Ive been doing some reasearch on some fresh paint for the vet. I called a guy I went to high school with who only does custom builds and paint..He said if I wanted a show car paint job any color and s/s racing stripes expect 8-10,000...Ive seen his work and trophies, but I think that may be out of my league right now..I wish i could rent a spray booth for a weekend!!
What ballpark did some of you guys have to fork out for a nice job? and what kind of paint? urethane top coat, du pont clear? single stage, lacquer??
I use to paint 20 yrs ago and back then the most expensive color was cherry red at 200.00 half gallon..I see times have changed big time in that area!!!

 

You have no idea!!!!
If that guy does a nice job, he is in line - you could pay MORE at some places - IF they will paint a Corvette at all!! It is scary out there these days - I got my shock quite a few years ago - and that was the cost of the Paint!! I had a friend who did it for a living shoot it for me - and I paid to "use" the booth at the place he worked at on a weekend - saved me thousands!! Unfortunately, he has passed away (as have most of the "old timers" in the paint/body business!!) so I am on my own for the next one!
Good luck!

 

For a full color change type paint job, he is in line. I wanted a full color change paint job on my car and was quoted same as you about $12k.

All the materials, paint,clear, primer, thinner, hardner, tape, paper, sand paper, razor blades, blocks... all that was easy $500. Not counting gear for actual spraying.

Then I paid a shop $1200 just to shoot the color and clear.

However, I spent hundreds of hours, taking the old paint off of the entire car, stripping the car down (removing doors, emblems, glass, grills, etc) sealing the car, priming the car, repairing damage, and then blocking and priming and blocking and priming, painting the hinges, doors and jambs seperate...

So, if you take $10,000 and divide it by $20 an hour (modest for a craftsman) that is 500 hours of work.

Is it possible to spend 8 hours every Saturday and Sunday doing just body work for the next 31 weeks?

It depends on your version of perfect. The answer though is yes.

 

8-10k is pretty reasonable

that said

I got decent results from $100 Summit paint.... YRMV

 

Yea, he said all door handles, doors, panels,glass mirrors everything has to come off...I guess times have changes a bit.. I painted several early 80's camaro's, jeeps and such years ago when I painted and had a 30,000 paint both at work.., but i never went to that extreme, I also stayed the same color..but thats what it takes to it right...Ive seen some sweet white colored vettes, but something about brandywine color with 2 true s/s black stripes seem to get my blood pumping!!
I know it will be a professional job as he has done several cars put through barron/ jackson and even won an award best paint job 4-5 years ago from it...
well... this not only helps my perspective, but some of the newer guys on the forum and ones looking to buy/re paint there car...bigger shock than I originally guessed.. I was thinking more in the 5,000 range.. but you do get what you pay for, so they say....
I hope others will chime in about this as well as there experiences..
It would have to be a winter job..as I couldnt be without my vette most of summer!! its in my blood already....

 

Sounds like its time for you to have a sanding party. shooting primer and sanding can be done at home. Ask him if you can bring it to him "paint ready" and pay him to just scuff it and shoot the BC/CC?

In my opinion, shooting the clear is where the experience and equipment really shows.

 

Heck,
when I got the vette in october the rear and front bumper were cracked terrible..I order new ones from wilcox took my gas tank lid off and took it to auto pro paint and had them mach up 4 cans of single stage centari to match..I sanded, primed and sealed and painted with the cherry bombs and cleared over it and wet sanded ....turned out pretty darn good..the only problem is I didnt ask him to add some fade to it, as the under side of the gas cap dont have the sun fade on it....but its real close..98% of people would never know as plastic sometimes has a very very light shade color difference..
I guess my point was the spray bombs were like 25.00 each... so paint prices and supplies have obviously skyrocketed as well...

 

I paid $4500 3 years ago and if you look hard you can find a dust speck but its a driver that I beat on daily. It depends on what you need and what you're willing to spend. $10k for the show car paint job is great for the trailer queen that sees 1000 miles a year. $4k for the guy who put 10,000 miles a year so you don't cry with the first stone chip

 

About 10 years ago My Dad & I had our Vette repainted by a friend of his that owns a body shop, my dad basically told him take his time do it when he has a chance and it was there for like about 6 months, and still cost I think about $6-8,000 but that was also doing the silver anniv. two tone paint, striping etc....
They did a great job, but man did it ever take forever! Definitely taught me patience.

 

Nice thread, I have been thinking about a re paint on down the road (1-3) yrs and this gives me a good idea of what the going rate is. I knew it was going to be high....just not quite this much.

 

Okay, not a Vette but I just painted a 64 F100 for a neighbor last year. Single stage Centari with Hardener/Gloss additive. Wimbledon White. Paint alone came to about $240, by the time you add in the additives, reducers, and paint only related supplies we were close to $400 with my discounts. The next week we color-sanded and buffed it and it was a nice, smooth, even finish with a great shine.

I used to paint and customize quite a few Vettes back in the late 70's, before the days of base / clear coats. Basically two choices; Centari and Imron. I tried to steer people away from the Imron due to the "chip factor". Get a rock chip in Imron and you had a big chip. The Centari would give us show quality finishes after color sanding. However, if someone wanted a multi-layer design and graphics, it went lacquer. If I remember correctly, I'm thinking that even then I was charging in the mid $3K range for a basic repaint.

Prep and blocking took the most time, sometimes days depending on the car.

Some of my prices then:

Flairs installed: $400 each
Hood scoops: $450
Body kits: I remember being somewhere in the $4k range for install only.

One of the reasons I bought the 69 I did was it didn't need painting. Paid a couple grand more just due to that.

 

That's what I did and saved a ton of dough.

 

Hi,
I think the couple of on going 'paint at home' threads on the Forum have illustrated the fact that the preparation takes a tremendous amount of labor and some skill, but the spraying takes some labor and a tremendous amount of skill.
That's why top notch paint jobs cost what they do. It's 2 very different jobs.
Regards,
Alan

 

As always, Alan is again SPOT ON. Don't ask me how I know...

 

Vetteman1976, it sounds like you and I are in the same boat, old painters that don't paint no more. The product has changed so much now with clear coat and polishing out, you can repair just about anything.

Now run out to the shop and dust off that old JGA502 and 'stand' on it. Everything you remembered will all come back after that first 'paint run'.

Just kidding.

 

To build on the "things have changed" theme, you could pay $3000 and have ANY graphic or color scheme you want on your car in 3 days or so. No sanding or paint required. wrapped.

 

Do you have the time and garage space to possibly DIY at home for labor and materials? I am currently stripping my 77 for paint this spring. Its not an original car, but even if it was I still just cant justify spending 8 to 10k for a paint job on a 77 rubber bumper corvette. If you have painted in the past, maybe you should consider painting the 76 yourself if possible. Thats how I did my 68, here at the house and thats where the 77 will get painted also. Went with Dupont Chromabase bc-cc. I found out 1st hand why it cost so much for a shop to do it. It was a lot of work but deff worth the savings.

 

I did the body work/stripping etc. Paid $500 for a members son to shoot the color/clear/detail. He does this for a living, great work.

My logic, i have about $1800.00 into the paint job. If i painted it and had problems now what, redo?

The prep work is important and the shooting of the color is just as important. My paint jobs from the 60-70s are no where as good as what is available today. As Alan71 says both the prep/ shooing of color take a lot of skill.

 

A buddy of mine had his '76 done about 8 years ago, same color, BC,CC, and it cost him $6k. Beautiful job but too much money to throw at a '76. Put him way into it for more than it was worth. Sold it for $13k and lost money.
Duane

 

When I built my shop, I had a part of the floor set up for a down draft booth. I just haven't bought or installed the booth. I intend to this summer and will be trying my hand on my 71.
Not changing color,red, but it needs some body work. I hope to have it off the frame by mid summer.
I was planning on painting it on th stand, before replaced on the frame. Are there any pitfalls I should watch out for painting off the frame? Other than, don't scerw up the paint job.