Paint and body work project log.

[JRA2000TL]

Definitely keep us updated. I want my 90 done in PPG Lt. Titanium base/clear. I may use the $1200 guy when I get around to it, but I'm eager to see how hard the prep/bodywork is. I don't have rust; just a few dings here and there. The existing paint should strip easily.

I think I was told that paint alone would be 300-500 bucks b/c I wanted the PPG.

I haven't played with the SHO much lately, much less done any work to it; but I'll get back to it when I'm in the mood.

 

[ryan21288]

Well doing the prep work yourself will definitely be a plus. But some body shops will refuse to paint a car if they haven't done the prep. Good paint is nothing without good prep. If you can find a good body shop in your area to do the prep and paint id spend the extra cash. For example my friend had a 96 Mazda 626. A woman pulled out in front of him from a side street and he hit her drivers rear quarter. It damaged the hood, bumper, and fender. The car had a bunch of stone chips on the front of it and the fender had a bad wrinkle. The body shop which is Lou Pelosi's Precision Collision in Cranston RI did a great job. They used all the orig panels smoothed everything out and re painted the whole front end. The car looked like new and the paint matched perfect. They did all this for $1500 and he was able to keep $750 bucks in his pocket. Not bad if you ask me.

 

[the4biddendonut]

I think a lot of shops tend to highball quotes if they don't want your business.

 

[luigisho]

You're going to do all or most of the prep? Didn't you paint your other car yourself? Why not just do the whole thing?

 

[93rev2sev]

You're going to do all or most of the prep? Didn't you paint your other car yourself? Why not just do the whole thing?

I might yet, but there are some obstacles.

1. I don't have 220 in the garage and you HAVE to have plenty of air to paint a whole car. There is no 110v compressor that will keep up with a single full coverage coat on a car...let alone 3. If I pop a breaker in the middle of a coat, I'm rather hosed.

2. Room. I'd have to turn the house into a storage facility for everything I have in the garage. I'm not totally opposed to doing this, but it would not make for a fun week.

3. Lights. To paint a car, you need lots of light. I'd need a couple hundred dollars worth of flourescents...at least.

4. Building a paint booth the way I did before is for the birds. I have some ideas for another enclosure, though.

5. Ventillation...I don't have those box fans any more...not real expensive, but probably a hundred dollars worth.

None of these obstacles apply to the prep work. I can go panel by panel with my little compressor, I can shine halogens on that panel and I would not need a booth of any kind.



Solutions...should I choose to do the top coats myself...

Buy a white party tent, set it in the sun and solve 2 of my problems. Room and light.

Use 3 Compressors, each at 110v, scattered throughout the house, all feeding a larger tank in the garage that I will run the gun off of. This should provide me with plenty of air, redundancy if I DO pop a breaker, and the additional benefit is CLEAN, DRY AIR (essential for painting).

I'm the kind of guy that will always lean towards doing something myself. I like the experience gained from solving my own problems, so don't be surprised if I end up doing it myself.

 

[93rev2sev]

A sample.

 

[TimboSHO]

I think you've got bigger problems to fix before painting it.... you're car is upside down!

 

[93rev2sev]

My blackberry storm assumes im right handed. I flipped them ALL before uploading them...and then (it seems) photobucket flipped them again...so I edited them and made them all right side up...and THEN I posted.

I think photobucket is slow to actually replace original.

 

[dward]

I work at a PPG body shop and i assure you the cost of your materials will far exceed what you are thinking. A good gallon kit of clear at our shops cost is $260 alone. Basecoats vary from $50 a quart to $300 per quart. Silvers are toward the cheaper end. 1 gal reducer $130, filler, primer, sealer, sandpaper, and on and on. As far as labor i can tell you there are two ways, the right way, disassemble most of the car paint and put together. or the half ass way and leave it all on the car and mask it off. Two different prices. Most of the overalls i have been doing latley have been around 28-35 hrs witch includes prep time, so figure that at a shops rate per hour, around $40. A quality paintjob that will last for the rest of the cars life will cost you.

 

[93rev2sev]

I work at a PPG body shop and i assure you the cost of your materials will far exceed what you are thinking.

Pay attention. I already stated that I knew the costs of materials. In addition, you live in Florida. Different states charge different amounts of taxes on high VOC items...Florida would be one of the most expensive states to buy paint.

Since you haven't been paying attention, let me fill you in. I've used PPG paints before. I've forked over the dough for Deltron, for Epoxy sealers, for clear coat by the gallon. I'm not going to have a heart attack when it comes time to pay for materials.

By the way, I just called Painter's Supply, a gallon (not a quart) of Shopline Basecoat(With reducer) is $245. Even if every stage of my paint job costs $245 (primer will be less, mind you)...I'm looking at $800 - $1000 maximum for primer, sealer, base and clear.

As far as my feelings on what it should cost for labor: In Michigan, we have like 12% unemployment. If you can't find a body man appentice to strip, fill, and sand (and do a great job) for $10 an hour, then shame on you. Let's call it 30 hours at DOUBLE that rate...That's $600 in labor and less than a grand in paint...lets go ahead and use up that extra $400 in shop supplies...
$600 labor (profit factored in at 50%)
$1000 paint (profit factored in at 20%)
$400 supplies (just a convenient number that's probably way too high)

Thats $2000 for the complete paint job, with some profit factored in.
Wanna add $500 just for miscellaneous charges like the very un-necessary $80-100 in natural gas to bring the paint booth up to 140° after the final coat of clear?

Now were at $2500.

I've had body shops that told me thay can't touch the car for less than $4000. Businesses like the one you work at don't have to keep costs down to a reasonable level because insurance will pay whatever they want to charge. That leaves guys like me, who want to pay out of pocket for paint and body work looking at rediculously inflated prices..

$300 a quart is extreme. That might be the case for the most expensive deep red you can find..



By the way, what is your position at this PPG body shop?

 

[dward]

Shopline in very inexpensive copared to DBC or even what we use, Global. I've used alot of shopline and its alright. Do NOT however use their clear. No uv protection and wont last long. If you did all the body work yourself and bring the car into a shop in primer $2000 would sound right. $4000 as is but still high. Around here there are alot of starving shops. If you like i can have our estimator put our car into the estimating system and see what it says, R&I everything and paint. Im curious as well.

I am painting my 91 soon and it is current red. I looked it up on the computer and it is $250 QT. ouch. Dont want to do jambs just yet so it stays red. Maybe black down the road.

I am a paint tech at Buchholz paint and auto body. I have been painting at many shops and dealers for 15 years now.

 

[93rev2sev]

Shopline in very inexpensive compared to DBC or even what we use, Global. I've used alot of shopline and its alright.

Sounds perfectly appropriate for a 20 year old Taurus and I appreciate the tip on the clear. I was planning on using a different brand. I was talking to a painter at a collision shop the other night and he showed it to me. He said it's about as good as DCU but it's only $100 a gallon. I've forgotten the name of it but was planning to go back and get more info.

 

[dward]

I have also used Dupont for many years ans have had alot of good luck with nason clear 465-00. Its not the cheapest but definatly not expensive. I know of cars i've used it on 5+ years ago that still look like the day they were painted.

Good luck with the project. I will be starting a log of mine and will post progress when i can find time to work on her.