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

[Tom_T]

Try Scottyb on here - he's close & 914-wise.

[Gint]

Cost me $15k, what, 5 years ago? 6? Full, complete, everything, in/out/top/bottom painted. Did also include rust repair and bodywork. That would make the paint/labor by itself worth, oh... 1/2 that total. Maybe as much as $10k

[r_towle]

paint and supplies could be 1k
80 hours to prep
10 hours to paint
80 hours to sand and buff

That is pretty typical, with no body work, no real rust repair.

Rich

[jmill]

I'd be very careful before I sent my car to a bodyshop for metal work. 95% of them will get it fixed up nice for paint but not dig in far enough to eliminate rust issues. Hopefully Scotty or Rick chime in.

IMHO, the nuances of the 914 make it almost impossible to give you a general price quote without digging into it. Until your car is in pieces with the paint removed who knows what you have. Most charge labor rates on metal repairs. The time needed for the repair will be dependent on how bad and where the rust is.

[jmill]

Here's Mepstein's car that Scotty is working on now.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...amp;hl=mepstein

[Dave_Darling]

Mine was $8K. I did some of the prep work myself (taking parts off and such) but it was a drive-in and drive-out paint job. There was something on the order of $2K of actual repairs in that. This was exterior-only (plus the bits of interior that had needed fixing) in the original color (or an approximation thereof) with no real extras.

Labor prices vary greatly from area to area (I think Silicon Valley is one of the more expensive areas) but it would be easy to pay a whole lot more for a top-quality job.

A scuff-and-spray can be had pretty cheaply. The guys in GRM have gone to their local Big Chain Body Shop ™ and gotten good results for well under $1K. But they would trailer the car in with all of the major stuff already dealt with, and they found a shop that actually cared about the results. Not all of them do.

With rust repair, the sky is the limit... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

--DD

[Cairo94507]

I actually think $15K is a semi-realistic budget for a complete with some moderate rust repair.....so I would pray for little rust and plan for $18K. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Nozzle]

Many thanks folks. Exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Wonder if Scotty will have room for one more anytime soon. Guess there's only one way to find out... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[scotty b]

WHat has been stated is pretty much the relm. It all depends on how bad the car is, how much you do, and how nice you want it in the end. I have done cheapo resto's with rust repair for around 8000.00, but the quality was not up to my standards, and I used el cheapo materials. As far as I know the owners were pleased with the results. More typical you are looking at 15,000 assuming there is rust repair ( mainly hell hole and floor ) and that is a factory finish with the appropriate orange peel. Show quality over restored glassy cars are almost impossible to give any kind of an estimate on. Check my half assed website to see my mid level and nicer work. Feel free to contact me, my doors are almost always open (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) Oh, and I will be at Hershey if you want to meet up

http://kahikocustoms.com/wordpress/?page_id=6

[Andyrew]

Not trying to steer you away from Scotty or any of the other professionals on here, but the people who do REALLY good work (Like Scotty), are going to be busy no matter what the economy or season.. However if you found some shop local to you that you could pitch in and be buddy buddy with you could probably get a paint job with rust repair pretty cheap because they NEED the work.
The trick is to find the guys that work on old hot rods. They know rust repair and they spend most of the time on that. There is one shop next to my work who does good work (Not the BEST, but good work) and he charged a guy 3k for a full paint job on an old 50 chevy (It was a black paint job to), It was a pretty good paint job all things considered and would have probably cost 6k or more at another shop that wasnt hurting for the work. This was a down to metal job with a little bit of rust repair. Granted this is california where there is less rust, but you might want to spend some time checking out some local shops. The good thing about this is you can constantly check up on the car and can lend a hand or beer..

My uncle ran his own body shop as well and did good work and charged a decent rate as well.


BUT know that if your looking for a spectacular job then you are going to pay the spectacular price.


Just my opinion of it as a cheep ass (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif).

[mepstein]

Not trying to steer you away from Scotty or any of the other professionals on here, but the people who do REALLY good work (Like Scotty), are going to be busy no matter what the economy or season.. However if you found some shop local to you that you could pitch in and be buddy buddy with you could probably get a paint job with rust repair pretty cheap because they NEED the work.
The trick is to find the guys that work on old hot rods. They know rust repair and they spend most of the time on that. There is one shop next to my work who does good work (Not the BEST, but good work) and he charged a guy 3k for a full paint job on an old 50 chevy (It was a black paint job to), It was a pretty good paint job all things considered and would have probably cost 6k or more at another shop that wasnt hurting for the work. This was a down to metal job with a little bit of rust repair. Granted this is california where there is less rust, but you might want to spend some time checking out some local shops. The good thing about this is you can constantly check up on the car and can lend a hand or beer..

My uncle ran his own body shop as well and did good work and charged a decent rate as well.

BUT know that if your looking for a spectacular job then you are going to pay the spectacular price.


Just my opinion of it as a cheep ass (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif).

I disagree with what Andrew is suggesting even though I'm sure he means well. 914's have some very specific issues with rust and taking it to someone who understands the issues and knows how to deal with them may result in not only a better repaired car but a cost savings as well. There is a certain baseline time and cost involved to repairing these cars. Someone doing it for the first time may take much longer and may not do the proper job even if they are skilled with bodywork. My thread goes off track quite a bit as far as documenting the rustoration part of the car but Scott (Scotty B) and I have spent quite a bit of time off thread going over the car and making sure things are handled correctly. I also know that Scott has pride in his work and will stand behind what he does. The guy who has good skills but is desperate for work might do something that will come back to bite you later. Some shops have even closed down overnight and left their clients empty handed.

I always liked the saying - Cost is only an issue in the absence of value. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Mark

[J P Stein]

I did it all myself (soup to nuts) for around 800 bucks. It was a 10 footer.

[PanelBilly]

I did mine by myself ( well that's a lie, I had so much help) and it cost me.....shit I stopped adding whe i got to 10,000.. oh yah then there was the two stagges I put on the underside.... and I owned a paint shop and had a painter on staff to do work.

And there's a flaw in the finish (I'm not saying where) it's small and its in the base coat. I put a chip in the door jam while I was adjusting the fit of the doors. That will need to be repaired.

Look the lesson here is give it to someone and let them do it. Accept it and maybe bitch to your friends that they could have done a better job. Don't do it yourself and go overboard like some people do

[hot_shoe914]

Your best bet in my opinion is Scotty B. He is basically almost local to you, has massive experience in 914s, has very high standards of quality and on top of all that he is a super good guy. I guess that is why I drug my car backwards 750 miles to get to his shop. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[J P Stein]

By the time I was done ....by done I mean I ain't doing this no more...I had prolly 35-40 K into the car. Doing the work myself was an imperative or I couldn't afford it. Hay, I got .50 cents on the dollar for it. Having mentioned this I don't think I would be a very good checkbook builder anyhow.......cept maybe for the repaint.
That didn't cost much in money but the cost in brain cells may have been more than I could afford. I did have a stroke a few years later.........more cells down the tube.....tub m'I enif yllaer. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[championgt1]

Mine was 9 grand. That was back in 2003.

[PRS914-6]

Read this thread too. Before you get sticker shock on these accurate numbers that people are quoting, call an automotive paint shop and ask the cost for a gallon of QUALITY paint and clear coat. Ask for red! After your jaw hits the ground and you regain consciousness you will have a realistic idea of what you are in for just in materials. Keep in mind that a painter knows that if he makes a mistake and has to eat the cost of the paint to re-shoot a car, he has to get a new mortgage on his house.....Where's Earl Schieb these days?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtjdHaMeiiQ

[type47]

scotty b for quality knowledge of what the 914 needs and somewhat local to you; you're closer to him than I am. I supplied a roller which was pretty much stripped and you can do that prep yourself.

[rick 918-S]

I can't really comment on cost as I have been out of the collision/custom business as long as some of you all were in school. I can comment on quality and the cost of cutting corners because you have a budget. Body shop materials have come leaps and bounds bryond the factory applied materials of 30+ years ago but labor saving ideas and good technic are still only as good as the guy running the show. Plan for the worse and hope for the best. Choose a shop that has a solid knowledge of these chassis', find someone that you can trust, and be glad you can even find a shop that will consider taking on your rust. There are many shops in this area that won't touch rust or restoration with a ten foot pole even if your holding it. And remember, shops don't have x-ray vision. Sometimes the best guys miss something. How they handle it makes the difference.