Oldguard 7

How long does it really take to paint a corvette without all the rigomoroe (having to to keep the car for 6 months etc)?

big_G

If you need it done fast, Maaco or Earl Schieb can do it in a day.

Artsvette73

It doesn't take long to paint it's the prep that eats up time. Depends on what you are looking for. Cheap' fast, quality job will never happen.

chris75stingray

if there is minimal bodywork and they don't run into any problems ,i'd say a couple of weeks

Oldguard 7

I should have been more specific, not a trailer queen job. A standard OEM paint job without the car taking a back seat to the collision work
(which is the bread and butter of a body shop)

big_G

Might do a Forum search, this topic has been brought up every month. Everyone has different expectations about quality. Quality = time + money.

GDaina

I did mine in a week, and that's priming, sanding, sanding, wet sanding, more wet sanding, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, washing, more washing, blowing the dust out..spraying for coats, block sanding with 400, blah...blah....blah...blah.....one week, of solid work.

RAGTOP75

If you strip it,seal it, primer it, wet sand it, color coat it and clear coat it.....perhaps a month or so. It depends on how much time you have on a daily basis. Mine had 4 color coats, one clear coat and 4 coats of primer. I used Citrustrip. it is fibreglass friendly. The more coats of paint you have, the more likely the paint is to crack.

Tankers

I just got mine back Friday, the shop had it 2 1/2 months and that was working around the insurance jobs. They probably worked on it for 3 weeks out of the time. I had minimal body work and it was already media blasted when I took it in.

Paul L

Well if you tape around the door handles....The replies will be all over the map as it depends on vehicle condition, quality and thoroughness of prep, painting of door jambs, replacement of weatherstripping, removal of door panels, follow-on buffing, etc. The time can also be dictated by any "surprises" found when the old paint is stripped. Some of those can be ugly.

But I can share with you my experience from 2005. The car had faded lacquer paint and minor spider cracking. As well two short sections of the bonding strips in the front valence had worked loose (see first pic). All hardware was removed as you can see from the pic including door SS trims and glass. Door panels were removed and the inner surfaces of the door painted. All new weatherstripping was glued/riveted on. The original SB hood was painted as well as a replacement hood in green/black. There is more but that will give you an idea.

Real time expended was 130 hours which is about three weeks. Turnaround time was just shy of three months. Hope this helps.

ghoastrider1

Paul67...that car is a beauty!

markdtn

I would say a few weeks if you can convince them to do it that way, but most shops at least a month if not more. Some like to do cars in sets; body work, prime, paint several cars all at one time. You should probably see what your local options are.

LittleJake

You can paint a car in a day but the prep can take three to four weeks. I would say three to four months without your car is an average turn around time. If you wanted a paint and body shop to drop everything and do your car for three or four weeks straight and wanted to pay them the 30k to 40k+ they make for the month im sure they would. Most paint and body shops try to do multiple projects at once in order to pay the bills and still get the work out on time.

spedaleden

I have seen littleJake's work. Exceelent workmanship. Call him

Paul L

Obviously with what I said above and experienced I agree with Jake. It is much more expensive to undo a bad paintjob than to get a bad paintjob. Just a thought for those who plan to keep their Corvettes long-term. If you are planning to sell in the near future then a quick strip and a couple of coats of re-sale red may be in order.

Artsvette73

This took 6 months

Oldguard 7

I needed to know what other variables that come into play. I'm aware of the prep time, uncovered surprises after stripping, etc. I am not aware about how the shop goes about doing this. Your last comment about shops wanting to do muptiple projects at once, etc. gives more insight as of my being unaware how a paint/body shop is run which is why I used the term rigoromoroe. That may have come across as a dig and for that I apoligize. The comment about wanting them to drop everything to do your car for 3-4 weeks a pay them 30-40k they make for the month also comes across as a dig. You sound like a body shop man and probably hear alot of guff from prospective customers so I do understand your sarcasm.

Oldguard 7

Looking at the tent, I assume you painted it yourself. If so, how difficult was, prep, body repairs (if any). First time painting a vehicle?
Looks good to me.

big_G

Jake, you are 100% correct. I have said this before, insurance work is much more profitable than Corvette repainting. With the parts mark-up available to shop owners, insurance/collision work is able to generate a decent profit. Most shops turn away repaint work because it is low profit. If I was to set the repaint profit margin at the insurance/collision rate, I would have to raise the repaint prices about 30%.

69camfrk

Damn dude, I hope I'm in your will! That car is about the same color as my fathom green '69 Camaro. Beautiful!!!