Paint Jobs

[Jy94SHO]

My SHO is Opal Frost and, to be honest, I hate this color. How much money do you think it would be to get it painted plain black. I've heard price ranges from $300-1200 and I was just wondering if ya'll knew..

Thanks.

-Jamie

 

[UnsungZero]

Depends on the Quality of the Work You Want Done

a 300 dollar paint job will most likely end up not looking very good
(lot's of orange peel effect, door jams and inside of trunk will most likely end up not getting painted...so it will still be opal frost, and they'll probably get overspray everywhere i.e. exhaust components may end up black too)

best bet is to bet a quote from a good body shop

even maaco or earl shrieb will do a good job as long as you dont get they're "value" paint job.

i've learned this from experience

i can show you pics of a 300 dollar paint job for reference

 

[masho95]

I would love to see some pics of a $300 paint job. My buddy is looking for a really cheap paint job for his car. The current paint condition is horrible with mismatching colored hood and trunk. He's just looking for something half decent for the time being, nothing spectacular.

 

[MotoArts]

Sounds cheap ($1200) for an overall job. I had a buddy that paid $4000 for a complete color change that included removing the glass, interior, etc. on his '98 Ranger. Color went from factory charcoal to a custom orange pearl.

Definately question the quality and type of paint (all materials, actually) if it's less than $1200, IMO...

 

[masho95]

Unsungzero, any updates on that $300 paint job? Or a link to where I could check out some pictures? Thanks.

 

[Hack]

For the price range you are talking, expect the paint to begin chipping and flaking off within a year. I am with Motoarts on this one. I paid a hair under $3000 eight or nine years back to have mine done. At the time of delivery I was happy. The more time that went by, the more flaws I found. If you want quality, paint jobs are like lawyers. The more money you can spend the better off you will be. Of course, I do not suggest calling around and simply going with the highest bidder. Do homework. Go to car shows and talk to car owners. Very often you can get great leads, even if you are not looking for a show quality job. Good look!

(I should note that black is the most difficult color to keep looking good, and dark colors have a tendency to "show" any body work that has been done. Light colors help to mask it.)

 

[SinisterSHO]

Is your Opal Frost an MTX? Sell it, dont paint it, the color is rare enough as it is.

 

[UnsungZero]

LOL the picture of my car in my sig is a 300 dollar paint job

it was origianlly mocha and i did all the prep work though

i'll take a couple pics of my buddies camaro

it's a lot worse...body shop did prep work

and lost all his weather stripping (in the process of getting that resolve)

hold on for the pics....

 

[upstateSHO]

i painted my own...only cost $150 for the paint kit...didnt turn out bad either. i mean its not perfect but nothing a little buffing and wax cant take care of.

 

[pete c]

Just spraying it over the same color might be done satisfactorily for 300 bucks. Changing the color drastically as you want will turn out ****** at that price. Take the advice given above. Sell it, buy the color you want. Then dump the money into mods of course.

 

[Jy94SHO]

Well, how much do you think I could get for a 1994 Ford SHO ATX with 76k miles on it and no problems?

The car lot had it priced for 5,999$$ but no one had bought it so I talked them down to $3900.

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

i painted my own...only cost $150 for the paint kit...didnt turn out bad either. i mean its not perfect but nothing a little buffing and wax cant take care of.

$150 wont even cover hardener... not to mention paint, supplies, etc

 

[cyanmauve]

I don't know the exact state of your car's paint as is, but if your are planning to keep your SHO, wait a little bit longer, save up some money, and get a nice paint job. I had a paint job done on my 91 (it needed some rather minor body work too) for about $1600 at a shop that had a special deal going at the time to get its name out. A similar job at Maaco would have set me back about $1000 more. I am generally satisifed with the paint now, but I would not be satisified with a paint job that isn't as good as what I've got. I think that you might be able to cut a whole lot out of the cost of the paint job if you are willing to do the prep work yourself.

Also, if you want to save some easy money and make your paint budget go further, remove the trim and bumpers yourself. There will be a lot fewer paint lines if you do this. Plus, you can remove the bumpers and trim in under 3 hours (and that's if you're slow)

One last tip, Maaco offers a 10 year (I think) warranty on many of its jobs, which is wort shelling out forbecause if they screw up, they gotta keep fxing it.

 

[pete c]

Well, how much do you think I could get for a 1994 Ford SHO ATX with 76k miles on it and no problems?

The car lot had it priced for 5,999$$ but no one had bought it so I talked them down to $3900.

Keep talking, you got a few more grand to go. Pay no attention to what the book says or used car stealerships.

 

[Lurch]

Keep talking, you got a few more grand to go. Pay no attention to what the book says or used car stealerships.

I believe he's referring to the car he owns now, that he paid $3900 for the Opal Frost SHO.

 

[95SE]

Fwiw

I am having my Thunderbird SC finished up this week. The car was black and is getting re-finished black. They body was strait, very few dings/bodywork to do other than prep. They primed the whole thing, and blocked it out to get the panels even straiter than the factory could.. I dis-assembled the car (locks, door handles, trunk lock, all trim, mouldings, bumpers etc..) and it is still costing me $3,100 for a top-knotch re-paint.

Add $1000 to that if you don't remove and install the bumpers, trim, etc.. by yourself.

Add another $1,000 or so if you are changing colors and want door jambs done.

Add $600 in new trim pieces/door mouldings, window surrounds from Ford (if you can still get them)

It should turn out nice when its completed.

Jeramie

 

[TrueBlue]

$1200 sounds pretty borderline. More reasonable would be a start price around $2500. Better to save and get something that looks good than spend $300 and hate it everytime you look at it.

 

[Vitamin G]

^^^ ... yup. I just got two price quotes today and both were in the $2500 to $3000 range. And that's to restore the factory color!

However, I'm not in the market to change colors, so I have the luxury of spending a little less ($150) for a thorough exterior detailing.

BTW a buddy of mine took his truck to Macco a few years back. Spent $500 and in no more than two weeks time was looking at peeled paint and chips.

 

[2 4shofast]

Like stated earlier price shouldnt be your main concern, make sure that the people you do decided to go with do a good job. Talk to people who have had there car painted for over a year by them and see what it looks like. I had my 1969 Dodge Super Bee painted a couple years back by a new company in town. It looked great for a couple of weeks but about 6 months later the paint started to come off in chunks. I paid $2500 for it and had to have it repainted 8 months later. The second place I took it to did it for $1800 with prep work and the paint is still beautiful to this day. Mke sure to do your homework.

 

[Dave Ladely]

paint jobs, use good paint

using epoxy primer will help prevent peels and chipping, also will do a better job of smoothing the finish by better filling; seals out water to prevent rust, very sturdy primer, wont "dust" when bumped as does other primer, primer is the foundation of any paint job! So, use epoxy primer and you will be glad you did. Works with any top coat.
I would consider Imron black. I can get it wholesale for you, by the way. Imron flows super nice, is very tough, resistant to chipping, will not peel, is resistant to stuff like brake fluid, is hard enough to resist swirl marks from car washes. Probably the best paint there is. Easy to shoot, too. Has cyanates in the formula, but all poly paints do, look at the label, and Imron is really great stuff. Do some research to verify what I say. :****: