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How much for a factory paint job?

Michael_

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I was just watching vice grip garage doing a "budget" paint job for like 100 bucks.
As everyone knows paint jobs range from like 500$ maaco specials up to 5 figures high end jobs. Basically no limit.
That made me wondering what one has to spend these days to get a paint job comparable with the one our cars had from the factory.

Lets say you got a technically sound car with a faded original paint job and want to repaint it the same color (so no color change).
You do not want to do anything yourself and as stated above want a comparable result to what the factory did when they build the car.

How much?
What do you think?

Just wondering
 
Single stage paint....might be able to get some rejected paint cheap but last time I did that was probably 15 years ago and it was cheap at 40 bucks for a gallon.
 
its not so much the paint job as it is all the work leading up to it.....every car is different, and most of them are a can of worms
 
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its not so much the paint job as it is all the work leading up to it

THIS


And to answer the OP.
to put some kind of number on it , somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 And Im figuring in very minor dent or ding repair.
 
Yes it is expensive even if you do it your self. Thinner's-filler's-blocking- base coat- clear coat- Tape and paper. The list goes on. I quit adding up the coast after 3000. I did mine my self. But people that see it say's it is a 15000 thou. paint job. So if some one quoted me 3000. thou. I would wonder what was missing. Have a friend of mine that dose cars single stage paint and not Metallic paint for around 1500 to 2000. Just a few thing's to think over. Hope you get her done and don't have to go broke doing it.
 
Just the paint, reducer, clear, hardener, etc for my cars paint job was $6300 Cdn.
beerestowaynebodyshopvisits 233.JPG
 
Just the paint, reducer, clear, hardener, etc for my cars paint job was $6300 Cdn.
View attachment 1044685

I can attest to this ⬆️. People in the US are usually a little mind blown when you tell them how much a show quality paint is up here. 25-50k is not uncommon for a really really good job (for jot requiring much body work), and is all of course dependant on work required. Add lots of welding and banging, buying metal etc and the number goes up from there....
 
Wait till we are forced to use water based paint's. HO NO!!!!!!!
We already are.. but I refused! LOL. We can still paint aircraft with solvent so it can be sourced at $$$'s. Or custom paint like House of Kolors that I put on my car, but who knows how long we'll get away with that "work around"!
 
I am not a professional.
I have painted with acrylic enamel from the farm supply store. and I have used paint from automotive suppliers. $18 per gallon on sale at the farm store to $120 for metallic at the automotive supplier, but this has been 15 years ago.
I am currently educating myself about paint and guns as I bought a repairable and will need to paint a fender and bumper cover.
Since it is metallic and I plan to keep it, I have decided to go with Base/Clear.
A friend has been doing repairables for decades so I called him. He said, expensive or cheap, my results will be the same, so buy cheap, gun and paint.
I'm looking at Sherwin Williams for $31 per pint for color and $160 per gallon for clear, they don't sell quarts. My friend said to use a cheaper clear if I want, sticking with one brand is not necessary. I should say, he paints some high end cars, but he will also paint cheaply for people if that's all they can afford. In high school, a guy caved in the quarter on his 1980 Chevy pickup, but couldn't afford a new quarter. So my buddy pounded on it, scuffed it up, and spread a gallon or more of bondo using a large drywall knife. It was pure mud and a sight to see as he two handed the blade, but when done, you would never know what was underneath. WTH, it's not like it was a Mopar.
He said he recently bought a 55 Chevy to sell and wanted to paint it. He took paints from a number of manufacturers and mixed them to get the color he wanted. So, he believes mixing brands is okay.
So, I'm delving into the 21st century, going B/C, and will use a friend's Harbor Freight gun. We shall see how it goes.

To the OP, for this Forum, factory original paint may or may not have metallic. Metallic has challenges when using acrylic enamel paint.
 
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I used the purple gun from HB freight for most of my work. Keep the psi up so you don't get orange peel. Make sure to fish eye. Boy that stuff is expensive with in it's self. They say all the new paint's have it in it but don't hurt to add a couple of drop's to a quart of mixed paint. Good luck and GET HER DONE.
 
I just had my GTX painted for $3500.00 and I did all of the prep. ALL OF THE PREP!
The guy took the car in, inspected it, fixed a few snafu's and wiped it down and masked it.
I purchased all of the materials. Spies Hecker Base/Clear coat. The labor is all in the prep.
Materials are expensive! I'm done now, and can quit Hemmoraging money!
 
I just had my GTX painted for $3500.00 and I did all of the prep. ALL OF THE PREP!
The guy took the car in, inspected it, fixed a few snafu's and wiped it down and masked it.
I purchased all of the materials. Spies Hecker Base/Clear coat. The labor is all in the prep.
Materials are expensive! I'm done now, and can quit Hemmoraging money!

This is what kills me.... I know materials are expensive... I get that... But you do all the hard work, the painter rolls it in the booth & pulls the trigger... Honestly probably 4 hours worth of work.. Okay, add masking, 8 hours max.... $3500??? That's 437.50 pr hr....

In 2001 I had three cars painted... I brought them in through the front door of a local body shop that had a very good reputation for quality work... I had all the materials, the body work was finished to a high level, I even had the cars about 95% masked when I rolled them off the trailer... The painter rolled them into the booth & sprayed them.. Base Clear on all three cars... $300 each with a printed receipt....

These days painters charge more than high end hookers & don't even give you a happy ending...
 
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