NITTY GRITTY time.....
1. WHAT DID YOU ASK FOR? 100 pt 100% show paintjob? 20 footer? "driver?"Materials & labor WILL always vary based on the result desired and THAT ( the result you asked for) drives the price
2. VERY FEW people know or realize what it takes to PROPERLY paint a vehicle....because when they think of PAINT they think of LOWES or HOME DEPOT and how long it takes to "paint" a room and they mentally compare the two and ALWAYS think the painting process costs too much.
3. In general, Painting a car can cost anywhere from 3k to 200k NO BODY WORK, JUST FINISH PAINT....depending on what you want. driver quality Black will cost less than driver quality candy....because the candy process is way longer and the paint is 4 times the cost because CANDY needs an undercoat, so you are actually painting the car like 4 plus times MINIMUM 2 base coats and then a minimum of 2 candy coats ( usually more like 4 or 5 )
4. speculating and commenting on what is and isnt a RIP OFF WITHOUT KNOWING what was requested is BS!!! If you wanted every panel really flat, that takes days & days of priming and blocking over & over until that panel is as flat as humanly possible, then the base coat is laid on at least 2 - 3 coats...then the clear which is often loaded on so the panels can again be blocked sanded flat, then wheeled.
5. there are likely 100 material combinations of primers, and at least that many of the color coat and likely close to that for the clear. you want shop grade paint or house of color? you want a base coat of epoxy primer before the build primer that gets blocked?
EVERY SINGLE DECISION HAS A COST ASSOCIATED and the better the desired result the more the cost is for materials and the longer the hours to perform the labor! THERE ARE NO GENERIC COSTS FOR PAINTING A CLASSIC!!! THIS is NOT MAACO or EARL SCHEIB this is a craftsman performing a custom process based on the desired result!!
6. SANDING: do you want manual blocking or DA smoothing? one eats sand paper like a glutton and takes hour & hours & days & days to do, the other can be done in a single day but your finish coat will reflect the grade of prepwork, you want peelbumps and waves like at an oceanic beach or do you want a MIRROR finish?
7. level setting: The RED paint I selected for my ENGINE was a special color blend of shop grade PPG DBU paint to accurately mimic MOPAR red from the 60's. The blended quart cost to the SHOP was $168!!! and that does not include hardener or reducer/thinner OR CLEAR!!! ( reds are always MORE expensive)
8. Planning your course: things to consider BEFORE going to any shop to get an estimate.
Do you want fenders & doors removed to be painted so they can be painted exactly the same way( inside & out)they were when they were initially built?
Do you want the fender bolts painted to match color?
Do you want the header panel painted blackl or the color of the car?
Do you want the inside of the hood color or black?
Do you want the underside painted to match the color or black?
Do you want the inside of the car painted to color before re assy?
Do you want the Jams & inside the trunk painted?
Do you want the door strikers removed so they remain as stock?
Do you want the inside door latches removed so they remain as stock and without overspray or color?
Do you want to car painted with a spray gun or a whisk broom?
point being.... DO NOT ASSUME, BE SPECIFIC, WORK WITH YOUR PAINTER to review your options and the associated costs and MAKE A LIST that both of you understand the outcome that will be produced and the forecast-ed costs and tally them up with your painter so there will be NO SURPRISES, you will know within a feww hundred what your total cost for PAINT will be.
9. SAME applies for BODY work...
DO you want your car stripped?
Do you want them to use oxides or glass or plastic media to strip it?
Do you want all metal replacements?
the list goes ON & ON & ON & ON & ON & ON
10 there is NO SUCH thing as a quick or cheap paint job on any classic
Things you must have .
1 a painter that you trust
2 an accurate list of what you want for you and for the painter & body man
3 a firm direction ( changes on the fly will cost you more & more and present a hassle for the body man & painter)
4 TIME......never be in a rush or push your body & paint guys....the results will reflect your impatience regardless of cost
5 Patience " good things in life take time"
6 a firm budget and 20% emergency & changes funds
7 a body man that you trust and list of what he will be doing and the materials he will use
before YOU agree to anything, get apples to apples estimates from at least 2 other shops...and this is right down to the brand & level of primers and paints to be used
BOTTOM line, this is NOT simple!!! TO BE DONE CORRECTLY and without surprise, it requires involvement and options and selections and compromises up the waazoo !!!!
IF you had all this prep work done, you would KNOW if you were getting "jerked" by your painter/body guy or if he was doing what he said he would for the cost he said he would do it for.....if you didnt do all this prep work, then you got what you asked for
