Paint estimate Options

[Robnxious]

[/quote]

I used less than 40 linear feet of 3M 1080 Matte Apple Green.

I found it at:
http://www.metrorestyling.com/3M-1080-M196...tte1080m196.htm

40 linear feet for $360

I have enough left to do the front hood maybe twice
[/quote]

That's good to know, since I was looking at 45 feet, hoping it would give me enough extra to "learn" on a few panels, and redo them with fresh vinyl. Went and rechecked my numbers, and I factored in a TON of extra material for each panel.

Thanks a ton!

[Robnxious]

A lot of the cars I've seen with vinyl wrap have a matte finish. Has anyone done a car with a gloss finish. Wondering how the look compares to paint. Also wondering if small creases in corners as mentioned in other posts would show up more with gloss.

From what I have read online, matte vinyl hides imperfections the best. I have seen pictures of cars done in gloss, and the paint and body on those were immaculate. I am going to be doing some half-assed body repairs (filling in paint gouges, fixing mild rust bubble, etc), but want to wait to have a full body work done for next winter.

[socal1200r]

Hmmm...vinyl wrap might be a good option...I had a silver 2014 Yamaha Bolt that I got wrapped in carbon fiber vinyl (front fender, gas tank, rear fender), and it turned out great. I'm thinking with the CF pattern, it would probably hide any body flaws even better than a matte finish?

[mepstein]

Had to chime in since I just finished painting my car. If I'm honest , I spent close to $5k just doing it myself. That is including all the tools (except the compressor) and supplies that I used. At home in my garage over a 3+ year period. I won't count all the rust repair work but will count installing the flares. I had 2 quotes. Both had the car being delivered to them on a rotisserie totally stripped including wiring removed. both quotes were for full paint trunks, engine bay , underside of decks and bottom. Neither quote included the price of paint which I already had. First quote $12k for narrow body. Second was to install flares and full paint $19500. Since I didn't have the $$ and wanted it nice, I went ahead myself.
So here's a bit of a breakdown to give you an idea. I used all PPG paint products, Deltron clear, Shop line color (custom mix) dp90 expoxy primer and PPg satin clear on the bumpers. rockers and roof. 3M sand paper. I also used a 20% discount at our local supplier because of my school affiliation.
I believe in buying good tool and product. My inexperience was enough of a handicap. I didn't need cheap tools or product messing me up. So here goes

1) $2200 for 4) 60 hour semesters of body shop classes. Got to do everything first with supervision before I tried it at home
2) $1400 for color, clear and special clear for bumpers. Keep in mind the bumper were painted three times before they were good. The outer shell twice and the front deck three times. After I had stripped it down to primer
3) $500 paint guns . Devilbiss starter kit primer/finish $189 and a divilbiss GTI finish gun for $320
4) $300 for paint booth
5) $400/500 for sandpaper, solvents, sanding blocks, tape, masking paper and plastic.

I couldn't have afforded the quality of job that I have. There are minor flaws because I'm a rookie. Nothing glaring. Friends who've had cars done in the last few years have either paid dearly or been disappointed with the results. I can always repair or redo if the need arises. That being said, I probably won't do another one.

Dave - looking at your car & your engine, I think people are going to ask you if Singer built it. It has that look - and I mean that in a good way!

[914dave]

Dave - looking at your car & your engine, I think people are going to ask you if Singer built it. It has that look - and I mean that in a good way!
[/quote]
Thanks Mark. It would be hard to take a comparison to a Singer car as an insult.

[stugray]

I used less than 40 linear feet of 3M 1080 Matte Apple Green.

I found it at:
http://www.metrorestyling.com/3M-1080-M196...tte1080m196.htm

40 linear feet for $360

I have enough left to do the front hood maybe twice

That's good to know, since I was looking at 45 feet, hoping it would give me enough extra to "learn" on a few panels, and redo them with fresh vinyl. Went and rechecked my numbers, and I factored in a TON of extra material for each panel.

Thanks a ton!

If you use the 3m 1080 material it is VERY forgiving. Watch some youtube videos. You can lay it down, squeegee it out, and if it is wrong, you can peel it off and try again.
I got a whole door panel about 1/4" off, peeled it off and tried again, and it was good as a first try. You almost cannot damage the film.

[JoeDees]

I've been reading up on it and Plasti-dip sounds like a great idea for temporary color and trim.

[charliew]

I put a 5x7 foot roof on my kubota rtv made from 3/16 aluminum with some bends at the front for a visor and a 1 inch lip in the front and rear. I put a camo pattern vinyl on the bottom side to see how hard it is to work with. The sheets were 4x5 so I had to have a seam in the middle. My left hand doesn't have any grip. It was a little hard getting it square but it turned out good except for the inside bends. It was laying flat upside down so the soapy spray tried to puddle in the bends. It was hard to work the bubbles out. vertical would be the way to go.

I have painted for about 50 years. I found that laying anything flat for painting is always going to cause problems if there is any dust in the air. Two part paints attract dust like plastic attracts dust. Sure it levels out easier but sanding or digging the bugs or dust out is no fun and wastes paint. If you are painting without a real good booth and climate control you can figgure there will be about a 30% waste on the paint to correct problems. also of course there will be that much time extra at least. reds will be the most expensive of the non metallic colors.

Painting can be done good if you have patience and don't expect to have perfect results at first. I have never seen a perfect overall paint job, but there are some that are good enough to be called perfect.

that motorcycle looks great in the pictures.

[AZBanks]

I've used plastidip a few times and will not use it again. Unless you put it on really thick, it does not want to come off. It sticks better to the surface you put it on than it does to itself. It tears off in tiny pieces and sometimes wont even do that. You have to rub it off with your thumb or a big eraser.

[pmead]

I hate to revive an old post but I recently purchased the Saturn Yellow car from socall1200r (he started this thread) and wanted to provide some closure about the fate of this car. After buying the car I accidentally started to find post about his displeasure with this car. The PO did not like the way the car performed. I found that the dizzy was not working correctly and the timing was way off. After a little cleaning, dwell adjust and proper timing, the car runs excellent. The paint is single stage enamel that looks like it was not compatible with the primer or piled on too thick and cracked. I will strip it and start from scratch finishing with a nice urethane base/clear coat in the factory color. I don't expect to many surprises as the rest of the car is in excellent shape with no rust, and has a perfect interior. Classic car ownership requires a passion that can see beyond small issues. In fact, it is these "issues" that make it such a great hobby. I am glad the PO was not happy with the car. It gave me the opportunity to get a rust free fairly original car, and return it to its former glory. I am enjoying the car as-is for now, but after I finish the metal work on a 55 Plymouth 2dr wagon (major issues (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) ) I will get the 914 in the shop and begin work! Paint and body work is all about patience and dedication. Its not for everyone but it is nothing to fear. Even the best paint guys screw up. That's why they make sand paper (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

[BeatNavy]

Sounds like the car ended up where it would be better cared for and appreciated for what it is. Thanks for the update (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[mepstein]

Another 914 in Delaware. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

[KELTY360]

Glad to hear the car ended up in the hands of someone who likes the car instead of someone with excessive expectations and no interest sorting it out.

Love to see some pics of that Plymouth. '55 was a very good year for them and a 2dr wagon is rare and interesting; nice little fins and a great grille. Is it a V8 car?

[Dave_Darling]

Lewes? I'll have to ask my aunt if she ever sees a yellow 914 running around there. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

--DD

[pmead]

The 55 Plymouth is pretty unique. Its a 1 owner car with original title. It was stored in a semi trailer in the woods for over 20 years. Mice did a number on the front seat and rust has won the battle of the floor boards and rockers but it is all there and I had it running good after an afternoon of cleaning mice debris from carb/intake/exhaust etc.... It has the flat 6 with 3 on the column. I am resisting the temptation of putting a early Hemi in it (got one on a pallet) I have collected numerous period correct flathead speed parts Fenton, Edmunds, etc... and will be doing a "retro hotrod restoration" to keep the vintage look.

[My 914]

I don't know.... the idea of a hemi in that car sounds pretty tempting

[Robnxious]

[/quote]

That's good to know, since I was looking at 45 feet, hoping it would give me enough extra to "learn" on a few panels, and redo them with fresh vinyl. Went and rechecked my numbers, and I factored in a TON of extra material for each panel.

Thanks a ton!
[/quote]

If you use the 3m 1080 material it is VERY forgiving. Watch some youtube videos. You can lay it down, squeegee it out, and if it is wrong, you can peel it off and try again.
I got a whole door panel about 1/4" off, peeled it off and tried again, and it was good as a first try. You almost cannot damage the film.
[/quote]

You know there are times where "getting a good deal isn't really one". I ended up winning an auction for some really nice Vvivid vinyl online for a great price, complete with tools. VERY unforgiving, and basically ended up scrapping the entire car when I was almost done, and am just writing off that money, and paying someone to professionally do it with a doing the jams and such. Should have just bought the damn 3m product and paid a bit more.

One thing I DID notice, and this is for anyone else who is thinking of doing it. You HAVE to make sure all chips and scratches are cleaned up. I thought the vinyl wouldn't show things as clearly as it did. The dents and scratches were even MORE noticeable with the wrap over them. I ended up feathering in filler and sanding with a fine grit paper after I took everything off.

[Outdoor_funguy]

My guess is $2500-3k. Wrap installs are time consuming and they only last like 5 or so years depending on exposure to elements.

What about a vinyl wrap? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hide.gif)

I'm going to get a quote at PDX Wraps down the street in Sherwood. I don't have time to work on my own car. But I'd like it to look as nice as it drives. So I'm hoping to fix 3 or 4 rust issues, prime the repairs and have it wrapped before WCR 2017.
That should make me happy and get me by for a few years.

I'll report back I get an estimate.

In my opinion, vinyl wrap is much more practical and gives awesome look to your car. My vinyl wrap project was installed by Gatorwraps and I am very satisfied!

[Robnxious]

Hey gang, when I first heard someone on here say how about a vinyl wrap, it was like "no freaking way". After finding out what it costs to do a top end paint job here in CA, I decided that I would rather put that money into a new motor and exhaust right now, and to get it wrapped. I tried doing it myself, but was a moron and bought inferior vinyl, which was hard to work with. After taking it all off, I decided to have a local company bid to do it, and they did the entire car (stripping it down like a paint job, and doing the door jambs too) for 1800. I am VERY happy with the way it came out.

Before



After

[euro911]

Dang, that turned out nice (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I'll have to see what some local So. Cal places charge.

Did they have a ton of colors to choose from?