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You can see my gaps pretty well here. They were TERRIBLE when I took it in to him (aftermarket front end, aftermarket door skins, aftermarket hood). Some were almost 1/2" before.
She might not be perfect, but a gorgeous 10 footer, and I like to drive and enjoy it also.
What gets me is the labor rates.....I understand the amount of man hours involved (hundreds/thousands) but the $120+ per hour labor rate they are commanding is ridiculous......Considering I'm only getting paid $40 hr to operate/run/troubleshoot a chemical plant, working in a very dangerous environment/chemicals etc etc, no way are the paint/body guys working harder then I do in a 12 hr day, and for DAMN sure not enough to warrant 3x my pay per hour.
I could see $70-80 per hour but.......$120 per hour with them determining how many hours they are spending is ridiculous...They can write their own paycheck in those terms. No way to validate the amount of time they are really spending/wasting to do the job..
For $15-18k, you can just about go buy another nice stock C3 that is already painted and save the hassle..
What gets me is the labor rates.....I understand the amount of man hours involved (hundreds/thousands) but the $120+ per hour labor rate they are commanding is ridiculous......Considering I'm only getting paid $40 hr to operate/run/troubleshoot a chemical plant, working in a very dangerous environment/chemicals etc etc, no way are the paint/body guys working harder then I do in a 12 hr day, and for DAMN sure not enough to warrant 3x my pay per hour.
I could see $70-80 per hour but.......$120 per hour with them determining how many hours they are spending is ridiculous...They can write their own paycheck in those terms. No way to validate the amount of time they are really spending/wasting to do the job..
For $15-18k, you can just about go buy another nice stock C3 that is already painted and save the hassle..
What gets me is the labor rates.....I understand the amount of man hours involved (hundreds/thousands) but the $120+ per hour labor rate they are commanding is ridiculous......
Hmm? Standard body shop rate is $45 in Dallas. $120 would be typical for mechanical work.
I am happy with scuff and shoot .When you put a car on the street you will get stone chips.let it sit and there have been cases where it gets scratched or worse.i don't need perfect. that I expect to cost .I just want a driver .having more in paint than the car is worth, just does not work for me.If you tell me the paint is going to cost 10 plus then I have to assume you don't want to do it.
Quoting you more than $10K doesn't mean they don't want the job or that they're being jerks. Typically it just means that the shop does work to a certain standard.
So you come by and say "just need a scuff and shoot. Don't care about the 1/2" door gaps. Don't care about the wavy panels. Don't cut & buff, I'm fine with orange peel".
So they do it just the way you want. You go to car shows and tell people that shop X did your paint. Now word spreads that shop X is not doing quality work anymore and their reputation goes to the dumpster.
That's the reason they won't quote you the job you want. Because they will quote you the job they are willing to do.
I'm sorry but if you pay $3,000 for paint,primer, filler and sandpaper to paint a little corvette you are doing something wrong...I realize the going markup for paint and supplied in this business is usually about 100% but even $1,500 cost to a bodyshop is high. we are talking about simple one color paint jobs here not the mona lisa painted across the hood.
you can buy good quality primer base and clear all for under $500. and it will hold up and last just as long as some astronomically marked up stuff.... much of that is in custom colored paint you cant find anywhere and supply and demand. I hasve painted a few cars now and used ppg and the coatingstore stuff... my last paint job was tokyo drift color changing chameleon... cost me $400.00... the bodywork and proper surface prep makes almost all the difference...
body guys get used to how a certain paint lays down for them and they grow comfortable with that paint and then thats all they sometimes will use.for some its like some of the docs in the medical business, the paint distributors give them discounts and gifts for "pushing" and advertising only thier brand... it doesnt mean all other paints are inferior they just might spray different with different reducers in different temps.
on the 84 below I had made a huge mistake not knowing the clear coat had to be all be laid down withing 15 minute increments and I waited 20 minutes between the last two coats of clear... it ruined the paint job and I had to repaint it again. the coating store gave me all the paint for half price because they felt bad for not staing this in their instruction sheets...
the car was filthy and very dusty in the pics below.
I totally respect the quality of your paint job! Its looks fantastic! You are truly making your car into what should have come from the factory.
Unfortunately, none of the C3's came from the factory that way-none of them. The 81/82's have better paint jobs since they came from the new Bowling Green plant but prior to 81 the St. Louis cars were never show quality, even brand spanking new. I appauld your making the car much better than new.
You are correct. I was talking about bringing the car back to "factory" original.
Absolutely correct. We all expect something different when we say "paint job". Unless we first establish exactly what is expected, we can't say if a cost is reasonable or not.
Besides what you see in the pics, my car also needed many new panels to fix old collision damage that was repaired poorly in the past. We ended replacing everything behind the doors, the front top surround and one fender. All panels are press molded using original GM molds. The correct bonding strips are used. We corrected the way the body was bonded together. Turned out the factory jig was out of alignment when my car was built.
What would it have cost to have all this done by a shop? $30K? $40K?
Quoting you more than $10K doesn't mean they don't want the job or that they're being jerks. Typically it just means that the shop does work to a certain standard.
So you come by and say "just need a scuff and shoot. Don't care about the 1/2" door gaps. Don't care about the wavy panels. Don't cut & buff, I'm fine with orange peel".
So they do it just the way you want. You go to car shows and tell people that shop X did your paint. Now word spreads that shop X is not doing quality work anymore and their reputation goes to the dumpster.
That's the reason they won't quote you the job you want. Because they will quote you the job they are willing to do.
yes you are correct they have told me this also.I belive that you can come to terms of what prep work I will have done .we can also not do any body work other than scuff and shoot .they also have told me the vette guys are a pain in the ***.I will get this done but it will be with help from others,probably not a shop.
I got quoted $8k for my 1982 vette. Compleate paint job.
I did all prep my self (dissasebly, striped all paint, body work and I sprayed primer and block sanded everything). Shop shoot the base/clear and cut and polish the paint for $2500. Paint was ppg deltron color is Viper blue pearl. Paint job came great. Not show quality but 99% perfect.
It took me a lot of hours to prep my vette.
Last edited by scyzoryk23; 07-07-2014 at 09:27 PM.
Its pretty simple, the material cost for modern paints and supplies is going to be over $3000. As for the level of quality, you get what you pay for. If all you want is an original looking 70's quality paint job, it is easy.....you just get it painted like crap. If you want a nice paint job and are going to pay a professional, its simple math....shop rate time hundreds of hours = $10K plus on the low end. There is always the brother in law who IS a professional, and gives it away cause you are married to his sister, but other than that, no options. And if you think you can do a professional job when you have never done bodywork or paint before, ....you are kidding yourself. Bodywork and painting is not a natural skill, it comes with experience. Don't believe me, give it a try, and tell me later how it turned out. About half way through you will be wishing you would have paid the professional.
I was lucky mine was an insurance job. Had to pay out of my pocket a bit but it was worth it. Still a 9 out 10 ( due to a few chips and nicks ) after 12 years.
Got it painted at Legendary Motor Cars and I still get asked who painted it as if I just got it painted. Granted it is garage kept and I put a cover over it every time I take it out, but still, the key factor is how long the paint looks good with no cracks, spider webs etc.
That is where you see a quality paint job, compared to a scruff and paint, how it looks years after, a half decent Maaco paint job will look good for a year or two if you are lucky.
I was talking to the owner of LMCs' a few weeks ago and he told me he is now using some European paint and the paint alone was $5000 plus all the labor. To get a C3 painted there now would cost more than what you would pay for a real nice looking and performing one.
I am glad to hear that painting in US is as expensive as it is here in Germany.
The cheap guys quoting $6k for a sanded and fresh painted body.
Saw a C3 that was done this way and it looked very good. But the question is how long the new paint will last on the old paint?
The guys who know what they are doing are quoting $14k and they strip all the old paint of the body.
My 78 SA B2Z definitely needs paint but that will not happen for quite sometime. One option I have explored is the local voc school. My sons went there and each year the mechanic shop and auto body shop restore a classic car and then auction it off in the Spring. I have seen four cars come out of there and the paint looks good. I know, it is HS kids but I have to give them and their teachers credit. Being a HS, you only pay for materials. Caveat is you will wait a significant amount of time to get the car back. A good option for me when it is time to put the car away for the winter. Just a thought for those searching for paint options. My local vette guy quoted $10K just to start a paint job. I like to drive my vette tough to pay $10k+ and then get a ding or chip in it. Wicked frustratin' bub.
My 78 SA B2Z definitely needs paint but that will not happen for quite sometime. One option I have explored is the local voc school.
Funny you should mention this. I've given this some thought. My car is so far from complete that an inexpensive paint job would be acceptable for now. I've got kids to raise, child support and college tuition before I can budget for a full restoration. In the mean time, a basic paint job would be all I need. And I like the idea of helping vocational tech school kids at the same time... win-win.
07-07-2014, 03:49 PM
I was lucky mine was an insurance job. Had to pay out of my pocket a bit but it was worth it. Still a 9 out 10 ( due to a few chips and nicks ) after 12 years.
