Went to get quotes on paint & body today :(

[Raguemoe]

Been out of the truck game for the last 5yrs (put my wife through nursing school). I wanted a fresh paint job (same color with the firewall, interior & inner fenders). I was thinking of the $5-6k range and was going to pull all the trim, glass, motor, interior etc.... I got quoted from $10-15k from all three shops :/ No major rust issues or anything.

Have prices increased that much (or is it just my local shops in Socal). Anyone know of a good shop in my area?

[Keith Seymore]

Wow. From what I can see: I would totally rock that just like it is.

Plus - with a fresh paint job you are worried about getting that first parking lot ding, rock chip, falling sofa on the freeway, etc.

At any rate I was able to get my truck painted locally for about $3200. Original color but in base coat/clear coat. I did all the prep and they sprayed.

K

[special-K]

That sure sounds mighty high to me. I guess when you say color change they triple the price. How about bringing it in even further prepped, like pull engine, interior, front clip, weatherstrip? Maybe they plan on blowing it apart and painting in pieces just like a restoration.

[Valarius_Starchaser]

I can honestly say some shops bid high like that because they don't "know" because it is a classic and its cheap insurance for them A. they don't want to touch it because there's no money in it and so they bid high B. If they do get it they figure they can still make a profit off all the time it spent in the stall rather than other jobs there as the truck won't be their first priority

Depending on your mechanical experience, color choice and bravery this could very well be a job you can tackle for less than 4k like Keith said

Nice truck as it is now though I can relate to wanting something fresh though

[67ChevyRedneck]

The price is high because instead of a respray, you're getting the entire truck redone inside and out, like mentioned above, you might as well have said "color change." The means they have to blow the entire truck apart.

Very nice truck. I would leave it as is as well

For that kinda money, find another one that is already redone that someone else is losing their ass on

[mcbassin]

The quotes you got seem to be in line with what is involved with a full paint job. These trucks have a lot of surface area to prep and paint. (assuming you're spraying all the panels inside and out).
I know from my experience the painting materials are VERY expensive. $3-$5k can easily be spent on a high quality paint job.
It can take up to a few hundred man hours to do one right, that's assuming the panels aren't rusted. At $50 and up an hour for labor you can see how they arrive at these quotes.

Most shops don't really want to mess with these old trucks because there really isn't a lot of profit in it compared to collision work.

I hope it all works out for you on your truck. Just remember, in the end you truly get what you pay for.

[n33k0]

Yikes! That's pretty steep. It might just be cheaper to learn how to do it yourself! The truck looks great as it is now, based on the picture posted.

I've been meaning to get some quotes for fixing a couple paint bubbles on the roof and lower fenders, but if it's going to cost me an arm and a leg...

[Grumpy old man]

Well... Part of the high costs is where you live with all the extra EPA laws in Ca your going to pay more than anywhere else in the country ! Hit up some of the local car clubs to get a better deal and a shop you can trust to do it right and in a timely manner before your story gets posted next year as another paint jail fiasco ! Just wait until your minimum wage goes to $15.00 an hour out there a big Mac will be $10.00 ! As a general rule a shop owner has to bill 3x the employees hourly pay for the shop to break even on your labor . That's why many older body shop owners have gone to less employees and smaller shops to be able to survive in today's market . Commercial shop space for heavy restoration work has tripled in price over the last few years and if they have a good location on top of physical shop space the price keeps climbing just for rent !
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[hamjet]

Very nice truck the way it is. In my book, ( only 3 or 4 pages) 10K to 15K extra put into a very nice ride already equates to less drive time, ulcers worrying about the paint getting chipped, scratched, old geezers like me hitting it, and not seeing the difference of 15K sunk into it. now if it looked like mine, you might notice the work involved to equal that much money. As stated above, 15K will buy you another truck that atleast you can see where it went..

[DBK81]

$10-$15K could do an LSX swap! Screw the paint

[In The Ten Ring]

Grumpy Old Man hit the nail on the head. You live in a state with a lot of environmental regulation which translates to mean "high prices."

Paint isn't cheap....I looked into getting my car painted but it would have been about $5K or so at the collision shop. The head guy there suggested I go to a small outfit, could get it done for a lot less. It'll have to wait for now.

Could you get it done in a neighboring state---one without a determination to be Venezuela?

[67ChevyRedneck]

When my 2000 silverado was hit a few years ago, insurance was going to pay for about 1/3 of the truck to be repaired/resprayed. I inquired about just doing the whole truck since they had to do so much to fix the 1/3. It was $2,500 for the damage and they quoted another 3-4K for the other 2/3. My truck was arrow straight and rust free. I passed and paid them an extra $100 to bring the old paint back to life (it would have been more but I think their insurance quote was high so they worked with me on the detail price).

Maybe pay a few hundred bucks, or even a grand if you have scratches or lots of chips, etc and take it to a place that specializes in "paint restoration."

Instead of the respray, on the PS of the truck they airbrushed some scratches, filled in a bunch of rock chips, and buffed the whole truck. The (at the time) 12 year old paint looked great when they were done.

[67 chevelle]

Thats ridiculous

[special-K]

I guess the question is, Is this how much other members here have been paying for full paint jobs? What known prices are out there from other members? Prices will vary in different areas, but we can figure what the differences would be.

Joe has had some of the sweetest classic iron I've seen on this site. I don't know if he had any of it painted or it was already that nice, but I figure he has a pretty good idea what his local pricing for shops is. It sounds like he went to the wrong three shops.

[jeffahart]

Those are actually fair quotes. If the shops actually knuckle down and do all the prepping and sanding and sanding and prepping.... and the work's done timely then you should get a decent quality paint job at what's fair for the work involved. But if you want high quality work, and straight body, properly fitted panels attention to detail then the entry point is probably going to be significantly more... but you may not even be able to get a custom shop to touch your stuff. I would like to repaint my truck some day. I dread the work involved. My paint is brittle and needs to be stripped. If I don't do it... I know it not be cheap!

[Raguemoe]

Yeah, I think I just had sticker shock. The last truck I had painted ran me about $5k (but took close to 2yrs). All the shops specialized in classic cars and were referrals from other people or known in the area to do good work.

The 67 is my keeper & was thinking to freshen her up for the next 20yrs. Guess I'll be rocking the 90's paint for awhile longer!

Pic of my last $5k paint job

[lowbucktrucks]

a friend of mine who owns a body shop painted his suburban a couple of years ago. Just the paint supplies were over $700. This did not include labor, sandpaper, masking paper (they dont use newspaper anymore!!), bondo (his cost $60 gallon for better Quality filler), primer, or anything to cover his investment in tools,compressors, electricity or insurance. Bodywork and paint are not easy, or cheap, and you usually get what you pay for.
I guess I'll keep doing it myself (with his help when I have a problem, Thanks Tim), and on my lower quality trucks, I'll be going to the ecno-spray, so I'm not so worried about dings.
He does restos on occassion, and says there is not a lot of profit in them. He puts them in the end bay and works on them when he does not have collision work.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by Raguemoe

Pic of my last $5k paint job

Did you talk to this shop again, or was this in a different region or state?

[Raguemoe]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Did you talk to this shop again, or was this in a different region or state?

I think I ran him out of business (after 2yrs of my project truck being in paint prison). Last I heard, he closed up shop & works for a collision shop now.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Safe to assume that includes body work? My body/paint guy is charging $9500 for labor, as a side job, though I told him pristine work gets him a bonus.

[hugger6933]

I got a truck in my shop right now the guy to date has paid me like $4200 on his bill and I figured it out that gives me a shop rate of 15.50 per shop hour. I figured the time but none of my sons time or my dads time. They both have quite a few hours invested in this job too. The job is a frame off with rockers floor and other pieces changed out. We were talking about how much time I have in and It is just a loser for me. There is no way I could charge the $45 dollars shop rate that the others here in town charge on this truck. But if I did that would put him in that $15K range for paint.
I guess that is another reason I can't get any of my trucks done. Jim

[XwalkerX]

man I would drive that as-is

[leddzepp]

That's ridiculous. It has nothing to do with living here. I PMd you the name of the body shop I used several years ago. The price was right in line with what you paid for the silver truck. Mine was in prison for a year, and I will never do it again....but the truck came out very very nice.

[fwayne]

The prices, although high, aren't out of line. In the Dallas, TX area, if you do all the prep, and get a spray with quality items, about $3K minimum. anything less is gonna be poor materials, or a 20 footer. Thank the EPA for making sure everything paint related is stupid expensive.

If you want an all over/inside out door jambs etc. $10K is the floor nowadays. Thats assuming a rust-free straight up quality truck to start with. Its just an hours game. a full on repaint done right will consume a few hundred man-hours. and nobody works for less than $45/hr shop time unless they are a brother-in-law.

Then the materials. A friend just painted a pickup red. PPG materials including sandpaper,reducers, hardeners, fillers, primers, sealers, base and clear totaled over $1000 alone. and thats not a specialty custom color!

[Coley]

Wow that is a lot of money for a paint job.
However...I think one thing that may drive that quote response is the way you (or anyone) presents the work or job you are looking for.
If it was me and I was figuring that I was going to want super show quality everywhere...I would expect it to be quoted heavy...in order to compensate for my end of job, anal retentive, finger pointing, magnifying glass inspection. (...luckily that is not me...lol)...and that customer attitude is out there in spades.
Shops/Bodymen have to do a very good job of 'reading' people...and if there is the slightest inclination of someone who will be fussy or difficult or really picky....then cover it off with an extra few thousand dollars...easy peasy....no deals, no complaints...and pay up.
Now, on the flipside...if the customer said he wanted the appearance cleaned up, repainted nothing fancy (but better than $229 paint jobs)...maybe a light respray in the bed (minimal sanding) and was willing to put that in writing or list a quality level on a document...then I would know I could downgrade the quote to meet that less subjective target in order to provide a 'nice, clean' paint job on a nice daily driver....no show vehicle stuff....but you've got to put your expectation in writing if you want that kind of deal.
So....what kind of quality of paint job are you after?

All Good
Coley