Assuming the paint prep is done, what would be the cost for the perfect paint job using the best material? I know its difficult to say, I just want to get an idea. I was quoted around $8k which seem high
Raf

that would be right

8K is the cost of materials only. Some of the Summernats/car show fellers spend 20-50K on body and paint... and there are lots of different definitions and interpretations of 'perfect' and 'best'!!

My mate spend $10K on his Valiant just before chrissy and it is not as good as my home job on my Oval... overspray on suspension, runs in paint, inconsistent application/peel, thin and chipped edges etc

If you are serious, talk to one of these show blokes and find out who thier painter is. It won't be a 'crash repairer'. When you are spending this much cash you MUST choose a painter/tradesman with a 'reputation'

8k is what i paid for my oval strip repair rust spots paint and it is a 9/10 paint job

hire a compressor and gun and have a go yourself. i'm sure you can get a lot of advice off forum members.

if you want a show car, then it'd probly be better for a professional to do it.

in my opinion having the skills to spray a car in a decent paint job is great. just grab some old panels and practice on them first.

my 2cents.

Mine was 12k after sand blasting. That was back in 96'.

I heard everything for $1000 and it looked like a show car to $12000 to lay the paint on and it looked average.
I think the best thing to do is ask questions and look at cars they have done prior. I would go for someone who has been recommended and try to see cars after a few years and check whats 'coming out'
as they say. A fresh car will always look sweet. Remember it's the prep work not the painter. My 2c
T54

how long do you want to keep the car and how much time do you have?

if you don't have time but want to keep it long term, be prepared to pay for quality. find someone who has references.

if you don't want to keep it and you don't have time, don't spend too much. my brother got his panel done for 5k from memory. no show car but a good paint job from a recognized veteran.

if you want to keep it and have the time, learn to do it yourself. I'm 4 coffee tables and 1 door into learning and I'm getting better, but I'm not quite ready for a full car yet I think.

Thanks all. I tried doing it before myself. Did a horrible job and did not enjoy it either so I'd rather leave it to the pros

How long is a piece of string?

I think it will be tough to find a professional painter that is willing to give you a "perfect" paint job (which by the way there's no such thing!....no matter how good a job is, there will always be some minor flaw no matter how tiny it might be) without them doing the prep. Or if they will just be laying down the paint then I doubt they could give any guarantee about the longevity of the paint job.

Compatibility between fillers, primers and base/clear coat materials is paramount - the final job is only as good as what is underneath. So if the first layer over the bare metal has poor adhesion or is not prepped properly, who knows when cracks will occur or delamination of certain layers.

HOWEVER.....as said above it depends on what you want from the vehicle - if you want a show standard then $8K is cheap. I like to break a job down to people then ask them what they would be willing to work for if it was their livelihood - eg. out of $8K, good materials will be $2K at least (and more for excellent materials). So that leaves $6K for labour - if you work on a figure of around $55/hr that equates to only 109 hours of work which will get you a quick job, not a show quality job. If you expect someone to do 300 hours of work for $20/hr (Remembering out of that hourly rate they will have to cover all their overheads which there would be many!), I don't think their business could survive for long at all.

Just some food for thought! If you wanted to save money and wanted a good job, not a "perfect" job..then you could do a lot of prep yourself and find a painter willing to apply the colour - that would mean the actual colour/gloss would be consistent but how straight the car is wouldn't be the responsibility of the painter in that instance (or how long it would last). There are a lot of compromises here - you either compromise the quality to save money, or you compromise your bank balance if you want a pro to do it from start to finish to a standard you will be happy with.

Hope that helps a little
Al

good advice Al!

Some of the jobs out of our work have 300 hrs in the paintwork. That is sanded fully between 8-10 times by hand with milled aluminium blocks, using hundreds and hundreds of sheets of sandpaper. Then the paint, and other materials. There you end up with a $40K paint job winning national concourse events.

Quote:

Originally posted by Jay_1965vw How long is a piece of string?