How much did your paint cost?
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 50
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From: McKinney TX
How much did your paint cost?
Ok I am ready for paint. I have been looking around, well more like making calls and I have had quotes from $1000 to almost $9000 for paint. I want the whole car stripped then repainted. I want the door jams done too. I am looking for a good pro paint job but have no idea what to pay or what to look for. Any ideas will help. Thanks.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,711
Likes: 43
From: San Antonio TX
You get what you pay for.
A serious bid will include a detailed itemization of what is in consideration. From that, you can make a determination on the differences and what's important to you.
Obviously, the $1k paint job will not be nearly as good as the $9k paint job and there will be reasons for that. As they say, the Devil (and the money) is in the details.
A serious bid will include a detailed itemization of what is in consideration. From that, you can make a determination on the differences and what's important to you.
Obviously, the $1k paint job will not be nearly as good as the $9k paint job and there will be reasons for that. As they say, the Devil (and the money) is in the details.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 9,289
Likes: 16
From: Skippack PA
St Jude Donor '13
Originally Posted by 79Brian
Ok I am ready for paint. I have been looking around, well more like making calls and I have had quotes from $1000 to almost $9000 for paint. I want the whole car stripped then repainted. I want the door jams done too. I am looking for a good pro paint job but have no idea what to pay or what to look for. Any ideas will help. Thanks.
I got a "friendly" price of $5500 to strip & re-paint mine. That was probably $2000 off what they would normally charge. I decided against paying nearly as much for a paint job as I did for the car and just had them blend in the paint where they're doing the repairs that were needed.... for now anyway.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 2,675
Likes: 13
From: Sudbury MA
I just received a price of $10,000.00 to paint my 68 coupe. I stripped all the paint and that seems like an awful lot of money.
I live in an expensive town and the body shop had to come to my home since the car is not registered and has no interior so I could not drive it to them. When they see where you live and that it is a Corvette, I think they get greedy.
I will not pay $10 grand for a factory paint job. I am not asking it to be painted with liquid gold or anything fancy, just plain old LeMans blue.
Needless to say, I am still looking for a more reasonable price.
I live in an expensive town and the body shop had to come to my home since the car is not registered and has no interior so I could not drive it to them. When they see where you live and that it is a Corvette, I think they get greedy.
I will not pay $10 grand for a factory paint job. I am not asking it to be painted with liquid gold or anything fancy, just plain old LeMans blue.
Needless to say, I am still looking for a more reasonable price.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
i don't know labor costs in Texas but here in NJ you are looking at 4500- 6000 and most shops won't even estimate the paint cost until the car is stripped because they are scared of finding surprises....$2800 gets you a quick job over your existing paint that takes you and your buddy (me) about 16 hours of buffing and cleaning to make it right....and then its still a fair paint job.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,668
Likes: 43
From: Eastern US XX
Originally Posted by ksbunting
I just received a price of $10,000.00 to paint my 68 coupe. I stripped all the paint and that seems like an awful lot of money.
I live in an expensive town and the body shop had to come to my home since the car is not registered and has no interior so I could not drive it to them. When they see where you live and that it is a Corvette, I think they get greedy.
I will not pay $10 grand for a factory paint job. I am not asking it to be painted with liquid gold or anything fancy, just plain old LeMans blue.
Needless to say, I am still looking for a more reasonable price.
I live in an expensive town and the body shop had to come to my home since the car is not registered and has no interior so I could not drive it to them. When they see where you live and that it is a Corvette, I think they get greedy.
I will not pay $10 grand for a factory paint job. I am not asking it to be painted with liquid gold or anything fancy, just plain old LeMans blue.
Needless to say, I am still looking for a more reasonable price.
They did my 69 (Lemans Blue) and I'm happy with it. Actually, I haven't even buffed it out yet (painted over a year) because it looks very nice!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,269
Likes: 54
From: Orlando Florida
St. Jude Donor '05
Do as much as you can yourself to safe some money. Some shops will give you an estimate of $6000 and more just because they don't want the job.... when I wanted to get my rear bumper painted (the bumper was not even on the car) one shop here in Orlando quoted $800.... 
The paint on my Vette is horrible, it was painted almost five years ago and the previous owner told me that he paid only $400 after he did most of the preparation himself... they painted the mufflers, rims, chrome pieces and so on.... I still have some overspray on the mirrors...
It's a miracle that the paint is still on the car and has not chipped off...
If you know somebody that can paint then you better do it in your garage... way better than paying somebody $1000 or $1500 to ruin your car...
The paint on my Vette is horrible, it was painted almost five years ago and the previous owner told me that he paid only $400 after he did most of the preparation himself... they painted the mufflers, rims, chrome pieces and so on.... I still have some overspray on the mirrors...
It's a miracle that the paint is still on the car and has not chipped off...
If you know somebody that can paint then you better do it in your garage... way better than paying somebody $1000 or $1500 to ruin your car...
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 7,720
Likes: 12
From: Chattanooga TN
Originally Posted by bobs77vet
i don't know labor costs in Texas but here in NJ you are looking at 4500- 6000 and most shops won't even estimate the paint cost until the car is stripped because they are scared of finding surprises....$2800 gets you a quick job over your existing paint that takes you and your buddy (me) about 16 hours of buffing and cleaning to make it right....and then its still a fair paint job.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,029
Likes: 94
From: meraux LA
Lets see I paid $1100.00 for the paint itself. PPG BC/CC.and another $500.00 for mics. material 2 weeks stripping my vette with a razor blade weekends and some nights. 2 weeks fixing stress cracks hanging new doors, installing new hood. 2-3 weeks primeing and sanding and then one full day painting. Nothing like doing it yourself and getting what you want. Oh. and another 2 weeks color sanding and buffing.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 397
Likes: 1
From: CORTLANDT MANOR NY
Let's see. If you want the paint stripped to bare fiberglass the $1000 paint job should be done with Dutch Boy applied with a roller.
If you want the shop to strip the paint to glass, prep it , prime it, paint it, anything less than $5000 would not be done by a paint professional.
If you are going to pay someone $5.00 an hour to paint your car you are going to get a $5.00 an hour paint job. Anyone who looks at it will know the paint is a cheapo and would cost $5000 to redo it if they were to purchase it.
You are going to be looking at that paint for at least 10 years. Don't go cheap on the paint leave it as it is rather than screw it up with a cheap paint job. Unless of course you have a buyer in mind who is vison impaired.
If you want the shop to strip the paint to glass, prep it , prime it, paint it, anything less than $5000 would not be done by a paint professional.
If you are going to pay someone $5.00 an hour to paint your car you are going to get a $5.00 an hour paint job. Anyone who looks at it will know the paint is a cheapo and would cost $5000 to redo it if they were to purchase it.
You are going to be looking at that paint for at least 10 years. Don't go cheap on the paint leave it as it is rather than screw it up with a cheap paint job. Unless of course you have a buyer in mind who is vison impaired.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
There is a guy around here who tells you he will paint your car for about $6000 and $8000 if you strip it yourself ( he says most people do a crappy job and it ends up being more work for him so he would rather you left the car alone ).
Mine was an insurance job so I dropped it off at the most expensive body shop in Canada
I know at that time they wanted around $10,000 
Mine was an insurance job so I dropped it off at the most expensive body shop in Canada
I know at that time they wanted around $10,000
Last edited by MotorHead; Jan 11, 2005 at 09:26 PM.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 286
Likes: 1
From: Mesa az
I'm just about ready to start taking the parts and pieces over to the painter. I've completely disassembled the car myself. Stripped everything down to glass or bare metal for those parts. Repaired all fractures and a very bad rear quarter panel, and replaced some burned glass next to the muffler. Also had to completely repair the hood for a variety of problems. Stripped all the weather stripping off, and removed all (and I mean ALL the chrome trim). He's quoting $3,000 to $4,000 to paint, and just to paint, I reassemble. But with $1,000 in paint and supplies, and I can testify to just how long it'll take to sand the primer/paint, I'm not sure if he's not getting the "short end of the stick" at that price.
It is a *ell of alot of work.
Andy
It is a *ell of alot of work.
Andy
Pro
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 541
Likes: 5
From: Epping NH
new paint, and chips
I'm curious what those with new $$$ paint jobs do about rock chips. My 69 is constantly throwing gravel onto itself and it would kill me every time I saw another blemish in an expensive (or inexpensive for that matter) paint job. The area just behind the doors seems particularly vulnerable on my car. I am sure I would be less likely to go for casual spins after a complete strip and paint job fearing the inevitable.
Those of us driving 68's and 69's are particularly vulnerable to gravel chips since the fenders had not yet been flared as in 70 and later cars.
Mark
Those of us driving 68's and 69's are particularly vulnerable to gravel chips since the fenders had not yet been flared as in 70 and later cars.
Mark
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 286
Likes: 1
From: Mesa az
I'm thinking about installing some sort of temporary "mud flaps" to stop the rock chips. I also have side pipes and have already seen a few chips in the front chrome behind the front wheels. I'm hoping to be able to make them removable and not noticable.
Andy
Andy
