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Not sure what you are asking. It's really a budgetary. A DD only a votech or Macao but depends on condition of the surfaces. If this maybe a long term summer ride; a quality paint job should hold up better, longer, and help car hold its value.
Certainly consider a base coat/clear coat finish. A good paint shop can easily duplicate an OEM finish that will last a long time (years) with regular care and maintenance. A good shop will pay attention to getting the body in good shape, they will use good sealer,and primers that will help provide a good finish. They will use quality paint and do a final color sand and buff the surface. That will cost some money to do, but if you are only interested in a MAACO-style finish that will cost less. And you will see that.
Do you have a budget for a repaint? I would figure on $3000 to as much as $5000 for an OEM-equal paint job.
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
If your budget is low then you might want to go to some of the local mom and pop used car dealers and ask who they recommend. You could probably get away with about $1,500.
You can also do a home job if you buy a good air compressor on Craigslist and supplies at a place such as TCP global.
Watch some You Tube videos such as the ones by Flyboy1 here on the Forum who painted his 91 coupe a few years back. https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...vette+part+one
To the OP, you might want to ask this question in the paint and body section, some very good folks there and they can probably get you pointed in the right direction. But you might ask yourself some questions first.
1. How long do you keep cars? How long do you plan to keep this one? Whole car paint jobs are a large investment of time and money.
2. Do you want a 20 foot, 10 foot , 5 foot, 2 inch paint job? Going to cars and coffee with your new paint? Just want it all the same color? The time and dollars for each paint job are different as is the skill.
3. How much of the work can you do yourself? Got the space and equipment to do it? Want to buy the stuff to do it?
You might start out going around to body shops and see if they will take on the project. My experience is that most traditional body shops do don't want to mess with whole car paint jobs. Takes too long and ties up shop space. They make their money on crash cars/insurance. That leaves restoration type shops and they typically have a long wait list if they are any good. Next try to hook up with a Corvette club or just go to a cars and coffee type event and ask around. Might get a good lead on a shop or person who will meet your needs.
Your last choice is to go to Maaco. That's their business,whole car painting. They actually spray pretty well, they should they do it everyday. Their problem is their prep and masking work sucks. Not to mention paint quality. However for a dd you could get a pretty decent job if you do ALL the prep yourself and opt for their highest quality paint.
Good luck with your project. No matter what you do, there is nothing quite like a fresh paint job.
Just for fun here is a youtube video of an independent painter doing a Vette. He is actually a pretty decent body man but his main clients are buy here, pay here car lots and they only want the car to look nice for a few days until they sell it. I consider it a behind the scenes at Maaco YMMV
I had Macco spray my car. The body was straight so all it needed was sanding. It's not perfect but has held up very well. It helps that the car is garage kept and I keep it under a sheet too.
I assume Retro is being a wiseguy but people get really good results with Rustoleum. Just as with a conventional paint job, a lot of it is dependent on how straight your prep is and the application environment. The big issue with Rustoleum is it isn't a catalyzed paint and isn't quite as hard as automotive paint and won't stand up to gas spills as well. You're also limited to Rustoleum colors.
You can sand and buff it to a very glossy finish, even put clear over it. Here's one example.
I have a friend that has a body shop. He took mine down to the glass, removed all kind of parts, then sprayed the factory color it was. He took his time, worked on insurance jobs in between to pay the bills. Took a while before I got it back but was later ,late summer so ok. Excellent paint job. Cost? 4,500. it was done right and it is somewhat of a deal. He did a lot of work removing bumpers, ect. I told him I wanted so folks to ask me who did the paint and I could say he did and his shop did. Its that nice.
If the car is in rough shape meaning it needs a lot of prep work you may want to consider s wrap. Cost effective and looks pretty good. This depends on how long you intend on keeping it as well.
If the car is in rough shape meaning it needs a lot of prep work you may want to consider s wrap. Cost effective and looks pretty good. This depends on how long you intend on keeping it as well.
he has a good idea. I saw one wrap in a blue that knocked my socks off. They have some great looking colors.
Someone mention wraps but aren’t they in the 6 thousand dollar range. Also one ask how long do I keep a car will I have owned this one for 34 years now bought it new in 1984 so I can Guess you can say I am going to keep this one forever even though guess you can say I am going to keep this one forever even though We know the value of the 84s will never really rise
I removed the bumpers and rockers, mirrors, and gill panels and the belt (except for the ones on the doors). A friend and I sanded it and "shot" the primer. Then sanded the primer before taking it to the paint shop.
At the shop we specified a one-step paint - the same as is now used (I'm told) on BMWs.(details available upon request).
Our of pocket, the total came to under $4k for materials and final spraying by the shop, including rubbing it out. Turned out beautiful and it gets lots of attention at shows.
I've been considering doing a plasti dip color change on mine. It would be well under $1000, lots of color options including Pearl's and color shifts, and easy to remove if you decide you dont like it. However, it's not permanent like paint and requires extra care to keep it looking nice. https://www.youtube.com/user/DipYourCarcom has a ton of videos on the process, equipment, and mixing colors.
