Pm Corvette Mike. He will gladly help you
Repaint question
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 526
Likes: 1
From: San Angelo Texas
Repaint question
Had a guy take a look at my vette and was quoted $3k for a repaint. The painter wanted to take it all the way down, but would not guarantee the job because he said a lot of older vettes tend to star the paint. I have no idea what he is talking about. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Another guy who paints out of his garage (nice little work shop actually) wants $2k. He had his 1986 Monte Carlo out front with a fresh black paint job and it looked great. The Monte Carlo also has the urethane nose if I remember correctly. Does this sound reasonable? Thanks all.
Another guy who paints out of his garage (nice little work shop actually) wants $2k. He had his 1986 Monte Carlo out front with a fresh black paint job and it looked great. The Monte Carlo also has the urethane nose if I remember correctly. Does this sound reasonable? Thanks all.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 17,551
Likes: 26
From: El Paso Texas
Yep, Mike is the expert.
My repaint ran $3250 back in 2001. This was an "as new" job....the car literally looked brand new. The car is a weekender only and is garaged 99% of the time, but it still looks fantastic. With paint you generally get what you pay for. The bulk of the quality lies in the prep.
If I had it all to do over again, I would go for a lesser paint job on my car. I was paranoid the first three years until it finally got a couple of rock chips....it's easier to enjoy a car that you don't worry about continually. I had a $650 Maaco special shot on my V8 Fiero....Looks decent from 5 feet and no worries.
My repaint ran $3250 back in 2001. This was an "as new" job....the car literally looked brand new. The car is a weekender only and is garaged 99% of the time, but it still looks fantastic. With paint you generally get what you pay for. The bulk of the quality lies in the prep.
If I had it all to do over again, I would go for a lesser paint job on my car. I was paranoid the first three years until it finally got a couple of rock chips....it's easier to enjoy a car that you don't worry about continually. I had a $650 Maaco special shot on my V8 Fiero....Looks decent from 5 feet and no worries.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 155
Likes: 2
From: Columbiana AL
A look at a black repaint is all the reference you need. Black is very difficult to get right, and if the shop tells you that they can do the same job for you that they did on the Monte, then you should be good. In this economy, you should be able to get a nice repaint in the 2k range, if your car is undamaged, and not getting a color change.
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This is what I sent.
"I have no idea what he means by "starring", unless he is talking about small surface cracks in the surface that he is not going to repair. I dont think I would do buisness with him, wanting 3 grand and no guarentee that it will look presentable?
All vettes are made out of fiberglass or SMC (sheet mold composite). SMC started sometime in the 80's. Right before the C4 started production I believe.
Your vette has the newer SMC composite for a skin, which is the same as the newer vettes. So I dont understand why your's would be considered an "older vette".
Paint materials prices are very high now. I usually spend 500 bucks on materials from DuPont for a vette . Ask them what kind of materials they will be using, weather they are going to properly prime and seal the car before painting. The sealer locks down surface so nothing comes up to the top. Sounds like the 3 grand wanted to paint your car without priming the car first. Just blast the new green metallic on top of your old green paint. This way without priming the car would be a crap shoot as far as how the final result would turn out.
Good Luck,
Corvette Mike
If you have anymore questions, Pm me. "
"I have no idea what he means by "starring", unless he is talking about small surface cracks in the surface that he is not going to repair. I dont think I would do buisness with him, wanting 3 grand and no guarentee that it will look presentable?
All vettes are made out of fiberglass or SMC (sheet mold composite). SMC started sometime in the 80's. Right before the C4 started production I believe.
Your vette has the newer SMC composite for a skin, which is the same as the newer vettes. So I dont understand why your's would be considered an "older vette".
Paint materials prices are very high now. I usually spend 500 bucks on materials from DuPont for a vette . Ask them what kind of materials they will be using, weather they are going to properly prime and seal the car before painting. The sealer locks down surface so nothing comes up to the top. Sounds like the 3 grand wanted to paint your car without priming the car first. Just blast the new green metallic on top of your old green paint. This way without priming the car would be a crap shoot as far as how the final result would turn out.
Good Luck,
Corvette Mike
If you have anymore questions, Pm me. "
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,075
Likes: 109
From: Longmont Co
A look at a black repaint is all the reference you need. Black is very difficult to get right, and if the shop tells you that they can do the same job for you that they did on the Monte, then you should be good. In this economy, you should be able to get a nice repaint in the 2k range, if your car is undamaged, and not getting a color change.
Race Director
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 10,691
Likes: 71
From: Phoenix Arizona
It's really pretty simple, no guarantee, no job. The cost of materials for a good base coat clear coat job should run $500-$1200 depending upon materials used. As Mike said, most of the cracking problems occured on the pre SMC cars, around '75. Now no painter will guarantee substrate problems such as previous or bad body work. Most shops will charge over $5000 for a quality job, so by using a "backyard" painter, you are assuming some risk in exchange for the savings. The big thing is try to cover everything with the painter beforehand. (removal of parts, problem areas, both existing and potential, color sanding and buffing etc.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 155
Likes: 2
From: Columbiana AL
I totally disagree. The guy may have spent 200 hours on his personal ride. The question is what his previous customers have to say and what their cars look like a year or two later. Just because a guy can do a great job doesn't mean he does one for every customer that comes along.
