price quote on paint job

[greenmachine]

Question for the experienced painters in the house. I recently was quoted 6500 to paint my coronet b7 blue base/clear with ppg chroma base. That 6500 was with me sanding everything down to bare metal, removing windows, trim, engine, trans, interior, etc. the car is straight'ish with a minor patch in trunk. best quote I have gotten so far, most have been 12-14 k. First mopar I have had painted. Does this seem a reasonable price? Thanks guys, itching to try out my new burn disc and 4" angle grinder to chew through that paint. Erik

 

[MoparBill]

Does that include painting inside the trunk/interior/engine bay/underside of car? Are they going to paint the upper door frames different color for interior? Blackout behind grille? $6500 is half the other estimates- did both shops quote the same scope of work? Are both reputable? Have you seen their work?
Be very careful when choosing a shop- get a contract that spells out exactly what work is being done, and clearly spell out a payment schedule and finish date for the car! Too many of us have had bad experiences with body shops. If you give too much up front your car will sit in body shop prison!! Be sure everything is clearly spelled out in writing or find another shop.

 

[70RR]

There is over in A-Body only forum FABO they have a bunch of postings on this question..Pricing seems to be all over the place..One post kind of sums it up to me..Painting is cheap it is the prep work that costs so much...

Question for the experienced painters in the house. I recently was quoted 6500 to paint my coronet b7 blue base/clear with ppg chroma base. That 6500 was with me sanding everything down to bare metal, removing windows, trim, engine, trans, interior, etc. the car is straight'ish with a minor patch in trunk. best quote I have gotten so far, most have been 12-14 k. First mopar I have had painted. Does this seem a reasonable price? Thanks guys, itching to try out my new burn disc and 4" angle grinder to chew through that paint. Erik

 

[iraqivet01]

That's about as good as it gets. I would check out this guys work, and talk to others who has had work done by him. I found the guy who painted my Coronet, he did a good job, and replaced a quarter panel, and some other stuff, but he went 8 months past the time he was suppose to have it done. and it wasn't because of the work load, he simple didnn't touch it for months on end.
and I had to send a few pieces back due to bad workmanship.

if you don't have a good dedicated work space, tools, and lot and lots of time and good mechanical skills, I would highly discourage it.

Stripping the car is the easy part, putting it back together is another. All those little bits and pieces that get lost, or need replaced can be the biggest pain. it why you see so many cars for sale on Craigslist that were stripped down to bare shell, and then found out their eyes were bigger then their bank roll.

 

[greenmachine]

iraqive01, I have done research on this guy, best friend reccomended him and has a 70 camaro painted by him 10 years ago that still looks good. as far as dedicated work space, just cleared out garage, and am very specific on labeling, ziplocking parts, cataloging. I appreciate the info from you and the others that responded, trying to do this as intelligently as I can on a budget. thanks, erik

 

[dfarmercse]

iraqive01, I have done research on this guy, best friend reccomended him and has a 70 camaro painted by him 10 years ago that still looks good. as far as dedicated work space, just cleared out garage, and am very specific on labeling, ziplocking parts, cataloging. I appreciate the info from you and the others that responded, trying to do this as intelligently as I can on a budget. thanks, erik

I also take plenty of pictures so later I will know where it goes.

DF

 

[eagleone1983]

I sent my car to body/paint in sealer and completely taken apart. I bought all paint and final cost was still $6600 and took 9 months plus he still has issues to fix once I'm ready to give it back to him. Listen to Moparbill and get a contract with payment and delivery details. I'm not entirely sure what can be done if these don't get met but at least it is something. My car getting pushed back to a different month was a weekly occurance for me and a sour spot between my wife and I. She got just as sick as me of hearing "maybe next week" from the painter. Glad she's back though and besides some issues overall she looks great.

 

[99ss]

. My car getting pushed back to a different month was a weekly occurance for me and a sour spot between my wife and I. She got just as sick as me of hearing "maybe next week" from the painter. Glad she's back though and besides some issues overall she looks great.

The wife or the car? badump bump LOL


Its not just the prep work.. there is color/wet sanding of the paint and then wet sanding and buffing of the clear coat so there is more to it than just squirting it. Prep work is crucial but finish work is just as important to a nice paint job

 

[steve from staten island]

Finding the right guy is key to getting the right job,i dont have much faith in body shops that do general collision work as there going to always go after the collision jobs that pay right away. Your car is always a after thought. Id suggest talking to guys at shows and who they used. I got very lucky,i found a guy,retired GM body man who does lead work. I striped the car,took it to a excellent place who chemically striped and blasted the shell,i did the doors,hood and trunk..The body guy did new quarters,trunk floor,trunk exension piece and a whole lot of other rot,inluding rain gutters(its a convertable) He is doing outstanding work and the car should be done soon. There is very little bondo in this car,and no areas were left un touched. With the blasting,body panels,material and labor i should be around eleven grand out the door

 

[gibbswrecker]

ok my first problem is that people think there car is ready because they sanded on it for 2 hrs i get people in here all the time that say the car is ready for paint and i say ok bring it let me see it and when they do there is dents in it rust popping out along with possible shotty body work that will give problems in 3 months then the customer is mad at the shop. we do collision work also and the statement made earlier is correct shops that do collision work will put it infront of a resto because it is in and out and just because you pay us 3k up front doesn't keep the light bill paid or the help paid for long so he is right you need to find a shop that is deticated to restos and a contract is a great idea for both partys because people think there car should look like a chip foose or boyd cottington car after they pay for a macco price and dont want to finish payin the bill....also ppg does not make chroma base thats dupont so watch wat you are told tell him you want to see the product he uses because he can tell you all day its house of kolor top of the line and then he really used some nason base clear which is like filet mingon to cheeseburger

 

[Bruzilla]

I guess it depends on what your end game is. Is this going to be a total restoration? A show car? A daily driver? I would say $6,500 is a fair price given all the work you're signing up to do and if you're doing a restoration. If you're doing a show car it would be low, and if you're doing a daily driver it would be way high.

 

[wannadrag]

Find a body guy that does side work outa his garage and it will save you a ton of dough.I found one that was in between jobs,slow but his work was excellent.Paid him $15.00 a hr and i took care of the supplies and also supplied the shop.I did all the metal work and paint removal.I think all said and done with supplies and labor i have roughly $4000 in it.

 

[alleyoopmgv]

When I restore a car my labor rate is $35.00 an hour. And depending on the car and the shape it is in, is the amount I charge. I've charged as little as $4500.00 and the guy took the car apart and put it back together. it was this purple 71 Dart. It was a pretty clean car.

And others like this white Charger was a major project I've charged anywhere from $12k to $16k for something like this.

Like some others have said, it's all about what you want out of your car. If your looking for just a daily driver, or if your looking for a trailer queen sort of speak.

Me just saying, I think your getting a fair price if the guy does good work. Go for it!

 

[MoparBill]

Holy smoke- send that guy to me and I'll keep him busy for a LONG time!!

Find a body guy that does side work outa his garage and it will save you a ton of dough.I found one that was in between jobs,slow but his work was excellent.Paid him $15.00 a hr and i took care of the supplies and also supplied the shop.I did all the metal work and paint removal.I think all said and done with supplies and labor i have roughly $4000 in it.

 

[greenmachine]

Hi Erik, Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, I was out of town for a week. Here's the itemized list you asked for.

Paint materials.......................................................................................$1000.00
Paint........................................................................................................$1500.00
Color sand & buff...................................................................................$ 400.00
Prep door jambs, under hood & trunk..................................................$ 400.00
Fill, block, prime, bodywork..................................................................$2150.00
Mask, prep & cleanup...........................................................................$ 150.00
Strip paint & bondo................................................................................$ 500.00
Pull parts & glass....................................................................................$ 400.00
TOTAL......................................................................................................$6500.00

The estimate is based on a complete package so it's kind of hard to seperate it accurately,
the $900.00 depends on how well you strip it.
Just to let you know my schedule looks like it's full until about March.
If you have any further questions let me know. Thanks, Bill

What do you guys think?

 

[Jeremiah]

That is fair pricing IF you have seen other examples of the guys work, he is not a crack head, and has a record of getting cars out the door one time. If his shop is a mess, etc. those can be signs of trouble. The last time I painted a car I spent $2500 in materials and that was just DP90, paint/clear, filler primer, sand paper, tape, paper, etc. The rule with these old cars is "the more you look, the more you find". Trust me, you want to budget and extra $2000 for those types of discoveries. I have seen people try to "stick it" in true d-bag style to a painter who quoted an estimate on a 45+ year old car and that is not a good way to get your car done right/on time/with quality. Again, make sure he is not a drunk/crack head/nut job and look at other paint jobs he has done very carefully. Around my town I can usually tell who painted a car by how much the paint job sucks and a few other tell tale signs of drinking/substance abuse on the job. Just my experience, your mileage may vary.

 

[AdamR]

Heres what I charge not including materials. Metal replacement extra.

strip and epoxy prime 800
Polyester prime and block (per round) $400
2K prime and wet sand $600
Paint single stage enamel $2500
paint base clear $2500
cut/buff $500


You have to also remember that location will make a difference in what it costs. Cost of living in New York or Cali is going to be more then in the South or Mid West so labor cost will go up accordingly.

 

[Stumper]

Can someone explain this rationale of shops doing insurance work first? I can understand it "IF" they give a significant rate discount while doing restoration work but if the rate is the same, the money is the same so why pull insurance stuff up front?? The last time I had a body shop working on a car for me that went on and on I asked him one day why is it that the insurance jobs get pulled in front of my car. He started to say money and I interjected that I am paying the full hourly rate. Then it went to "they need to get the insurance work out fast"???? Why does the insurance work need to go out fast but my car can sit for months - and ultimately cost me more because of all the start / stop time?

 

[AdamR]

collision work is usually faster and the customers are less picky then someone restoring an old car. every shop owner I know that will touch resto work would still rather do insurance stuff.

I always hated doing collision work and would rather play with the old cars.

 

[greenmachine]

Thanks for the replies guys, I was going to go with a house of colors product, pbc36 (true blue pear), but their products are to spendy for my blood. Found a good painter that is going to work with me on that price, and I have seen his work. Im shootin for b7 bahama blue. were there changes in the b7 shade over a range of years or did it just depended on the paint mixer/product mixed in to. I have seen a few different versions of b7. thanks again.