Paint estimate Options

[mepstein]

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?

Go to fellers.com - they have the different vinyl brands, types and colors if you want to see what's available. Lots of choices.

[Robnxious]

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?

Yes they did, now the place who I got to do it charged me about half of what another place was charging, so YMMV on this one. If I have learned ONE lesson here it would be, go with the REALLY good stuff (3M or Avery), especially it doing it yourself. If I would have paid the $250 more for either of these brands at the outset, I would have been able to probably save the $1800 and done it myself.

On another note for this, don't think that you can "hide" scratches and dings with a vinyl wrap. They show up as bad or even WORSE once it's wrapped. I did a lot of filling and sanding to get it clean, and it paid off, but even THEN there were areas I should have gotten a little better and they show.

[iwanta914-6]

Thats a wrap? Amazing!

[ThreeV8s]

To address the original post.

I was looking for a nice driver quality paint job and was fine with single stage paint.

I handled all the prep work and shot the primer. Things went bad when I tried shooting the color myself. I stopped in at a local restoration shop and talked to the owner. We sanded the botched color coat down to primer, I bought more paint and he shot the color coat in his booth.

All in, including paint X 2, primer and paying the guy to shoot color...I'm at about $950 and quite pleased with the results. The paint job is holding up well after 3 1/2 years of driving.

I see you are in Virginia. If interested, PM me for the contact info on the guy who painted my car. It may be worth a trip north.

PM Sent.
I read this entire thread this morning (that’s a lot for me...the extent of my reading usually ends with the last word of an article headline unless it’s in the automotive realm). Great information here and I truly appreciate reading the different approaches people have taken.

[Shadowfax]

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

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) Thanks for posting the before and after! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Minerva's 914]

I've had many restorations, most of which I painted myself and as such I know what it takes to get a good job. It's a ton of work! I figured if I valued my labor at about $4.75 / hour then I probably broke even on paying someone like Dee Lashley (who painted Minerva's 914) to do it for me. The materials are expensive, and the prep work is HARD and takes forever. Plus if you cut a corner or rush thru the prep work, more than likely if you care about the outcome, you do it all again.

Here's an example of on of my backyard projects



A 30' Shipman, a 1972 Swedish sailboat. That's me, my daughter Brittany and Sunny. The boat was named Pepper and took 3 1/2 years to complete. Yeh, I built a spray booth around it AFTER I sprayed the top deck section white just as a breeze blew pine needles in about $1,000 worth of paint. Another 3 weeks to sand all that expensive paint smooth and then build the booth, and apply another $1,000 worth of white paint, followed by $1,200 of bright red on the hull and freeboard, finished off with black below the waterline.

[Robnxious]

I've had many restorations, most of which I painted myself and as such I know what it takes to get a good job. It's a ton of work! I figured if I valued my labor at about $4.75 / hour then I probably broke even on paying someone like Dee Lashley (who painted Minerva's 914) to do it for me. The materials are expensive, and the prep work is HARD and takes forever. Plus if you cut a corner or rush thru the prep work, more than likely if you care about the outcome, you do it all again.

Here's an example of on of my backyard projects



A 30' Shipman, a 1972 Swedish sailboat. That's me, my daughter Brittany and Sunny. The boat was named Pepper and took 3 1/2 years to complete. Yeh, I built a spray booth around it AFTER I sprayed the top deck section white just as a breeze blew pine needles in about $1,000 worth of paint. Another 3 weeks to sand all that expensive paint smooth and then build the booth, and apply another $1,000 worth of white paint, followed by $1,200 of bright red on the hull and freeboard, finished off with black below the waterline.

Very nice, unfortunately, I haven't the room for a paint booth. Heck, I can't even garage mine right now! We have a one car garage, and the wife's bare metal restoration 1956 Chevy 210 sleeps out there

[Robnxious]

[quote name='iwanta914-6' date='Mar 14 2017, 06:21 AM' post='2464019']
Thats a wrap? Amazing!
[/quote]

Thanks, I'd post pictures of when I tried it myself, but the kids I paid to do it did a MUCH better job than I did

[quote name='Shadowfax' date='Mar 14 2017, 08:07 AM' post='2464059']
[/quote]
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) Thanks for posting the before and after! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
[/quote]

You're welcome, I figured it would help to see before and after. Before, it was a 50 foot beauty, meaning, from 50 feet away, it looked fantastic, but then when you got closer you saw all the warts. I didn't do a FANTASTIC job on the body work I did, so when you get up to like a foot away, there are a few places that are not perfect, but I am quite happy.

Now to slam a new engine in it and I am all set

[drem914]

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.

If the company you used has any references for a local so cal shop, I think several people would be interested. especially for that price. I especially like the color of the original and the wrap. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

[scott_in_nh]

Looks great!
Can we see some pictures of the door jambs?