Painting a Shark?

[BigBrakeFuelie]

I am planning a paint job for next year and I wanted some input on what to look for in finding a shop.First off what is a fair price to pay?I want a good solid paint job.Secondly what are some things I should find out about the shop?Questions I should ask to make sure it`s a quality place.I do want to keep it the same color just refresh it.

 

[GS Diva]

We had our '74 painted two years ago and checked out several local shops. We got prices all over the place! What we ended up doing is talking to several couples in our Corvette club who had exceptional paint jobs on their Corvettes. They had all used the same shop so, needless to say, that's where we went!! The car spent the winter there...we took it in December 15, picked it up May 30. They weren't the cheapest, but their procedure, work reputation, and end results were well worth the $5,000 we paid.

We had the car repainted the same color, Corvette Orange, had just a few minor cracks repaired, replaced the front and rear bumpers, and we provided all the replacement emblems, door handles, etc. The paint job was the best we've ever seen!!! Absolutely no drips, overspray, orange peeling anywhere!!

I suggest you ask around and ask the shops if they've painted Corvettes before. If they have, ask for names and phone numbers....then call the people and, better yet, ask if you can see their cars.

You can pay almost anything you want for a paint job. What makes the difference is the quality. Quality is what we wanted and quality is what we got.

Good luck!

Elaine

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

GS Diva-Thanks for the response.$5000 is the range I kinda expected for a good paint job.When you say you replaced your bumbers and all your emblems,was that included in the 5K?

 

[GS Diva]

The bumpers were included...we picked up the emblems and door handles ourselves and brought them over to the shop. Forgot to mention, we had the weatherstripping replaced at that time, also...included in the $5,000.

Elaine

 

[cruzer99]

Hey BBF,
I know of a place in Lincoln that did several of the StreetRods in our club. Does a show quality at a good price. I can also put you in touch with the club's car builder who can also point you in the right direction when you are ready.

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

Hey Thanks Cruzer.I`ll take you up on that one.I`ll be looking for your 82 when I`m in the Roseville area.

 

[paintdaddy]

Ill give you advice from the other end.This is what I do for a living and there are alot of shops out there.The big thing is to find a shop that doesnt do mainly insurance work.The insurance shops dont really want to do overall paint jobs so they are going to give you a high estimate to make you go away.And if you agree to the price they will make more than they usually do so it is win win for them.Good luck ,if you need any more advice ,email me

 

[huladick]

I live in Eastern NC and got two quotes for a complete paint job, including chemical strip. $1800 and $2000. Now I'm wondering if these guys are crazy after seeing the posts for a $5000 paint job. I know you get what you pay for, but the guys I talked with are not Macco. Good local shops.......

Anyone around Eastern NC that can comment or recommend a shop ?

Thanks

 

[mmvette80]

Has anyone painted there own car? Im pretty handy could I do it myself?

 

[cruzer99]

I always liked the shops that take an interest in the car and like what they do.
You know Miracle Auto Painting's slogan.......If it's a good job, it's a miracle.

 

[Bob Chadwick]

This is what I do for a living and there are alot of shops out there.

Paintdaddy,

You interested in looking at a 77?

Bob

 

[CraigRudd]

I painted my own vette after getting quotes. The quotes where all around $4000 to $5000. This is Canadian as I live in Quebec.

So I decided to try painting it myself as I wasn't prepared to pay out that much money.

What I did is by the video on How to paint a Vette and whatched it over and over until I got everything.

Also I got a lot of help from the guys at Carquest where I purchased my paint. They really help me a lot.

I used the base cost clear cost method as it wasn't going to be a NCRS car.

It took me almost 200 hours in three weeks to complete the job.
This included exterior, interior painiing and installing new weather strips and new emblems.

I removed all the window in the doors as I was changing the color back to a real corvette color.

I used 5 base coats and 5 clear coats and then wet sanded it with 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit paper. Then it was polished with a high speed polisher to get the nice finish.

You can check it out on my web site at http://pages.infinit.net/vette79/1976_vette.htm

Check out the color before I painted it, I was having nightmares until it was painted .

Craig

 

[paintdaddy]

Sure Id be interested in looking at it,I did a nice 77 for a guy in roswell last year.And huladick,$1800 -$2000 for a strip and paint is pretty cheap .Either they are new in business,or they really dont have plans of stripping it.Take them up on their offer and watch them to make sure they strip it.The paint job in the $5000 range should also include disassembly of the car(doors,hood,bumpers,and emblems).It should include painting everything inside and out.That also means replacing weatherstripping at your cost .As far as painting it your self,theres nothing wrong with it as long as you know it is alot of prep work and if you dont like your results you can still go and have it done.My suggestion would be to strip it yourself and do some disassembly work yourself.Good luck!

 

[mmvette80]

Rudd did you paint the front and back bumpers off the car? Also you said 5 coats of each then you sanded, did you sand in between each coat?

 

[Interceptor430]

I paint cars too, and have used PPG's base/clear. It's good stuff, but isn't cheap. One Gallon of the Base (the color), with the thinner, and One Gallon of the Clear, with the thinner and the hardener costs near $500. So...don't forget the different grades of sandpaper, tape, and paper. All of these items add up to a nice sum of $'s. And, if the car is stripped, there is the cost of Primer and the thinner it takes - that can cost $150+.
So....add all of that stuff up...then apply the 'time' it takes to prep and apply this stuff, the tools needed (compressor, sanders, HVLP paint guns, paint booth, etc), and you may understand why
it costs so very much after adding in the 'labor'.
Materials are expensive....labor cost is very expensive.
Yea, beware of the insurance fix it shops...they operate on a 'get it in, get it done quickly' schedule.
just my 5.7 cents....
best wishes.

 

[CraigRudd]

I painted the car with the bumpers on, It was done during my summer holidays and I didn't have the time to remove them.
Also I wanted to be able to drive it during the summer as my 1979 vette is a total restoration stage. The 1976 is my daily driver

With base coat clear coat you don't need to sand between coats,
just spray in on and wait the desired time (30 ~ 45 minutes between coats) It took me ten hours to paint it once I started spraying paint, it's a long day when your not used to painting.

Total costs for the paint and all the sand paper came to around $850.00 Canadian and I'm happy with the results.


Craig

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Sure Id be interested in looking at it

I'll look you up in a month or so when I get the interior back together.

Bob

 

[mmvette80]

When I sand the car I shoudnt go past the gel coat? Once im done with sanding to the gel coat what gets done before the paint is applied? Isnt there a chemical that needs to be added to paint the plastic?

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

Ill give you advice from the other end.This is what I do for a living and there are alot of shops out there.The big thing is to find a shop that doesnt do mainly insurance work.The insurance shops dont really want to do overall paint jobs so they are going to give you a high estimate to make you go away.And if you agree to the price they will make more than they usually do so it is win win for them.Good luck ,if you need any more advice ,email me

Is that a question I should ask them about the insurance work?How else can I tell if they do handle maninly insurance claims?I`ll probably look towards a shop that does classic autos.

 

[paintdaddy]

mmvette80,most c3s didnt have a gel coat but they started using a gel coat in 80 or 81 so yours might have it.After it is stripped you will have to sand the residue or you may even have to sand the remainder of the paint that the stripper wouldnt take off.If your fiberglass looks white ,it has gel coat ,if it looks light gray ,it does not.Then the seams need to be reworked ,which means the seams where the tops of the fenders are bonded to the sides and the rear deck area is bonded to the 1/4 panels.The seams are always unlevel with the panels so they need to be filled.Then any other damage needs to be repaired .Prime ,block and paint the car.The paint does not need a additive anymore for the bumpers.Todays paints are urethane and so are the bumpers.In the old acrylic enamel days ,it need a flex additive.
Bigbrake fuelie,it is ironic that you ask that question today.I dont want you to think that Im saying to take it to a resto shop because thats what I do .But,this morning a gentleman called me from Columbus Ga. about his 64 Impala SS convertible that has been undergoing a full restoration for the past 5 years.He told me that the car has been from one collision shop to the next only to sit in the corner of the shop to collect bondo dust.Collectively all of the shops have managed to paint the body,paint and rebuild the chasis,replace floor pans and bearly get it to run.The last shop that had it took his money and then the owner recently got thrown in jail.Thats a typical body shop story.Im not saying they are all bad but there is a reason they are called collision shops.I would try to find a shop that does only restoration work or at least find a shop that does some restoration work on a regular basis.If you find someone in a collision shop that will do it ,get a ballpark figure and dont hold him to it.Give him some breathing room.When they estimate any type of work,they are trying to guess how many hours it will take them to do your car at X amount of dollars per hour.Then if they run out of hours ,they wont feel pressured to hack it up and throw it back together to make the amount per hour that he had estimated.Its best to find someone that will work by-the-hour.If you find someone to work by-the-hour their labor rate is usually lower.Good luck :dance