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Hey there! The paint on our newly acquired 76' is in really bad shape. Has anyone gone the wrap route vs. paint job. Love the corvette, but trying to get away from dropping 5-7k on a paint job for this beast and looking at less expensive option. I realize it's not a permanent deal and may only last 5-7 years as a light weekend driver but 3-4k maybe a fun way to do something sooner, allow for some creativity at a lower cost. Can always repaint down the line. Anyone have experience with this on a C3 and would you recommend? ...body is in great shape. Some spider cracking on the front bumper. Please chime in if you have an opinion? Would love photos if you are pro wrap!
Best!-Winger
I wouldn't spend the money on a wrap, I would save that away towards paint. If it's really bad, I would roll it with Rustoleum for now to seal the paint up and drive it. If you have the patience to sand it, it can look pretty decent for a driver.
I probably will get slammed for this...but try Maaco. I have had 3 or 4 cars done by them in the past. You do the prep ( which is the hard part) and let them shoot the paint. You get to choose the quality of the paint depending on how much you want to spend. I have been very happy over the years. Yeah, I could find flaws in it. But I really felt good when, two weeks after the paint job, someone backed into my 1990 300ZX. The bright yellow one she didn't see. The last one I did was UNDER $3K. Not sure of todays prices, but unless it is a show car, it will look fine for a few years until you save up the $15K to get a perfect one. Here are two of my classics with Maaco paint
It has some fiberglass spidering on the front which I can fill and sand prior. I think you get a pretty solid job with the wrap for the money...gonna go that route and will share before and afters...plus you get to change colors in 5-7 years!
My buddy George Adam's 69 Restomod - First place at Corvettes at Carlisle before COVID - painted at Maaco, basecoat/clearcoat, polished & ceramic coated - as good as most show car paint jobs I've seen.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
yes the wrap will show al the imperfections of the body. I have some small cracks that I didnt see when I put on my graphics and you can see them now. As for price a car is going to be closer to $5k to $8k for a wrap and starts at $10k for paint. My friend said just to spray is $8k so you have to add in the prep on top.
If you want cheap go with seelf prep and Maaco or the roller route. Ive seen the $3k Maaco jobs and they are really good
Another thing to consider is labor removing the wrap, something of which I have no experience. But I have had a couple cars in the past with self prep, and Maaco spray, very presentable and definitely budget friendly.
white rustoleum. or lowbuck72 yellow. NOT BLACK!! yes you can shoot it. you can also roll on 5 or 6 coats. then shoot the top coat. just remember. paint guns, enamel and 1/4 acre zoning do not play well together. your neighbors will hate you. town guy comes by talking 2000 buck a day fines and such. rolling does not **** people off cuz it doesn't cross the yard and stick to their cars... and it is difficult to justify 10k custom paint on a 10k car. and Maaco is not body shop jail. you better be ready to go get your car in 2 days after dropping it off.
if you can find it... black at autozone, i think. over 100 a quart on amazon or ebay. . 350 a gallon. i remember paying 30 bucks a gallon for black lacquer. course i also remember 28.9 gas...
Last edited by derekderek; Feb 20, 2022 at 09:34 PM.
if you can find it... black at autozone, i think. over 100 a quart on amazon or ebay. . 350 a gallon. i remember paying 30 bucks a gallon for black lacquer. course i also remember 28.9 gas...
Summit has DupliColor Paint Shop Pro for about $30 a quart. The red was a perfect match for my old Daytona Turbo Z. I had a broken tray spoiler. Bought a used one of a different color and used Paint Shop Pro. I was amazed with the results.
Single stage urethane is very easy to lay down on a car and very forgiving, especially if you spray it white! Can cover in two coats, wet sand and buff and it's smooth as glass!
Vinyl Wrap vs Paint on a 76'
