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What Is The Time Line For a Show Quality Paint Job
What is the time line for a show quality paint job on a Vintage Corvette? This is assuming a color change and no other work is done. Just a body on frame show quality paint job. I was informed show quality classic car paint jobs are different than your local Chevy Dealership paint jobs.
How long has your car been in a corvette classic car shops getting a new paint job? What is involved in doing this kind of professional paint job?
Your definition of show paint and what others think could be way off. And I here that term a lot and I really don’t know what it means. To find a painter and shop willing to let out the door a paint job with a bunch of flaws would be a miracle.
What is the time line for a show quality paint job on a Vintage Corvette? This is assuming a color change and no other work is done. Just a body on frame show quality paint job. I was informed show quality classic car paint jobs are different than your local Chevy Dealership paint jobs.
How long has your car been in a corvette classic car shops getting a new paint job? What is involved in doing this kind of professional paint job?
Body repair shops do not do this kind of work. Custom shops are the special ones. I would guess the timeline for "show quality" paint should be lengthly. It's time consuming labor. Body work should be done to some extent to perfect the surface of all panels and that would also include panel realignment...remember, this is "show quality". Everything needs to be removed from the car, resulting in a rolling shell almost. Preparation, preparation and more preparation is necessary. Custom paint needs to set up/dry with time. The cost of materials will shock you. If you go down this road, how will you feel when you take your $15k-$20k paint job get a stone chip? At this point you haven't covered the cost of all new rechroming, stainless polishing, on and on and on. A nice presentable street/driver paint can be had for a lot less $$$ and headache. Your time and your money. Dennis
Define show quality. Do you mean your local show and shine meetups or Riddler and SEMA show quality? Im assuming local show and shines since its a body on paint job. Therefore the car isnt probably being media blasted but either chemically stripped or sanded to bare glass. Then you could have 200-400 hours to go perfecting the body. The actual painting is a two day job if the car is disassembled. Then you have a ballpark 40 hours of sanding and buffing.
Is the shop going to strip it, or just sand, seal and paint it, thats a different story.
Unless this vehicle is going from a garage to an enclosed trailer to a guarded show... then back on the trailer and back to the garage.... I wouldn't consider a true "show quality" $25k + paint job.
The first time a bird poops on it... you'll faint.
Get a "good quality" paint job. Drive the car. Hose off the poop and sleep better at night. $7 -15K.
My Corvette had it's second ever paint job , I dint want a sanded perfect GLASS looking body finish that wipes out the original look or a 10K to 20K paint job . It was just lightly sanded and I was lucky the body dint need any repair work . I reconditioned the Corvette to be original and a DRIVER . It looks as good as this picture and cost me under 3k and 4 days work ( two stage painted) . People tell me that's impossible and I'm not going to argue but that's the truth . It took top flight and top flight is top flight no matter how much money you spend and it was sitting next to a 15K paint job not including KK body work .
Last edited by 1955 copper; Jan 4, 2018 at 07:44 PM.
1955 copper your car is the exception certainly not the rule. I do agree with your comment on the original look. These cars new never looked anywhere near as good as they do restored.
Last year we did a repaint on a '72. It had one previous repaint in lacquer, so cracking was present all over. We hand (block) sanded the entire body (while fixing any problems) down to the glass. Not a speck of paint remained. I shot the repaired bare glass body with two heavy coats of gel coating. After weeks of curing out, the gel coating was hand blocked with 80 grit, followed with 120. The sanded gel coat was sprayed with DPLF74 epoxy primer. A day later that was top coated with K36 high build primer. The K36 was allowed to cure for a few weeks, then hand blocked and another two coats applied.
All of this added considerable hours ($$) and materials ($$) above the painting costs. Consider these factors when talking about Corvette paint job costs.
Your mileage may vary.
Check the regional section of the forum to get input from people in your area and get
their experiences on time and cost. Be cautious of shops that seem overly reasonable
and don't use a shop without knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt they are reputable.
I was lucky enough to know the shops in my area and out of all of them there were
2 that in my mind would do a quality job in a timely manner.
Mine took about 6 months. Due diligence, check with the locals, good luck.
If you are looking for an average cost....
The "average" base clear - all over - car apart and ready to shoot (meaning you do the work) is around 6 to 8k.
NOW.... add body work, disassembly, prime, block, prime, block, repair work, etc...
You can see how it adds up FAST.
The bodywork on my '66 Coupe, after a parking lot mishap was handled by a one-man shop who has dome several top-flight Midyears and Sharks. The man was an artist. He was also a lunatic. Getting the car ready for paint had my car at his shop for 3 years. The paint guy ? A mere 5 weeks to get the car in color. Delivered it to my home and it looked great, minimal orange peel. The painter told me "It will look better, I want you to install some of the exterior trim and in case it gets nicked, I can retouch it. I am coming back in a month to get the car, take it back to my shop to cut and buff it." ... I didn't realize that it had not been polished ...
What Is The Time Line For a Show Quality Paint Job
Dennis
