Paint estimate Options

[stugray]

Or, you could go the route I did.
~$400 in materials, 2 days work, no paint booth or fumes, repairs are simple.
This was my first attempt at vinyl with no experience other than watching some youtube videos:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i366.photobucket.com-10819-1427659019.6.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i366.photobucket.com-10819-1427659020.7.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i366.photobucket.com-10819-1427659020.8.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i366.photobucket.com-10819-1427659020.9.jpg)

My plan was to verify that I liked the color before shelling out the $4-6k for real paint.

But now I like the vinyl so much I don't know why I would want paint ever again.


I painted the car with primer in a DIY paint booth, and all the black.
But all of the green was 3m 1080 vinyl.
The $400 in materials left me with enough spare to do the rear trunk (again) and any one body panel.
So I would have had enough to do the front trunk as well if I hadn't opted for the black.

[Robnxious]

Or, you could go the route I did.
~$400 in materials, 2 days work, no paint booth or fumes, repairs are simple.
This was my first attempt at vinyl with no experience other than watching some youtube videos:


My plan was to verify that I liked the color before shelling out the $4-6k for real paint.

But now I like the vinyl so much I don't know why I would want paint ever again.


I painted the car with primer in a DIY paint booth, and all the black.
But all of the green was 3m 1080 vinyl.
The $400 in materials left me with enough spare to do the rear trunk (again) and any one body panel.
So I would have had enough to do the front trunk as well if I hadn't opted for the black.

I think this may be the route I go, at least until I decide to finally break down and paint it. My question is, how much did you buy? (40 ft? 50 ft? 60 ft?). I plan on buying a bit more than needed, just so I can "re-do" parts as I learn.

Thanks in advance

[siverson]

Doesn't the vinyl fade too (like paint) so it's not that simple to just "replace a panel"?

-Steve

[Brian Mifsud]

One day I went to look at the car & he was laying in the trunk sanding up under the rear window. I asked him what he was doing & he said I just want it to be perfect. Painters are strange people (IMG:style_emoticons/default/screwy.gif)

The retired painter I know is a died in the wool perfectionist in ALL aspects of his life. He is PURE energy... you should see his landscaping/gardening...

He worked 30 years at a Cadillac dealership, and his favorite car was his BMW. His co-workers did an "Overhaulin' before that show was invented.. they hijacked his shortbed mid 80's Chevy Pickup 2500 and did exterior and interior to MATCH the BWM (Black Exterior, Red Leather interior)....

The truck is of course, worth WAY more than the BWM today.....

[mepstein]

Or, you could go the route I did.
~$400 in materials, 2 days work, no paint booth or fumes, repairs are simple.
This was my first attempt at vinyl with no experience other than watching some youtube videos

My plan was to verify that I liked the color before shelling out the $4-6k for real paint.

But now I like the vinyl so much I don't know why I would want paint ever again.


I painted the car with primer in a DIY paint booth, and all the black.
But all of the green was 3m 1080 vinyl.
The $400 in materials left me with enough spare to do the rear trunk (again) and any one body panel.
So I would have had enough to do the front trunk as well if I hadn't opted for the black.

Exactly what I plan to do with my suby build. Once the builder is done getting the car running, I'll do some bodywork and primer and then all black vinyl.

[GregAmy]

Vinyl is a reasonable answer; I've used vinyl in key areas of my race cars. However, you still have to do good surface prep, and imperfections (cracks, wrinkles, orange peel, etc) will still show through.

Use a matte finish and it's less obvious.

[Chris914n6]

My local Tech school has a paint and body program. I did the Painting class one semester and got to do bondo, all the prep stages, shot paint in a booth, and wet sanded & polished for $150-200. The paint store that supplied us even gave us a discount on our first order.

When the time comes I'll paint my car. It may not turn out perfect but it will be better than it is now (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Plastidip is not that durable and the grey I used faded in a year. For short term stuff, like my wheels, I like it.

Vinyl wrap is usually UV coated so it lasts longer. There are tricks to the trade to keep it from peeling up but there are plenty of vids that tell all. I'd be all excited about it but materials cost is close to what good paint does here. If you are a few years out or want to try out a color I say go for it.

[socal1200r]

Yeah, I'm not going to spend $5K - $6K on a frickin paint job, when I only paid $7K for the car in the first place. If I did spend that kind of money, I'd get pissed off every time I set foot in the car. So it doesn't look like it's going to get a paint job, at least with me being the current owner. I never should've bought this car...

Let's see it! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif)

Here ya go...like I said, it's got a 5-foot paint job right now, but up close, there are cracks all over the paint, on just about every panel...

[zach914v8]

I know pictures can make it look better than it is, but it doesnt look too bad. Had you tried rubbing compound? We have some old volvo's at the shop and with a few hours of rubbing compound, and polish we get them looking nearly brand new.

[mbseto]

I posted a question about estimates about a year ago here, and EVERYONE said paint it yourself. I think I'd pay 5k to have someone else do it in a heartbeat. This is going to be a working car, not a show pony, and mainly I just want the best rust-proofing I can get on it.

I think the key to rust-proofing is making sure it's all gone before any paint goes on it, and the first layers of primer (typically the epoxy) is put on right. I've always thought of the paint itself being mostly decorative with the primers being your protectors.

Also, Cincy should be a good location for paint quotes considering stuff is typically cheaper than national average there are 3 states to compare (differing environmental costs etc) and some good hillbilly communities in each that may offer some cheaper rates. But I would still at least consider painting yourself, it is extremely satisfying.

I'm going to try to get most of the priming done myself, at least where I've exposed the metal or welded in new metal. The outside of the car looks fine, I could get away with just doing the underside and interior and leaving the outside as is. That option is on the table and looks better every day. But I've had it in my mind that a good rust proofing means blasting the whole car and getting some modern primer on the entire thing.

Yes, I think Cincy will be a good place to get quotes. Apropos of nothing, it's been like a freaking rain forest here. This winter has been a repeating cycle of a couple days of below freezing, followed by a warm-up to 50's and constant rain for a week. Garage is always damp and Mr. Plant keeps telling me it's nobody's fault but mine.

[Andyrew]

Yeah, I'm not going to spend $5K - $6K on a frickin paint job, when I only paid $7K for the car in the first place. If I did spend that kind of money, I'd get pissed off every time I set foot in the car. So it doesn't look like it's going to get a paint job, at least with me being the current owner. I never should've bought this car...

Let's see it! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif)

Here ya go...like I said, it's got a 5-foot paint job right now, but up close, there are cracks all over the paint, on just about every panel...

Cracks mean that it really needs to be stripped down to metal, 40hrs
Then any imperfections fixed, 10-50hrs
High build primer, 4hrs
Block sanding and more high build primer, 20hrs
Primer sealer and paint, 16hrs

So thats at least 90hrs of book work at a minimum of $45/hr = 4k JUST in bodywork. Then there is material/consumables.

Paint- 300-2k
Primer- 100
Filler- 100
Sandpaper- 100

Your estimates are right on the money for a decent paint job.

You want stupid cheap? Go to Mayco. They pay their employees minimum wage and their work reflects it. You can get a paint job from them for around 2-2500 with the work noted above. Will it be straight? No. Will it have dull spots? Probably. Will it be good enough? Also, probably.


If you want to save money, strip the car down to metal yourself, do ALL the bodywork to how you like it. Take it to Mayco and have them spray it, Negotiate with their sales guys to have their good spray guy spray it.

[Andyrew]

Duplicate post

[r3dplanet]

I can sympathize. A couple of years back I went to paint my 914 and all I could find were $10,000 quotes. Except for one douchebag who wanted $50,000. I understand that it's a huge amount of labor to prep/paint a car and therefore expensive. But I didn't have $10,000.

Well, I did, but wasn't willing to spend that on something as minor as changing the color of my car from wrong orange to correct orange.

I asked around and finally met a retired guy that used to run the auto restoration program at a community college. He worked out of his own home shop and worked on one car at a time. We struck a deal where I would do half of the labor for a few hours every day and more on weekends. In return, I got half off the price. I think mostly because he wanted to work on something else. I ended up paying $4k, he ended up buying his own 914. That's probably the best deal I'll ever get, and the work he did was amazing thanks partially to having open access to the college paint shop / booth. Now it's correct orange.

Enter my Barracuda. It needs paint and bad, but thankfully it hasn't rusted. Like you I've also been running around town getting quotes and just can't justify spending $10,000 on a $5000 car that maybe I could sell for $7000.

We need a new plan.

Plan A: I found a guy in Seattle that does dry ice blasting and if you remove the glass and trim yourself, the car can be stripped without leaving any media behind and won't deform the sheet metal. Cost is about $500 and takes two to three hours. If you do this, you have to get it into primer right away. I figured by doing that and buying some good materials and finding someone to do a good job of shooting it can save a lot of money and have good results.

Plan B: Enroll part time at another local community college and spend a year doing their auto-resto program. You can do your own car and here the tuition is about $2000 overall. Yes, it takes a year (but so does getting a car painted by a shop) but you can pay as you go for materials and what-not. That lessens the blow. The main problem for me is that I hate sanding. I'd rather pop out my eyeballs than do that much sanding.

Just a couple of alternate plan ideas. Food for thinks.

[lonewolfe]

Or, you could go the route I did.
~$400 in materials, 2 days work, no paint booth or fumes, repairs are simple.
This was my first attempt at vinyl with no experience other than watching some youtube videos:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i366.photobucket.com-10819-1427659019.6.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i366.photobucket.com-10819-1427659020.7.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i366.photobucket.com-10819-1427659020.8.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i366.photobucket.com-10819-1427659020.9.jpg)

My plan was to verify that I liked the color before shelling out the $4-6k for real paint
But now I like the vinyl so much I don't know why I would want paint ever again.


I painted the car with primer in a DIY paint booth, and all the black.
But all of the green was 3m 1080 vinyl.
The $400 in materials left me with enough spare to do the rear trunk (again) and any one body panel.
So I would have had enough to do the front trunk as well if I hadn't opted for the black.

You're car looks great. I may condider doing a wrap. I could change colors every couple of years.

[euro911]

My black car ('BB') looks fine from 20 feet away. The dings, dents and scratches all add to the character. Driving it (when it runs ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) ) is what counts in my book. Actually, it runs great, just need to fix the clutch cable issue (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)




That being said, I have a friend who's a professional body & paint guy. He's agreed to tackling the minor bodywork and repainting the '71 (no trunks, engine bay or door jambs) the original L80E color for only $1,500. I'm currently striping all the trim bits and will be dropping it off at his place when the rainy season is over (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)



My wife and I enrolled in an auto/body course at a local occupational center (years ago), where we learned a lot about the subject. We were able to do some minor body work on two of our vehicles ('80 Chevy LUV and a '76 BMW 530i), then had a friend who was currently working at a 1-day paint shop paint both of them. He added some extra hardener in the paint and they both came out looking great. We sold the LUV 10 years later, and it still looked great ... sold the BMW 20 years later and it still looked OK, but starting to show it's age. Wax does wonders (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Darren C]

Yeah, I'm not going to spend $5K - $6K on a frickin paint job, when I only paid $7K for the car in the first place. If I did spend that kind of money, I'd get pissed off every time I set foot in the car. So it doesn't look like it's going to get a paint job, at least with me being the current owner. I never should've bought this car...

As others have said, that's a real good price, almost half what a "cheap" job would be here in UK.
This isn't the hobby for you.
Sell the car, buy some beer and chill.

[Cracker]

I was straight forward but I like how you said it much better! LOL.

Tony

This isn't the hobby for you.
Sell the car, buy some beer and chill.

[914dave]

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.

[tygaboy]

Had to chime in since I just finished painting my car...

Dude... That right there? That looks KILLER! Thanks for the great explanation and congrats on an impressive result!

[Randal]

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.

That is beautiful work, just beautiful. I personally appreciate the amount of effort it took to get it that nice, and I think the color combination is great (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)