Basic Repainting Questions
John Liu
having a car painted. My questions are pretty basic, I'm afraid - I
am really at square one here. If there is a FAQ I'd be happy to
consult it.
One question: how "good" (appearance, durability, etc.) can a
aftermarket paint job be, compared with a factory paint job? A friend
has told me that even good auto body shops cannot produce a paint job
even close to the quality and durability of the factory paint, since
they cannot "bake" the paint.
Second question: is it practical, sensible, wise, etc to change a
car's color? I've heard that you should never repaint a car in a new
color because it will cost a bundle, will look poor, won't last, and
will hurt the car's future value.
Third question: what range of prices should you expect to spend for
good, better, and best-quality paint jobs? For a car you like a lot,
paid a fair bit on, and expect to keep for several years?
Thanks for any advice. I am buying a used vehicle (1995 Range Rover)
that has the original black paint in very good condition except for
multiple deep scratches/chips (through to the white primer) on three
panels - tailgate, hood, LR door. The seller says the scratches are
too severe to be merely touched up. So I am looking at having those
panels resprayed. At the same time, I don't actually like black cars
(yet I'm buying this one - go figure). So long as I am spending money
to respray three panels, I would l-o-v-e to go the extra mile and
change this vehicle to green. But I am concerned that I would be
getting my preferred color at the cost of a inferior aftermarket paint
job. I.e., being stupid.
Lemon Joke Kid
>having a car painted. My questions are pretty basic, I'm afraid - I
>am really at square one here. If there is a FAQ I'd be happy to
>consult it.
>
>One question: how "good" (appearance, durability, etc.) can a
>aftermarket paint job be, compared with a factory paint job? A friend
>has told me that even good auto body shops cannot produce a paint job
>even close to the quality and durability of the factory paint, since
>they cannot "bake" the paint.
Not at all true.
>Second question: is it practical, sensible, wise, etc to change a
>car's color? I've heard that you should never repaint a car in a new
>color because it will cost a bundle, will look poor, won't last, and
>will hurt the car's future value.
It definitely costs more.
It COULD look poor, but there's no reason for it to. It depends how
it is done. I had a red car and painted it black. There were two
ways you could tell the color was changed. One was to sand through
the black and look for red. The other was to take interior trim
panels out and look for red factory overspray.
There is no reason for it to not last as long as the original color.
I cannot imagine a non-original color decreasing the value of a car.
If a car is repainted (no matter what color) an expert can usually
tell. When shopping for cars, if I see one that has been repainted, I
wonder why. Was it wrecked?
Given the choice I'd rather have original paint, only because I know
what is underneath it. So, for me, there's a difference between
original and repainted. No difference between repainted same color
and repainted different color, though.
>Third question: what range of prices should you expect to spend for
>good, better, and best-quality paint jobs? For a car you like a lot,
>paid a fair bit on, and expect to keep for several years?
No idea, but it will be thousands, not hundreds if you want quality.
Even the cheap ones look good a week after they are painted. The
actual painting is trivial. Quality prep work is what costs.
>Thanks for any advice. I am buying a used vehicle (1995 Range Rover)
>that has the original black paint in very good condition except for
>multiple deep scratches/chips (through to the white primer) on three
>panels - tailgate, hood, LR door. The seller says the scratches are
>too severe to be merely touched up. So I am looking at having those
>panels resprayed. At the same time, I don't actually like black cars
>(yet I'm buying this one - go figure). So long as I am spending money
>to respray three panels, I would l-o-v-e to go the extra mile and
>change this vehicle to green. But I am concerned that I would be
>getting my preferred color at the cost of a inferior aftermarket paint
>job. I.e., being stupid.
It all comes down to how much you want to put into it. There is no
reason why an aftermarket paint job can't be superior in every way to
a factory job. Go to a Rod and Custom show and you'll see some
amazing paint jobs.
That being aid, though, if I were in your situation, I'd keep it
black. Changing color because of a couple scratches is a lot more
than just an 'extra mile.'
Mr. H
"John Liu" <joh...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:39712d13....@news.earthlink.net...
> I would appreciate some advice or pointers to more information about
> having a car painted. My questions are pretty basic, I'm afraid - I
> am really at square one here. If there is a FAQ I'd be happy to
> consult it.
>
> One question: how "good" (appearance, durability, etc.) can a
> aftermarket paint job be, compared with a factory paint job? A friend
> has told me that even good auto body shops cannot produce a paint job
> even close to the quality and durability of the factory paint, since
> they cannot "bake" the paint.
Your friend shouldn't open his mouth unless he knows what he's talking
about. A good auto body paint shop can (and many do) produce a better paint
job then a factory job.
> Second question: is it practical, sensible, wise, etc to change a
> car's color? I've heard that you should never repaint a car in a new
> color because it will cost a bundle, will look poor, won't last, and
> will hurt the car's future value.
Is it practical.........No, is it wise........depends. If a dark color is
repainted to a light color, it will cost more. If a light color is repainted
to a dark color maybe not as much, but it's still very expensive to repaint
to an entirely different color. As for the other qualities...again, if a
good quality shop does the job, it will not look poor, will last the
lifetime and will not hurt the car's future value. Must be the same friend.
> Third question: what range of prices should you expect to spend for
> good, better, and best-quality paint jobs? For a car you like a lot,
> paid a fair bit on, and expect to keep for several years?
For a good quality, expect to spend around a thousand dollars +/-. Use your
imagination for the best quality. This, of course, is using a highly
qualified professional body shop. Don't consider Maaco or Earl Shieb.
>
> Thanks for any advice. I am buying a used vehicle (1995 Range Rover)
> that has the original black paint in very good condition except for
> multiple deep scratches/chips (through to the white primer) on three
> panels - tailgate, hood, LR door. The seller says the scratches are
> too severe to be merely touched up. So I am looking at having those
> panels resprayed. At the same time, I don't actually like black cars
> (yet I'm buying this one - go figure). So long as I am spending money
> to respray three panels, I would l-o-v-e to go the extra mile and
> change this vehicle to green. But I am concerned that I would be
> getting my preferred color at the cost of a inferior aftermarket paint
> job. I.e., being stupid.
Unless you're extremely wealthy, keep the color what it is and work on
enhancing it's appearance. Otherwise, you will spend almost the price of a
new vehicle to get the job you are looking for.
My brother owns a body shop. he takes pride in his work and his starting
price begins at $500. That's for and minimal job. But he uses the best
paint, clear coat and preps the vehicle completely.
Good luck
Don Stauffer
Lacquer doesn't require baking, but a lacquer paint job is
much more expensive than an enamel one. However, if you can
afford it, a properly handled lacquer paint job is in my
opinion better looking than factory.
You CAN change colors, but you get what you pay for. To do
it properly all removable panels (hood, doors, truck, etc.
should be removed so you can get the structure underneath,
such as door sills. Takes a ton of masking tape to do it
right. Do you take things off firewall, or just let
firewall remain old color- tons of decisions like that.
John Liu wrote:
>
> I would appreciate some advice or pointers to more information about
> having a car painted. My questions are pretty basic, I'm afraid - I
> am really at square one here. If there is a FAQ I'd be happy to
> consult it.
>
> One question: how "good" (appearance, durability, etc.) can a
> aftermarket paint job be, compared with a factory paint job? A friend
> has told me that even good auto body shops cannot produce a paint job
> even close to the quality and durability of the factory paint, since
> they cannot "bake" the paint.
>
> Second question: is it practical, sensible, wise, etc to change a
> car's color? I've heard that you should never repaint a car in a new
> color because it will cost a bundle, will look poor, won't last, and
> will hurt the car's future value.
>
> Third question: what range of prices should you expect to spend for
> good, better, and best-quality paint jobs? For a car you like a lot,
> paid a fair bit on, and expect to keep for several years?
>
> Thanks for any advice. I am buying a used vehicle (1995 Range Rover)
> that has the original black paint in very good condition except for
> multiple deep scratches/chips (through to the white primer) on three
> panels - tailgate, hood, LR door. The seller says the scratches are
> too severe to be merely touched up. So I am looking at having those
> panels resprayed. At the same time, I don't actually like black cars
> (yet I'm buying this one - go figure). So long as I am spending money
> to respray three panels, I would l-o-v-e to go the extra mile and
> change this vehicle to green. But I am concerned that I would be
> getting my preferred color at the cost of a inferior aftermarket paint
> job. I.e., being stupid.
--
Don Stauffer in Minneapolis
stau...@gte.net
http://home1.gte.net/stauffer/
MC 10kW Jesus
quality job, you're probably looking at spending $5000USD+. A friend got
lucky and got a very good job done at Maaco (not joking). It held up for
years and, IMO, was better than the factory paint job. Mind you, this
was an '88 Horizon so there was plenty of room for improvement. The
price was right too. Some cars come with very good paint from the
factory and it would be extremely difficult for a paint shop to
duplicate (Mercedes Benz for example).
A colour change can be very difficult on some cars yet very easy on
others. I wouldn't think twice about changing the colour. I would,
however, pick a colour that the car was available in. (Unless it was a
hot rod or I was looking to make it very unique). When people buy cars
that have been painted they usually jump to the conclusion that the
vehicle was involved in an accident. Around these parts it's a
reasonable conclusion.
On your Range Rover I suspect that you can get it fixed up and looking
like new for about $1000.
MC
proaxis
color, or full repaint document with photos before the repainting to show
future buyers why the repaint, and that it was not because of a wreck. I
vote to stay the same color. After changing a couple I wouldn't do it again,
for reasons mentioned here by others.
lg
John Liu wrote in message <39712d13....@news.earthlink.net>...