What should a paint job cost?

[James G.]

My car is a 72 LT-1 which is a driver. The car had been repainted by the original owner after he backed in to a pole which caused some damage to the rear passenger side. The car is not the original color and I do not think it was stripped before the repaint. If I were to strip the car myself what would be a reasonable figure?

[Cathy S.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

I worked as a painters helper and still work for various body shops. Expect 4-7K depending on the level of detail you expect.

[Kenny C.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

I would think depending on how much massaging the body needs and what level of work you wish to take this to 8 to 10 K is more reasonable. I recently paid 10 on mine and already had it primer.

[Donald O.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

Cost me about $2k but I did the stripping, repairs, and painting myself. The repairs are not in the price of the painting. that was about another $1k.

Don

[Jim W.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

If you can do the bulk of the prep/repair work, I'd say you could get a really nice 0ne/half footer for 5-7 grand.

[Bill L.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

Depends on what you want. If you do an NCRS type lacquer type paint expect to pay 10-12k and I have even seen as high as 20k depending on the amount of stress cracks and body work required.

If you go BC-CC probably 8-10k.

You really do get what you pay for. I did.

I paid 3k for mine with BC-CC but now I am having some issues albeit nothing major but I will be doing some touch up. Thankfully it is no big deal with BC-CC.

Let me also suggest that it usually ends up more than just paint. Old chrome looks really old with new paint and same with emblems, weather stripping well you get the picture. You may want to replace the door hinge bushings while getting painted.

There are a lot of variables. Make sure you know what you will be happy with before you get started. Make sure whoever is painting understands your expectations in writing.

Have fun. Bill

[Alan S.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

Hi James,
I agree with Bill's figure of $10,000.
Even with a no-hit car there can be some body work involved. You may or may not want to massage the body seams, and door/hood gaps. I think most body prep and paint is done to a higher level than what was on the car when it left St. Louis. It's a matter of how much better (or factory like) the work is that sets one car apart from another.
I also agree with Bill's point that the trim on the exterior, the interior, and even the glass might look a bit shabby with a new paint job.
Regards,
Alan

[Jim M.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

I think 5 to 7K is not unreasonable to expect if you do the prep and body work. I have someone who has painted both my Jag XK 140 and my Corvette and charges me by the hour. The relationship worked out well for me becuase he was OK with painting parts of the car when I had them ready and not all at once. For example on the Corvette, when I had the doors, hood and small parts stripped, sanded and any body work completed, I took those to him for primer, block sanding if needed and paint. When the body was ready, I took that to him for paint. I think this worked well for him too since he is a small shop and could work these smaller projects in with other jobs he had lined up. I should also say that I wasn't working on a time line, so, if it took him two or three weeks to get to it, I was OK with it. Stripping the car myself, I'm sure, saved me a bunch of dough as it was quite a long and really ugly job but well worth the effort. When it comes time to put it back together, there will be other exspenses as well becuase new paint makes everything else look bad. For example, I thought my chrome bumpers looked pretty nice, not great, but presentable. Well, with new paint, it was hard to put them back on without having them rechromed. You should also know what you like and what you feel is presentable. If you're a guy who finds fault with paint jobs at Pebble Beach, then you don't want a 5-7K paint job. Just my two cents.

[James G.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

Thanks for all your replys. It seems to be an expensive deal no matter what. As far as the type of paint, I would have to go the less expensive route. The paint on the car now is shot (chipped, cracked etc.). As far as the quality of the job I am not real picky but I would expect no worse than a stock job. Would this be something I can do myself? Also would a bc-cc job affect the value much keeping in mind that it is a driver?

[Christopher K.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

James,

I'm currently looking at painters. I had one very experienced painter tell me he DID NOT want me to do the prep work, sanding, body work, etc. He said often times he spends additional time fixing what customers have "prepped".

Also, make sure you get someone experienced with fiberglass!

Good Luck,
Chris

[Patrick N.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

I plan to have my car judged down the road and going with local corvette restoration group. My quote is aprox 12K to set body gaps and pannels, sand/prep and paint BC-CC. My body has minor issues here /there to fix. Paint alone was quoted @ 6K

Pat
68 427 / 400
88

[Stewart A.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

Unless your experienced with blocking back fillers it's useless if you do it unless your going to paint it. They will do it in a tenth of the time it will take you. If they paint it after you have prepared the body it will not turn out as good and all paint shop guys like to prep things themselves incase something goes horribly wrong !! Stewy

[Dick W.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

I think that you will find most, if not all shops, will not want you to do the prep work. Plus some of the materials used in prep today are very toxic without proper ventilation and respiratory protection.

To get any warranty from the paint manufacturer you will have to use their system, not a mix/match of brands. Use DuPont substrates under PPG, have something go wrong, their fault or not, and you will be laughed out of town when you ask for any compensation.

When we painted cars here, I would not take a car in that the owner had prepped. If anything goes wrong, it will become a p***ing contest.

[Chris E.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

Paid just over $12K for mine.

The car Top Flighted twice this year. One time I only took a 9 point deduct for paint, the second time I took a 22 point deduct. Both events were chapters.

I'm really happy with how the paint turned out.

Go to www.vetteaction.com for pictures, under Project Sting Ray.

[James G.]

Re: What should a paint job cost?

Dick you bring up a good point about the toxicity of the different materials. We would probably have to move out for a week if I tried it in my garage. The numbers are pretty big for me at this time but It seems the longer I wait the bigger they get. I guess I will have to keep driving at night, it looks good then.