Why is automotive body paint so costly ?

[toolmanmike]

I think many of the very expensive options are un-necessary...... our cars rarely see bad weather, even the sun for that matter.......

I have zero issue using a "middle of the road" base coat; covered with SPI clear....... could any of you tell the difference?

View attachment 1604176View attachment 1604177View attachment 1604178

THose all look good and a lot closer to original then some of the overdone base/clear jobs out there now days.

 

[eldubb440]

gallon of base for this was 360 bucks ....... used the matching lower end clear (Wanda by Akzo Nobel) for this under side and cut ins

 

[toolmanmike]

gallon of base for this was 360 bucks ....... used the matching lower end clear (Wanda by Akzo Nobel) for this under side and cut ins

View attachment 1604182

Nice. I sure like the looks of those USCT subframe ties. You would swear they were built that way.

 

[dadsbee]

I think many of the very expensive options are un-necessary..

How much a gallon?

Issue up here, above the invisible line, we got forced into water bases ****! Solvent based paint availability doesn't leave us many options anymore.

 

[eldubb440]

How much a gallon?

Issue up here, above the invisible line, we got forced into water bases ****! Solvent based paint availability doesn't leave us many options anymore.

I was surprised the blue was that "cheap"

hemi orange and limelight were significantly higher, but not double......... and yeah, solvent based; I have yet to use the water stuff, hope I never have to..... I'm tired of having to learn new things

 

[dadsbee]

So 360 US is 480 Cdn right now and that's your bottom price. Other colours higher.. now we're talking the same lingo! LOL

 

[eldubb440]

the blue also covers completely........ in 4 double passes

the orange and yellow were transparent to the point of annoying; and require 3 gallons to do the job...... and the yellow car didn't get the roof or underside painted; or it would have been 4

 

[dadsbee]

My Bee has 4 full coats of House of Kolor on it and then got Kleared, sanded out and then two more coats of Klear. Then got cut and buffed over a year later.

The Bird in Yellow, not sure how many coats it got for "full color". It had to be painted White first and then the Yellow over top to get the color right. I picked it up back in June and loading it back up tomorrow to deliver for her beauty appointment.

 

[eldubb440]

The Bird in Yellow, not sure how many coats it got for "full color". It had to be painted White first and then the Yellow over top to get the color right.

put that yellow over even a light gray sealer and it looks like mud until there is enough yellow on it

 

[PurpleBeeper]

I've previously worked as an automotive paint chemist - It is not the EPA, it is not government regulations, it's not the research time.....it costs so much because the raw materials are very, very expensive. Automotive OEM's are extremely picky and demand the highest quality. Some pigments cost more than $2000/lb (yep, you read that right)

 

[F4R/T]

Isocyante... maybe on of the worst ingredients in the new stuff.. I may have misspelled it . I was told by DuPont school teacher it hardened your lungs quickly.. The crazy thing is at work they use buckets of it. I’m not sure for what, but I steer clear of it and I’m sure the big jobs guys don’t mask up..

 

[toolmanmike]

I've previously worked as an automotive paint chemist - It is not the EPA, it is not government regulations, it's not the research time.....it costs so much because the raw materials are very, very expensive. Automotive OEM's are extremely picky and demand the highest quality. Some pigments cost more than $2000/lb (yep, you read that right)

No wonder why everything now days is white, grey, or black.

 

[R413]

Before you decide to use the lower lever cheaper paint, ask yourself, how would I feel if this paint goes flat or starts coming off, peeling, lifting, etc.

How much labor would it cost to remove the problem and repaint the car?

All for saving a a few hundred to $1,000 bux? Not worth it to me.

House paint went up a lot and was hard to get about 2 years ago.

 

[33 IMP]

No wonder why everything now days is white, grey, or black.

⁰
..... and I've got three red cars that need work. Aaarrrrgggghhh! (And I don't even really like red)

 

[rustytoolss]

Gallon of ready to use Rustoleum 60 bucks. Gallon of Valspar LVBR100 600 bucks + reducer, etc.. hmmm Gallon of House of Kolors 800 bucks ++..

The reason for all of the "patina" paint jobs... lol

Thats about what I'm thinking..getting hard to justify the cost.

 

[eldubb440]

Akzo Nobel is Sikkens, Lesanol, Wanda, U-Tech, maybe others? ........ all of it commonly used in the auto body industry; and in my opinion, there isn't much difference in any of them

BASF is Glasurit, R-M, Limco.......

I'm not as familiar with PPG, but I know they offer a "Shop Line"?, something like that.....

I would never use any really cheap generic materials, that would not be a gamble I'd be willing to take.......

but sometimes I think the "very top of the line" exists for people who "must have the best at any cost"......

see post #4

 

[33 IMP]

My red stolen/ruined/recovered Z/28 is going to go to Earl Scheib. I don't like it enough for any better than that.
Kind of a shame. It was immaculate, with a new engine, when it was stolen.

 

[Sahara]

Couple of observations, your results may vary.
I’m a pro industrial painter, done a few cars and trucks but mostly I painted industrial and oilfield steel for over thirty years. Yellow is the hardest colour to cover another colour with. I don’t know why, if it has to do with pigment, solids, or whatever. Doesn’t matter the manufacturer, yellow is a bitch to cover with.
And the pigments are the most expensive part of most paint. Some of the paints I use the tint is worth more then the base paint.

 

[gkent]

the orange and yellow were transparent to the point of annoying; and require 3 gallons to do the job...... and the yellow car didn't get the roof or underside painted; or it would have been 4

A local shop that sells PPG was telling me that 10 coats of red, yellow or orange is not uncommon. Trying to match the "99" orange of the Bengal Tiger Chargers was impossible - the "tint" is no longer produced. I had no less than EIGHT other orange samples mixed to see what I liked and every one of them took no less than six coats to cover. I finally said screw it and will be going with red. Porsche "guards red" which is politically corrected "India red". Almost identical to Viper red in the formula but it pops a lttle more.

Seems these days when it comes to anything car related the old addage "if you have to ask, you can't afford it", particularly paint !!

 

[rustytoolss]

Before you decide to use the lower lever cheaper paint, ask yourself, how would I feel if this paint goes flat or starts coming off, peeling, lifting, etc.

How much labor would it cost to remove the problem and repaint the car?

All for saving a a few hundred to $1,000 bux? Not worth it to me.

House paint went up a lot and was hard to get about 2 years ago.

All of that maybe true. But alot/most of us live on a tight budget, And major expensises take a lot of thought within our family needs...It's just a hobby. And maybe you are more able to handle the higher cost better than others... Most of these car live in garages 99 percent of the time. Long ago the cost involve with this hobby were easier to justify. But not so much anymore.