ir3333
Well-Known Member
Has body work and paint become the most expensive part of the hobby and is it hard to find a painter in your area?
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Paint and bodywork
- Thread starter ir3333
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Yep!
Relatively speaking yes. When I had my paint and body work done a few years back I really shopped the area for a reasonable price for quality work. Most good shops with high reputations had quite a waiting list. So I went with a painter that was referred to me on this website. He talked a great game and his work looked good but when it came time to have the work done it took much longer than he quoted me some parts were rushed other parts were done right but by the time he finished the price had gone up about $3,000 and not everything was done that we agreed on.. My experiences expect to pay a lot of money for quality work and really check out references. One other note my car was about as solid as a 1970 340 swinger can be no major rust repairs just a few minor ones that we had discussed before he started.
Generally speaking, I would say yes . It depends, like anything else on what degree of work you are talking about.
New interiors are quite expensive if you are wanting ultimate look and function also.
A restoration shop is very expensive and not hard to find. Your vehicle and your desires will probably dictate what is the most expensive part of what you are wanting to do.
ir3333
Well-Known Member
in my area the better shops have a 2 or even 3 year waiting time. And because there is a high volume of work for them they can be fussy about their clients.
I will agree, and another 2 or 3 years after they get your car. That's why it's called BODY SHOP JAIL !
It is tough to find affordable paint and body. It’s easy to spend 10-20k around here, for just paint, but we have a lot of retired California rodders with lots of cash to spend. And when you consider the 100-150k that they paid for their cars (most of them buy them), it’s not surprising. I have nearly $4k in my interior for parts alone. Another $3 to have it installed (just the upholstery-I had to install the seats, panels, carpet etc.,) by a guy who was supposed to be the best around. I didn’t think it was that great, and he lost some parts, and broke some trim tabs that I now have to fix. I figured up this week that, so far, with what I paid for the car, the upholstery, getting the engine and trans rebuilt, I’ve got $25k invested. I’m planning on doing most of the body work myself, but farming out the paint. I will very easily have $35k+ in car that might be worth 25 when done. That’s the nature of the hobby, so I’m not complaining, but everything has gotten so expensive I wonder how a lot of people do it. It’s sobering, and I have another car to finish after this one that is in much worse shape. At least this one was a running driver that didn’t look too bad. I didn’t want to paint my cars myself, but I may be forced to. I’d like to hear what people are paying around the country for a decent OEM-style paint job.
I agree with this being the most expensive portion of your typical build. When I bought my first classic around 2017 I shopped local body shops for prices for minor rust repair and an overall paint job for a cruiser not a show car and most were in the $20k range. Once I learned of this I decided to teach myself how to do it. I painted my first car twice before I was happy and spent more time doing body work to make it right than I should have but my time was free at that point. Now I have a spray booth in my shop and have done several restorations. With that said it is a lot of work and I’ve learned a lot over almost 9 years of doing this for a hobby. I do see why it isn’t cheap to get done because there are a lot of hours into a restoration and we all know what hourly rates have done in the last decade. Photo of my last all over from a do it yourselfer.
ir3333
Well-Known Member
Dropped by a high end body shop about 7 years ago and they had just finished a nice Cutlass that needed no body work... and it was $20K. So like you i am now doing the welding and all bodywork and paint myself and so are are a few of my car friends. It is a tremendous amount of work.I can work away the better part of a week, go out Monday morning and it doesn't look like i had done anything last week.
I have a new appreciation for bodywork and paint!
I have a new appreciation for bodywork and paint!
You will appreciate it far more when you’re done too. Amen to you for tearing in and working your way out. There is a wealth of knowledge and information on this forum and plenty of folks willing to help.
melcardona
Well-Known Member
dont care if its a house being built or a stinkin car....get everything in writing...dont make any changes....pay only half up front or less...the contract needs to state a apr finish date..a tol amount due at end of job...- down payment......if price gos up...take them to court....its sicking that a hand shake means nothing...so make them pay....
At one time, pretty much everyone restored their own cars. I remember a comic about hot rods that came out when I was a kid and there was a story about a guy with a cool car who got kicked out of his car club when they found out he bought it from someone.
I would have quit a long time ago if Ulf hadn’t shown me this forum. When I get discouraged I read the posts how others have faced the same challenges and it keeps me going.
melcardona
Well-Known Member
its all i ever known....paying someone to do something that i knew i could do..oh my...never made sence...sure when i did not have trifocals my body work and paint was better...but...hey my work will out live me.....and my first landau top....was fun in a nerve wracking sorta way...
Kendog 170
Let the boy go !
There are no limits on restoration prices. You sign that contract and your obligated.
If I didn't do both my cars myself I wouldn't have them anymore.
If I didn't do both my cars myself I wouldn't have them anymore.
melcardona
Well-Known Member
all true..if i paid any one to do anything but front end alighments....i would not bother with cars a..as we all know....its almost impossable to even brake even anymore.....its more about therapy then common sense..and thats even hard to deal with at times.........enjoy the build..cuz when its done....upgrading kills the whole idea of keeping it real......
melcardona
Well-Known Member
maybe so??? but ive seen selling prices on very well done rigs of all sorts falling sinse 09 ish
The thing that rips me the most is a can of spray paint is still reasonably affordable, but auto paint and supplies is stupid. I blame the EPA with their body shop and industry regulations.
As for restoration shop open ended contracts, you have to have a 6 month conversation with a few till they come to terms with the fact you are not going to hand them a blank check, but in the end your going to increase your wait time as they are going to go with the big money jobs first.
As for restoration shop open ended contracts, you have to have a 6 month conversation with a few till they come to terms with the fact you are not going to hand them a blank check, but in the end your going to increase your wait time as they are going to go with the big money jobs first.
melcardona
Well-Known Member
you speak truth...but many of the big chem co are also loving the big gov contracts......i used to shoot ppg...then i went to omny..last 3 i just buy online custom shop....
Oldiron440
Big blocks rule small blocks drool!
I started doing paint and bodywork in the mid seventies at 14 or 15 on my own vehicle because I didn’t have enough coin to pay someone to do it for me. By the time I was 18 I was working in a body shop and at 27 I bought out my employer. I stayed away from restoring or even painting older cars because it just didn’t pay like collision work did. It wasn’t hard to turn out 60 to 80 hours worth of work a week doing collision, but restorations were time and materials. And that’s why it’s difficult to find someone to actually do it. Sometimes all you can find is the guys the insurance companies won’t give work to and it’s probably for a reason.
I sold my shop in my 50s when the real estate became too valuable, and I got tired of walking in the same door every day. Then I kind of stumbled into a couple of deals where I restored a 67 Shelby GT350 for a guy and built three different chevys for another witch turned into about ten years of work all totaled. I worked in their shops using their products just producing, it was like being on vacation because I didn’t talk to customers or insurance co workers 40 hours a week. I enjoyed working on the project cars but it can be tedious.
I sold my shop in my 50s when the real estate became too valuable, and I got tired of walking in the same door every day. Then I kind of stumbled into a couple of deals where I restored a 67 Shelby GT350 for a guy and built three different chevys for another witch turned into about ten years of work all totaled. I worked in their shops using their products just producing, it was like being on vacation because I didn’t talk to customers or insurance co workers 40 hours a week. I enjoyed working on the project cars but it can be tedious.
melcardona
Well-Known Member
understand fully..all well said...you lived it......high end old stuff has always made me uneasy to have in the shop ..when its done..im on the phone.come get it now!!!! im no paint guy..just an ol wrench that refused to pay others ..so ive panted all my own.....never customers rigs....had a old vett in the shop last year...did not want to work on it.never liked vetts.....but the owner told my friend..no one wants to work on it..so he beged me...overheating issues....while i was waiting the 10 days for parts to arrive....i did some research on the car....oh my....the low # was 67k ..many where well over 100k....crazy.....im fine not repairing outside rigs anymore.......the fix and flip is not worth it as every one and there brother is grabing the worthy cars/trucks..........if this 64 turns out to be well behaved.....it my be sometime before she gos up for sale???? but never say never.....
ir3333
Well-Known Member
As my buddy says " the fun is in building them" If you have a finished car it's a 2 or 3 week a year hobby if you
add up the hours....but building is not something everyone enjoys.
add up the hours....but building is not something everyone enjoys.
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Or most any model/brand of Classic car !
Also. like mentioned above, body shops hardly ever want to take on a resto! Too much fast $ in collisions. Used to, decades ago, in rural small town America, a young guy that wanted to make an extra $ and worked at a body shop (collision ) full time, would take on a classic in his home garage to make an extra $. BUT now days, IF said guy did great work at a very reduced price, the owner would end up bitching because it was not shot in a booth and maybe it had a speck of dirt. BUT the guy would also want to wet sanded4 times/buffed 3 times and be flawless as a $20,000 job!!!
melcardona
Well-Known Member
guys that have lg shops dont mind taking that much time for a compleat...me..ill do a frame off in 60 to 90 days...avg 12 hr days 4- 5 day wks.....of course that incl..screen time hunting parts...this 64 was more cleaning and finishing...i dont even have 30 days in it.....
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