restore my truck bodyshop?

[72'BBGMCSGCC]

I'm looking to restore my truck and what things should I look out for with shops ,so I can get a good job done at a fair price? One shop I looked at doesn't Have a spray booth and he paints in his shop.Should the truck be painted in a spray booth? Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help. Dave

[72'BBGMCSGCC]

I forgot to ask. How many base coats and how many clearcoats should be put on?Thank you.

[mtdave2]

When I was looking to have my old truck done, I had a range of quotes from 1500 to 6000! It really depends on, where you are in the country, how good of job they will do, quality of paint and other stuff.

I guess it would come down to you, how long are you going to keep the truck? What type of person you are, do you like doing things once, right, and pay the money, or do you like to try to get the best deal and gamble a bit on the quality.

If you have ever tried to paint something yourself, do all the body work ect, then you know how much work is involved I was shocked when I did my sidecar. I had no idea. thats way I couldn't understand how a paint job could cost 6000!

In short if I were to do it now, with my beloved longhorn. I wouldn't be upset paying 4k or so. but I would want a top notch job done, and all the body work done perfectly.

Spray booth to me is a must. You can do it w/o one, but if its a good shop they will have one, skip on that guy!

How many coats? How many can you afford? the pain is the cheap part of the project. What you are paying for is mostly labor.
spending an extra 700 for several coats of paint/clear is money well spent in my mind.

[adamls]

Does that 4K include things like patch panels in the cab?

[ChevLoRay]

Check out the car/truck shows in your area. Ask local folks who painted their vehicle. Check with local shops for references to their work.

Generally, production body shops are strapped for time and room to do a "restoration" paint/body job. They are driven to turn the work out as quickly as possible to keep the cash flow constant.

If you see that a given body shop has a collection of photos of what seem to be antique/classic/special interest vehicles, ask them about them...who did it, when, where is it, can you talk to the owner, etc.

I've also seen some decent, really really decent, stuff done by Maaco, etc. It all comes down to preparation. If the prep work is done correctly, body/primer/etc., then painting is generally not a stopper.

I knew a guy who bought/restored El Caminos. He'd buy one that had been wrecked, usually with frame damage. He'd then go buy a frame from a Chevelle wagon (same wheelbase as El Camino) and marry the two. He'd do whatever other work needed to be done, then finally he'd paint it. He had no booth. He had his garage at home. He only used red or white, or combination of the two. They always looked nice. No runs, no drips, no orange peel. Paint wasn't thin, and it didn't wash off. Some people can do it; others can't. I've seen lacquer jobs done at home that looked terrible....explained by the rough appearance. Then, I'd be told that "all it needs is rubbing-out". Hey, they were right. Of course, we both know that lacquer done that looked like that was shot dry, right?

Do your homework. It is what counts.

[1971Stepside]

If you have the typical rusty cab that needs corners, rockers, floor supports, and a few other areas you can guesstimate around $3000 for body work and another $4000 for paint and prep. That is done right though.

I would ask for refrences from these shops. Don't ask to see insurance deals ask them for other restoration type work that you might be able to see. Then talk to the owners of the vehicle and see what they think. Often they will give you other shops and names to look at as well.

[mtdave2]

no the 4k would be just minor stuff, my truck is almost rust free.
just remember painting is one of those things that it doesnt pay to do it 1/2 ass. pay the bucks and be happy.

[GloryHound]

Something else to look at is how long is the shop willing to stand behind its work! The warranty needs to be in writing and also look at the fine print does the warranty cover the labor? Alot of companies sucker people on the labor aspect of a warranty. Just look at most of your new car warranties!!!

[stepside68]

72'BBGMCSGCC. Thanks for calling me! To help you out here is my toughts. First of all you need to see some cars or trucks that the shop has done, and yes i think a spray booth is a must for show quality work and you need to find a shop that is up to date on todays technogly.
Just like i was telling you on the phone, the shop need to use good quality products i use dupont i like it and it works fine, but i do use house of kolors. I don't wet sand no more i dry sand,
3m has a new product and the 3m rep came by my shop and done a demo for me to see how it works. I love it! Once the clear
cures you take 1500 grit on a da and nib it and the 3000 grit
is made to take out 1500 grit scraches and then the compound
is made to take out the 3000 grit scraches and you end up with
a flawless paint job!
The paint is only as good as the prep work is if you got sorry prep
work then the paint will never hold up. They need to use good
expoxy primer and if you take part of it or all of it to bare metal
then you need to use self itiching primer.
And metal prep on the metal as far as the paint i like putting
3 to 4 coats of base i know alot of shops only gives you 2 coats.
My opinion is if you only going to have 2 coats of base then why pay $4,000 to $6,000 for a paint job. when you can pay maco
$400.00 and have 2 coats.
On clear i like putting 3 coats and sand it and get all the flaws
(dust particals) and then 3 more coats of clear and buff it out!
Also on certain colors putting 3 coats on and sand it and put 3 more coats on makes it look deeper, have you ever seen a paint job that just looks real deep?
I'm in the process of a new web page please keep a check on my web page and good luck on your truck and if i can be of any help just call me .

Tony.

[stepside68]

here is a mini cooper woody i did.

[casey]

72 bbgmcsgcc One step at a time find a good body man ( get referances) get one that wants to work on the side and, pay him fair and he will be fair to you, 1000-1500 bucks should get you a lot of body work, then ask around for a good painter look at his work, ask at the paint suppy store. finding a painter is a lot easier than a good body man, because the body work is more of a comittment, painting takes about an hour and it's done, the painter I found charged me 500 to prime and paint, 100 to rent the booth and about 500 for primer and paint, I used acylic enamel ( uno) beautiful paint, It just takes a little leg work to save some money and get a good job. Most body shops want to much money to do restoration work, they would rather do insurance claims, here's how my truck turned out,

[GloryHound]

stepside68...

Do you need to look for anything particular in a painter if you are going to do a pearl coat? What about airbrushing pictures and symbols?

Thanks for your help
this board is great for getting professional advice
and they say goodwrench service is good!!!

[casey]

I think look at his work,

[rigo]

You really need to look at the painter's work....ESPECIALLY is your having custom work done like pearls or airbrushing.

There are far more people that get pearls uneven and "streaky", then ones that get them right. Look around and ask people who painted a car you might like....then talk to the painter..ask him how many he's painted, what are the common problems with this type of paint job...and so forth...

I think the biggest thing i see with people asking for custom work on a daily driver is that they need to realize that some of the effects that they are after, are hard to spot fix if anything happens to them...i.e..getting keyed, a dent, a ding, chips...You can't just go in and spot a color back in with these effects and expect it to match exactly...it usually entails repainting the entire panel.

rigo

[stepside68]

GloryHound. My thoughts of a painter, When doing custom jobs
like pearls and tri coats, kandys you need a painter that has done it and knows what he is doing, You take a painter and all
he does is paint insurance jobs then no he is not a custom painter.
I'm not saying he's not good but in my eyes he is no custom painter. Then you got these painters and they work at car dealerships and places like maco in my eyes their not a custom painter. You find a shop and all they do is customs and restorations you are more apt to find a custom painter.
On custom jobs the painter needs to work in coats of 3 and
what i'm trying to say is they can go back and touch up a spot
if it gets damaged and 85% chance they can match it back,
i will show you a picture of a helmet and to get the color that you
see on this helmet.
I started with silver first and the ony reason i painted it silver first is so the pin stripe would show up. Then i taped out my flames
and where the flames go i painted it pink then where the flame didn't go i painted it purple then i put brandywine kandy over the whole helmet. So see i did this in coats of 3 silver and 3 coats
of purple and 3 coats pink and then 3 coats of kandy.
So that's why when you pick your painter for custom jobs
you need to pick a good one not just your everyday painter.
On these tri coats and pearls and heavy metallics he need to know how to lay it down.
When painting these paints you got to spray it in more than one
direction so you want get streaks. And yes some custom work
can't be touched up!
Thanks, Tony

p.s If i can be of any help please let me know.

[stepside68]

here is a side show if it works

[stepside68]

here is a golf cart that i did if you noice it has a fade job on it

[oldchvytrcks]

i would look at his work

[GloryHound]

Stepside68...

Yea you could be a lot of help come up and paint my truck the next time you have a little free time!!

Seriously thanks for the help it gives me a hint at least of what to ask a guy before he paints my truck!

[cag17]

I have worked with Tony (Stepside68) for about a year now getting out Bowtie Club of the Carolinas off and running. In that time I have been around to see his work. Let me just put it this way, he is painting my 72' Cheyenne Super as we speak. I have very close friends in the business and I trust stepside68 a lot more than them. He knows the body work end as well as anyone I know. I know for a fact that he will not cut corners for anyone, because he is more particular than even I would be on my own truck. The helmet that he posted a pic is a master piece. He hadn't told me exactly what how many coats that he had put on it, but it looks like you just jump into it because it is so deep.

There is a local guy here that I trusted to work on my truck because he only works on show quality cars and everyone told me that he was the best one for the job. That was five years ago, and now I am having redo everything that he touched. For example, instead of cutting out the rust and putting a panel in, he decided to just weld a panel over the rust and plaster it smooth with Bondo. After a couple of years it cracked and started chipping. I took it to stepside68 because I wanted a show truck and I wasn't going to have to worry about. I know when I get it back it will top quality work.

[pissonNOS]

i paid 4500 canadian for my paint job and my uncle let me do most of the work myself hes fromt he oldschool of painting yet he is very up to date with his equipment. A clean bathroom and a clean reception area will often tell alot about the place

[stepside68]

Thank Cag17 I Appreciate the compliment