Back before I started my project, I would see body & paint shop bills pushing over $10K and think, "Wow - that's highway robbery." But after seeing Q's work on his own stuff, I'm inclined to believe that his figure would probably be a low-ball number for a 'job from his business.
Also after having gotten into my own effort, seeing how expensive just the products and materials can run (for the good stuff, not the basic stuff from Auto Zone), how fast those products go, and actually doing the initial work myself, I can honestly say that it's money well-spent... and I'm basically just a hack and not paying for labor. The few times I've done body & paint work, I achieved decent results on a small scale, and I'm sure I could probably, with time, do a fair job on the finish work of my '71. But I'm a realist and I want this done in some semblance of a 'timely manner' (rather than another 2 years of me fumbling with getting the filler mix just right - I absolutely suck at that). You want some Tru-Fire flames, I can do that... mixing up the mud and making it look good... meh.
My painter gave me a very good quote, but I fully expect that number to be a little higher, in all honesty. Initial estimates are just that: estimates. There will be some fluctuation as he finds something else that needs attention he wasn't able to see from the cursory look-see. One thing that might save me a tiny bit of money is the fact that I'd already bought some materials he will be happy to use... rather than having to dig 'em out and do-over the places I would've messed up had I not talked to him first. Q's advice paid off once again, in that the painter gave me the nod of approval in the products I've used so far: things like Rust Bullet, seam sealers, Icing filler, etc.
Good luck, Marc! I hope it works out for ya. It's definitely lookin' good so far. ::thumb::
