sliderhss

For the first time I started driving my black 03 and after a week of rain storms and driving on filthy roads I am not happy at all with the black paint job.

I love the car but I would like to have it painted white or titanium silver (bmw). I would like to end up with at true show car finish?

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks

DsC5

get ready to spend a lot of $$. I've actually been thinking of painting the car something like the new spiral gray. You can definitely get a much better finish than factory - i.e orange peel special.

GTB/ZR-1

Welcome to the world of a black car--It's a never ending job keeping it clean :banghead:
As far as better than factory; I had my black ZR-1 'scuffed and buffed'(wet sanded) abt 7 years ago. People ask me all the time who did my paint job because it's beautifully smooth, w/ no orange peel. I tell them the factory & they don't believe it. You'd be surprised how nice your car would turn out if you had that done--if you decide to keep it black that is...

sliderhss

Where should I look for such a paint shop?

What kind of price do you think you are talking about to get a better than factory show car paint finish that will hold up as a daily driver?

barondw

1st - be prepared to spend money. How much depends upon how picky you want to be.
2nd -Go find a really good paint shop, try to find one that does custom show cars, but remember # 1, bring a lot of dollars
3rd -
Option A - wet sand entire car
Option B - totally repaint car and then wet sand

One of the guys in our club has a black 02 that he had wet sanded and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Stands out in any crowd. Finish looks perfect even up close.

Good luck with a black car

:cheers:

Fast Lane

If you repaint the black and remove the orange peel it will look like a mirror. My car will have a mirror finish some day. :thumbs:

sliderhss

Any shops in the north florida area?

Roadfrog

First thing you need to find is someone that knows what "FRP Readthrough" is and how to deal with it. Putting a world class paint job over fiberglass takes some knowledge and ability. GM either doesn't have it or, more likely, isn't taking the time, effort and money to deal with it.

EVERY Vette factory finish has readthrough. Until you eliminate this visual effect, you have a mediocre paint job...on a fast car though. :D

DT

sliderss -

Osteens does some very nice work (not the VW dealer :D ) - they over off Atlantic Blvd:

Osteens Paint and Body
Jake or Todd
721-1301

You can tell them Danny with the Graphite Grey Supra sent you. I've also heard that Elite does amazing work, but I understand they are SLOW. Osteens is run a little more like an actual business (lots of Porsche and Ferrari's park around too). Elite does a lot of imports, and there "signature" color is a light, sky blue (so you see a car with Elite and that color go take a look at it).

There are also a couple of awesome shops in Orlando, but it would require a little travel. The guys who did my original paint work did a great job, I'll dig there names up for you (in Orlando though).

Tim Burke in Orlando does some killer work as well.

A good paint job can be pretty costly, this is REALLY compounded if you change colors - then you get into things like the engine bay. Want it to match? Gotta pull motors, accessories, etc. Want all the trim to be perfect? Pull interior, rubber, and even the glass!

FWIW, here's a $6000 paint job on my Supra (you can click the image below for a larger, better version, the site auto-scales imbedded images down a little):






[Modified by DT, 1:11 AM 10/20/2003]

dubya

That's the exact reason I got rid of my black car. I loved it but I'm way too **** for a black Vette. Good luck and keep us posted. :cheers:

TRR

How much does that cost?

TRR




[Modified by TRR, 1:51 PM 10/20/2003]

DanteBoca

I owned a black car when I lived in Boston, in the winter , with the salted roads it never looked clean. I now have a B/B 03 Z06, Now i live in So. FL. I wash it everyday at 7:15 am. Weather premitting. Its a labor of love for me. But you will pay $4kto$6K for a premier paint job.

God Bless Our Troops :flag
:flag :flag

RaceCarDriver

I think a top notch paint job (especially since you're changing the original color) would cost closer to $10K

John Shiels

Some show cars get painted 7-8 times and sanded in between 10 G's would go fast. Changing colors is quite involved for show quality. If you want top notch skip regular body shops.

sliderhss

All, Thank you for the great info.

I am comitted! I am extremely picky about the paint. Every weeks worth of driving takes its toll on my black paint job!

I think I could live with the inside of the engine bay remaining black, but everything else I want to look like it came from the factory.

White or BMW Titainium Silver ? I wonder if I can even get these colors.
I want a deep rich paint job that I can wax and maintain and that will hold up as a daily driver.

DT, if you have those Orlando contacts I will check with them as well. I could handle the 2 hour drive if the quality would be better than anything here in Jacksonville.

I will keep everyone posted as I put this together.

Thanks

[Modified by sliderhss, 11:29 PM 10/20/2003]


[Modified by sliderhss, 11:30 PM 10/20/2003]


[Modified by sliderhss, 11:30 PM 10/20/2003]

Corvette SSX

The title of this thread brought this thought immeditately to my mind: Is it possible to get a worse than factory paint job? Chevy should be ashamed of all the orange peel and inconsistent paint covering on these cars.


[Modified by CorvetteSS, 8:25 AM 10/21/2003]

RaceCarDriver

John Shiels,

Where was that picture of your vette taken? Looks like Watkins Glen. I used to track my car there.

z06vetteman

if you do paint your car, make sure it looks different, I would want a paint job to stand out, flames or something cool. just my 2 cents.

Kenny94945

finish/ smoothness/ shine/ appearance yes.
Requires lots of labor including removing the doors and the hinges, all brackets bolts and taping up the undercarriage and all to replicate OEM and avoid a "horse trade" from finding paint lines, blends overspray etc.

Yet durability...I have never seen a repaint hold up to rock chips like an OEM.. on any car. Hope I can be proved wrong.

My 02.. I think it has to do with the heating of the surface before primer, then 100% primer curing and finally reheating the primer before color. The goal being for the paint to cure harden from the inside out. Also the thinness of the paint. It has been a while but primer, color, clear should be 5 mils?

Offering good luck with your decision.

EVIL

he's not driving a ferrari...i'd say you're looking at around 3-5k depending on what kind of paint you go with and any additional effects like pearling, glitter, or candy....