Body Work and Paint Job Survey

[SHO Mojo]

To any and all with experience in this area...

My 1989 Light Titanium SHO is in need of some serious TLC in the body department. It's got some rust showing through on the RR quarter panel above the wheel opening, a little on the trunk, and probably some hidden elsewhere. Additionally, the paint is loosing its clearcoat fast -- looks like it's got lepresy.

How much should I expect to pay for GOOD body work (rusted panel replacement & prep) and full body paint job?

Need to build a database before I go shopping!

Thanks!

 

[ilSHOu]

It is really hard to say without seeing exactly what condition the car is in. What I would do is find a trunk lid at a junkyard which would help a little if it is bad enough that it needs a trunk lid. If the body is straight and you keep it the same color (this is if you take it to a realistic place to get painted and not like a Maaco) I would expect to see the price at around $2,500. I don't know what you were expecting but that is what you would expect to pay this includes removal of bumpers and molding and ground effects and everything done the right way and odds are there is more rust then you think once the moldings are off it is reall a big job. you can reduce the cost of the job by disassembling the car on your own and reassembling it. as well as multiple other things talk to your local body shop and they can give you stuff to do to it to help reduce the cost. sorry about the long post hope this helps, Later, Seth

 

[TopSHO92]

I agree with ilSHOu. Chances are, if you see rust through the paint, it's everywhere. Like he said, especially under the body moldings. If you have rust holes... that's even worse.

My advice is wherever/however you do it, spend the money to do it right. Otherwise you'll be back in a year with the same problem. Trust me, my dad owns a body shop, and customers always want to take short cuts like "oh, just grind the rust down and paint over it... it'll be fine." They always come back, angry as **** because the rust has now spread even deeper, because we did it wrong, and they wanted to save a few buck?!?...

sorry for the rant. Realisticly, plan for at least $2500, like he said. That way you can go home happy, knowing you're preserving the life of your car... not killing it. ..and if it does end up costing less... you still win.

 

[nc89sho]

My car has no, and i mean NO rust what soever, and only a couple very small dings on the doors, i do however have that leprasee look to the paint, how much do you think i could get it painted for. i really don't need any body work.

 

[TopSHO92]

nc89sho:
My car has no, and i mean NO rust what soever, and only a couple very small dings on the doors, i do however have that leprasee look to the paint, how much do you think i could get it painted for. i really don't need any body work.

If indeed you have no rust, it "should" lower the price considerably. A complete paint job, with minor body work should run you in the area of $1100-1500, assuming you want quality work done at a respectable body shop, who will stand behind their work. Bare in mind this is just a guess. Every shop has it's own brand paint, materials, shop rate, labor rate, etc... so don't quote me on that. But, if you budget that amount, you may not be as shocked when you get the estimate. ...and shop around if you can. Body work is much like buying anything else: look for the good deal, but also look for quality. Stay away from Maaco (sp?) and other speed shops, unless you prefer paint that doesn't match and flakes easily.

 

[waddsn1060]

ilSHOu:
If the body is straight and you keep it the same color (this is if you take it to a realistic place to get painted and not like a Maaco) I would expect to see the price at around $2,500.

I had a complete repaint, a bigass dent removed and 3 rust spots fixed and it cost me $1800.
And take a wild guess where I got it done at?
MAACO

And look at the sig and tell me if it looks good or not?

 

[Mike Kopstain]

Maaco is a really bad idea for rust removal. I know one of the employees that works at the one off of NW highway and he says it's a joke. What they do is grind it out and then it comes back within a year and they do it all over again. He said that there is no warranty on rust removal for this reason. He also said that the only way to remove rust is to cut out the body panel and replace it. Rust sucks!

 

[Dave Ladely]

You can stop rust by exposing the rust by removing all the paint. Then get a couple gallons of phosphoric acid from a chemical company. Dilute it 4 very warm water to 1 acid. Spray on rust in a warm room/garage. Wait a couple hours. Rinse off, do it again. All the rust should be gone. Fill with thin EPOXY putty if deep pits. Clean with wire wheel. Spray EXPOXY primer. Never use any primer but epoxy primer anyway, the other stuff is junk compared to it; epoxy provides a great foundation (which won't "powder" from shopping carts, etc)for paint and fills pretty well too.
Paint, preferably Imron, second choice Deltron. Clear coat, preferably at least 2 coats.
If you are not confident in my suggestions, try what I say out on a scrap.

 

[AutoXSHO]

I would say that to paint an entire car properly it will cost significantly more than a grand. If you are willing to do some of the prep involved like removing all of the window trim, lighting, etc. then you can save some money. Unfortunately with the resale value of SHOs it almost never is worth it.

John V

 

[cRaZySHO.]

Come to Norwalk, and I'll help you prep, my buddy will do the painting(proffessional shop and tools), and he'll charge you $1000 for the whole car. (he only charged me $800, hehehe!)

 

[nothingtoseehere]

Just a little note for all those rust spots...they will keep coming back unless the panel is replaced...what happens is the area that the rust forms, if it comes back, is an area where moisture gets INSIDE the panel....if you do "Minnesota Body Work", sand down the rust spots...fill the area with triple expanding foam, cut the excess foam off with a razor and lightly bondo it....you could get away with a cheap do it yourself

BTW, my body shop guy would do your whole car for about 1400 bucks...this includes paint, prep, body work and rust repair

 

[RonPorter]

In 1996, I had my black '89 redone. It had rust in the doors, above the rear cladding, and a few other places. I was picky about the job I wanted (better than factory, but not "show quality"). A few body shops would not even give a quote on a black car. I ended up having it done at the local Audi/Porsche dealer in Louisville. The basic Spies-Hecker base+clearcoat paint, with all trim stripped off and the body taken to a solid surface, was $3,000. Adding in the other rust repair, cutting the lip on the rear fenders, etc added another couple of thousand. The total job was $6K, but it also included a new fender and LF headlamp from a deer hit. The car looked very good, it took 1st Place in the Hi-Miler class at the '96 SHOcago Convention.

The quality in a paint job is about all in the labor, the cost of materials doesn't change much. You get what you pay for.