Paint cost?

[MikeS.]

So I'm getting close to being ready for a paint job. In 56 years I've never had 1 done and don't know what to expect. I'm told the whole Burb is going to need to be sanded Down to bare metal.

I'm going to get a two tone paint job done nickel on top and a medium blue on the body. Here are some pics of the Burb as it is right now.







Any ideas what I can expect to pay?
Posted via Mobile Device

[spacedebris]

I'm not going to be much help but I thought I'd ad a cautionary note from personal experience.

The adage that you get what you pay for is especially true on paint jobs. I've been worried about this since I picked up my panel. I've only ever had one paint job done. It was on my 89 s15 jimmy. I went to Maaco and was quoted $550. No body work. Just scuff and shoot. It was two tone, white over blue metallic. I did a lot of shopping around at the discount paint shops and found that this was about average (at the time, this was about 14 years ago). Now the premium shops wanted nearly 4 times that for a basic paint job and I even had one quote me $4k for a "10 year paint job". Now being my first paint job I didnt know what to expect so I went for it thinking I was getting a good deal.

When it was done, it looked great. I was very pleased. However less than six months later I was fighting bubbling, flaking, pealing, and everything else. I went back to the shop and they blamed rust, but when the paint flaked off it was obvious that they had not prepped it properly. It took 2 years and a lawsuit for them to re-shoot it properly. Even then it was sub-par.

I talked to the hot rod shop that is doing some of my body work and they said that the paint shop that they recommend is decent priced. When I asked how much a paint job for my panel would be they said that it depends on what level of quality I want. Since I'm not making a show truck I said I just want something equivalent to a factory job. So they said that a good base coat / clear coat 7-10 year paint job would be $5-7K, show quality would be nearly $10k, and if I really wanted to get wild it could run upwards of $20k or more.

I'm seriously thinking of taking it to a school for auto paint and see if I can get it done by purchasing the paint and letting them do it but I dont know if that is even an option or not. Its going to be a long time before I'm ready anyway. I'd be interested to see what others have done.

[65chevysub]

For spacedebris. I agree with your comment about Maaco. I had my 73 Dodge PU done in 88 with the same problems. They also didnt paint the rockers and wouldn't do it until I threatened them with court. The paint around my vent windows flaked off as well. So like it's been said before: You get what you pay for. If you can get the school to do it as a "project", go for it. I tried that with my old Chevy II but they wouldn't do it. Good Luck, and we can't wait to see it when it's done.

[65c10restomod]

even at $5000 door jambs and under hood is probably not included

[Captainfab]

While it is mostly true that you get what you pay for, that does not always apply with body and paint. I have seen some crappy $5K+ paint jobs. I don't know if it is true for every area of the country, but around here you have to be very careful when choosing a body shop/guy. There seems to be more shady ones than good honest ones. One of the issues when trying to get a regular body shop to take on a project such as your Suburban, is that the average body shop makes good money doing insurance/collision work. Consequently if you do get one to agree take on your Suburban, it may take a long time for it to get done as they will typically push it aside to do any insurance/collision work that comes in.

Now if you take it to a shop that does restoration type work, they will typically do a good job, but that comes at a price. Of course that will also depend on just how indepth you want them to go.

I would say that for a fairly decent body and paint job on your Suburban, expect to pay $10K+. Keep in mind that good quality materials for a vehicle that size are going to run $2K+

[LT1 Burb]

I took mine up to Canada to get painted because I knew the guy and our dollar was strong then. That was at least 7 years ago and it was 5500 back then, it still looks good though and the guy did an awesome job. The interior alone has as much sheet metal as a small import so it really is like getting 2 paint jobs done. I would expect to pay 10K for a similar job here now, maybe more.

[DRUMWAGON]

striped to bare metal, etched primed,a LITTLE body work (small dents dings), sand,sand,sand, 2k primed, sand,sand, sand and cheapest base-clear, single tone. as is with no complaints from you, 5k minium.

[gostranger]

i know from doing mine it is a tough veical to paint the roof is huge and the drip rail took a long time to get right take your time and do it right it will take a long time but it will save a bunch of money!!!

[gostranger]

Originally Posted by gostranger

i know from doing mine it is a tough veical to paint the roof is huge and the drip rail took a long time to get right take your time and do it right it will take a long time but it will save a bunch of money!!!

wow i guess i wasnt awake yet!! my point is you will save a bunch of cash doing it yourself take your time and save some money!

[kieth]

A FRIEND TOLD ME HE WOULD DO ALL THE BODYWORK AND SHOOT MY TRUCK FOR $ 4,000.00 AND I PROVIDE THE PAINT. I THOUGHT NO WAY,,,,,

AFTER DOING IT MYSELF (i did not know that bodywork was chinese water torture) that was a great deal. The body work is the hardest part, if it is not done perfectly everything will show up in the paint. Find someone who's work you have seen, then look some more. Back in 1971 I had a really good body shop paint a 67 Camaro for me, cost $3000.00 and took 3 months it was really done well and the car looked great.....today that would be $12.000--------Kieth

ps the paint, primer, solvents, sand paper, bondo etc cost about $2-2500 base coat clear coat, PPg and it is pretty reasonably price paint ....

[Rufton]

I would inspect all welded patches before priming.
Perhaps one shop to do welding and another for filler and paint.
If you DIY cut and fit the metal patches you could save money.

[aerotruk63]

It cost me $4700 for body and paint back in 89. The cab and frame was blasted to bare metal by another place $250.00. I was quoted $10,000 by another guy who did show cars. I told the guy to take his time, it took him 3 years between other jobs.

[mtruckr]

At weekend shows some people ask whether I plan to paint my '66. I have joking said it would be cheaper to just tape dollar bills over the whole vehicle. Based on a sketchy guess of square footage on the vehicle... I believe 1104 $10-dollar bills would cover the truck (no under-hood or door jambs)... that's only $11040. Make 'em $5 bills and the price is $5520. Wouldn't wanna waste the effort on 1's... that would look tacky