Which Paint

[ALX69RR440]

Good morning everyone,
I met with the person that will be doing the rust repairs and paint on my car. We agreed on a price and I’m ready to do it but I have a few questions:

He said that he will be using single stage paint. Is this a good choice for our cars?

To stay within my budget I need to bring the car to him in bare metal. I’m planning on doing this work myself if I don’t find a reasonably priced service that would strip it.

If I do this work myself, what is the best approach? Chemical stripper and 80G sanding combo or pay the money to have it blasted?

More info: Cost to paint the car $7000.00 Color Y2 Yellow with black hood stripes

Thank you!

 

[69hemibeep]

Good morning everyone,
I met with the person that will be doing the rust repairs and paint on my car. We agreed on a price and I’m ready to do it but I have a few questions:

He said that he will be using single stage paint. Is this a good choice for our cars?

To stay within my budget I need to bring the car to him in bare metal. I’m planning on doing this work myself if I don’t find a reasonably priced service that would strip it.

If I do this work myself, what is the best approach? Chemical stripper and 80G sanding combo or pay the money to have it blasted?

Thank you!

A good price around here to have it blasted is about $800. If they know what they are doing they won't warp any sheet metal. Because your fighting rust the blasting route can get rid of the rust in tight spots sand paper won't reach. To save money you might DA with 80 grit and then blast the hard to reach areas. :cents: I saved by removing the under coating before blasting

 

[SomeCarGuy]

7K for single stage paint? No stripping of the paint that is on there?

Wow! I know you are in Cali but damn!

 

[ALX69RR440]

7K for single stage paint? No stripping of the paint that is on there?

Wow! I know you are in Cali but damn!

Yes, this is what I want to hear. It does seem like too much money. I'm completely new to this and have no clue what things cost. So before I commit to anything I need your opinions. Thank you.

 

[69hemibeep]

7K for single stage paint? No stripping of the paint that is on there?

Wow! I know you are in Cali but damn!

Yes, this is what I want to hear. It does seem like too much money. I'm completely new to this and have no clue what things cost. So before I commit to anything I need your opinions. Thank you.

Does the 7K include some rust repair or is that paint only ?

 

[ALX69RR440]

7K for single stage paint? No stripping of the paint that is on there?

Wow! I know you are in Cali but damn!

Yes, this is what I want to hear. It does seem like too much money. I'm completely new to this and have no clue what things cost. So before I commit to anything I need your opinions. Thank you.

Does the 7K include some rust repair or is that paint only ?

Paint only.

 

[69hemibeep]

So at what point is the agreed price, generally in a shop the body work is to the point that a painter has some final block work to do before seal and paint.

 

[ALX69RR440]

So at what point is the agreed price, generally in a shop the body work is to the point that a painter has some final block work to do before seal and paint.

Well nothing has been done yet. The body shop is a reputable shop in Costa Mesa that specializes in high end work. I’m assuming that the prep work to get a car to paint is the same regardless of what paint you use BC/CC or single stage. So what I’m thinking is that the 7k is taking into account all the time needed to get the body prepped right to do a quality job. The question is, if I spend so much money getting the body right should I have it painted with single stage to stay with in my budget? Or try to negotiate a better price/shop around for a two stage paint job? Also, Is 7k too much even for quality body/paint? I’m sorry but I’m very new to this. I don’t mind paying for quality but I don’t want to overpay either.

 

[3BIRDS1X]

if they are doing bodywork too it could be any dollar amount depending on the shape of your car, I would not have any issue with a single stage since that is a non-metallic color, some will argue clear over a solid color will slightly change the colors intensity I'm not so sure about that.

 

[69hemibeep]

So at what point is the agreed price, generally in a shop the body work is to the point that a painter has some final block work to do before seal and paint.

Well nothing has been done yet. The body shop is a reputable shop in Costa Mesa that specializes in high end work. I’m assuming that the prep work to get a car to paint is the same regardless of what paint you use BC/CC or single stage. So what I’m thinking is that the 7k is taking into account all the time needed to get the body prepped right to do a quality job. The question is, if I spend so much money getting the body right should I have it painted with single stage to stay with in my budget? Or try to negotiate a better price/shop around for a two stage paint job? Also, Is 7k too much even for quality body/paint? I’m sorry but I’m very new to this. I don’t mind paying for quality but I don’t want to overpay either.

If these guy are high end and stay with a time frame some times its worth some extra cash if you Know it's done right and it doesn't end up in jail. I don't know the cost in SoCal I know its more than here, and if Chris suggested the place keep it in mind. After you get the car stripped they can give you a much better estimate, right now the car is a mystery to them.

 

[Jim S.]

If you are going single stage I would definitely use PPG Urethane with hardener. 3 gallons of that will cost about $600-$700. $7K may seem high but, if you bring a shop a car stripped down to metal they still have a lot of work ahead of them. They will probably spend $2K to $3K in materials alone not counting labor. Maybe they cannot spray urethane any more in Ca. Did they mandate all water based stuff now?

 

[69hemibeep]

If you are going single stage I would definitely use PPG Urethane with hardener. 3 gallons of that will cost about $600-$700. $7K may seem high but, if you bring a shop a car stripped down to metal they still have a lot of work ahead of them. They will probably spend $2K to $3K in materials alone not counting labor. Maybe they cannot spray urethane any more in Ca. Did they mandate all water based stuff now?

Most everything is water based over there now,from what I hear.

 

[ALX69RR440]

Thank you all,

Yes, Chris recommended the shop and I've seen some of their work and they do great work. I’m confident that the car will look great once is done.
So what I’m hearing based on your comments is that 7K might be in the ballpark depending on how much bodywork it’s needed before paint.
Also, single stage if done right is ok.
Anyone out there feel strongly against single stage?
My main concern is durability. I don’t want to do this again for a long time maybe ever!

 

[Moparnut]

How much of the car will you be disassmbling? Are you removing all the glass/trim/lights/etc? How much are they removing/reinstalling? Are they painting inside the trunk? Door jams? I guess I'm trying to say that you should find out exactly thorough of a job they are doing for that price.
It is getting harder around here to find a shop that will paint an older car for a fair price. Most of them just want quick little insurance jobs.

 

[69hemibeep]

I have no problem with single stage that's what I wanted to use and none of the shops wanted to use it.

 

[ALX69RR440]

How much of the car will you be disassmbling? Are you removing all the glass/trim/lights/etc? How much are they removing/reinstalling? Are they painting inside the trunk? Door jams? I guess I'm trying to say that you should find out exactly thorough of a job they are doing for that price.
It is getting harder around here to find a shop that will paint an older car for a fair price. Most of them just want quick little insurance jobs.

They are removing/re-installing the windows and painting the entire car including engine bay, trunk and door jams. Im removing/re-installing all the trim/lights.

 

[ALX69RR440]

I have no problem with single stage that's what I wanted to use and none of the shops wanted to use it.

Great, thank you.

From what i'm reading, what makes a paint job is the prep work and this is what takes the most time. So 7K might seem like a high number but it's all relative. The cost of doing business in Cali is out of control (Payroll tax, Workers Comp Ins, Social security employer contribution, Medicare employer contribution, Federal unemployment insurance, California unemployment insurance, California employer training tax, employer contribution to the medical insurance plan, cost of materials, rent/utilities and a decent salary for your skilled labor) and I might be forgeting something!

So 7k might be one or two K more than other shops but they are a very reputable shop and I've seen first hand the quality of their work. I'm going to go with them and have the car painted using single stage. Thank you all!!

 

[chapdog105]

This reminds of the question I posted about whether to paint my vert single stage acrylic enamel or base/clear.
To save money, and keep an original look, I went single stage. I paid about $1500 for the paint and labor.
Personally, I wish I would've gone base/clear. With all the cars on road (and most restored cars too) using base/clear, the single stage doesn't look nearly as good as everyone else's car.
You're only going to do this once, my advice is to spend a few more bucks and do it right.
Have it done at a professional shop with a state-of-the-art booth that will heat the car.
Most likely, I'm going to have my car repainted in base/clear once my body work is the way I want it.

Just my opinion...

Alex

 

[SomeCarGuy]

I can't make a meaningful comment on the cost since it is Cali. I know you can get a Vette stripped and painted for way less than that here. But then again you can get most things cheaper here.

If you can't get a BC/CC done in Cali, then go ahead with it. It will be fine, but not base and clear. Nothign wrong with that, but most go for that for a reason. You don't want the car far away from you though, so a compromise is in order if that is the way things are. I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[mannye]

As someone who lives in an area that's as crazy expensive as California, I can tell you that you really get what you pay for in a large metropolitan area like LA or Miami. You have lots of shops with plenty of yahoos that have no clue.

Back in 87 I tried two different shops and had "break my car out of jail" twice until I finally bit the bullet and went to Harbor Auto Restorations which was in Ft. Lauderdale at the time. They have since moved further north avoiding the insane retail rents.

These guys were twice as expensive as the others, but where the other shops all wanted to paint my engine orange, these guys actually did the research and noticed that my car (another ragtop I had back then that I should have never sold) had a/c and that the 383 should be aqua (or whatever blue they use) not orange. Also, the level of detailing they did to paint my engine compartment (pulled the engine and removed EVERYTHING) wouild not have happened at any other shop.

It may hurt now, but the end result will be worth it.