How much to budget for a complete repaint..?, A tough question I know but I got to ask... Options

[Nozzle]

Well after doing the standard Spring clean-up on the old girl last week, it looks like the valiant efforts of the 36 year old Saturn Yellow to protect the body are starting to fail. But before I start putting together a serious savings campaign for a full-bore repaint I need to ask what I should plan for as this is very new territory for me. I would be having a professional shop do the prep and repaint as I've got zero talent in this area. I figure rust repair costs will just have to be one of the unknowns at this stage so I'm really looking for a paint-only figure.

The 914 in question lived almost its entire life in Santa Barbara, CA and was never in an accident so far as I can tell. A hell-hole repair was done by AA two years ago right after I bought the car and now the windshield base on the drivers side where it meets the fender line is starting to bubble. No doubt there is more to be found but that's what I know for sure.

So the main goal is to get the car repaired and preserved before the rust gets any worse. The plan would be for me to disassemble the entire car and then have a good shop do a presentable repaint in the original color and take care of any rust issues found. In other words I'm looking for perfect metal not perfect paint.

So any help on what I should plan dollar-wise for for the prep and repaint would be MUCH appreciated. Of course any help with locating a good restoration shop in the MD, VA or PA area would be very cool too...

Thanks everyone,

John

[ellisor3]

One of the biggest variables in the cost will be the amount of repairs that will be needed. My job was about $12k, but the quote started at about $6k. My 73 looked great with no apparent flaws, UNTIL IT WAS SANDED. You can see my thread below. We found lots of areas that were repaired before and were in need of repair again. My painter would not even paint the car unless the areas were completely redone, nor would I want him to.

Depending on who you hire, most will give you a price of the paint and supplies, but will charge you hourly for the repairs since most damage will be hidden under the paint. I had to have both doors and the from trunk go all the way back to metal even though they looked good from the outside. My advise would be to hire someone with a reputation for restorations, not just painting, and be visible in their shop to stay abreast of the progress. When ever someone is charging by the hour, it is easy to make up numbers.

[mepstein]

One of the biggest variables in the cost will be the amount of repairs that will be needed. My job was about $12k, but the quote started at about $6k. My 73 looked great with no apparent flaws, UNTIL IT WAS SANDED. You can see my thread below. We found lots of areas that were repaired before and were in need of repair again. My painter would not even paint the car unless the areas were completely redone, nor would I want him to.

Depending on who you hire, most will give you a price of the paint and supplies, but will charge you hourly for the repairs since most damage will be hidden under the paint. I had to have both doors and the from trunk go all the way back to metal even though they looked good from the outside. My advise would be to hire someone with a reputation for restorations, not just painting, and be visible in their shop to stay abreast of the progress. When ever someone is charging by the hour, it is easy to make up numbers.

Paint and bondo covering up all kinds of tomfoolery - Amen!