As the title says, what would be the average cost for a full paint job on a 69-73 corvette?, Non Garage Queen. I am looking to buy 1 but would like to know what I am getting into. Thanks

 

Your question needs a few more "blanks" filled in. Is this a project you are going to do or have it done? I am on an endeavor of doing the job myself and when all is said and done, I'll probably have a $15-20,000 job done for the cost of the materials and a whole bunch of time(and frustration). You could do some of the prep and take it to Maaco to shoot color. It also depends on whether there is the need for body work that could be hiding under the paint. There is some satisfaction in doing the job yourself if you have the time and space.

 

 

Probably $500 - $20,000 depending upon what you want the car to look like.

 

Truthfully this can not be answered.....and here is why.

A 1969 and a 1973 are two totally different cars. You can not compare the two due to the wiper door and what it takes to get it right when painted....along with the moldings.

A 1973 does not have the 'eggcrate grilles in the fenders ( like a 1970-1972) which are a BEOTCH to get right if pitted.

A 1973 does not have a pop-out back window.

A 1973 has a urethane front bumper (if original) and it would need to be removed so paint and primer will not bridge the gap where the bumper and body meet. Obviously...the 1969-1972 have a chrome metal bumper that may or may not be removed depending on how nice you want the paint job to turn out.

The way GM made the body panels changed during this span of years you are asking about and they are different in how they get repaired and what is used on them to get them repaired.

SO...if you want people to throw you out numbers it can be like what 'TWINRAY' wrote....from a $500 'scuff and squirt' paint job to one that needs a lot of work due to issues that should be repaired.

It is like I tell my customers. "You can stop this at any time and take the car...so complaining to me on how much this is costing is not in my control. It is in YOUR control. I did not damage this car...all I am dong is fixing what is damaged...which is WHY you brought it here in the first place".

I can say...there is a LOT more to a paint job than just painting it. And often times these 'things' have nothing to do with actual bodywork.

DUB

 

A "good" paint shop just quoted me 6 grand to paint my C-4 the same color. I know, its not a C-3 but hope it gives you an idea of the cost. In painting a car, you get what you pay for.

 

I had to make this same decision with my 72. A decent paint job would cost more than my car was worth. I sold it as is and used the money toward a better car.

Tom

 

Loved that commercial back in the day.

 

They say, 95 percent preparation, 5 percent paint...

 

The best paint in the world can not hide bad body work or prep.....AND....a bad paint job can ruin the perfect body work.

DUB

 

I get the Maaco bashing. But all shops are not created equal.
You should know my friend's purple 69 Restomod 427 L88 just won 1st place at Corvettes at Carlilse this August.
And it was painted at ... wait for it.... MAACO.
Believe it or not.
And it is absolutely show car quality gorgeous.
(Thought you would get a chuckle out of that)

 

the number of man hours to paint any car is not determined by the year / value / customers budget .

 

I havea 1970 vette and paid macco $4500 dollars and took it home and striped it spent $1000 on mud and block it for 1 year and my new paint shop wants $9000 to finish it so stay away from macco

 

No...it is better to say to stay away from the Maaco you took your car to. Because Maaco is not just one paint shop in the USA. There are many locations.....so NOT all of them are the same. I'm not defending them...but rather being honest and stating the facts in that their are some people who work at a Maaco that can do good work that lasts....IF they are getting paid to do it.

And yet here you are...taking your time to strip and do the body work and NOW a shop is still going to charge you DOUBLE of what you paid Maaco to do the job in the first place and you seem to not possibly realize the fact that you are now paying double what you paid Maaco even after doing all that work yourself.

Funny how the job could have been darn near perfect IF you paid Maaco the 10K you will now have invested in your paint job....not including the $4500 you previously paid. So now your investment into a paint job is $14,500.

TIME = MONEY so half the money....thus half the time. And that is still not knowing the condition of the car when you took it to Maaco initially. because the second paint shop now has a car that is stripped and body work done on it....and is charging you double.

Like I wrote....I am not defending Maaco. But rather just pointing out that this comment of how well a paint job did or did not turn out can be directed to ANY paint shop and possibly some of the facts are being left out.

Hopefully all goes well and this other paint shop delivers you a paint job up to your expectations.

DUB

 

you wont find a better gun hand than a production painter like macco . they shoot 10 to 18 cars a days in some shops . **** poor prep and in some cases 3rd line paint is what hurts them .
in my early days painting custom vans i did 4 a day . i could lay clear like glass .

 

Extra cost was involved, however, if you wanted them to mask off the windows and bumpers....

 

I owned a Corvette shop for 45 years. Custom painted 100s of Corvettes. You first have to stripe the paint down to the fiberglass. Do all the repairs needed and than primer the car with enough paint to block sand it. I used a air file to do it. After that its just masking and painting. If you clear coat the car make sure you put 8 coats on. You will sand off 4 coats to get that perfect look. Buffing out a Corvette is a art. Not easy to keep from burning the edges. Stay away from edges and hand buff the edges. One thing make sure use a good paint like PPG... Robert

 

A lot of money and a lot of time and if you can do it your self fine. That is a chrome bumper car so you have less product for some cars have plastic front and rear bumpers.That is a easy car to do if you do not find Bondo in different areas were it was hit. Was car never hit then when you strip you will find pin holes that have to be filled. It goes on and on but if it is a keeper it is worth the time, but a flipper wrap it!