Paint Quote - What is Reasonable?

[bluec10]

I'm finally in a position where I can start restoring my 69 GMC. It's a 36,000 mile beauty with the cleanest body I've ever seen on an unrestored truck.

A few years ago I spent $5000 to have all the rust repaired - cab corners, rockers, door bottoms, and a few other odds and ends. The repairs were well done. The truck is rust-free and VERY straight.

So...I recently had a painter come by for a quote. He's painted for years and is just starting his own shop. I saw his album of work and it is impressive. He was impressed by how clean my truck is. He took a good look at the truck and later that day I got his quote - $20,000 CDN.

Is this the going rate for a simple paint job on a near-perfect truck that's had all the rust repaired? Need some perspective here.

[truckster]

I can't really tell you if that quote is too far out of line, but... that's over $14k in my neck of the woods. I can do a whole lot of learning for $14k. So far I've put about $1,000 into buying equipment and paint for my truck. It's not where I want it yet, but I don't think I'll get to half that amount before I'm satisfied. And then I have the equipment and experience to paint my other vehicles.

[bluec10]

Originally Posted by truckster

I can't really tell you if that quote is too far out of line, but... that's over $14k in my neck of the woods. I can do a whole lot of learning for $14k. So far I've put about $1,000 into buying equipment and paint for my truck. It's not where I want it yet, but I don't think I'll get to half that amount before I'm satisfied. And then I have the equipment and experience to paint my other vehicles.

That's what I've been thinking. I restored an old Goldwing a few years ago and did all the painting myself. I was very happy with the results. Only problem is finding the space.

[chewychevy67]

That is what I expect my paint job on my 67 will cost me. I'm in saskatchewan, my truck will be 3 colors though. I know the paint ad materials have realy got expensive since covid started. I do residential paint and mine has skyrocketed. The cost is high to have fun with cars and trucks today and I dont see it coming down ay time soon.

[LS short box]

Don't know if it's an option for you but when I had my 68 C10 painted the body shop "let" me do all the block sanding. I took parts up to the shop one at a time. Primed and sanded. Primed and sanded. I can tell you no one at any body shop is standing in line to block sand. We did a skim coat of bondo. A layer of sprayable polyester and then two rounds of regular primer.
With all the materials, shop labor for painting, wet sanding and buffing it was about 6K US.
I stripped all the panels, cab and misc parts to bare metal.
It takes a ton of time to disassemble/reassemble the truck to do a a really top notch paint job.

[Accelo]

My cost was over $13,000 including the paint. That price didn't include some of the add one like the template for the letters and other work that was added in. I stripped the truck myself and most, but no all, of the body repair was completed before they started. I did complete disassemble/reassemble, this saved me a lot of money as LS short box mentioned. This was about 2 years ago and everything has gone up since then. I just purchased a higher stall converter, the price went up $100 on October 1 of 2022. I ordered it just in time to get the old price.
I agree $20K is a lot of money. I'm assuming the paint will be first class. Unlikely a first time painter could turn out a paint job like a professional on his first try. A lot to learn.

[Grumpy old man]

Post a few pictures of what your starting with , Are all the mechanicals done Suspension/ drivetrain ? Are they painting the frame ? interior? installing new glass ? seals/ emblems /trim/ Never pay big bucks for paint until everything else is done . And Never spend $20,000.00 at a brand new shop .

[CG]

Sometimes I think places quote high because they don’t want to do a job. Then if the person says ok let’s do this then it becomes worthwhile to do a job they really didn’t want to.

[purple gas]

It's always good to get more than one quote.
It's also super important to get in writing what will be done, what materials will be used, and how long it will take. If they won't put that in writing, walk away.
I got a car painted years ago, it turned out stunning, but the 10 days - 2 week timeline turned into 5 months.
The price of paint jobs is why I'm going DIY.
A. At my age I don't need a trailer queen I'm afraid to drive.
B. I'm a cheap bastard and not paying north of 10 k to have a shiny toy.
C The last paint job I did turned out quite decent. Not pro quality but I've seen some pretty crappy jobs people have paid good money for.
In Saskatoon.

[Richard]

Probably not to far off the mark if it needs some body work and primer. My two tone 72 was almost 18k usd with me putting in about 350-400 hours of work at body shop on the truck. Had my 94 repainted at another shop about 3 years ago because my painter was not available. Was almost a scuff and shoot, still about 8k. Other estimates were as much as 12k. I did all the tear down. Clear is already failing in several places. One of the main reasons I chose a pricey imported single stage paint on the 72.

[Palf70Step]

Probably close to a good paint job now days. Things you can do sometimes to reduce cost is remove/replace all the trim yourself. There is a fair amount of man-hours involved in that, especially if you have all the trim like my truck. $$ for man-hours and supplies have gone up significantly in the last year or so. Like others have mentioned, if you can, get more than one quote.

[LockDoc]

-
A friend of mine is rebuilding a '57 Chevy. It will be black with a red interior. He just bought a QUART of name brand red paint from Arnold Motor Supply and the cost was $521 and some change. He does his own painting so no cash output for labor but WOW.....

LockDoc

[Jason Banks]

I think we still need more info on the scope of the paint job. You mention rust repair on cab corners, rockers, door bottoms, and a few other odds and ends, those areas will all likely need some body work or additional time to perfect. Does it include taking the entire front sheetmetal apart and taking the doors and bed off? Are you painting underhood, inside cab, inside bed? Taking the glass out? Taking weather stripping off?

In the fall of 2020 I painted one of my trucks EVERYWHERE, full dissassembly, painted inside cab, under dash, inside fenders, grill, bottom of hood, I mean EVERYWHERE. For that paintjob I spent at least $5000 on basecoat, clearcoat, primer(epoxy and 2k), body filler, glaze, Featherfill G2, seam sealer, tape, masking paper and plastic, thinner, gun cleaner, reducer, wipes, degreaser. I'm probably missing something, but there are tons of materials needed to do a top notch job, I do have some supplies left over and a shop will benefit some form being able to use leftovers on something else, but not very much.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

-
A friend of mine is rebuilding a '57 Chevy. It will be black with a red interior. He just bought a QUART of name brand red paint from Arnold Motor Supply and the cost was $521 and some change. He does his own painting so no cash output for labor but WOW.....

LockDoc

Yup, red and yellow cost the most. Just my luck, my truck is orange.

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by bluec10

I'm finally in a position where I can start restoring my 69 GMC. It's a 36,000 mile beauty with the cleanest body I've ever seen on an unrestored truck.

A few years ago I spent $5000 to have all the rust repaired - cab corners, rockers, door bottoms, and a few other odds and ends. The repairs were well done. The truck is rust-free and VERY straight.

So...I recently had a painter come by for a quote. He's painted for years and is just starting his own shop. I saw his album of work and it is impressive. He was impressed by how clean my truck is. He took a good look at the truck and later that day I got his quote - $20,000 CDN.

Is this the going rate for a simple paint job on a near-perfect truck that's had all the rust repaired? Need some perspective here.

Little confused rust free 36k unrestored truck but you spent 5k on rust repair already ? So it’s a partially restored truck

Is this the same shop that did the rust repair ? If not a lot of shops will be reluctant to even touch it . We wouldn’t paint a vehicle that someone else had prepped. Reason being it’s our reputation that was on the line . That being said the price of paint and the cost of doing business have skyrocketed the past 10 years .

Are they just tapping and shooting or are they disassembling? Single stage or bc/cc there are so many variables it’s hard to say if it’s a fair or high price. I would get other quotes from other shops then you can compare

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

Yeah that price doesnt shock me. the materials to paint my 68 were around 2-3 grand and that was with me reusing stuff from the 71 my grandfather had just built. The labor is very high regardless of what they are doing so that adds up fast.

Also as 72c20customcamper mentioned alot of shops these days dont want to touch projects that scuff and shoot or at minimum stripping a truck to bare metal and going from there. I know shops around me wont touch a classic unless they do the whole process and then your talking $20-30k.

[KQQL IT]

Guy told me the other day said as high as 40k for a strip to metal paint job.
For 4k truck... so patina it is.

Also, I backed my 73 into shop door. Fix the dinger and repaint was a 6k estimate

[Johnl48]

I'm doing all my own work but if I were to do it for someone with
Epoxy primer, body work, high build primer, block sanding each. Paint, cut and buff I wouldn't do it for under 15k the cost of my paint and materials is up to 3k already and that's ppg shopline

[LS short box]

If the OP doesn't go with the first shop and looks at other shops and if there are classic car projects in the shop covered with sanding dust just run away.
A person needs to keep in mind most "regular" body shops make their money on late model insurance repairs. Deer hits in the fall. Ice and snow hits in the winter. Hail damage in the summer.

[Lee H]

Need a lot more info. Is it going to be painted disassembled? Who is disassembling, who is reassembling? Engine compartment, inside bed, under bed, interior, top and Botton of floor pan.... Base/clear coat, single stage, water base paint? Are the rust repairs visible? How are they going to remove the current paint, just sand and start the build up or some type of soda blasting?

[Accelo]

A very limited number of paint suppliers has resulted in gross margins going sky high.
Added to that is when the manufacture ups the price say 5% everyone along the supply chain does the same thing resulting in much higher price hike, to the consumer, than one would expect. My local paint store was getting price increases every month and that was before the pandemic.

Not much we can do.
One could purchasing direct, that helps some;
https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/
They advertise 100% made in the USA.
My neighbor just purchased from them and for about $800 he purchased base coat and the clear, in RED even!
Cheers.

[Joyridin]

$15k - $20k is what I would expect. It is amazing what the price of paint is these days. I just had a car repainted and the paint alone was a bit over $600/gallon. That did not include hardener, clear coat or anything else. Just the paint.

[tutone]

I am sorry. 20K or 15K sounds completely out of line.
I went to trade school/body shop in the late 70s and early 80s. I opened my shop and painted a guy's Matador red 57 Bel Air in single stage enamel for $1500 bucks. Allowing for infation in today's money, that is $5300 or so.
Ok apples to apples, 1980 a 72 Super could be bought for 3500 in relatively good shape, I know, I bought one. Now by all the same inflation calculation, that would be around 13 K.
But.... The difference is. They don't make 72 Supers any more, so supply and demand takes over.
That being said, they stay up nights making auto paint and as long as people buy it at their inflated price, they will keep selling it.
I will attach a picture of a locally painted 57 from 2013. The body work and all was included. This was a 90% straight car and the total price was 4500 bucks.
I would get references and shop around and look at some people's work.

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by tutone

I am sorry. 20K or 15K sounds completely out of line. I would get references and shop around and look at some people's work.

I agree.

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

I agree.

I don’t .

Back in the 80s I made 400 a week working in a shop . Today they have to pay a real body man who paints at least 1200 a week . My buddy charges 175 an hour labor at his shop. And I’m sure I’m understating it. I painted my Chevelle for about 1500 total in 1994. Today the base coat of PPG DBU would be that much .