I am not here to knock the professional painter they have to put food on the table and if I was not so cheap I would have someone paint my panel.
I was quoted 20K to finish bodywork and paint my panel and that was just the starting point probably more. I figure for 20K I can learn alot, know when I say I built it I did. I can waste alot of paint before I hit that sum.
I will probably be close to the 20K figure but I now have a 21X25 carport w/cement slab for bodywork (bondo dust) and paint, also a air supplied respirator and numerous tools. My 33 was done behind the garage and now have to paint the house, bondo dust seems to stay behind on rough sawn wood. There are benefits to painting yourself.

 

Ray touched on something there...

Time.

I hate the thought of getting into a project and dropping it off with someone else only to have it sit in their shop for months. Every day the truck sits in someone elses shop it costs you time and money, by some way.

My other issue is when people talk about "good" paint jobs versus "bad" paint jobs. I know the difference because I have seen them and also done a few bad paint jobs myself. The average restorer on here wants a great paint job but few have the time, money or skills to do a "show finish", including myself. My last paint job on my 54 was done quickly using satin paint that I was unfamiliar with and honestly rushed. It was truly a 10.5 footer as they say. There were areas that I could have done better if I had taken more time and effort. I was in a rush to get it fixed so I could drive it. I had more than dozen people tell me that they liked the truck but I had a few that commented about some bad orange peel and thin spots in the paint. After a few minutes I asked the critics how many paint jobs they had done, they all replied "none". Learn the work and take pride knowing you did it yourself. Don't hesitant to make friends that have more skills than you. Find a car painter that would let you shadow him for a couple of days. You can learn a lot about bodywork and painting by offering your free wetsanding skills. Just a thought.

 

I paint mine in my home shop , their mine and they are not perfect , very few things in life are . But they are a lot better than most of the paint jobs done by the guys complaining about it . Because most of those guy's have never tried to paint anything . Any one can write a check , but to start with a pile of rusted parts and put together a running driving car or truck is something to be proud of , even if you can't shave with the paint job .

 

I recently had someone offer me 2K to do all the bodywork/rust repair on his very rusted out vehicle, AND paint it, including me providing all the materials! Yes he was dead serious and insisted that it was a generous offer! When I said no thanks it couldn't be done, at least not by me, I got called some things they would not allow me to post on here. He said it shouldn't take but a week or two for the whole job, he only wanted "daily driver" quality work, "...each fender shouldn't take you more than a day to patch, fill and paint" he insisted. I said the materials alone would cost nearly that. "You must have enough left overs in your shop to do it with!" was his answer, like I have the body shop fairy dropping off free materials each night!?!? We did not part friends...

 

Ax i guess I felt bad about asking for wood advice unnecessarily!!
Was the guy really ever a friend?

 

It was like another recent thread where the posted had a very, very low budget and short window of time to finish the job. When unforeseen fixes and parts were needed he said he wouldn't consider that part of the cost because he had the parts and materials in his shop already. Even if the parts and materials were bough awhile back and for other projects they were still paid for, they still were a cost.

When I was doing my business full time it was amazing some of the things customers thought I could "throw in to a job" to keep them "happy", especially employee labor. Sure, I had the employee in my shop anyways but I still had to pay him. These were professional people, people who worked in my industry and who know exactly what it took to do my type of work. I've found the general public as a whole doesn't know what it takes to run a business especially if you do a really good job and make the process look easy.

Some have posted about doing most of the work themselves and not doing the greatest job at it. What I tell people is, "I'm not as good as some but better than most because most people don't even try."

 

My advice I give out for free. My skills and labor, not as much. I once had a well to do lawyer whose wife really liked my jewelry, and I made her several spectacular pieces that I put a lot of extra time and effort into. Her husband came in near xmas one year to pick up a new piece she had commissioned, It was especially nice with some quite rare and high quality gems she had picked out in it. When I handed him the invoice on it his face turned bright red and he started insisting I was overcharging for my work. I stopped him and asked what does he bill his clients per hour, 200.00 he replied, but he had gone to law school and had almost 20 years of experience! I then said you attended law school for 6 years to become a lawyer, I spent 6 years in college getting a masters degree in jewelry design. "You had almost 20 years experience practicing law", is that right?, Well I had over 30 years experience designing and producing pieces of fine jewelry, not "practicing" it!
I bill what I deem a fair price of 60.00 per hour, and I personally do all the work, so I should have charged you at least three times what I did based on how you value your time, so I gave you a bargain! He got quiet and handed me his platinum card.

 

I had a standard answer when someone came in to get a quote, especially on a repair, to their statement: "The guy at the mall only wants 1/2 your price to fix it!" I would reply "Probably that's because he know what his quality of work is worth!" Feel free to take it to him, and when you come back here wanting me to fix what he screwed up, it will cost a lot more to undo what he did and fix it right than I want to do it right in the first place. Your choice.

 

Thought I'd chime in here since I've been in your position. My truck looks pretty nice from about twenty feet away, up close is another story. The PO did all the body work and painted the truck himself. He did a great job on the body work but his painting skills lacked a little (few small runs and dry spots). Unfortunately he also sprayed rustoleum paint and so a repaint would mean completely stripping the old so the new urethane adheres properly. My good friend owns a collision shop and he fired out $8K-$9K to do the job. I've decided to wet sand the truck and rub it out. I'm not looking for a show truck so I can live with this. I would advise that you do the body work yourself and find someone to do the spraying. If they use a decent single stage urethane (summit makes a nice single stage low VOC paint) you can wet sand and rub out most of the imperfections. It's a daily driver so if you have $2K-$5K into the body with paint you'd have a nice truck that you're not afraid to park in a supermarket parking lot. I bought my truck painted, replaced the suspension, engine, transmission, gauges, wiring, braking system, etc. and I have about $15K total into it. $15K isn't out of line (give or take a few thousand) for a shop to do all the work and paint it but you shouldn't be afraid to learn another skill set. If you're not going for a show truck just dig into it yourself. Good luck!

Wally

 

You guys make some excellent points... I may try this painting thing myself... But as with any hobby like this, the upfront costs can be brutal and quite the discouragement.

 

There are a few wise members who took a class or two at a local tech college getting access to equipment and expertise. I happen to not be one of those wise members, however.

 

Wally,
Suggest you look some of the quality sealers on the market now. House of Kolor KD-3000 is an excellent sealer that could be applied over your current paint...KD-3004 is a red that would match the truck color in your avatar nicely. Prep the current paint, shoot the sealer, shoot a couple coats of base, and then clear and you're good to go.

 

Advice:
1) Make some friends in the paint and body world
2) don't be in a hurry.
3) Shop around. Don't be shy. IF you haven't talked to 10 shops and each one multiple times... you aren't done yet.

My total paint work is costing me $5k and has been there for 9 months... but it is an awesome job so far.

 

How about this.... So in a worst case scenario, you are out 15k but have a nice paint job. So lets figure it the way I normally do.... your "budget" is 15k

As mentioned before, why not invest it in yourself?

Im not talking about going to school to become a painter but moreso on the tools to do the job.

Heres how it will work:

What tools do you need?
Air Compressor $500 (for a nice size tank that will allow you steady pressure to paint)
DA/Random Orbital Sander $50-100
Sanding blocks $50
Welder $400-1000 depending on how big you go
Hand tools (not sure what you own but you will need files/body hammers/dollies etc) $500
HVLP Spray gun $200-$1000 (Devillbiss makes the Starting Line and Finish Line which is 2 guns, one for primer and 1 for base/clear which is a good entry level gun)

So you are looking at a few grand (or most likely what you thought you were going to spend on paint)

Also, as stated above, take time to learn. Youtube is great for How-To's but hands on is the best.

Learn all of these skills just enough to get by, go do a patch panel and finish it, prime it, paint it. Learn the process and work on your truck. Do odd jobs, find junk body parts to practice on to learn the spray gun. Once you feel almost comfortable, spray the truck. Then do sidejobs for a little cash, not to make money but to learn and broaden your horizon of repairs. (someone has a beater car with a primered fender and no means to paint it that might toss you a little cash and not care how it looks but wants it to at least be a close color) I did this when learning to be a mechanic prior to my dealership experience, I worked for free just to get the chance to learn. Since I worked for free, not much was expected.

Once you build solid skills you will end up coming back to your truck and want to redo it, and it will be better than before and you will have done it yourself, you will have saved at least 10k. Your sidejobs will have close to paid for some of your tools and will continue to make you money if you keep doing it. It will also save you 15k on the next project car you want to do. Most of all, you will have a priceless skillset.

 

Some points to ponder if you are a novice and want to paint your own vehicle.

1. Common sense......think the whole process through. Where are you going to do this work? Body/paint work is messy, smelly and loud. Do you have neighbors/landlord/HOA who would complain?
2. Cost......tools and equipment are great investments if you plan on painting more vehicles down the road. For one job, not so much. Paint and materials are insanely expensive.
3. Time......it's not going to happen overnight, especially if you are learning. It's a huge amount of work, even for a pro.
4. Safety......body/paint materials are nasty chemicals. Protect your self and anyone nearby.
5. Expectations......how good do you want it to look? Your first job may not turn out nearly as well as you plan. There is a very steep learning curve here. I've been doing it for 30 years and am still learning.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone........just be realistic and think it through. With proper planning and determination anyone can do it.