Paint and body work..nightmare...Metro Atlanta area

[72freak]

I know the most miserable part of doing anything on a vehicle is the paint and body....especially if you have to send it out. I have only had ONE good experience!!!! It either takes 5 times longer than they say or it doesnt get finished at all and you have to go pull it out of the shop...normally with a gun or a police friend if you have one!!! I actually have had such bad luck that the last couple of times I had the shop sign a form stating it would be done in X amount of time and I would be picking it up on a certain day and if it was NOT finished they could NOT place a mechanics lean on it.I paid them at every stage (strip, filler, primer, paint, finsh work). It actually got so bad both at my original home in S.E. Virginia and now here in Atlanta...that a good bit of my motor head friends either stopped the car hobby all together or we would not buy vehicles that needed even the slightest paint or body work. The point to all this rambling is I actually had an excellent experience this last time and if any of you need paint or body work done in the Atlanta area or dont mind hauling your ride here.....this guy was a pleasure to work with. Now...if you want a concourse retoration type paint job.....take it somewhere else for 2 years and 10k.....but if you want a nice daily driver job...or one step up from that....this guy is the man. He stripped my 72 Suburban down to the metal, did an average amount of body work, primed and sanded it about 3 times, blew color (2 tone) plus the wheels and I had it back in less than 3 weeks for less than $3000. Message me if you want his info.The second reason for this post is if any of you have had a good experience here in Ga. let me know where.....I have several projects going and dont mind further experimentation with other shops.

This post might be considered slight advertising or something...so if its in the wrong spot I apologize ahead of time and please move if needed.

[OJOE]

Looks Like A Lot Of Work For Great Reward

[krue]

Post the guys name and I'll move this to the review board (after everyone gets a chance to look at it).

[meathead95]

man thats awesome! there is a shop here in shelbyville tn that does nothing but classic vehicles, my buddies car is there right now. I am waiting till he gets it back to sum up his experience to let everyone know about the shop.

[86swb]

Looks like a good job from what we can see.

[bojoe]

It looks good. Not bad for 3K.

[ozzyracing]

I wish I could find a shop like to do a $3k paint job as nice as that one looks. I have been told that paint jobs here start, yes start at $5k-$6k. I just want a nice daily driver paint not a trailer queen. Of course I don't want a Maaco job either.

[Botietruck]

That's a sweet looking ride. Nothing like the stock look. I love to see the mods on many of the board member's trucks, but you know, the stock look is really what I like...all the way down to the white wheels & caps. I like that green also. Is that the 505 paint code?

[lloyd k]

wow, thats allot of vehicle to do in three weeks, great looking suburban by the way, got to love 3/4 tons

[72freak]

The guys name is Bernard..He is Austell Ga. I will look for his # later. Here is his Ebay name....you can email him throught that for now if you want. Tell him David in Marietta with the green Suburban sent you.

Member Profile: bemekam (185)

[72freak]

Originally Posted by Botietruck

I like that green also. Is that the 505 paint code?

I am not sure of the paint code....They shot the original radio delete plate to get the color. It is not an exact match but it is close!!!!

[4tiresngas]

That's awesome. I can't wait to get my butt back to Georgia!

[franko72]

cool Burb! I like the green with white top look.

[72CSTC5]

WOW! He gave you that job. I wouldnt have stripped the suburban for less than 3000.00. I think you better keep using him. But, you might see his prices go up as he sees all of the work it takes to do them. Great burb, I complemented you in another post on it. My friend and I do some custom work and in most cases the paint jobs start at 10,000.00 depending on condition of the vehicle and such.

[72freak]

Originally Posted by 72CSTC5

WOW! He gave you that job. I wouldnt have stripped the suburban for less than 3000.00. I think you better keep using him. But, you might see his prices go up as he sees all of the work it takes to do them. Great burb, I complemented you in another post on it. My friend and I do some custom work and in most cases the paint jobs start at 10,000.00 depending on condition of the vehicle and such.

Yea...I know it was a good deal..I did a lot of looking around and found several other in about that price range but when you see 10 unfinished cars in the shop you know they are the typical "take your money and sit on it" shop. This guy only takes in 2 paint jobs at a time and gets them done and out. He is a 67-72 fan himself and has been painting for years. He knew what he was getting involved in and did a great job. I know there is a LOT of work involved in paint and body and I appreciate the honest ones that do it for a living....I have painted 2 vehicles myself. My first was a 66 Coupe Deville...talk about long body lines!!!! Where I have to draw the line is for a daily driver I dont think you should have to pay more for paint and body than the entire restoration/build cost. Now I will say...some of these north-east rust buckets with weeks and weeks of body work,welding, patch panels and rust treatment I can see having to spend thousands if you want it right, but for a no rust, straight body, daily driver or slightly above, it is 5 to 6...OK maybe 7 days of solid work. After deducting some shop supplies, sand paper, primer, paint and clear...he put a little over 2k in his pocket for a weeks work and he did 2 at the same time....4k+ over a 2 week period. As car guys we are basically devided into 2 groups...the drivers and the haulers. Now I have absolutley no problems with garage ornaments/trailer queens with 20k running gear, 8k interiors and 15k paint jobs..heck..Ive had a few in my single days but those days are over for me now. I now fall into the driver group where we pillage through junk yards, buy parts made in China and Indonesia, and drive our unfinished vehicles back and forth to work and afterwards head to the lake or campground with a boat or camper hooked on the rear. For those people..luckily there are still some options in the paint and body field and this guy is one of them.

Ever since the car hobby and Harleys has turned into an upper echelon "must have" (Thank you Barrett Jackson and Discovery Channel?!?) my friends and I have coined a phrase that we say over and over while walking through car shows and trying to save money buildiing our dream cars or latest project......"If you have ever pulled a part at a junk yard that you could actually buy over the counter or online....you have no business paying $10,000 for a paint job"

Just a little late night rambling!!!!

[eagle23]

PM'd you for the name of that shop. I live in metro Atlanta.

Great looking Burb...love that dark green and the white top is way cool .

Brian