paint cost

[oldtrucks]

I feel blessed. I have access to a professional paint booth and good paint guns but there is no such thing as a cheap "inexpensive" paint job. Being price aware and doing all the work myself, I can't do a paint job for less than $1200.00. That is on my own vehicle. SO if a shop is willing to work with you and paint your vehicle for $3000.00 I would advise you to take them up on it.

I have a problem letting someone I don't know in my shop much less painting over someones work that I don't know and trust. The reason is that when I paint a vehicle it is a reflection on me and my reputation. The reason behind this is that the end results is what is on display and any underlying flaws that show up are blamed on the last person that touches the rig.

The shop that I use the paint booth in is owned by a friend and we have developed a very good working relationship and trust each others work.

[fire truck]

I paint mine with rustoleum for les than 100 bucks.... no clear or fancy stuff, just like when they were built.

[BigMike]

It has been years since I've had a car painted (1992 when I restored a '78 MGB).

I had my Harley painted in 2006 and the paint has held up like iron. This paint job, as you can see, is quite detailed. It cost around $2800 using House of Kolor and PPG products. Done by Attitude Custom Painting in FL. It still looks as good today as when I first got it painted with the exception of some clear coat swirl marks. BTW, this isn't a garage queen. I put between 3000 and 5000 miles on it a year. It is the first and last custom paint job I'll own. Not that it is delicate, but too much worrying and too hard to get things fixed - like when you back your truck into the front fender.

[ezernut9mm]

good lookin' ride bigmike.

[Max]

Sweet paint work! Very nice job!

[BigMike]

Thanks.

I've always wanted to learn to paint a car but man is it a lot of work. I think I'd rather just pay someone to do it these days. When I restored my MGB, I had it stripped inside and out. The only thing I asked them to make sure of was not to get any overspray in the engine bay, wheels wells, or under the car. Turned out great, I need to scan a picture of that baby.

[64 f100]

I am a do it yourself kind of guy, but mostly because I want it my way and for lack of funds. What I've found are, I will spend more than should be on any project as a result, but painting is easy right! When I first started doing the painting thing, I used a Monky wards paint gun. One of their better ones. I still have it. Didn't work great but did a pretty good job anyway. I've seen one of my paint jobs on a 39 tudor sedan, show up at several shows. This was my wife's first car to use every day, as I had to have our other one for my traveling and work. The paint job was done outside in a urethane enamel almost 30 years ago. It spent most of the time outside when I owned the car, but feel it has spent most of it's time since inside. The paint still looks great. As mentioned, the hard part is prep, but there is nothing easy about painting a large sedan. Standing on a ladder to be able to reach accross the roof to get a good cross hatch with the paint will make hamburger of you arms in no time. I was young then and it wasn't quite as hard. As time slips by, so do my physical abilities and mental ones also. You can spend a large amount of money on prep supplies and paint can go up to the sky. Red pain is one of the more expensive ones and if it were just the paint, it wouldn't be so bad. With our paint the way it is now, you have to buy about 100$ worth of hardeners etc. for each gallon of paint. It is easy to get over 2,000$ invested in paint alone in one of our trucks, if you count all the paint. I have over a 100$ in spar varnish alone in the wood of my bed. The one thing I do know, is that get all the paper work you can on the paint you buy, and study it before you paint. If, you don't understand what the people are trying to say. ASK.

Rich