Lotsacubes

Ok.. OT, but you an MU2 driver John?

65silververt

Scuff and respray with gaps adjusted and underlying issues addressed=$7,000-$9,000 at best

Stripping the entire car,full gaps adjusted, show quality paint=$15,000-$25,000.

That is just my experience. Scuff and respray if possible!!!

SDVette

I met a painter by chance. He was repairing accident damage on my wife's Audi A6 (under insurance claim). We got to talking about cars, and eventually old Corvettes. He told me that he does the prep/paint for one of the local SoCal "Vette Restoration Gurus", and had the photos to prove it.

He said the Vette guru marks up his his price 2X.. So a $8K paint job from him becomes a $16K item on your restoration bill. So I would say this is how you get to the $20K paint job!

I got a quote from him to do my '61 for $6K (this was 3 years ago). But I decided to stay with the original lacquer, patina look. I know myself well enough.. I would figure out reasons to NOT drive the car after a $6K paint job... let alone $20K!

JohnZ

Yes, I was - MU-2K; about 600 hours in type, 7700TT.

65silververt

That begets your previous comment. The labor involved is extensive and it adds up quick! I spent 300 hours correcting the body work and paint on the split window in my avatar that i built several years ago. Multiply that by $65.00 per hour, which is less than most shops charge these days, and see what that equates to! I then paid for the paint and primer and was still charged $7,000 for the paint job and buffing. However, it was phenomenal!

Oh, and an added bonus of bodywork is that you will get carpal tunnel and your hands will start going numb at night. What is it worth to not deal with that issue???

Gary's '66

JMO but, the bottom line is this:

Most "Body and Fender shops", as they where formerly referred to, (now they're called "COLLISION Centers") are only interested in insurance jobs....Period!!!

Hence, about the only options we're left with are the over-priced perfectionist who'll get to it when he gets to it (some are better than others) or someone hungry who'll take it until he realizes he bit off more than he can chew and will want a lot more and/or walk away or....... the ol' DIY garage or backyard project.

Gary

2tired

I have your answer. 43 years in the car repair business has proven to me it's the paint store owner. That's who gets rich, and I've seen it.
I am a restoration shop owner, and it certainly isn't me who is getting rich.

bj1k

Hey Greg , I found the paint solution with Tamco paint kits . I have played around with many brands other than the big brand names ( Rip Offs ) and finally found a brand that stands up to the big boys quality for a fraction of the cost and it is Tamco paints and primers . I'm using it on my 57 . The epoxy primer gallon kit is only $199. for primer and activator and the paint kit for a gallon of black base and a gallon of Uro clear and activator is only $220. These paints and primers match all of the big brand in quality , ease of spraying , and appearance . This stuff goes on like glass and they offer it on ebay . Check out their web site , you will be impressed .

BodymanBob

Easy Rhino

Although the sample size is small, I don't think that the paint shop guys are getting rich, although, like prescription costs, the prices are likely primarily being driven by insurance repair cost upcharging, And maybe Corvette (and Porsche, etc.) restoration jobs are "bonuses" to these folks. Also, I'm not sure that the paint shop guys are the big money makers in the paint industry, but who knows.

MikeM

The question was, "how much for a decent paint job? He didn't say anything about:

Removing/installing any body trim or hardware

Doing any body surface work like fixing cracks, collision damage or extensive filling/leveling of factory body waviness

Didn't ask about adjusting body gaps

What geographical part of the country the work is done

What kind of paint to use

Whether or not to strip the body to glass or just scuff/shoot

The guesses on a price for a decent paint job are all over the map because of these and other factors not included in this list. An example is the one above about the "guru" doubling the cost price of a paint job just because he wanted to. Or is it because he knows many Corvette people are really a PIA to deal with and he knows they'll be back to complain about something.

emccomas

You guys need to check out the posts by "lowbuck72" in the C3 forum.

He painted his 72 coupe by hand using a roller and rustoleum paint from Home Depot.

Yes, it sounds crazy, but the car turned out very nice.

After which he converted the coupe to a convertible.

Talented guy...

Robert61

That's because a "decent" paint job includes all of the above. Is any body really going to paint a C1 and not remove the trim? When they start sanding and find the inevitable cracks are they not going to fix them? I would hope anybody having a classic Corvette painted is not looking to save a few bucks by using cheap materials but I'm pretty sure that is not a factual statement.

Dreaming60’s

John,

My comment was referring to single engine piston and light piston twins and I could be low there by today's standards. Been in the Aviation used parts business since 1975 and you can learn a great deal about other aspects of the industry by paying attention. Talking to customers/owners/brokers and dealing with many of the major repair shops teaches you a lot if you listen. But, your MU-2 would have always been a $40-50K paint job by any major shop, IIRC.

Fly safe, although the fastest and most sophisticated turbo-prop (until this latest generation of $3M+ turbines) for decades, it is a very busy and unforgiving aircraft. I'm friends with Zipper, Findley and all the MU-2 guys in Texas and it has made me very aware that the MU-2 is a professional pilots aircraft, even more so that many bizjets.

Butch

cbernhardt

I made a paint booth in my shop. My wife is my painter. In the first picture below she is spraying base coat on my '59. Second picture is the final product - pretty good for a free (except for materials) paint job!

Lotsacubes

I won't contradict what others have said, but the lessons I've learned may help some. What started for me as a front end replacement and repaint blew up exponentially. I'll leave my frame fiasco out of this discussion about body/paint.

1) Our car's becoming a family heirloom being used in weddings etc. If the plan is to keep long term I think you must go down to glass to uncover the car's 50+ years of history and correct defects that will eventually surface. If not a long term car you may be better off not knowing how bad it is under there
2) I wasn't able to find a small, local, Corvette/hot rod specialized shop. Resigned myself to a 2-3 hr drive for a proven, reputable shop.
3) I asked Sermershiem for names of shops who buy lots of their C1/C2 parts and had lots of repeat Corvette business.
4) Researched those, called customers, and selected a small shop who's doing excellent work with a shop rate of $45/hr and hours spent reasonable for the work. I.e. not low rate and inflated hrs.
5) Workmanship excellent, but nature of a small shop is they can't afford to just focus on one car and ignore new customers or they'd soon experience cash flow death. Which means patience and understanding why your job may slip with a small, several man business. If he was dishonest this could go south very quickly. So I understand the comments about projects seeming to go into body shop prison. It's the challenge of a small shop balancing current and future cash flow. My shop owner is definitely NOT getting rich and I feel his stress of not ignoring new customers and keeping current customers happy. Steady revenue for a 2-3 man shop must be a bitch. So if the quality and honesty is good, probably patience will be required.

I guess my main input here is if you want good quality at a reasonable cost, that means you need to find a small, hungry shop that has pride in what they do. They exist but you may have to drive. AND.... after removing multiple layers of paint I saw all the scars and normal aging that inevitably leads to.... yeah fix that... oh yeah fix that... oh crap now I know about that... yes, that part's crap replace it. That translates into hours > money. If lowest cost is the goal probably better not knowing what's under those layers of paint.

Now I gotta to to work to pay for my nice paint job. Cheers.

Roger Walling

[QUOTE=Easy Rhino;1597348533]Although the sample size is small, I don't think that the paint shop guys are getting rich, although, like prescription costs, the prices are likely primarily being driven by insurance repair cost upcharging,

That is not an accurate senero, The price that is "controlled" by the insurance companies is a fictitious low price that is forced upon body shops under the threat of refusing to send them work.
Even the "independent " shops that would like to charge twice as much, are held back by intimidation to the customer by their insurance company.

This is not an opinion but a fact!

This is why an individual requesting a price is quoted a price that is set by true competition, depending upon the shops quality and speed!

Because of this when an insurance company has to repaint a "classic" car, they must pay the prevailing rates set by true competition, instead or their cookie cutter "offer" to a shop.

Kevova

Body shops can have multiple rates. Insurance industry does influence rates. The different insurance companies can negotiate "kick backs" from repair facilities be preferred repair provider. Body shop may have to discount parts on each job, some require a percentage of P and L back monthly. Customer pay rates are competition driven. Sometimes rediculas number is put on a job to scare it away. Auto repair is seasonal and things slow down in school supply, Christmas, and tax seasons. It can be the times for the best deals. You need to have your funding. Body shops are not in the car storage business. If you can't get the money, shop may sue and sieze car to recover their money. You should have a written contract with completion DATE month day year. You don't want May 1 ... I didn't specify what year so....It has to be done and penalties can be inserted to protect you and the shop. The shop you must pay and pick up within xxx days after re-inspections. Pay by draw with the final payment of 50% at pick up.

MikeM

That's fine. Now give a base price for the paint job then itemize any other work requirements.

Then you know what the paint job costs, what the cracks cost, what body repair costs, etc., etc.

The question was, "how much does a paint job cost".

AZDoug

And decent is in the eye of the beholder.

In 1975, the paint on my mist blue/white top '66 Impala SS BB was starting to check and fade badly.

8 hours of trim removal, DA sanding where needed and masking the bumpers and trim that was not removed, with a gallon of synthetic Ditzler enamel, and a friends garage and spray equipment got me a new blue portion repaint for about $70. (He did the spray work).

The enamel flowed well enough it didn't "need" to be sanded and buffed, though it would ahve made it a "better" paint job.

It made the car look decent for another 5 years until it needed to be sold when i moved to CA. It was a perfectly acceptable paint job for Montana, it would have not passed muster in SoCal unless it was cut and buffed..

Doug