How to get the BEST $2500 Paint Job

[Shytheed Dumas]

So I've got $2,500 to have my Supra painted in the next couple of months. I'm seriously debating doing the prep work myself, but my wife is pushing to have a paint shop do it if it means me not spending every night for a month or more in the garage. Yesterday I got this quote: $2,500 for 2 tone and $2,220 for solid red, including body/prep work - base/clear. Knock $1,000 off if I did all of the prep, less depending on how much he needs to do behind me. I'm checking out more shops today and over the next week or so, and only ones with recommendations and good BBB records. So here are my questions:

1. Base/clear vs. single stage enamel vs. single stage urethane? I've seen discussions around here, but I need a bullet list of the pros/cons of each. Wife's good up to $2,500, so "single stage is $400 cheaper" probably won't sway me. I need to be convinced by appearance, durablility, life expectancy, etc.

2. Red flags when checking out a shop. The place I looked at didn't have any taped, newly painted cars in the parking lot - just one that was in the process of being untaped, so I think it's safe to assume it was ready to be moved out. I saw a real, dedicated paint booth, and he asked for 2 weeks to turn it around. Good BBB & AG records Anything else to look out for, good or bad?

3. Since there's $2,500 sitting ready to go, should I just forget the body work and have it done at the shop? Sounds like a bitch to do it, but I'm always ready for a new learning experience. Anybody who's ever done it for the 1st time without any experience speak up.

4. Any experience and recommendations for a good place in Louisville or nearby?

Sorry for the long post, but I only get to spend the money on this one time, so I gotta get it right.

 

[Yellow 13]

lilazni3uoy's thread should give you an idea of the work involved if your gonna sand down your car...Well maybe not sanding but the general process of getting it ready for paint yourself.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24660

 

[spinningheadboy]

If I had the money, I would not even touch the sandpaper. Your time is better spent somewhere else if you have the cash.

I would get a base coat and clear and spend some good hours with a black sharpie finding every little ding on your car and marking it for the bodyman.

I did all my own tear down and prep, but all dents and dings were not touched by me. I have 100 hours into my job myself......way too much time.

Fresh out of the booth before buff.

Good Luck
CWD

 

[Yellow 13]

My autobody instructor said never to use a sharpy on paint, but I guess since youll be having it sanded all off it doent matter.

 

[spinningheadboy]

My autobody instructor said never to use a sharpy on paint, but I guess since youll be having it sanded all off it doent matter.

If you're going to fill and fix the area, no more sharpie mark.

cwd

 

[Yellow 13]

If you're going to fill and fix the area, no more sharpie mark.

cwd

Supposedly the oils from the sharpie can sink into the paint and cause a bubble over time.

 

[TurboWarrior]

I wouldn't do base/clear unless its professionally done. for $2500 you can get your car done by a pro using enamel. I went that route and the car turned out beautifully. Im glad i didn't touch it. It cost me $2700cdn because the upper part of my windshield frame was rotted. New metal was welded in.

I found a reputable guy. See if you can get some recommendations from people in your area. If the shop looks shady just leave. I checked out the shop. They had a booth, the shop was really clean so i took it here. I checked some out that werent so pretty

If your budget is 2500 dont do base clear. Put more money into a quality enamel paint job! Its what it had from the factory its not that bad. Just have to wax it often, and it skuff and marks up easy. Wax fixes that too

 

[chriso]

I like doing all kinds of work so to me it wasn't that bad doing all the prep work. However, if I were to do it again....I wouldn't. If I had the budget for it I would let them deal with the mess. I didn't think my car was bad until I started in on it. I originally was just going to sand off the peeling clear coat on the roof and hood and one thing led to another and about20-30 hours later, well you get the point. Another thing is if you don't have the equipment like an air compressor, air tools, place to do the work, etc... you will have to shell out several hundred dollars for that stuff alone. I had all that stuff so it wasn't that bad.

To make a long post short....pay the piper and let them deal with it.

 

[bwest]

IMO - if you are going to go the distance and spend the money, do it right (base+ clear) once. having a car painted is a PITA (the tear down, putting it back together, etc...

Talk to the person/ shop you are going to have paint it. You can usually save a little cash by:
pulling all the door panels/ inside trim
lights
outside trim - if you cannot do this w/o breaking something, let them do it.
bumpers, inner fenders

I did this on the last car i had painted and it saved me $500 or so. It did take up some of my time, but it was worth $500 to me...

 

[TurboWarrior]

you know what else it depends on? the color. White enamel paint jobs will last and won't fade as fast. Red enamel will fad like mad if its not taken care of. And by your avatar its red?

 

[Yellow 13]

Ive seen more faded blue cars then any other color I can think of. Red and black are tied for second.

 

[JustAnotherVictim]

Red tends to turn pinkish.

 

[spinningheadboy]

Porsche, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, etc, do not put a single layer of paint on their cars. Do it right, like they do Base coat + Clear coat. Done deal.

cwd

 

[dbsupra90]

curt-

it will save quite a bit of time and money if you go ahead and take off as much of the parts as you can. personally i wouldnt go thru any more than this. most places wont be happy enough with what you did and do it over anyway. i know of a few places in the area, but they are kinda spendy. do really good work tho.

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

Spinningheadboy - I seriously hope mine turns out that good!

TurboWarrior - It is red, and I really wish it wasn't. I'm either going to stick with the original red, or I might 2 tone it with a charcoal grey below the side molding and up the center of the hood. It's a $300 price difference, and I tend toward the the 2 tone, but the wife thinks it would be a mistake. I've asked a lot of people for their opinion, and it's just about a 50/50 split so I guess it comes down to a personal preference. Anyway, a lot of it will be red, and it sounds like base/clear is probably the best defense against fading.

Amazing unanimous vote for not sanding myself. I do have a compressor and just picked up some sanders from Harbor Freight, but I'm starting to have doubts. It sounds like I might be better off saving my time for the 5 speed swap I plan to do next. I was thinking next summer, but maybe yet this winter? Hmmmm.....

 

[Supra]

Amazing unanimous vote for not sanding myself. I do have a compressor and just picked up some sanders from Harbor Freight, but I'm starting to have doubts. It sounds like I might be better off saving my time for the 5 speed swap I plan to do next. I was thinking next summer, but maybe yet this winter? Hmmmm.....

Nothing will ruin a straight panel faster than an air tool in the hands of a novice... :nono:

 

[Suprastic]

I sis all the body and prep work on my car this past spring. took it down to my neighbours shop to find out that they had to redo it all. all in all it cost $2300 for some rust repair and prepping. installing a 3 pc spoiler and prepping all the trim and bumpers. I gave him everything disassembled and reassembled everything myself. I wouldnt say he gave me a deal, but he did and amazing job.

 

[bwest]

Paint is something where you always get what you pay for (unless their crooked and sloppy, but that goes w/o saying).

$2300 for an amazing job (even doing the dis/reassembly) is not a bad price at all. Great (quality) paint today will continue to look good many years down the road (given that it is atleast taken care of halfway decently).

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

I would expect that getting what you pay for is probably more true for paint than for a lot of things, so to put it into perspective, would you expect $2200 to $2500 going to get me at least a "decent" paintjob in terms of expected quality of labor for body/prep work and spraying, and quality of paint assuming it's a reputable shop?

It's confusing because I have literally seen people discuss paint jobs from $500 to $10,000. I understand there's a big difference between vitually no proper prep work at a MAACO and a full blown color change using a three phase metallic paint and pulling the engine, doors and everything else, but for the basic repaint and get rid of the dings, am I going to be disappointed in the long run at $2,500 or do I need to consider putting it off 6 months and trying to nail down another thousand?

 

[bwest]

personally, unless you have seen this person's work at that price range (and are satisfied with their work) I would wait. $2500 is a lot to spend for something your not 1000% happy with (imo). Then it feels like a waste of both time and money. also, by shooting the car in late spring (if you waited), the you could miss most of the rain season and give the paint more time to cure and harden during the summer (pending the paint used by your body guy).

That is how i would approach it. On the other hand, I am real picky when it comes to stuff like that, but I don't have extra $$ to throw around on something that I would only be halfway satisfied with.