Re: Cost of Paint Job?
Posted by BigKev On 2009/5/14 19:47:19
The major cost of a paint job comes down to two parts:
Labor for body work and surface prep
Materials.
The actually spraying of the paint, and masking labor is the cheap part.
Rusty metal is going to have to be taken to bare metal and properly treated. Minor dings are going to look very obvious on with new shiny paint over it. All of this takes labor to correct.
A paint job longevity is only as good as the prep and materials. Don't cheap out on the materials. I watch the kids at the college that just spent 40 hours straightening dents, and smoothing out imperfections, and then they use rattle-can primer over it cause they don't want to spend the money on correct stuff. Then they wonder a year later why the paint is failing in that area, or the paint "alligatored" when they sprayed it over the rattle-can primer. If the materials you are using are not catalyzed (two-part), then dont use it.
To give you some perspective the DTM (direct to metal) primer I am using works out to be about $175 a gallon with reducer and activator. Expensive yes, but I know it is better than anything you will get out of a spray can, or that a national quickie chain would use. The DTM goes right down on bare metal. No chemical etch needed. It is a epoxy hybrid so it does not absorb moisture like other primers do. So I can leave the out in the elements if I needed to (unlike cheap primer). It provides superior coverage and bled-thru, and sands very well. Also you can over reduce it and it makes it's own sealer. So all that alone makes the $175 not that expensive in the long run.
Paint is going to run you about $150-$200 a gallon for a quality single stage urethane. To do an entire car of our size, you may need up to 2 gallons.
So right there you are up to about $500-600 in primer and paint alone. Not counting sandpaper, tools, masking supplies, etc.
I think you could find a good quality paint job for less than $2000 if you shop around. The more work you do yourself, the cheaper it will be. Also you local community college is a great place to learn how to do a lot of the work yourself, and learn something in the process.
I am doing all the body work, primer, and painting the jams myself, and then will take it to a friends shop where we will shoot the color. In the process I will save a few thousand dollars, but that savings is in sweat equity. But I have the pride that I did it myself, rather than just paid someone to do it. Teach a man to fish vs. give a man a fish.
Just my
Labor for body work and surface prep
Materials.
The actually spraying of the paint, and masking labor is the cheap part.
Rusty metal is going to have to be taken to bare metal and properly treated. Minor dings are going to look very obvious on with new shiny paint over it. All of this takes labor to correct.
A paint job longevity is only as good as the prep and materials. Don't cheap out on the materials. I watch the kids at the college that just spent 40 hours straightening dents, and smoothing out imperfections, and then they use rattle-can primer over it cause they don't want to spend the money on correct stuff. Then they wonder a year later why the paint is failing in that area, or the paint "alligatored" when they sprayed it over the rattle-can primer. If the materials you are using are not catalyzed (two-part), then dont use it.
To give you some perspective the DTM (direct to metal) primer I am using works out to be about $175 a gallon with reducer and activator. Expensive yes, but I know it is better than anything you will get out of a spray can, or that a national quickie chain would use. The DTM goes right down on bare metal. No chemical etch needed. It is a epoxy hybrid so it does not absorb moisture like other primers do. So I can leave the out in the elements if I needed to (unlike cheap primer). It provides superior coverage and bled-thru, and sands very well. Also you can over reduce it and it makes it's own sealer. So all that alone makes the $175 not that expensive in the long run.
Paint is going to run you about $150-$200 a gallon for a quality single stage urethane. To do an entire car of our size, you may need up to 2 gallons.
So right there you are up to about $500-600 in primer and paint alone. Not counting sandpaper, tools, masking supplies, etc.
I think you could find a good quality paint job for less than $2000 if you shop around. The more work you do yourself, the cheaper it will be. Also you local community college is a great place to learn how to do a lot of the work yourself, and learn something in the process.
I am doing all the body work, primer, and painting the jams myself, and then will take it to a friends shop where we will shoot the color. In the process I will save a few thousand dollars, but that savings is in sweat equity. But I have the pride that I did it myself, rather than just paid someone to do it. Teach a man to fish vs. give a man a fish.
Just my
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