Paint Job ($$ cost $$) what do you think

[super72bb]

Hi all,

I got a quote the other day for paint and bodywork. The gent who gave me the quote is the owner operator of one of the finest show car refinishing shops in our area. The guy comes highly recommended by all of his customers. He is a no Hassles guy that is sure to do amazing work. so here it is....

My truck now has mostly new body parts. All new sheetmetal except the doors hood and cab which are all mint. The whole truck has to be brought to him stripped to bare metal inside and out. He aligns all the panels then finishes all the body lines so they are all perfect (this includes shaving and building up areas which were "not so perfect" from the factory. He then will epoxy primer all of the panels inside and out, and do the body work. There is no question the truck will be blocked as straight as it can be or he will do it over again. After the blocking is all done he sprays 3 coats of the base, 3 coats of clear Block sands and then 3 more coats of clear wet sanding and polish.

I have full confidence that this guy will do a job that I am very happy with. The quote he gave me was 18,000 Canadian or approx 13,700 $$ USD.

That only covers the body and paint and re hanging the sheetmetal. The full assembly is still left up to me. The truck is going all black. I will try to post a pic of it now.

I am just having a bit of a hard time getting my head aroud the cost, I was hoping you may be able to share some of your own expiriences to help me decide if this is just crazy or do you just pay for what you get.

Thank you all

[70ChevyLongbed]

Super,

There are a few things to consider. First, what are you using the truck for? Show, or Daily driver? Second, what is your budget for all of what you want done?

I worked with a very well know Hot Rod builder in CA about 15 years ago, and was very happy with the work that he did. It did not come cheap, and it would have been impossible to 'shop' his prices. I know I got what I paid for, and you should expect the same.

You've got a great lookin truck. If you're going for Show quality, you are gonna pay Show quality prices.

That's my 0.02, Good Luck.

[cableguy0]

you get what you pay for especially when it comes to body if this guy is that good and is reccomended by everyone he does work for by all means use him if you can afford to do so. and if your trying to build a showtruck he sounds like the man for the job

[shuttermutt]

As a point of reference, the body man that did my Chevelle...

- Removed damn near every bolt, screw, and fastener on the body (with pics to prove it)

- Put on new rear quarter panels (supplied by me)

- Straightened and polished a lot of stainless and aluminum trim

- Put the body back on with all new hardware (supplied by me)

- Spent weeks making every bit arrow-straight

- Applied a hand-finished base/clear coat paint job (he supplied all materials)

Overall, he had the car in one of his two bays for nearly a year. No part of the car hasn't been "touched" by either him or me. I got him started for $3,000 and my total bill was about $9,000. I couldn't be happier. Of course, I'll be happier when I finish the car!

[old Rusty C10]

Unless youre building a show truck , and even then id kinda flinch at that cost. The pic is hard to judge the condition of the truck's body thats something you can only see up close and personal, but your truck seems to be in excellent shape. Personally i thnk its alot of money but im not one for building Show quality any truck ive ever owned has been daily driver or exceptional daily driver. id think being it looks like you have most of the bugs worked out there that you could get a nice job for between three and five thousand dollars American. id post on body and paint thread tho

[super72bb]

To answer a few of your questions...


All of the front end is Nos Parts fenders and inner fenders, the box is Goodmark sides and bed front with new wheel tubs and cross sills, tailgate is Nos. The cab does not need rockers or corners. I hoped by buying all of the best body parts I could it would save me a ton of money in the body shop. Ha Ha

I had planned to show the truck for a short while maybe the first couple years, then use it as a sunday cruiser.

The thing is do I really want to spend all that time and money correcting the factories "mistakes" around the body lines when I am going for a pretty stock look. (aside from lowering it and putting on wheels and tires the truck will be pretty much stock)

[Randy70C-10]

That's alot of money. I'm assuming that you have a garage to keep it in, with enough room to walk around without bumping into it. I've seen show quality trucks sell for that price.

[junkyardjohn]

THERES A PAYLESS PAINT SHOP JUST AROUND THE CORNER, THAT ADVERTISES ACRYLIC PAINT JOBS FOR $299 BUT I GUESS YOUR LOOKING FOR SOMETHING A LITTLE BETTER. WELL YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR, AND IF YOUR GOOD ENOUGH AT ANYTHING, YOU CAN PRETTY MUCH WRITE YOUR OWN TICKET. JOHN

[lukecp]

I agree that if you want a show truck, go for it. That is alot of money to spend on body work....you can get another really nice truck for $13000.

If it was mine, i would proably just squirt it with paint the way it sits....but then again it wouldn't really be a show quality job

[Shane]

Can't speak for the rest of the guys here. But if I was shopping around for prices and got that kind of response, then I would take it as if he really didn't want to do it in the first place.

I would take it as "I really dont want to do it ... BUT I will consider it for this un-Godly amount of money."

Just my opinion.

[Dean]

Well, I just spent about $1200.00 just for the paint alone on my 71 K20 two tone and that isn't any of the other materials like primer, tape, etc etc. That was the discount price also. Medium green, white and clear.

I'd really try to get someone good enough where you really don't have to sand/buff the clear. It will last a lot longer... sometimes you have to though. Just my two cents worth.

[tom hand]

I agree with Shane...you should be able to get a "knock your socks off" show paint job in a single color for less than half that.

[Orence1]

Let me break this down a bit. My friend has a custom body shop and he gets $80 an hour U.S. If we assume the same that means that he is going to provide about 160 hours of labor and the rest will be materials. I am basing the materials on the current costs of what you indicated he would be using (about $500 US) I can't estimate what the time frame for panel alignment will be but with all new sheet metal and good quality original panels there is not going to be much body work involved. Lets assume 8 hours of body work. That leaves the paint work. The actual painting processes you describe should take about 8 hours altogether (actual time in the booth). The sanding, polishing and buffing should take about 24 hours. If my math is correct that totals 40 hours. Panel assembly can be anywhere from 8-16 hours in a normal repaint so lets assume 16. We are now at 56 hours. That means that he is assuming 106 hours for the custom panel fitting work. I guess it is possible to use that much time if every panel needs to have the edges extended via welding strips and grinding them down to exact shape for perfect fit. I find it hard to believe that every panel will need to have that done. To be honest, if this man is as good as you indicated and I have no reason to think he is not, he is going to be very experienced and can work quickly and effeciently. That leads me to conclude that the shop rate is probably more in the range of $125 US per hour. I would encourage you to get an hourly rate quote before proceeding. Frankly, I think this quote is pretty high. I recently did the body work on a 70 Chevelle SS and sent it to a custom shop for final fit and paint. Total cost out the door was $7200 US and they did much of the type of work you are describing. Might be worthwhile to check out a few more places. Good luck. Hope I am not sounding like I am demeaning this man's work. As John so well put it "AND IF YOUR GOOD ENOUGH AT ANYTHING, YOU CAN PRETTY MUCH WRITE YOUR OWN TICKET."
Larry

[OhioDan]

I know ya want a good lookin truck when ya get done with it. So far, I've got about $5,500-$6,000 just in paint and body from the rear of the cab forward. This guy did some pretty extensive work for me though. Rockers, cab corners, repaired a hacked dash, repaired above the windshield (before there was a patch panel ),dis-assembled it and had it dipped for me. I didn't have to do anything except bring him my truck. After all the work was done, he aligned everything, hung the doors and hood. But then again, yours will be black, and that shows all the little imperfections, unless it's done right. Ya might want to shop around, and maybe choose a couple or three different colors also? Here's a pick of mine so far. Gotta save some money to have him finish the bed. For what it's worth, he's also giving me a lifetime warranty on the paint.

[Stroker]

I don't think the price is unreasonable for the type of work you've described. As Dean pointed out materials could run easily run $2000-$2500 that leaves about $10,500 for labor. In my area the standard rate for paint and body work is around $42 an hour I believe. I'm not a body man but 250 hrs labor for all the work you've described sounds like a fair estimate. I've heard of show winning paint using that much labor for blocking and color sanding alone.

But I get the impression that your true question is "Is it worth it?" and that can really only really be answered by you. Now if you asked,"is it practical" that would be easy "No". But most of us that are building a dream ride already know the entire project isn't "practical". I guess it comes down to your financial means and or personal priorities. In my experience "reality and compromise" seem to always be rearing their ugly head. Good luck..........Stroker

[N2TRUX]

I have a couple of problems with what he quoted you. First off, it is high even considering the amount of work he is doing.
Secondly, you are saying he will paint it, and then you assemble it? If that's what you mean, then walk away.

Don't get me wrong, if you really want a premium "show quality" paint job, it won't be cheap. You will spend $7000. or better, depending on how much fit and finish you want done. Even $9000. to $10000. isn't unheard of, but 13k and you finish it up is rather insane...

[shuttermutt]

A lot of people have given their opinions one way or the other. Some think it's about right, and others (including me), think it's too high.

I re-read your post and took a long, hard look at your picture. I'll stand by my opinion that $13,000 is too much money. You could easily buy an outstanding paint job and another project truck for that money. However...

You seem to be really confident in this guy's abilities. That means a lot when you're talking about your "baby" and it should count for something. At that price, you should be able to take the truck back to him for ANY (and I do mean ANY) imperfection in the paint and/or body work.

If...
- You like the guy
- You think he'll do the exact work that you want
- The price is in your budget (lucky dog)
- You realize that you probably won't recover the expense if you decide to sell
- The work will meet your expectations and requirements

...then I say go for it and be happy!

I spent quite a bit more on the Chevelle than I had planned, but the end results are absolutely mind boggling. People freak when I tell them I've got $26,000 in the car and it doesn't even run, but everything is top-shelf and exactly what I want. That alone is worth the cash if you ask me.

[bigvinnie]

This guy seems a little high, and so does the price... I would try to get other recommendations before making a decision.... try to see examples of his and other people's work and compare for yourself... Imagine seeing a nice ride with a killer paint job and finding out the guy got more work done for less money... it pays to do your homework.

It's no secret that quality work is a license to steal, but I can't help thinking you can get a comparable job for considerably less, unless this guy has no competition locally...

If you're responsible for stripping and final assembly, and only minimal body work required, I just don't see 13K in it,...

I've seen "show quality" jobs done by a professional that required more than aligning body panels, minor body work and shooting primer and paint, that were done for 8-10K, but there's a lotta guys doing quality work here in socal, so competition helps to drive down prices somewhat....

[Mountain Man]

Sounds expensive to me, but it sounds like show quality to me, and it is tough to put a price on that type of quality.

For $15,000 CDN, you can buy my whole truck (it is for sale, and I live in Calgary). It is a 67 Factory short box, factory buckets, interior completely new and original.



PM me if you are interested. It is stored in my garage for the winter.

[junkyardjohn]

I WORKED FOR MYSELF FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS, & ALWAYS HAD MORE WORK THAN I COULD HANDLE. I REGULATED MY WORKFLOW BY RAISING MY PRICES IN MY QUOTES. I NEVER GOT A SINGLE JOB BECAUSE I WAS THE CHEAPEST.

[SCOTI]

I know guys in this business and that price isn't out of line for the job your asking.

Think about it.... epoxy priming every sq inch, inside & out. Then metal working inside & out. It doesn't matter if the panels are NOS, they will have dings that need to be bodyworked to get them perfectly flat. Time consuming. Now put it all together to check & fit the gaps.... 1/8" all around fitting & adjusting as needed.

Look good? Ok, 1st coat of high build primer. Block your arse off. 2nd coat of high build primer, block your arse off. Final coat for those imperfections you will find & your almost ready..... almost ready . . .....

....to take it all back apart so you can properly get all those jambs & hard to reach areas w/that fresh coat of paint. Then apply 1st coat of paint.... 2nd..... 3rd.

How good is he? If he's the best, chances are he still put his 'signature' somewhere in that paintjob & is going to do some localized sanding to remove it. Ok, now it's time for clear x1, x2, x3.

Reassembly after drying. Realigning panels again. Colorsand w/1000grit to remove blemishes & orangepeel. Now do it again w/even finer grit. Now it's time to buff w/cutting compound...... finer compound...... polishing compound.... swirl remover..... and yes, it still has to have all the trim put back on.

It's alot of frickin work. No, I'm not a painter/bodyman by trade. But.... I've done a couple & know it's alot of frickin work. I would say close to 3K in materials + all the labor & you'll be close. Anywhere from 10-13K for a top quality show job is realistic.

[Blue4x4]

I have to agree with 99.9% of the above responces. My wife works for an auto body shop that specializes in mercades lexus and bmw's. The paint "sikkens"for my truck at her company's cost was 1200.00. Primer, tape and filler were all extra about 600.00. Your body looks alot straighter that mine was. I think his labor is a bit steep. Just my 2 cents worth.

[imdarren]

Sounds high to me.
About 4 or 5K high.
I think if you want an original truck look, remember that these were trucks. Back then they didn't care if the panels ligned up etc. And the paint had runs in it from the factory.
So. I guess your saying you want it better than orininal.

Darren

[onetoncrewcab]

Yeah. Sounds high to me too. Especially when you can buy a really nice truck for that $13,000.

But, what no one has taken in consideration is what do you make in a year? If you make $800,000 a year, then $13,000 is chump change. But if you make $30,000 a year, I'd find a cheaper paint job.
Just a different answer angle to the question.
MJ

[BtnkBndt]

I think that is way too much cash.........but.

Like CrewCab said, depends on what your "Net Worth" is. The way I look at my truck is, what would it cost me for a new vehicle from the lot and what will it cost me to have something I really want and will enjoy. Thats what counts most. Will it make you happy?

IMHO I still think thats alot of money for a two year (trailered?) show vehicle.

Warning: The first time you take it out because you can't stand to see it sitting idle on a nice weekend some kid will spray it with gravel in moms Lexus showing off. Then some big belt buckled redneck will lean over the hood "that theres a nice truck ya got spit!"