Painting a Shark?

[page62]

Prices also vary widely by region. Labor costs are low where I live, so I've seen truly outstanding $2500 paint jobs!

On the other hand, I'm sure I could find someone who would help me part with $5000 of my hard-earned cash, but it ain't gonna happen...

 

[Imran]

So just how bad is a Maaco paint job?

Of course I'm not talking about a show-stopping car, but a daily driver.

Can it really be THAT bad?

 

[cruzer99]

90% of your paint job is in the prep work, getting it ready to paint. Sanding, striping, masking, and removing. The Maaco's and Miracle and shops like that just squirt cars with little or no prep work no matter what they say.

 

[Interceptor430]

Cruzer82,
I agree with you 100%.
They must have their own colors...by the 55 gal drum....I'd dare say $6 a quart paint at the local Tractor Suppy is probably better.
The $200-400 price these guys advertise won't even cover the cost of good paint...

 

[paintdaddy]

The maaco paint jobs dont look bad but only last a year or two.The prep work is horrible,they machine sand(da)and what ever the sander dont reach,dont get sanded.Usually that is in the tight areas like around door handles and light lenses.They dont remove anything ,everything is taped up and usually not well.When they mask ,they are just happy they can make a straight line on all of the edges.As far as the actual painter,they are probably the best because they are spraying car after car for hours .

 

[Last Ride]

I have been following this thread as I am going to be painting my carwithin the next year. Estimates I have gotten ranged from $4500-$10,000! That $10K job was for "show quality" from a guy that has been painting rare and show Corvettes for decades. He said that a great paint job for a car I was going to drive would be around $4000-5000, or $2000 or so if I did my own prep work. I want it painted professionally, but how hard is it to strip the paint off of the car? The weatherstripping will be replaced when I do this. I plan on replacing the front and rear bumpers with fiberglass units and then have them seamlessly glassed into the body. I also need to replace the hood as it was warped by the heat from a turbocharger. Finally, I am going to glass over the hole for the radio antenna and use an internal unit. It would also be nice to have a professional do the work since my car is a two-tone and also has decals. Does this sound too crazy? In any case, $4000-5000 seemed to be the going rate from the few shops I actually went in to get estimates for.

 

[paintdaddy]

$4-$5000 is a good range.It all depends on what your looking for.It seems that you want a real nice looking driver.I would definitly go with the guy that has been doing vettes for decades.As I said earlier,stay clear of the collision shops if at all possible.Stripping the car is an easy task ,just messy.Most of the time you cant strip all of the paint off.There is always some primer or previous paint job that wont come off.Thats when you have to sand it off.You might want him to do that.A sander can be a dangerous thing around corners and edges.Also ,I wouldnt reccomend glassing those bumpers on,They will probably crack and if you ever have an accident ,you will then have to rework the whole front end,instead of just replacing the bumper.If it was a show car that rarely got driven ,it would be a cool idea.Just my opinion

 

[mmvette80]

What is used to strip the cars paint? I thought sanding was the way to go. What chemical works?

 

[Last Ride]

Also ,I wouldnt reccomend glassing those bumpers on,They will probably crack and if you ever have an accident ,you will then have to rework the whole front end,instead of just replacing the bumper.If it was a show car that rarely got driven ,it would be a cool idea.Just my opinion

I thought about this. It does make sense, but I am just sick of having bumpers that do not match up with the rest of the car. I guess it might be different with the replacements since the replacement covers will be fiberglass instead of the original urethane. Will the fiberglass bumper covers match up better and hold their shape? How hard is it going to be to glass over the hole for the antenna? That is something I definitely want to do. Thanks for the advice!

 

[paintdaddy]

What is used to strip the cars paint? I thought sanding was the way to go. What chemical works?

They have chemical strippers you can use.I use some stuff from home depot alt called Bix.It works good.Alot of people insist on using the "fiberglass stripper".It works ok but sometimes it wont strip all of the paint off because it is weak so that it wont hurt the fiberglass.Even the stuff that doesnt mention fiberglass ,doesnt strip all of the paint off sometimes.

I thought about this. It does make sense, but I am just sick of having bumpers that do not match up with the rest of the car. I guess it might be different with the replacements since the replacement covers will be fiberglass instead of the original urethane. Will the fiberglass bumper covers match up better and hold their shape? How hard is it going to be to glass over the hole for the antenna? That is something I definitely want to do. Thanks for the advice!

You are correct,the fiberglass bumpers usually fit even worse than the urethane bumpers.I usually use the fiberglass bumpers unless someone specificallysays they want urethane.They hold there shape,they dontget wavy from the sun,but they dont fit well.If the only reason you are bonding them to the car is to get them to line up better,why dont you just line it up the best you can and then run a sander down the edge,saddleing the seam.As long as the fit isnt real bad that should level the edges even with the body.If that doesnt work good enough,you could fill the uneveness with kitty hair or body filler.Dont go over board with the body filler.I have had to do this but I only like to use it as a last resort.The antenna is a simple fiberglass repair.It would be alot easier from the back side but youll have to have the gas tank out to do that.Good luck.By the looks of this thread it looks like I talk more than my wife

 

[Last Ride]

I was going to bond them to the car just to create a clean look as well. It may seem impractical, but I think it would make for a nice effect. I have also toyed with the idea of putting a ZR1-styled bumper on the rear. Whatever I do, I will most likely be letting the professionals work their magic!

 

[mmvette80]

The chemical stripper, does that take off the gel coat also?

 

[paintdaddy]

The chemical stripper, does that take off the gel coat also?

There isnt a gelcoat on sharks,I dont know why.The only thing that I know is that they changed the fiberglass in 79 or 80 to a white glass instead of a gray.

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

I have a question about bubbles on the hood.Is this purely the result of a cheap paint job or is it related to the heat of the engine.I didn`t have any bubbles at all until the last summer.Is there more insulation I could install to prevent this?

 

[mmvette80]

I had the jack slip out from under the car and scratch my door. The paint is gone but there is a smooth lightgray surface. I figured the lightgray is a primer or gel coat. Whatever it is its pretty strong.

 

[paintdaddy]

I would say the bubbles on the hood is from poor prep .Did it see more exposure to the sun last year than normal?
As far as the scratch on the door,that sounds like the gel coat that comes on aftermarket fiberglass but I dont know of anyone that remakes that door.Its probably just a good urethane primer.

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

It did see some sun this past summer.Not all the time.We do have scorching hot summers here in Sacramento with the temp over 100 degrees.Another poster suggested it might be oil trapped under the paint.The hood is the only place there are bubbles.Would replacing the hood and matching the paint be a viable option?

 

[paintdaddy]

Yeah,that would do it.Bare fiberglass is like a sponge.If that semi gloss paint on the back of the hood ever wore off and got oil soaked from any type of oil leak,It could do that .The sun is trying to get it to evaporate ,so it goes to the top but cant get out so it causes bubbles.That would make since.
Last year I painted a 84 .It had the typical problem of the ac compressor slinging oil on the back of the hood.When I painted the car ,the paint was bubbled in that area,I ground the paint off ,dried the area out,dished the glass out and built it back.The car came back this week for some weather strip replace ment,and guess what.......its back.I guess it doesnt bother the owner,but it bothers the S out of me.
Also on c3s ,I have noticed that the insulation on the bottom of the hood acts as a sponge soaking up oil.Eventually over years that could get soaked and start seeping into the hood.

 

[cruzer99]

Hey BBF, We could take your car out to Lincoln (Bill's street rod shop), and have him take a look. It will have to wait until after Autorama is over with because he has 3 or 4 cars he is getting ready to show.

 

[dmrodco]

No gel coat?

Well I don't know about your car. However mine certainly has gel coat from the factory. thats how they sealed the errant fibers of the glass if your didn't have it someone stripped it off. I used stripper that leaves the gel coat. The gel coat is the grey epoxy type surface you reach before you get into the glass. All sharks had gel coat before they got their final paint.