Paint & Body

[katsi]

Just wondering how much is too much. I originally thought that it was going to put me back arround $1,500.00 to pull the small pressure dents on the fenders and trunk from PO's leaning against it and respray - white. NO WAY JOSE! The lowest estimate I have received was $4,200.00. Man, at those prices, I'll just buy one already painted. Really, anyone have any ideas. Seems that a lot of guys advertize on Craigslist but so far, 100% of them have been flakes and never even return a call. Let alone actually show up to look at the car. I'm thinking about buying a book and doing it myself. Is painting a car really that difficult? I do have an air compressor. Also, I did paint that hood black with cans of spray paint.

[124JOE]

i paid $2300 12 years ago
it still looks good.three coats of clear over 3 coats of red

[kmac33]

When it comes to paint and body work you typically "get what you pay for". What are you shooting for - 1)a concourse, show winning quality paint job that will last 20 - 30 years? 2)A decent looking driver that will look good for 5 years? 3)A "ten footer"?
If you want result number 1, you are going to have to use an experienced professional and top quality materials - and you will pay accordingly. For number 2 - you can do some or most of the prep yourself, take the car to Maaco or similar chain body shop and get a decent paint job fairly cheaply.
I'm lucky enough to have a very good friend with 30+ years body shop experience that painted my car, so I ended up with option number 1. I did all of the prep work, including any necessary body work (I have past experience working in his shop - so I am "decent" with body work). Throughout the body work process he double and triple checked my work and had me redo things until they were right. After spraying on the primer coat, my friend insisted that he do all of the final prep sanding on the body prior to spraying color to ensure the body was as close to perfect as humanely possible. He spent a full day with that - (this would be around $800 in just labor for a "normal" customer).
The car was sprayed with top quality Sikkens materials. Materials cost alone for my respray was $3000.
Hope that helps.

[narfire]

For the whole car.. 2 quarts of paint and you will still have some left. I bought the paint and he supplied the thinner and clear. They took the car to metal for the most part, filled and long blocked, primed, painted, wet sand, cut wax and cleared for around $2500.00. The car does not have a big surface area. For $4200.00 I'd be thinking they might be wanting or expecting some rust repair.
Chris

[AndyS]

I charge between $3500 to $4000 for most older Alfa and Fiat Spiders I have done. Most of the better bigger shops out here get double that. Its more work than people think to do a good thorough job that will hold up. No way you can spend less than 40-50 hours on a car like that, plus $500 or more on materials. I get $70/hr, so 50 hours is $3500 labor. some higher end paint shops get $100 /hr or more

People get fooled into thinking no prep $1800 cheapo paint jobs are going to last 10 years on an older car. No way. maybe get a decent "10 footer" orange peel job that will start showing paint issues ( bubbles, peeling edges, shrinkage, etc) within a couple of years.

[Divers]

...or just go to Maaco...spend $500 and get the car painted every 2 years. I am (OF COURSE) joking!

[SunnySideUp]

Last year I received an estimate to do my car... $6700. That included redoing the door sills, repairing the cracked driver's door hinge and doing the passenger side as a safety measure, taking off the rub strip down the side, ding/dent pulling and repair, and doing a full 3-stage job. It also included removing the bumpers (and fuel tank to get the driver's side rear bumper shock out), windshield, chrome trim, etc.

A production shop (similar to MAACO) gave me an estimate to just to "mask & paint" for just under $2K. No dent pulling and they'd only spend about 1 hour with 1 guy masking the car. I had a chance to look at a car that just had their "budget" job. The paint was very nice and applied very well. The masking job was atrocious!

I'm still reeling (and saving up for) from the first estimate but you get what you pay for. I know I'd never recoup the cost of the job if I ever were to sell the car. But then again, it's the passion, right? I don't have the equipment or facilities available to do the car myself otherwise I would consider giving DIY a try.

A buddy of mine suggested working with one of the local vo-tech schools auto-body program and offering the car as a project. Might be worth investigating. Some of those vo-tech programs put out some nice work. Not sure what the logistics or liabilities are with that approach.

[spidernut]

I'm not a huge fan of production shops, but Maaco out here does the two-stage base coat and clear coat with a five year guarantee. They'll do a cut and buff for an extra fee. It would set you back about $1,900 for everything.

I checked out several of their paint jobs and they sprayed a finish equal to most factory finishes. How it looks is generally based on the person who they have painting since most shops use high end guns and compressors. The cut and buff would have really made their paint jobs look excellent. They use Dupont auto finishes (not sure which grade since there are so many, but I'd bet it is the cheapest one). With a five year guarantee against fading, peeling, cracking, etc., it isn't a bad deal....just not a show quality paint. Since your car is a solid color, they should be able to do a respectable job. Metallics are a different story - they generally look pretty lousy at the chain high-production shops. Just remember to remove anything you don't want painted. They don't mask the cars very well. They're running a 1/2 price special on their Ultrathane for $289. It has a three year guarantee. It all depends what you want out of it.

The body work is a different issue. It depends upon how large the dents are and where they're located. I repaired a 68 Roadrunner's back fenders that have a similar curve to the Fiat front fenders...it was a pain to get it right.

[124JOE]

theres a pic of a spider that was used for TOMTOM its a dark red
it had to have been sprayed at maaco
its a horable paint job,they sprayed the side mirrors
i wish i could show it here "but its still in my head"

[AndyS]

long term, the finish is actually mostly in the prep, not how the paint is sprayed on. I think Maaco's better jobs are good enough for trucks and Honda accords. hate to see classic cars get what i would consider poorly prepped paint jobs though. makes doing them right later so much harder.

those cheapo paint shop warranties are pretty much a joke. lots of fine print on what isn't covered. if you do get a claim accepted , they just pile more paint on top of what already failed.

[Divers]

Andy,

I would agree with the caveat that most people are not going full out restore (just no return). On a fiat, I am now just curious about Maaco. Just saying Maaco may not be fair either since I believe each is individually owned and operated. Therefore, it would make since that some would be better than others? I don't think I would have Maaco paint a high end classic, but a fiat 124 just does not qualify as high end. I may actually go and talk to my local Maaco folks.

[AndyS]

the Macco here in the city of San Francisco did a decent job on a friends truck. he did a lot of the prep on it himself though. Before I became a painter, I used to do the body work, and primer and block out the cars, then have the local Miracle place shoot them for me with their best paint. It usually held up for 3 to 5 years before it started fading, and it depended on the color.

The value of the 124's and X19's is going up. I try to convince people to save up a few more dollars and do a better job on these cars--especially if its a nice example. I am seeing very nice paint jobs on some Fiats now at the local shows, and 10-15 years ago, it was rare to see that.