Paint and bodywork

[tom999w]

Well it's an easy decision for me not to pay someone to do the resto, simply because I couldn't afford it . So instead, I taught/teaching myself how to do everything, and so far it's been alot of fun to learn. I've been doing mechanics since I was a kid, but welding and paint I've never done. But it was very fun to learn something new.

In case anyone didn't see my last thread, after my Demon is done, here is a picture of the next project!

 

[Jim Kueneman]

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....

A reputable shop will not do that on an old car... You have NO idea what is under 60 years of previous owners. I would never quote a price until the car was stripped and you see what secrets it is hiding.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

I have painted all 6 of my restorations over the last 10 years. It will cost about $5000 for the materials and consumables to do the job with quality (not stupidly insane PPG) materials and I would guess I have 200-400 hours in each depending on how much metal work there was. The Valiant had the entire rear clip replaced so that was the 400 and the Duster just needed a couple simple patches and that was the 200. This is a base clear coat with easily 40-60 hours in the cut and buff for each so if you are ok with peel and not looking for show quality probably you take that off

The price of paint and body shops across the country varies WILDLY so multiply that by the going rate in your area.

A buddy of mine in Texas does this as a retirement gig and he starts at about $12k (materials included) IF there is virtually no body work to do and he will NEVER EVER quote a price until the body is stripped so he knows what he is in for.

Another buddy got a painter who winters in Az to paint his '67 Barracuda last fall. He used the least expensive materials he was comfortable with from the local jobber and just a quick scuff and shoot. I think that was about $2k in materials and 80 hours labor. It made it shiny and clean but I could never live with that level of a paint job on one of my cars.

Jim

 

[CFD244]

I took mine to about 90% then to a pro for the rest. The guy was awesome...No B/S. He even gave me a key to his shop.

Here's how I brought it to him...And here's what I got back....

Black accents all painted...No vinyl.

Paint and auto body chemicals scare me....Too many cancer stories.

 

[tom999w]

When I lived in Colorado I used to bring all my cars to the local Maaco to get painted. It was inexpensive and they did a hell of a good job... There is none nearby to where I live in New York, or else I'd use them all the time...

 

[Jim Kueneman]

When I lived in Colorado I used to bring all my cars to the local Maaco to get painted. It was inexpensive and they did a hell of a good job... There is none nearby to where I live in New York, or else I'd use them all the time...

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Not my experience in the Southwest. I ended up cutting and buffing one for a buddy since the orange peel was SO bad a few years ago. You likely go lucky and had a really good painter at that one. I have watched a few YouTube videos of past painters from Maaco and the quality is across the map depending on if the painter has a stronger personality than the manager who is trying to push it out the door vs the painter trying to do the right thing.

 

[melcardona]

A reputable shop will not do that on an old car... You have NO idea what is under 60 years of previous owners. I would never quote a price until the car was stripped and you see what secrets it is hidin

A reputable shop will not do that on an old car... You have NO idea what is under 60 years of previous owners. I would never quote a price until the car was stripped and you see what secrets it is hiding.

1929 ford 55 chevy...64 valiant......09 cummins.....extra bathroom in old house...shop at new house....all the same.....inspect for what the customer wants done....give a bid on the job......if you run into crap you did not see......ITS ON YOU..if you have been doing the work for more then 5 yrs..bid price should not go up..if open ck book is how you work...state it up front...time and materials.. ..blue collar folks should never be takin advantage of.... as for the brainless people who believe all the nonsence from the salesmen..( oh we have no idea whats behind that paint....then ask...do you want all new steel welded in???...do you want panels reworked or is bondo ok??? open ck book work...... is idiot buyers

 

[melcardona]

I took mine to about 90% then to a pro for the rest. The guy was awesome...No B/S. He even gave me a key to his shop.

Here's how I brought it to him...And here's what I got back....

Black accents all painted...No vinyl.

Paint and auto body chemicals scare me....Too many cancer stories.

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you are 100% correct.......autobody chems are only bad....no good about them....automotive chems not much better.....nice clean work looks very nice!!!!

 

[Oldiron440]

The last Chevy I did was peril white and black cherry including the bottom and engine compartment.
I didn’t keep track of the costs of the materials but it was pretty.
I had very close to 2000 hours in the metal work, bodywork and paint and by the end of the job the guy writing the checks was getting a little antsy. lol
The thing I liked about the job was I figured out how to do the door jambs without tape lines or color lines because of the candy paint.
What a pain in the ***.

 

[melcardona]

The last Chevy I did was peril white and black cherry including the bottom and engine compartment.
I didn’t keep track of the costs of the materials but it was pretty.
I had very close to 2000 hours in the metal work, bodywork and paint and by the end of the job the guy writing the checks was getting a little antsy. lol
The thing I liked about the job was I figured out how to do the door jambs without tape lines or color lines because of the candy paint.
What a pain in the ***.

you are the real deal...2k hr of body work on 1 car...oh my.....i got away from building homes on my free time because they took to darn long...and it was not even close to 2k hr......mostly 3b2b 2 car ranch...@ 1000 hr....sub out drywall work..and insul boom done.....

 

[Oldiron440]

you are the real deal...2k hr of body work on 1 car...oh my.....i got away from building homes on my free time because they took to darn long...and it was not even close to 2k hr......mostly 3b2b 2 car ranch...@ 1000 hr....sub out drywall work..and insul boom done.....

It didn’t help that the car was a total pos to start with, it took some convincing to get me to work on it.$$$

 

[Beams]

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.

My car was off the road for 2 years while I did an engine and two transmission swaps.

Car was running great, then I somehow noticed the huge holes in the floor that I had to deal with immediately.

Just wrapped up another year off the road.

 

[ir3333]

FD244. A good shop in my area would charge a minimum of $10K plus paint and materials to finish your car. There is still a lot of work left there. Guys just don't realize what is required. And if you are worried about the chemicals the fillers, primers and epoxies may very well be the worst?

 

[CFD244]

And if you are worried about the chemicals the fillers, primers and epoxies may very well be the worst?

I agree, It's all bad news.

 

[melcardona]

It didn’t help that the car was a total pos to start with, it took some convincing to get me to work on it.$$$

i understand..my 41 had no floors..no rockers missing lf fender all grill no glass no interior..hood twisted like a pretzel...trunk and roof full of dents....it was a half shell..........no sane builder would have tuched it...but i saw a pre war coupe!

 

[Oldiron440]

i understand..my 41 had no floors..no rockers missing lf fender all grill no glass no interior..hood twisted like a pretzel...trunk and roof full of dents....it was a half shell..........no sane builder would have tuched it...but i saw a pre war coupe!

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Looks great!
What kind power will it have?

 

[Duster360LA]

Agree on paint and body being the most expensive. I suspect a part of that is that the vast majority of paint and body shops only do insurance and collision work now. When I was ready I went to six P&B shops I had heard good things about and none of them did "total repaints." I hauled my Duster almost two hours away to a guy who had a big shop. He normally didnt do repaints, but he's a car buff and I convinced him to take on my project. To keep costs down, I told him he could work on it when collision business was slow. He put one of their older guys - who still takes a lot of pride in his work - on the body work. He had it 4 months and there was more bodywork than I expected, but it looks good - and it should for $15K.

 

[Kemper]

Agree on paint and body being the most expensive. I suspect a part of that is that the vast majority of paint and body shops only do insurance and collision work now. When I was ready I went to six P&B shops I had heard good things about and none of them did "total repaints." I hauled my Duster almost two hours away to a guy who had a big shop. He normally didnt do repaints, but he's a car buff and I convinced him to take on my project. To keep costs down, I told him he could work on it when collision business was slow. He put one of their older guys - who still takes a lot of pride in his work - on the body work. He had it 4 months and there was more bodywork than I expected, but it looks good - and it should for $15K.

Nothing wrong with that . A person not needing or wanting to spend that much can go a different route, but shouldn't expect the same results.

 

[barbee6043]

I'm lucky. Old, woreout and can do my own body/paint as good or not as good, as I want.
I have said car because I want it, I will drive it, I will try to take care of it... but I know it will never stay as nice (or not nice) as when I finished it. A scratch, gravel peck, door ding, some kid outs his snotty little hands on it!!!! Time!
I also know one day I will sell it (or the estate! ) and the buyer will never want to pay for a flawless paint job ($ and time), or all the total $ i put in it anyway! and.... because I have no desire to have the $ in such a high end "rare" model, and why would I want to put all the $ and work in it just so the next guy can brag how he screwed the old guy!

 

[melcardona]

Looks great!
What kind power will it have?

Looks great!
What kind power will it have?

i gutted everything from the 76 aspen....cut the frame before the a piller...in 2 days the 41 had engine,trans,steering,suspention,brakes..and everything was tested 1200 miles driving the 76 home..318/904....only thing i did not do..front end alignment......there was one sacrilege...camaro front seats...crazy thing..the 41 never had a back seat..but the 76 rear seat fit like a glove....mater of fact everything did.steering column rear suspention ect...even where the frames came together...seems mopar finds little reason to change things that work...

 

[ir3333]

Great stuff, hot rodding 101. Cars that are built not bought.
It is so much more rewarding! But not everybody has the skill and ambition required. Congrats!

 

[Oldiron440]

There was a time when the Fbody front suspension was used quite a bit for street rods and pickups.

 

[melcardona]

There was a time when the Fbody front suspension was used quite a bit for street rods and pickups.

you cant beat them....everything you need is all in 1 move....an ol mopar guy in montana tought me this on building a mopar street rod from the 40s.....when all done.....cash money out of pocket was 7500...about 70 days to do it....my faveret part was engineering the sliding/tilting front clip......there was nothing on line to help...and i did not want to cut the fenders to pass by...creating a 6'' elect slide made that possable...building a pre- tiping front bumper finished the idea.....many have said it over and over.....the most fun is in the build.....

 

[melcardona]

The last Chevy I did was peril white and black cherry including the bottom and engine compartment.
I didn’t keep track of the costs of the materials but it was pretty.
I had very close to 2000 hours in the metal work, bodywork and paint and by the end of the job the guy writing the checks was getting a little antsy. lol
The thing I liked about the job was I figured out how to do the door jambs without tape lines or color lines because of the candy paint.
What a pain in the ***.

i repainted my HD in cadi peril white.........in my very small opinion.......most large bikes look better in white ,creams .......i would have painted my 64 pw...but im done shooting clears.....and i did want a solid..no more matalic.......i understand the gray is not classy..but over all... now done..the red wheels with red interior with buckskin top the gray is respectable....just my 1.5 cents

 

[Oldiron440]

i repainted my HD in cadi peril white.........in my very small opinion.......most large bikes look better in white ,creams .......i would have painted my 64 pw...but im done shooting clears.....and i did want a solid..no more matalic.......i understand the gray is not classy..but over all... now done..the red wheels with red interior with buckskin top the gray is respectable....just my 1.5 cents

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I don’t pick the colors I just figured out how to spray them…