Paint Quotes

[McFlash]

How is it that I got these 3 quotes for a full body paint job:

$6000
$7000 (that includes $2000 in materials)
and...
wait for it....

$2500.

Yep. How the heck could there be such a wide spread for the same job? It included the same processes - removal of parts, stripping, rust removal and repair, base and clear coat, etc.. Oddly enough, the guy who quoted me the lowest price seemed the most thorough in detailing what he'll and how it'll be done.

I hate the feeling that I could be getting ripped off.

[narfire]

Apples to apples...

Are they all the same really...in writing...

What type of paint...same quality paint, but the Fiat uses perhaps 2 liters to do the whole car.
wet sanding??? buffing???
That is a big difference if they are all the same process.
Did you give them all the same list in writing?
Mine was around $2500.00 but not completely to metal and a decent but not concourse quality. Perhaps a 5 foot job.

[azruss]

there is a huge difference in time required to do all the repairs right. $2500 is a normal price for a paint job without any of the rust removal or fixing body damage. My neighbor had is 71 camaro done by a neighbor. was supposed to be a cheap job. the guy had the car for a year and kept asking for more money so he could finish it. Car came out nice, but with lots of grief.

[McFlash]

The guy who quoted my $2500 would use a Sherman WIlliams paint and apparently it's "not available to the public."

And yes, they were all given the same info and asked the same questions in regards to what needed to be done. They all will wet sand, if needed, buff and such.

[nothingbychance]

IMHO, that $2,500 quote is simply too low for everything you want done. His quote is so far off the mark, it is suspicious. You could try getting references, including one from someone who had the work done more than 5 yrs ago. I am not an expert, but I am also looking to have my '78 done and the guesstimates I'm getting (no one has yet seen the car or given a firm quote) are in that $6 to $7K range. And this would be keeping the car for as much as a year so the work can be done around collision (read "insurance") work.

[azruss]

most automotive paints are "not available to the public". they are very toxic and require decent equipment. I've never used sherwin williams.

[AndyS]

I do this for a living, and sometime shops give a low ball estimate just to get the car in, then they keep asking for more money as the job goes on. Labor rates are usually very similar from shop to shop, so if one quotes half of another, One guy is probably planning on cutting lots of corners.

I can tell you this, Its a very tricky thing to get a classic car painted to a good standard at a reasonable cost for several reasons.
1) labor costs are high these days for quality work. the time to do an old Spider right even if you deliver the car with parts off is probably in the 40-60 hour range, and can go up to 80 or more hours if rust or poor previous repairs are found--and they usually are. even at $75 /hr, 60 hours plus materials is $5000-my average quote for a car these days.

2) most shops do little work on classic cars these days and probably won't know your car very well or at all. even shops that can do decent insurance repair smashed up Hondas and Toyotas may do a poor job on a classic car.

3) the end result of good or bad prep work and corner cutting often won't show up on a car right away. You check out the car, pay them, and think you got decent job. its a year or three down the road that the poorly prepped car will start having issues. If they did poor rust repairs or painted over areas that should have been stripped to bare metal, or don't use a true direct to metal primer on all bare metal areas, it will show up later on.

What you can do is to try and find out where the classic car folks in your area have their cars done. ask shops what the labor rate is and how many hours they are budgeting for your car. I also like to take photos of any surprises that come up when doing the car so i can document where the extra expense came from. I'd request that or to be able to come see the car once it is stripped all the way down.

[baltobernie]

In 2009, I paid $760 just for paint and solvents. Single-stage (not cleared), pastel color, mid-grade PPG. Metallics, reds, etc. today are probably $1000+ for paint alone. So $2500 does not leave much room for labor on a pro job.

The first step in any part of a restoration project is to realistically evaluate the car and your objectives. We have several members who are happy with their Maaco paint. Paint is certainly the first thing you see, but there's no sense blowing your budget on a pretty car that you can't drive because the engine, or tranny, or electrics .... are shot.

[McFlash]

You all make valid points.

Luckily, I'm not in a hurry. I'm not afraid of spending the money, I just want to be careful.
I've had a good amount of work done under the hood and now it's running like a champ. I'm not of "those people" to have a great looking car in the garage because it can never hit the road. I've done and continue to do my due diligence.

Thanks for all your responses so far.

[spidernut]

Strip everything off yourself - that'll save a lot of time, money and headaches if the shop doesn't remove the parts (but masks them off instead). When I say strip everything off, I mean everything! Convert top, interior, chrome, windshield, bumpers, trim, lights, cowling, door handles...everything!

It also depends upon what you want out of your car. I paid about $1,600 for my base/clearcoat from Miracle Auto Painting (a production shop) in 2002..that was a lot of money back then. It isn't a show car, but the paint still looks great after 10 years. I did all the body and prep work, they sealed, base coated, cleared and did a cut and buff. I was very happy with it then and I'm very happy with it now. Like I said, it still looks great. The paint was an 8.5 out of 10. (it is about the same as many factory paint jobs in the same metallic silver). I had quotes as high as $20,000 without bodywork for a show quality paint. Most were $2,500 - $5,000.

From my personal experience, you have to see any shop's work and pick their brains about what prep work they do and what they guarantee. I'd recommend only going with a Maaco type shop if you've seen their work in person and it meets your standards. I found that most production shops are exactly that - production shops. They typically do horrible work with virtually no preparation work (and prep is everything). I've seen dust in the paint, runs, orange peel, missed body panels, paint on the suspension and muffler, paint on tires, etc. If you're just going to have a daily driver and don't plan on showing your car, they're adequate. Just plan on repainting about every 3-5 years on average.

[johndemar]

Best thing to do is ask around. I was fortunate enough get the name of a shop here in Phoenix from azruss.
And I did pay around $2,500 to have it sprayed. Admittedly I did have all of the bodywork done and in primer. I had everything off the car, doors, hood, trunk, etc. The car came out great and they even put the pita doors back on for me.
Included in the price they put a protective coating over the rocker covers to keep them from chipping. So you get what you pay for, but if you look around you'll find what you're looking for without breaking the bank. IMHO 7K is excessive.

[81SPIDERMATT]

can you look at their work.... the 2500 guy maybe 4 years ago was a 7000 dollar guy... maybe he likes the work.... maybe he needs the work.... just a thought

[BEEK]

food for thought. in 1995-2000 i charged 5000.00 to paint a spider. this included total dissasembly, all lights, bumpers, trim, doors, hood, cowl, trunk,rocker pannels, but did not pull gas tank. painted to the top seam under hood, painted core support and everything else, all parts were cleaned, polished and reinstalled. i probably had 600-1000 in materials, used dupont chroma system, base clear.

today, i am painting my scorpion, i spent 550.00 for the first box of materials. this includes: 5 rolls tape, 1 roll 12" paper, 2 rolls sand paper,1 gal cleanup thinner, 1 gal 2 part epoxy primer, 2 qts activator, 2 qts por 15, 1qt ospho. all of this now im almost ready to prime, first coat