After over 10 years I have made a decision.

I am going to finish building my 56 F100. For a long time, I lost interest in it. A relocation to the US from the UK over 6 years ago should have meant I had all the parts I needed closer to hand and easier to obtain so I was all set to get straight at it and get it done...

The reality was somewhat different, the truck was damaged pretty badly in the move, that set me back for quite a while. I did little odd jobs for a while but still didn’t have the same drive. Anyway recently talking with my wife about it and said to her that I was considering getting a local body shop to do the final prep and paint and maybe that would get my interest back again. She said yes, good idea! So now the truck is in the body shop. Great I hear you say… well, now she is asking me how long/how much is it going to cost and I am really not getting a good vibe from the paint shop.

Just wondering if anyone else out there who has had their truck prepped and painted (to a high standard) is willing to share the number of hours it took. I am not looking at costs, as I know costs can be very different depending on location etc. I am just getting a little worried that the shop who has my truck seem to be really slow and want to charge me on an hourly basis. I know that this is not a straightforward question as there are very different standards of prep/paint too but on the basis of show quality.

Anyone offer any advice? I don’t want to come across as a chump by calling them out, but likewise I really don’t want to end up with a 400 Hour paint job..

Thanks
Lee

 

You could save yourself a lot of money and shave of hours of labor if you do most of the final work, get them to spray extra coats of clear and do the wet sanding and polishing yourself. That's where a lot of hours are spent.

 

I couldn't say which is cheaper. A good paint job or a good lawyer. You get what you pay for though.

 

Unless I'm missing something there are no pics , barring pics we need as much info as possible rust , damage , overall condition , driveable , are they doing just paint or mechanical work also ?


There is no reason you shouldn't be able to get an hours/cost to date from them . Just paint material alone can be in the thousands and show quality is also a very loose term , local car show or riddeler .

 

You should get a price for the finished job not by the hour.

 

I have done all mechanical and metal work, the truck was as you see here when i handed it over. Gaps were good, there was for sure a bit of work on the hood after pie cutting to get it perfect for paint and I asked them to fill a hole in the firewall where a brake booster had been fitted and some minor work on the running boards. It was seal coated after i did the metal work repairs/mods.

I know paint is expensive and that's why i specifically stated I am not looking at costs, just hours. So far they have over 200 hours in it to get 2 coats of primer on the cab, fenders and hood. The bed i am told may be easier to replace the sides than work to get good for paint.

 

Looks good. Tell us more about the hood pancake. I'd think if you did that you could easily finish the rest. Just sayin.

 

It does look great " wish I was anywhere near that " . That being said it's difficult to say from pic's but it certainly appears that 200 hours to get what is now primed seems like lots and telling you that boxsides need replacing sounds like they will be that much again before paint . I would certainly be trying to get a quote