I was going to sell my ‘66 427 coupe, but have now decided to keep it and change it back form red to its original color - silver. My usual paint folks (who I consider the best) are booked forever right now, and I don’t want to wait, so I’m looking for a new painter. I’m not really limited as to where I can take it, but would prefer the Midwest, so if you guys can recommended a few of the best paint shops, I’d appreciate it. PM me please. Thanks, Mike

 

If you consider them the best, it's worth the wait. Unless, their price is so ridiculous. Did they give you a color change price?

 

From someone who has had both good and bad body shop experiences, if you’ve got a good painter stick with them. The downside is a nightmare.

 

A rough estimate. They’ve done a color change for me before, so I know its expensive to strip and paint. Luckily its an unhit car, so no body work. Its hard to strip these days, though. I’m still considering waiting, but I would like to investigate other shops. The quality is most important to me.

 

I know there is a Corvette restoration shop in Saginaw, Michigan. Corvettes is all they do, they have a really nice website. I have not seen any of their work, you could check them out.

 

I'd contact @csherman. He's in Indiana or Illinois I think.

 

Dick Ferrando at D&A Corvette near St. Louis.

Steve

 

Thanks, Patrick, it looks like Chris’ focus is C1s, but he’s here a lot, so maybe he can weigh in.

 

I think most of us have a nightmare story of a paint job.

We are going to pickup a '69 Mach 1 that has been in a paint shop for over a year and is still unpainted...it will be going to another shop.

 

If they’re any good they’re going to be backed up. Just my .02.

 

Right now we are backed up 3 months
Just in paint I am quoting over 15k

 

Not trying to start a "rift" in cost(s) of quality paint jobs, but if someone were to find a quality paint job for 15k....They better be jumping all over it.

I myself would be suspect with a quote that "inexpensive"! That may get you a "scuff and shoot" around here.

Now I am referring to a quality paint that we (most) all expect and desire on these old classic cars. The hours required for preparation work can be, is astronomical! Materials and paint can easily get into 4-5K.

Vette5311 stated it perfectly.

Pat

 

Pat,
Have you seen any of Chris's builds?? They're absolute pieces of jewelry...show stoppers. I'm quite sure his $15k paint job would be $25k in California.

 

Just my 2 cents as well..

• Anyone close to the hobby.. hands on... knows the huge price increases in paints and body supplies in general over the last 2 years. Gallon of quality filler up ~~ 100%. Axalta Chroma Premier (aka.. the old Dupont lines) up 100%. And so it goes with all related materials.. primers, sealers, activators, right down to sandpaper, grinding disks and tapes. So do be prepared for some sticker shock in materials alone.
• Color Choice; If you are not re-shooting a metallic, the skill level is much less. So you may be able to feel more comfortable with a local shop that does very good work but is not necessarily 'Corvette' exclusive. You might find better lead times. I have restored many vehicles 'hands on'. I farm out the final paint work. My local two 'body shops' have guys that are true artisans with a gun. They are not 'Corvette' shops. They are 'what is on the schedule shops'. Yes.. for certain jobs they give the white glove treatment more that the run of the mill Kia job. Just say'in... don't limit your search to just Vette shops. A lot of shops, old timer shops, are still craftsman. Just ask to see their work. A shop proud of their quality has no problem showing you around the shop and looking at some work 'just out of the booth'. Assuming you know what you are looking at, you will know good work when you see it.

 

You could try D&B Corvettes in Stryker, Ohio. The shop was recommended to me by Proteam Corvette when I was looking for someone to paint my '64 three years ago. I don't know how busy he is now but he did a great job for me. He's been restoring and painting C1 and C2 corvettes for 40 years.

 

Sad.....but that is a very true statement. Plus, there's several painting products that we simply cannot purchase in this State as well.

The current target in this State is the chrome and replating industry. The leaders (term used loosely) are now pushing to outlaw any and all chrome plating facilities. Ahhhggg....it never ends....

Sorry to digress. Glad you're keeping your car!

Pat

 

I really appreciate this !!! I try really hard !!!!

 

Tim Mickeys Car Barn in Indiana does good work but they are backed up
I would steer clear of a shop near St Louis
I also agree if you can find a good local collision shop or a retired painter to do it on the side - some one that will get it done and out
----
On the materials costs
Mine have SKY ROCKETED
I used Rage Ultra and VPA and Ultra Metal Glaze and Fiberglass Jelly
Rage Ultra went from 48.00 a can to over 90.00
VPA qt went from 30.00 a can to over 60
ALL my costs just for body work skyrocketed
---
and just as a side note.....
I went thru some of my files of cars done and thought I would share some figures with you

The red 56 you saw being finished had 460 hours of body work prior to primer
We replaced the LF upper fender and the inner fenders and the lower valance and lower core support and fitted all the chrome to the car
The paint on this car was over $15k - base clear / black out /and satin clear dash and two tone

Couple years ago I did a 54 and it had 256 hours of body work to get it to primer
It was a no hit body with all the original body panels
We did no panel replacement and we did lift the dash and fitted all the chrome to the car
I had 37 hours in blocking the 1st coat of primer and 48 hours blocking the second coat of primer before it went to paint

The blue car you see here on the forum had 336 hours of body work to get it to primer
We did no panel replacement and we did lift the dash and we did fit all the chrome to the car.
We had 85 hours of blocking primer before it went to paint
It is straighter than normal – at the customer request

The 2nd to be blue car in the shop right now has had a lot of body repairs and replacement
So far I am over 600 hours into body work on that car
I replaced both RR and LR corners and fit the chrome
The front end chrome is fit
Major repairs to the RF fender and RH lower valance and LH fender and replaced the LH front toe board reinforcement and lower core support

My Average is around 400 hours of just body work - just to get the body to paint

I would estimate the paint to be around $15,000.00 + or – for a base coat clear coat – wet sanded and polished like the blue car

 

That’s $15,000 for paint-cut and buff. The 15k does not include body work and prep. That’s what most people don’t understand. They hear $15,000 for a paint job and think that’s everything from when they drop the car off till done.

 

----
On the materials costs
Mine have SKY ROCKETED
I used Rage Ultra and VPA and Ultra Metal Glaze and Fiberglass Jelly
Rage Ultra went from 48.00 a can to over 90.00
VPA qt went from 30.00 a can to over 60
ALL my costs just for body work skyrocketed
---
and just as a side note.....
I went thru some of my files of cars done and thought I would share some figures with you

The red 56 you saw being finished had 460 hours of body work prior to primer
We replaced the LF upper fender and the inner fenders and the lower valance and lower core support and fitted all the chrome to the car
The paint on this car was over $15k - base clear / black out /and satin clear dash and two tone

Couple years ago I did a 54 and it had 256 hours of body work to get it to primer
It was a no hit body with all the original body panels
We did no panel replacement and we did lift the dash and fitted all the chrome to the car
I had 37 hours in blocking the 1st coat of primer and 48 hours blocking the second coat of primer before it went to paint

The blue car you see here on the forum had 336 hours of body work to get it to primer
We did no panel replacement and we did lift the dash and we did fit all the chrome to the car.
We had 85 hours of blocking primer before it went to paint
It is straighter than normal – at the customer request

The 2nd to be blue car in the shop right now has had a lot of body repairs and replacement
So far I am over 600 hours into body work on that car
I replaced both RR and LR corners and fit the chrome
The front end chrome is fit
Major repairs to the RF fender and RH lower valance and LH fender and replaced the LH front toe board reinforcement and lower core support

My Average is around 400 hours of just body work - just to get the body to paint

I would estimate the paint to be around $15,000.00 + or – for a base coat clear coat – wet sanded and polished like the blue car[/QUOTE]

Thanks for sharing this information, Chris. The amount of time you guys put into the prep work is pretty incredible. Plus, the amount of time block sanding truly identifies the efforts you put into the cars.

I've done a few cars myself now. I simply had no idea how much time and effort it takes to end up with a quality build. That is, until I did it myself.

I literally had hundreds of hours into prep work, yet I'm sure you (as a professional), would be able to cut that time into at least half, if not even a bit more. But it really puts things into perspective as to what it takes to prepare cars for paint.

Thanks again,

Pat