To those who have had bodywork done... $ per hour?

[Russell]

Hey guys!

Just had a bodyman over to take a look at my GMC and give me a rough estimate of about how much it would cost to get it done.

He told me that himself, and most other bodymen in the area, are no longer taking a lump sum for a vehicle, but are charging by the hour. He told me that my truck would cost 55 bucks an hour, which downright floored me.

Am I right in it my estimate of between 150 - 200 hours to get it done? If so thats like 8 - 11 000 bucks for labour alone! I was kinda hoping to get it done for closer to 6 - 7k...

How much have you guys paid for bodywork? The truck does not need any sheet metal work beyond replacing the bottom inch of each cab corner, and replacing the box sides. I would rate it a healthy 7 / 10 compared to other trucks in the area...

[tvblazer78]

My guy cost $45-$50 hour. I have see some for $85-$100 hour. To do your truck it should be about $5,000-$6,000. It,s big bucks for point jobs..

[Restrorob]

I'm getting mine done for nothing, I'm doing it ALL myself !

Today's body shops are a rip anymore, Their price's skyrocketed along with the price of new vehicles....

[70 Suburban]

yeah with good reason he does that.. not only can you get messed over with owners adding to the job and not wanting to pay but you make more by the hour. 45-100 is about right I charge 65 on hour but I try estimate the job on the high side and do it that way,

[old Rusty C10]

well they charge what they want.. insurance companies pay about $45 hour here in the NYC area.. on the cuff they want $50 plus.. i happen to be good friends with a guy who has his own shop and he doesnt charge me a ton but its still alot of money
one of the things tho is the body shops want to charge book time which is often more than actual time so watch yourself.. it pays to use someone you know and know well, and you may want to wait til after the winter to do this as when theres snow there is more accidents you may be able to bargain more when theres less work to be had

[chvtrkman]

The labor rate per hour sounds reasonable to me, but I would be very wary of anyone wanting to charge by the hour instead of a flat rate.

A couple of years ago I contracted a guy to do some excavation work in my yard.He quoted me an hourly rate and specifically said that this is the only way he does work for anyone. I agreed to his rate. Little did I know that he was going to show up with a little rinky-dink excavator that wasn't big enough to do the job. Long story short, he milked a simple one day job,(8 hrs of work, tops) and stretched it out to over 18 hrs. @ $ 75.00/hr.

A lesson learned the hard way. $$$$$ Ouch!!!!!

[Russell]

Originally Posted by chvtrkman

The labor rate per hour sounds reasonable to me, but I would be very wary of anyone wanting to charge by the hour instead of a flat rate.

A couple of years ago I contracted a guy to do some excavation work in my yard.He quoted me an hourly rate and specifically said that this is the only way he does work for anyone. I agreed to his rate. Little did I know that he was going to show up with a little rinky-dink excavator that wasn't big enough to do the job. Long story short, he milked a simple one day job,(8 hrs of work, tops) and stretched it out to over 18 hrs. @ $ 75.00/hr.

A lesson learned the hard way. $$$$$ Ouch!!!!!

I would have sent him home. If he is gonna be a scum bag, I'm not gonna pay him, lol

Anyways, does anyone have an idea of how long it would take a professional to complete bodywork? This guy is a friend's grandfather, and he has been doing bodywork for like 20 years. He is a very straight and true type of guy who wouldn't be jerking me around with the hours he took to complete the work. I should also mention that he doesn't do insurance work, he just takes on one or two projects at a time, and works on them until they are done before starting another.

The cab I intend to use on the truck is not the factory original, so he suggested I bring him the cab to complete, and based on the quality of work he does on it / the cost of it to decide if I want him to complete the rest of the truck or not. That would be me taking him a totally stripped and bare cab, having him strip the old paint off, prep and prime the metal, then shoot the first coat of color on. I would then dynamat the inside, and install my electrical, HVAC etc on my own.

It would basically have the biggest / most important part of the truck done, and give me a pretty good indicator of how things were gonna go as far as cost goes.

I would not be taking him the cab to get started on until the middle of May after I start getting some cash flow after I start working again. I technically could dedicate my entire summer's wages to paying off the work, since my expenses are basically zero while living here at home with my parents yet.

[C10-Driver]

150 to 200 hours sounds reasonable. I can understand charging by the hour on jobs like these. A firm estimate is usually based on an estimate of the time to achieve a certain result. If expectations aren't clear or change, it will have an effect on the amount of time to complete. I got lucky and found a really good bodyman for $30/hr and still spent 10K on bodywork. I would try to work out a cheaper rate with the guy you talked to or keep looking. Offer him $40/hr cash and see what he says.

[old Rusty C10]

would it be more cost effective if you brought him the cab after you brought it to a media blaster? this way you dont have to pay his time to load the cab up and all.. One of the other members XXL built a rolling dolly out of 2X4s and a couple of caster wheels a few years back perhaps that would cut into the time too?
Once the cab is medial blasted, you have a real good idea of what the time on doing this is going to be
My thoughts are if youre going to spend an entire summer's wages on this its a ginormous chunk of change so id make sure i was getting the most for my hard earned dollar

[bigblock79]

the 100-200 hrs is that just on the cab or the whole truck. i would offer him 40 dollar cash and hr.

[Russell]

The 100 - 200 hours would be for the entire truck.

I like your thinking about getting my truck's cab media blasted etc before hand bob. I understand that they will sandblast an entire cab for around 2 - 300 bucks, by taking it there myself, and putting it on a dolly myself, that saves him a few hours from doing the same....

I should also look into getting my patch panels welded in prior to taking it to him as well. I can weld reasonably well, but am not particularly good at cutting things straight, just don't have the tools. However, I know a kid locally that does sheetmetal work for an insurance collision shop that would probably do it for quite a bit less than the bodyman...

That would just leave the other guy with shooting primer on, doing some minor filler work to fix a couple dents on the cab, and painting it.... I would be surprised if it took him more than 10 hours to do the cab that way, there really isn't that much to sand etc as far as I can tell... That would put me at 500 odd buck plus the cost of materials, which is actually pretty affordable as compared to paying the full lump sum of 6000 odd dollars

[C10-Driver]

Media blasting is great for getting in corners, along edges and for removing material that would be difficult to remove by hand but be careful... Large, flat panels like the roof, door skins and especially the hood can be easily warped during the blasting process. There is a fair amount of heat that can build up and it doesn't take much to "pop" a panel. You will want to find a blaster with a lot of experience and be very clear as to what you want. If the panels get warped you will either pay a lot to straighten them out or be left with a wavy paint job.

[70 Suburban]

if its soda or true media then you wont realy have the heat build up problem

[Russell]

I would request it be done with walnut shells. Its my understanding that they clean just as well as sand, but don't generate quite as much heat...

[C10-Driver]

Originally Posted by Russell

I would request it be done with walnut shells. Its my understanding that they clean just as well as sand, but don't generate quite as much heat...

My blaster uses these when doing sheet metal. Even though the shells generate less heat, I think it would still get warm. With something like a hood, it wouldn't take much to create problems... Stay too long in one spot trying to take off some stubborn coating and you could still warp something. This goes back to what I was saying about an experienced blaster... Shooting a frame or some control arms is an entirely different ball game than sheet metal.

[old Rusty C10]

i was told that media being plastic bbs or something very similar would not cause warping or anything and this was invented as the sand caused damage and warping and could even make holes
I dont know in alberta but here in nyc they wanted to charge me $100 just to do a small pedal car body i wound up holding off

[N2TRUX]

You might check with the body man before you start subbing out the work. He can tell you what media he prefers for stripping paint. He may also tell you he won't guarantee his work if someone else welds the patch panels in. I know I wouldn't...

[Russell]

Good thinking Ken... Its just a huge thing to tackle, lots to figure out... I want to be as thrifty as possible, but I want it done right too.

I have decided that this is the year it'll get done though. The interior etc can wait for a while, but I absolutely want to drive the truck on the street next summer.

[Billla]

Consider that bottom line - it takes time for this stuff, and the shop needs to get paid for their time. It has really become expensive, but part of that is having very high standards. Much of the work being done is NOT skilled work - if you've got a place to work you can do much of the "grunt" work of sanding and filling yourself. Talk to your paint shop and tell them you want to do the basics yourself; find out what materials they use (filler, paint, etc.) and tell them that you're planning to do the "rough out" yourself. If it's a good shop, they'll have this discussion with you and work WITH you to put together an approach that works. It's been a real money-saver for me.

I've had a fair bit of work done locally by a company called Alternative Blasters (http://www.ablasterscorp.com/). They use plastic media along with sand if there's any nasty spots. I have been 100% satisfied so far - they stripped a 72 hood (talk about risk of waves!) and did beautiful work. I haven't seen any issues at all with the use of plastic media.

[Thumpin455]

Well you could dive in and do it yourself, provided you have a heated shop with plenty of room to work in. By plenty of room you need at least a two car garage with enough room to have 4 feet around the vehicle. You also need heat this time of year. Fillers, primers and paint are all chemical reaction curing, they wont work right or at all under 50F.

After the space, time and heat are figured out then you need tools. An air compressor that will keep up with a dual action (DA) sander is a must. You can also pick up an inexpensive MIG welder for around $600 that will run on 110v and do ok on sheet metal. Both of those are handy to have around a shop and they can be reused for many years, so that means they are a good investment.

I didnt do any body work on my 76 and it took me about three weeks of work to get color on it. That was pulling the engine/trans, all the trim, and swapping the windshield. The body work on my 67 Cougar took much longer, it had some nasty dents I had to cut out and form the body line again. Both are only drivers so they dont have to be perfect, they wont win any shows, but they look ok/nice for cruising next summer.

Sandblasting isnt for the novice on a large panel. Its better to sand with a DA than to blast it. Use a blaster for heavy gauge metal like the frame, suspension parts, and in hard to reach areas like door jambs. You wont notice a wave in a door jamb unless you are building a Foose level of car. The warpage comes from heat and from the pounding the metal takes from high speed sand impacting it. Its much like shooting the metal with a shotgun continuously until the paint is gone. Usually its improper technique that causes the problems, that and using media that is too coarse for the job.

Sand/media blasting takes a huge amount of space, it really shouldnt be done in a small shop. The sand gets everywhere, you will have it in your outlets, in all your tools (like a bench vice) and you will be sweeping it up for years if you blast indoors. It also takes a large air compressor, even larger to run a cheap siphon type blaster. A pressure blaster uses less air but costs more initially. What media to use can be found with some research, its fun stuff to study though..

There are other things to know, but its probably well within your reach and learning ability to tackle a paint job yourself. The supplies for my truck cost me $200 total, that includes the sand paper, primer, and two cans of cheap tractor enamel. The Cougar cost me $350 for the base/clear paint alone. Most of the filler I put on the car ended up on the floor of the shop as dust. Total for the Cougar paint job was around $1200 not including any labor, because I did all of it myself.

You can see both projects in different stages if you click the link in my sig. Im not a body man, I never went to school for it or learned in a shop. I build engines, transmissions, set up rear ends, and stuff like alignments. If a greasy mechanic like me can paint a car/truck pretty much anyone can.

The draw back to being young and broke is it might take you a few years to get it all done. The Cougar sat for 20 years after I started the paint job while I was in High School. Life happens and projects can get pushed aside far to easily, but staying focused and setting goals and deadlines will help you get it done sooner.

Or pay someone $10k to paint your truck..

[Russell]

I've got the air compressor, and I've got a good mig welder already. However, I have never been particularly good at metal fabrication... More than anything, I don't have the tools to cut the metal straight, and I can never seem to cut it the right length, no matter how many times I measure

If I felt that the bodywork was something I could accomplish without botching the whole thing, I would definitely tackle it myself... My biggest concern is not so much the initial appearance of it, but rather how long it would last. I've always been told that the most important part of a paint job is metal prep, and I am not particularly confident that I can pull that off in a way that will keep the job looking good for a number of years.

I've already spoken with the bodyman about helping him out as best I can with sanding filler etc, and he sounded very willing to let me do as much to shave off the hours. That would have him still prepping the metal and putting down the primer so a guy has a good base to work with, but would save me a number of hours by sanding it myself, using the proper tools that he owns.

[EAST SIDE LOW LIFE]

This is the part of the hobby that gets expensive. I've seen guy's charge $20.00 hr. to $50.00 hr. for jobs that are done at a retired or well experienced back yarder's shop. The hourly rate tells you nothing!!!! First off both know what they have to [want] to make. If a guy charges $50.00 hr. and knows what he is doing and the hours spent reflect this [not excessive hours spent] to get the results that you want this could be a win/win situation. If a guy charges $20.00 hr. and spends more time to get the same results [in some cases the results are poorer] this could spell desaster!! Most often the latter is what you hear about over and over again. These $20.00 hr. guys know what you want to hear and they can reconize a guy shopping with a half full wallet.This is why it's cheaper to buy and replace parts then pay for labour. Allot of the fitting of new parts can be done by yourself. Now the quality of the parts comes into question.The sooner that your truck can get to the paint booth the better as you will spend money on paint rather then body work. This is also why $500.00 to $1000.00 dollar trucks are not worth the time of day as they require too much labour and materials.

The expense of a paint job these days is one of the reasons I went satin black on my 70,' the other reason is that I always wanted to do something like this. I repaired all the original body because I prefer GM body panels over repo. panels. The bulk head on my box I paid $45.00 hr. to have made rather then go repo. Cost of materials and labour $125.00 bucks. The tail gate is the only repo. part [$380.00 bucks worth] and I would advise anyone to look around for a good used one as this is a much more preferred way to go IMHO. My buddy fabricated the bulk head in two hours. I know a guy that charges $20.00 hr. and he wanted an open end deal because he could not even estimate it. Experience is something that you are getting when you pay more. I like a good deal like everyone else does but not at the expence of good work.

The pic's were taken in the shop so the contrast is a bit on the dark side .... sorry about this.

esll.

[Roper]

Hey Russel
The Alberta Advantage sucks doesnt it?
Hey Ive been qouted everything from $4000 to $8000 to get one of mine done.
One guy suggested I do all the panel replacement and he would prep/shoot it for me for $2000.
See another problem is this. My Uncle back east used to do body work. One thing I know is quotes dont mean much. Example even on that $8000 qoute he can cut corners on the job like crazy. Its so easy to get ripped off.
Anyway that sounds like I good deal if you could work at/ help the guy do your truck. Atleast this way you know whats being done.

[st1]

I guess my truck wont get painted. it might be 5 or 6 colors for a while....

[Wwildman]

When it comes to body work the more Ido the cheaper the bill is .
1. I would strip the cab my self

2 I would take care of any metal work myself .

3.get the truck to the point that alll he would have to do is finish work.
(I.E. some fillerand primerand light smoothing of the body)