Hey yall - Looks like a few guys have gotten paint jobs lately. I hear I should stay away from places like Maaco but seems like whenever I go to a place like Joes Body shop down the street, they want $3k. Is that the only option I'm faced with? Big money like that? Anybody see that Wrecks to Riches shows where Barry spent $4k for that true blue car he did - a big Torino was it? Paint was awesome but not something I need...

I've painted cars before when I was younger and can't imagine that past $500 for the materials alone, there's another $2500 worth of time and expertise needed for a decent paint job...that's 50 hours at $50/hr...

Considering a reasonably straight car with no rust or major fixes, What would you guys pay for a nice paint job? Again, no Chip Foose deal or anything but something over and above what a $300 Maaco style place would do...or is $3k-ish really the only option due to things I'm over simplifying?

 

Alot of places will spray it for you cheap if you do all the labor i.e take off emblems, trim, and tape the bitch off. Theres alot of overhead and time in tape paper and all over prep find out what they'll charge to just shoot it, plus you know you wont get any overspray like most quick shoot places do.

 

Never ever go anywhere naers Maaco or Econo.

And well...ya know, painting a car the right way is expensive. The materials cost several hundred dollars and theres days worth of prep work and the actual work itself involved.

+1 on doing the prepwork yourself. If you know what you're doing strip it, sand it, and tape it for them. Should shave a bit off of the price.

 

2-3k depending on condition and the hook up.

 

Persnoally I have had great luck with Maaco. Of course the cars are ready for paint and stripped of anything that does not need paint. We even take out the quarter windows. They stand behind their work 100% and I can get a base clear job for less that them paint costs me.
It is all about the painter and the one there just happens to have a 90 Gt so taking Foxes there is a plus. But of course if you can not do the prep work and any body work needed the you should not go there. And by the way they are not all created equal.

 

it's nothing to see 50 hours in a paintjob.

 

you get what you pay for in a paint job. I'd be more than happy spending 3k on the paint job I'm going to get for the 70, I have a feeling that it'll be more like 6-8k..
But then again, i'm media blasting to start and going from there..
Won't be cocours level, but I planning on driving it... hard..

 

Take it from someone thats knows. "Get it done right the first time." I have about 5000 in my paint job only because I had to have it done twice and the first guy didn't stand behind shit! From what I've experienced from my latest paint job adventure, 3000 is a good deal for a nice paint job. I wish thats all it would have cost me. I learned my lesson!

 

2-3k is a decent priced job......

 

When you pay 3k for a paint job do they get the engine bay and under the hood, and behind the doors and stuff like that?