Hi Nightbeacon,
Having been a pro auto spray painter for 43 years straight, i can shine some light into this age old, worn topic of paint respray costings.
First up, let me make some key points that are a reality. Spray painting and the panel beating of cars in general terms has always been an expensive concept. Why? The main reasons are that to strip down, R&R, prepare, panel beat, refinish, paint correct and final detail a quality respray job is a time consuming labor intensive process. FACT. This is where the whole respray process becomes subjective in regards what constitutes a " quality" job exactly. Small paint jobs don't come cheap either. The more quality an honest and reputable paint and panel shop wants to dial into the respray, the more time and cost it will take to see the job through. Quality comes through in relation to the amount of attention to detail, preparation work, following correct and proper procedures, using quality materials throughout the respray. The big hours spent on a quality respray involve mainly the preparation work, and the cutting and polishing/ detailing of the applied paint. Applying the final base/ clear coats in the booth is not a long time event, but panel beating, priming/ puttying and all the sanding and block work is. Applying the final base and top coats, requires a top gun man as well. Flow coating adds extra costs as well. Stripping old paint back to bare metal is a time consuming process as well, as the problem with any old car is what condition the body is in overall. The worser the condition equates to greater expense. That is an unknown quantity, as what you've got reveals itself after the paint strip job. The more care and attention to detail means longer labor hours. Cutting corners cuts time and reduces costs, but reduces the quality of a job. FACT. Labor rates have steadily increased over the decades pushing paint shop costs up higher and higher.
So how much quality a shop wants to DIAL into a respray can be and is very much a variable thing. The more quality dialed in, the more expensive the job will become. Also, there are first rate, top notch pro painters and beaters out there, and at the same time, there are average and crappy cowboy workers as well. I've seen them all. Like most things in life, HONESTY is what people want and need from others, but sadly most don't end up getting that in life. In my trade, it has always been full of dodgy, cheating operators who lie to the customers by overcharging them, cutting corners, doing sub standard work, using cheap rubbish materials etc etc. The list is as long as your arm. Truely honest and reputable run shops are hard to find. As mentioned above, the auto paint and panel game is full of crooks, liars and cheats. This is a fact. Beware of dodgy owners that promise you the world, keep you dangling, and hold onto your car for forever. Get a fixed quote in writing always. If the owner comes up with an open cheque book approach to the unknown condition of your car after the paint strip down, be very careful. You may want to bring in a solicitor for advice here, or walk away. Also, avoid doing business with shops that mainly do crash repair work, and maybe a bit of resto work on the side. They are mainly orientated around get 'em in and get 'em out fast mentality, with the main focus NOT on quality workmanship. Insurance companies are to blame mainly for this sadly. Dedicated resto shops are more focused on our classic cars to deliver the goods. Be aware and try to avoid the glam, upmarket, la de da, boutique resto shops, as they tend to charge upmarket over inflated expensive labor costs and fees as well, that match their over inflated egos of themselves.
Running and owning a very professional well setup paint and panel shop has become a very expensive concept as well. Staying within environmental rules and regs means big money outlays for an owner, as well as all the overheads involved. Staff wages don't come cheap either. I was earning around the $1,200.00 Au take home pay for a 38 hour working week two years ago as a quality pro spray painter. The other thing is the cost of auto paints. Good quality auto paint was never cheap, be it Lacquer, water based or 2 Pack systems. Sadly, auto paint has gone up considerably over recent years adding to the expense of a good respray. I call it liquid gold! I do believe that there are independent paint companies offering up cheaper paints these days, but as to the quality of these products, only time is the teller as to how long your respray will hold together or hold up to the weather/ wear and tear etc. PPG is currently my go to best choice at the moment, but bare in mind that paint companies are forever changing their paint chemistry and can tend to go off the boil so to speak quality wise as time matches on. They are all guilty of this happening.
So to summarize, and answer your question about what would be a going price for a decent respray is a hard one to come up with, as there are many variables that will contribute to the overall cost. You can only mention ball park figures to people asking. For example, some people may consider a price range of $ 6,000 to $10,000 on the money, based on their own experiences. Some might come up with a price of between $20,000 to $40,000 plus the going rate. It all comes down to what level of quality and detail you are seeking with your respray. The best advice i could give you is 1. try your best to find an honest reputable shop within a 100 mile radius of your home.(the closer the better) This is not an easy process. You need to do some decent research in finding or settling on such a business. Word of mouth from friends or contacts you really trust, carries a lot of weight here. Beware of online business reviews as well, as they really can't be trusted. 2. Work out the quality of the respray you want. For example, do you demand a strip and repaint. What about paint correction. I have mentioned above some of the key things that constitutes a quality respray, but it helps to try and educate yourself as well regards what goes into a quality job. Armed with that info, you can approach the shops and nut out a game plan deal with the manager/owner as to what you will end up with.
3. You must get two or three separate quotes from shops that you think you can trust. This is a must as to help gauging of verifying you are not getting taken advantage of. As i said above, the public needs to deal with honest companies. The sweet money spot for your respray is to be charged an honest, fair price at a pre discussed quality and detail level that you want or expect with the owner. That is the way i would quote and treat you if you were my customer. In other words, you tailor make a planned package regards the level of quality and detail you want on your respray to suit your own realistic budget expectations. As said by another Forum member above, how much money you want to put into a respray works in proportion to how long you intend to keep your car, or pass it on down to your family. If you have deep pockets, or want to go on the trophy hero circuit, then that's another thing.
Lastly, cut your respray cloth budget according to your ownership situation. For example, if your ride is owned as a weekend cruiser, or show and shine coffee events/ club runs etc, and gets ongoing road driven, then expect paint damage with hood and lower panel stone chipping issues, and maybe the odd dent. That means extra cost outlays if you want those blemishes rectified later. If it's a trailer queen, no worries. As mentioned above, you can if you want to, carry out some various tasks of the respray process yourself to save money. This can work or not work. It depends on your own level of work skills as well, as to what type of tasks you want to get involved in. The big thing here is whether your selected p&p shop will go along with you sharing the job or not. Some will work in here to acomodate you, and some won't, as they consider your involvement taking food off their table so to speak.
Then again, you could always do what so many are doing out there today. Grab yourself a cheap compressor, guns, sandpaper, a rubbing block, and grab some cheap paint, then go on UTube for a never ending variety of how to paint your car videos, and become an overnight professional. Fantastic!! You should end up doing a professional job at a knockout discount price.
Seriously, i hope my advice was of some help to you,
Greg.
