How to Find a Good Body/Paint Shop?

[DentalDart]

I’ve had my car almost 2 years, I started looking for painters last July-August. Ended up finding a shop close to me which I really like, his work is very nice and his shop is very nice. Does it on his own and only works on older cars m, no advertising and word of mouth only.

Last September he said bring the car by in the spring as that’s the earliest he could get to it. Well the past 1.5 months it’s been back and forth, he is busy but doesn’t reply or call back. He’s looked at the car, brought his employee to look at the car. Says he wants to do the bodywork and paint but has to finish another car before mine but then goes silent for a while.

Well it’s been 6 months of waiting and I feel as if I’m getting no where. I don’t need to beg anyone to take my money.

So time to start looking again, only problem is how do you sort through the weeds to find a good bodywork/paint guy? I know I’ll probably have to wait to get into a good shop but I don’t even know how to find someone? I just look on Google but I have a business and I know anyone with good marketing can get on the first page of Google with ease.

No rust at all. Engine is out of the car, body is 80% straight, brand new Front and Rear Quarters. Door and trunk need cleaned up the most, everything else is great.

So anyone know a good bodywork/paint guy in SW Missouri, NW Arkansas, NE Oklahoma, Kansas City or St Louis?

 

[rbkt65]

Body shop prison is hell. Also waiting to get into a shop to get chassis work done. If car is straight and you are happy with it, I have heard Macco will spray it for 1200, but you have to use their paint colors.

 

[challengersteve]

I own a restoration shop in Van Buren, Arkansas so pretty close. I have 45 years experience with these old mopars and know them inside and out.
We are a professional storefront business with insurance, all licenses, completely professional 7500 sf shop with frame tables, pull towers, frame jigs, rotisseries, very expensive commercial spot welders, full ppg mix bank and very high end pressurized paint booth.
We have myself and 4 employees.
We do everything 100% correct as per the ppg restoration guide and only use epoxy primer, no 2k.
I am attaching a picture of a challenger we just finished.
Message me for my number if wanted.
The shop is Retro-Muscle Automotive and check out our facebook business page to see some build pictures.
Thanks, Steve

 

[challengersteve]

Body shop prison is hell. Also waiting to get into a shop to get chassis work done. If car is straight and you are happy with it, I have heard Macco will spray it for 1200, but you have to use their paint colors.

The problem with Maaco is the quality of the paint is super cheap and just wont last. The high end clear we use is over 700 a gallon and I just mixed a gallon of red base that was 1800!!
The cheap junk primer they use will cause shrinking and ghosting and you paint job with only look good for a couple years tops.
There is a REASON they are so cheap.
I agree though, if you just want decent and shiny but cheap, they are the best choice.

 

[Bodyperson]

I’ve had my car almost 2 years, I started looking for painters last July-August. Ended up finding a shop close to me which I really like, his work is very nice and his shop is very nice. Does it on his own and only works on older cars m, no advertising and word of mouth only.

Last September he said bring the car by in the spring as that’s the earliest he could get to it. Well the past 1.5 months it’s been back and forth, he is busy but doesn’t reply or call back. He’s looked at the car, brought his employee to look at the car. Says he wants to do the bodywork and paint but has to finish another car before mine but then goes silent for a while.

Well it’s been 6 months of waiting and I feel as if I’m getting no where. I don’t need to beg anyone to take my money.

So time to start looking again, only problem is how do you sort through the weeds to find a good bodywork/paint guy? I know I’ll probably have to wait to get into a good shop but I don’t even know how to find someone? I just look on Google but I have a business and I know anyone with good marketing can get on the first page of Google with ease.

No rust at all. Engine is out of the car, body is 80% straight, brand new Front and Rear Quarters. Door and trunk need cleaned up the most, everything else is great.

So anyone know a good bodywork/paint guy in SW Missouri, NW Arkansas, NE Oklahoma, Kansas City or St Louis?

View attachment 1716392245

Do it yourself Doc. It aint that hard. You are a talented guy. You will get a lot of satisfaction doing it yourself. I've encouraged and helped a few guys to do it and have had great results. Just don't paint when its dark out. Failed on that one. The guy did a beautiful paint job full of bugs.

 

[mvh]

I was going to say, go to cars & coffee and car shows and ask people who painted their car. But if you have a resource like Steve in the vicinity, I would jump at that.

 

[DentalDart]

Body shop prison is hell. Also waiting to get into a shop to get chassis work done. If car is straight and you are happy with it, I have heard Macco will spray it for 1200, but you have to use their paint colors.

Body isn’t perfectly straight and I don’t do body work and don’t want to learn to do body work. That’s my biggest problem.

This is the worst of it.

Do it yourself Doc. It aint that hard. You are a talented guy. You will get a lot of satisfaction doing it yourself. I've encouraged and helped a few guys to do it and have had great results. Just don't paint when its dark out. Failed on that one. The guy did a beautiful paint job full of bugs.

I’d for sure spray it but I can’t do and don’t want to learn how to do body work. So the dents and dings would kill the paint job.

If body was perfect I’d go buy a paint setup and a temporary booth and set it up in the shop and go to town.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Make sure to ask for references.

 

[CFD244]

Best of luck with your endeavour.

 

[barbee6043]

Without going into a life long Mopar story, all I know is I am darn glad I never had any car ( even the hemis, max wedges and 6 pac cars) that got primers and topcoats that costs thousands per gallon. If so, I would have been broke many decades ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mom would have said, "I call bull chit". But....maybe that is why 2025 pickups costs $80,000!!?????

The problem with Maaco is the quality of the paint is super cheap and just wont last. The high end clear we use is over 700 a gallon and I just mixed a gallon of red base that was 1800!!
The cheap junk primer they use will cause shrinking and ghosting and you paint job with only look good for a couple years tops.
There is a REASON they are so cheap.
I agree though, if you just want decent and shiny but cheap, they are the best choice.

 

[1MeanA]

People who do restoration work on the side are few and far between these days but they are out there. They seem busy and some are picky on their clients. There are even less legit restoration shops and they often specialize in the high dollar restoration work and take a year or more to even start on a new project. The labor hours required to do the panel fitment, gaps, prime, block multiple times ensuring a good paint job are steep and in my opinion not affordable for most people nowadays. I found 3 people to paint my car (I did the body work) through word of mouth. Two of them bailed for various personal reasons (seems epidemic). I've also run across a few cars in body shop purgatory along the way. In the end the fellow who painted my car did mostly collision work but did mine because I was a friend of a friend and he had a passion for the old Mopars....hard to find.

 

[KosmicKuda]

I think your answer is in post #3.

 

[barbee6043]

When my flip phone stopped working years ago, I lost all contact Mo. numbers.
There are people out there that do great work on the side, sometimes a retired body guy even. Last time I recommended a shop to a guy , the guy called me every damn day asking when his car would be done!!!!!!! I would cut my throat if I had to take an old Mopar to any collision shop for work. (unless he was so far out in the sticks to not stay busy.)