Paint work, costs... Yucky

[Ryunker]

So, well into our relocation to South Dakota. Car ('71 Mach1) body work was done and finished in evercoat feather fill before it was transported. New home is equipped with much garage space and I have the ability and equipment to do the finishing and paint work.

I have priced the paint basecoat at $220 a gallon, plus clears.

Body shops want $8,500 to 10k to paint. It will get done in code V light pewter along with black bottom.

Finding it hard to justify hiring out the work, any thoughts and comments would be great.

 

[Sheriff41]

I learned to paint cars when I was young and couldn't afford to pay someone for a decent paint job. I've gone from lacquers, catalyzed enamels, etc., to modern water-based paints. The folks at the automotive paint supply stores are a wealth of knowledge for you.

If you educate yourself, purchase some quality equipment, and are willing to endure some mistakes along the way, you can do a pretty nice paint job yourself. There are plenty of resources online that explain the painting steps and process. Hobby use HVLP systems are available and will result in more material getting on the painted surface and less over spray on everything in the garage. Metallic paints, like your pewter, take some technique to avoid metallic striping so you'll want to learn about those before painting. Solid colors are much easier.

Once the painting is done, the finishing work is just as important. To get the best finish you'll need to color sand, cut, polish, glaze and seal your paint. Lots of good resources online for this, also.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

 

[turtle5353]

What paint are you using that only costs $220 a gallon? I would be looking at a better quality paint. Since you can do the work yourself, don't skimp on the quality of the materials. I really like PPG products. The last gallon of PPG DBC basecoat in grabber yellow that I bought was a little over $900. PPG is a quality paint and covers very well.

The overall costs for good materials for an overall paint job is around $4500-5000. That's everything from mud, to paper, to glaze, to primer , to paint, clear, ect ect. Since you're already in primer it will be much less but still not cheap.

 

[Spike Morelli]

"Hi Friends, here at Earl Scheib we'll paint any car, any color, for just $29.95 with our exclusive "Diamond Gloss" finish, no ups, no downs......." I remember his commercials back when I was in school. For real....

 

[tpj71mach]

"Hi Friends, here at Earl Scheib we'll paint any car, any color, for just $29.95 with our exclusive "Diamond Gloss" finish, no ups, no downs......." I remember his commercials back when I was in school. For real....

Back in high school and college, I would buy a beater and disassemble the car, do any body work and prep it for paint. I would take it to Earl Scheib's and go around to the back door in the alley and find out who was going to paint it and give them a good tip and promise more if it turned out nice. I always got really nice paint laid out, it was still cheap products that they used and it was not durable, but they laid it out nice and it would polish up well. I would buff it out and reassemble the car and it was ready for sale.

 

[Sheriff41]

Back in high school and college, I would buy a beater and disassemble the car, do any body work and prep it for paint. I would take it to Earl Scheib's and go around to the back door in the alley and find out who was going to paint it and give them a good tip and promise more if it turned out nice. I always got really nice paint laid out, it was still cheap products that they used and it was not durable, but they laid it out nice and it would polish up well. I would buff it out and reassemble the car and it was ready for sale.

Yep, this was common practice in Tucson back in the 70s.

 

[Bentworker]

I think it comes down to your personal skill set and how you learn/ deal with failure. Are you physically capable of the work? Do you have plentiful dry clean air? Do you have a clean area to do clean work? Do you have a dirty area to do dirty work? Have access to a booth, or a makeshift one? Is your workspace conditioned (if you live in a climate where it is too hot/cold for the materials used). Have you budgeted for all the inevitable gizmo tools you will need or want? Have you budgeted for all the consumables like thinner, cups, filters, reducer, tape, masking plastic & paper, abrasives, compounds, and buffing pads? How valuable is your free time? Do you enjoy paint work? How far down the rabbit hole are you going with materials? The fancy sikkens clear is almost 2k a gallon. It isn't hard to drop 4k in paint, clear and consumables. Lastly, do you have anyone else that you trust to do the work? If you don’t have a trusted painter you might be the only choice.

The one piece of advice I have is if you are going to hire a painter, go to some car shows first. Find the cars with the nicest paint and talk to the owners. Find out who did the work, when they did it, duration and cost. Finally ask them if they would use them again. Don’t hire anyone without seeing their work.

 

[tony-muscle]

All I know is that a very good paint work needs a big budget, if being hired out. Between consumables and labor it adds up quickly.

 

[Brian Kulis]

Back in high school and college, I would buy a beater and disassemble the car, do any body work and prep it for paint. I would take it to Earl Scheib's and go around to the back door in the alley and find out who was going to paint it and give them a good tip and promise more if it turned out nice. I always got really nice paint laid out, it was still cheap products that they used and it was not durable, but they laid it out nice and it would polish up well. I would buff it out and reassemble the car and it was ready for sale.

Great story!

 

[7173Vert]

I paid through the nose literally, for my paint and body work back in 2017. I could have purchased an additional completed Mustang for what I payed, lol

 

[Ron Tanzi]

"Hi Friends, here at Earl Scheib we'll paint any car, any color, for just $29.95 with our exclusive "Diamond Gloss" finish, no ups, no downs......." I remember his commercials back when I was in school. For real....

Uh oh! Better get Maaco! Yikes. Probably okay for a beater mobile.

 

[cjstaci]

Just go to Home Depot, buy a gallon of paint and a quality brush,

 

[Sheriff41]

I paid through the nose literally, for my paint and body work back in 2017. I could have purchased an additional completed Mustang for what I payed, lol

I suspect that is the case for any high-end restoration such as yours. I learned to paint cars back in the 70s using lacquers and then acrylic enamels. I eventually moved up to HVLP systems and shot some two-stage finishes. I could lay down paint for a nice driver, cruise-in car. The quality for concours and show cars takes much more skill and experience than most can imagine. I respect painters of that caliber and they are worth the price you pay them. It's been a few decades since I last painted a car and the chemicals and processes have changed; I'd have to learn all over again.

 

[Sheriff41]

Just go to Home Depot, buy a gallon of paint and a quality brush,

Don't overlook the fine nap roller!

 

[tony-muscle]

I paid through the nose literally, for my paint and body work back in 2017. I could have purchased an additional completed Mustang for what I payed, lol

I also could have purchased an incomplete one with what i paid for just the hood. Good work is expensive!

 

[cwalker509]

I painted my car and did all the bodywork myself with no real training. Vast majority of time was spent blocking and priming, blocking some more. I read a LOT. I got a good 2 stage compressor, built 30 feet of copper 3/4 inch tubing to cool the air. I insulated my garage and painted in Dec/Jan in Missouri. Then I blocked more and then more blocking. I do have a neighbor that owns a body shop that gave me some pointers and inspected at various stages. Despite all my research one thing that I never saw was when doing base and clear system that the base is sprayed such that it is NOT glossy. It is VERY dull. My neighbor told me that. The clear is what gives you the nice shine. I still need to cut and buff. Take your time but know I spent probably $4k in equipment, supplies and paint. I used Challenger paint, not the cheapest but not the most expensive.

 

[Ryunker]

I painted my car and did all the bodywork myself with no real training. Vast majority of time was spent blocking and priming, blocking some more. I read a LOT. I got a good 2 stage compressor, built 30 feet of copper 3/4 inch tubing to cool the air. I insulated my garage and painted in Dec/Jan in Missouri. Then I blocked more and then more blocking. I do have a neighbor that owns a body shop that gave me some pointers and inspected at various stages. Despite all my research one thing that I never saw was when doing base and clear system that the base is sprayed such that it is NOT glossy. It is VERY dull. My neighbor told me that. The clear is what gives you the nice shine. I still need to cut and buff. Take your time but know I spent probably $4k in equipment, supplies and paint. I used Challenger paint, not the cheapest but not the most expensive.

Found a guy local 5 to 7500, car going in in April. Was hoping for 5k, but think this is reasonable. No prob painting myself, just do not want the messes. Have seven cars and two motorcycles in the garage.

 

[Spike Morelli]

Uh oh! Better get Maaco! Yikes. Probably okay for a beater mobile.

You know, we all take shots at cheap-o paint jobs, but most kids with their first cars, only have the coin to do just that. It's OK. I was fortunate enough with my first cars to save up for good paint jobs, but when I first bought some of my cars, they were oil burning, dented, worn out, but running, cars. I take exception to those who build a car and just primer it, usually and old car ( hot rod), and then try to school me saying " that's how they were" back then. Nope. SOME were, but the owner always dreamed of finishing it, and getting a nice paint job, but ran out of money. No real hot rodder purposely left his car in primer and said "It's finished".
I knew guys who had cheap paint jobs, like Earl Scheib, but at least they got it painted. I've had two boat trailers painted at inexpensive paint shops, it worked out well for that...no sanding needed, no polishing ( fenders were chromed). I had the trailers sandblasted prior to, and primered the trailers myself with self-etching primers, then, had the paint shop spray 'em.

 

[Sheriff41]

You know, we all take shots at cheap-o paint jobs, but most kids with their first cars, only have the coin to do just that. It's OK. I was fortunate enough with my first cars to save up for good paint jobs, but when I first bought some of my cars, they were oil burning, dented, worn out, but running, cars. I take exception to those who build a car and just primer it, usually and old car ( hot rod), and then try to school me saying " that's how they were" back then. Nope. SOME were, but the owner always dreamed of finishing it, and getting a nice paint job, but ran out of money. No real hot rodder purposely left his car in primer and said "It's finished".
I knew guys who had cheap paint jobs, like Earl Scheib, but at least they got it painted. I've had two boat trailers painted at inexpensive paint shops, it worked out well for that...no sanding needed, no polishing ( fenders were chromed). I had the trailers sandblasted prior to, and primered the trailers myself with self-etching primers, then, had the paint shop spray 'em.

This is why I learned to paint. I couldn't afford pay someone to get the paint job I wanted so I read articles in car magazines and talked with the guys at the automotive paint store. I spent more buying equipment and supplies than I would for a $29.95 paint job. I tried, made mistakes, learned how to correct them, and ended up with a nice paint job that was in line with what I wanted originally. I painted many more cars over the years and helped a few other car guys learn to paint their cars. I also learned not to be afraid to try new things. I learned to weld in a similar way using a giant old Lincoln arc welder at the repair shop where I worked in the 70s.

 

[Ron Tanzi]

You know, we all take shots at cheap-o paint jobs, but most kids with their first cars, only have the coin to do just that. It's OK. I was fortunate enough with my first cars to save up for good paint jobs, but when I first bought some of my cars, they were oil burning, dented, worn out, but running, cars. I take exception to those who build a car and just primer it, usually and old car ( hot rod), and then try to school me saying " that's how they were" back then. Nope. SOME were, but the owner always dreamed of finishing it, and getting a nice paint job, but ran out of money. No real hot rodder purposely left his car in primer and said "It's finished".
I knew guys who had cheap paint jobs, like Earl Scheib, but at least they got it painted. I've had two boat trailers painted at inexpensive paint shops, it worked out well for that...no sanding needed, no polishing ( fenders were chromed). I had the trailers sandblasted prior to, and primered the trailers myself with self-etching primers, then, had the paint shop spray 'em.

I agree Spike. I developed an aversion to painting and body work sometime in my early 20s. I was a master at painting model airplanes as a kid. I also did some ass saving body work for friends in high school when they dinged up their parents cars. None of them got in trouble. I was proud of that. I have become a bit OCD with age and would never be pleased with my paint work now. So therefore I won't bother making the capital investment in the required equipment. I also hate making a mess. I keep my shop pretty clean. It is the Italian grandmother in me.

Ron