems, chrome bits, lights etc on the
car before spraying ? or do they remove them completely before the
spray to get the paint on the insides evenly ?
haha, i realize there are way too many questions, but I am dead set on
my vette being a heart stopper when it is out on the road with me
piloting it. Problem is my budget leaves me just about $800 per month
to spend on the car, so I'm trying to get the most value. I am
seriously considering going to one of the "ricer" paint shops in my
area (lots of oriental teens where I live.. close to stanford). Ricer
cars seem to have nice paint jobs done on them sometimes.
Thank's in advance for all the help,
and a very Happy and Successful New Year to you all !
David
I'm working on an 82 restoration. I've had the repaint and mechanical
done at roughly the same time. Both were done by shops in Tampa. My
mechanic was on the assembly line that built my car and not he has his
own shop. We're taking the time to do it right.
My body had a fair amount of nicks on the nose, a few cracks near the
rear license plate, and some other minor areas that needed filled in.
I'm making a daily driver, so it won't be show quality. My paint shop
stripped the car bare, fixed the damaged areas, applied four layers of
silver/blue enamel paint, and three layers of clear coat. All emblems
and metal were removed. It was down to the frame and body. I also
had to replace all the rubber around the windows. A rubber kit was
$250 and the rework/paint job was $3000. The paint shop is in the class
of being a collision center and wanting to add restorations/customizations
to their business.
IMHO, do not use Maaco for anything you want to last. They are okay
for touching up some things. You will be able to notice where the work
was done and it may be noticable from a distance in a few years. I
prefer to find a local shop that does quality work. Most will show you
examples of their work or allow you to talk to customers around the shop.
We have lots of Ricer groups here. They are on the expensive side but
they do provide custom work that isn't usually available elsewhere.
We also have lots of Corvette-only shops that are extremely expensive.
For a large sum, they will look at your car, keep it for a week or
two, and return it all done. That kind of takes the fun out of it.
There shouldn't be much of a problem building up your car as you
go. Restorations take time. My body was good and the engine ran.
No the engine and mechanical is all new and the paint jobs done.
I may elaborate on the paint later on; I started with a classy
mono-color that no one else has, plus some inlaid detail with
silver. The interior is next and I've already chosen a shop for
that.
Have fun,
David
E_Tar
it to them.... I just typed in Maaco in the search and it seems they
don't vlue customer satisfaction as they claim on thei site...
hmm... But I do need as much advice on the other stuff as possible..
Vandervecken
> I am currently working on repairing and restoring the engine of my
> project 1980 Corvette.
Volume paint shops are mass-market operations and do work that makes the
mass market happy - meaning those who really care about craftsmanship
will be sorely dissappointed in their work.
A good paint job involves removing all trim before painting. Masking it
off is the sign of a very poor (by our standards) job.
-- V
Barking Rats
"E_Tar" <e.tar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Oh, In answer to my own question about Maaco, I don't think I'll take
> it to them.... I just typed in Maaco in the search and it seems they
> don't vlue customer satisfaction as they claim on thei site...
I knew a guy who had his '73 painted at Maaco for something like $500.
Except for a small nib in the paint on the rear deck it looked darned
good. Not a show car, but for a daily driver it was very respectable.
Here's waving to ya - \||||
Owen
___
'67BB & '72BB
-- not affiliated with JLA forum in any way -- alt.autos.corvette is
original posting --
___
"To know the world intimately is the beginning of caring."
-- Ann Hayman Zwinger
larryb...@yahoo.com
If you really want to talk to a guy that knows paint, go to
Kevin sells a couple videos for DIYers, but he is happy to answer
questions even if you're not doing it yourself.
grayfox
and for about $800 they refinished the entire Vette including the interior
door sills/etc because I changed from Red to Caddy off white..did an
excellent beyond belief job..sold the car this year and it still looked
factory new..I KNOW no one wants to go to Macco but they will pay some joker
in a local custom paint place several grand to get a paint job to be factory
original..( yes value was down brcause of the color change..but so what.. it
was not worth that much any way.)
Let me tell you..once the car is painted by any one any place it is no
longer factory original..it is now restored/repainted..maybe to factory
specs...some $5000 -$7000 paint jobs I have seen have been awful....ALSO
please note that since you are going to repaint to a metallic color the
resale value of the VETTE is now down the tubes..value will be no when near
what even a restored Vette would be worth....NOTHING SCREWS up a Vette more
than a custom metallic way out paint job.no matter how beautiful it may
look...since you are going that route I don't think it matters much who
paints it...( they sell spray cans in Walmart )