Have any of you guys had your trucks repainted? I am considering doing this within a year. Mine (93) had a poor paint job, along with others around the same time frame. The body is perfect except a dent where someone opened their door, it missed the wheel molding. @#$%! Would it be cheaper to just replace the entire fender?(Front Driver's Side) So far I have escaped rust. The truck has tu-tone light mocha with a dark mocha center. I want to have it repainted light mocha top-to-bottom minus the bed.

Suggestions?


Pastmaster's 1993 XLT 5.0 E40d 3.55LS Normal Cab/Long bed Loaded from the factory with aid of...MSd 6a ign/s.p. wires, blaster coil, Hypertech Chip, K&N filtercharger, Cat-back dual exhuast w/o mufflers, 3.5", echo tips, Accel distributor cap, Dark Mocha over light mocha. 5% Dark tint, Alpine Cd player/remote, Pioneer speakers.

 

Pastmaster - My 83' F150 ext cab came with fresh paint and although it is not the best job ever, it'll do until time for a repaint. I work in the auto body field and can offer some advice. The dent in your fender is much cheaper to repair than replacing the fender. The new fender will be a couple hundred bucks plus the labor to remove and install. A good bodyman can repair the dent you describe for less than $100.
A good Body shop repaint will cost you in the neighborhood of $1500 - $2000 depending on where you live (labor rate variations). A good repaint will involve stripping the old surface down to the original primer or even the bare metal in some places, re priming with corrosion resistant primer, and finishing with the factory correct basecoat/clearcoat paint. Moldings and trim shoulf be removed, not taped off. The bed should be unbolted and set back. Additional dent repair and any repaint of door jambs or underhood areas will cost extra. Stay away from the $399 repaints offered by Maaco and Earl Schieb - they are very poor. A good body shop should warrant a repaint for as long as you own the vehicle or at least 5 years, depending on what part of the country you live in. Ask friends if they know any body shops to recommend, shop around hard. Independent shops are typically cheaper than those affiliated with a dealership, and depending how busy they are will have an effect on the price also. Correct repaints are labor intensive, I have friends that have stripped and painted a vehicle 3 times to get the look they want, but the results are eye popping beautiful! If you have more specific questions or want me to evaluate any estimates you receive feel free to email me. - Mark

 

This is something that isn't well publicized, but there are certain year models that Ford will repaint for free if the paint is peeling. I have an 89 and got a free paint job in 94 due to peeling paint. It is somewhat of a hassle to go thru the red tape, but well worth the effort in dollars saved.

DannyP
89 F-150 4x4 former EFI I-6 now carbed 351W, Edelbrock heads,cam,intake,carb.
MSD 6A, T-18 but looking for a ZF. 3.55's.

 

Mark: You gave me the answer's I was looking for! I'm very particular. I have looked over several cars and trucks that have been repainted. Several have the window sills painted on. Poor Taping off job! I don't care how long it takes. I want it to look like it came from the factory. My hood has orange peal, so obviously the dealer that did the original paint doesn't do a good job. I doubt I would consider a Ford dealership to do the job. We have several places here in my hometown that do painting. I will have to look into it! Thanks



Pastmaster's 1993 XLT 5.0 E40d 3.55LS Normal Cab/Long bed Loaded from the factory with aid of...MSd 6a ign/s.p. wires, blaster coil, Hypertech Chip, K&N filtercharger, Cat-back dual exhuast w/o mufflers, 3.5", echo tips, Accel distributor cap, Dark Mocha over light mocha. 5% Dark tint, Alpine Cd player/remote, Pioneer speakers.

 

Depending on how the paint is peeling, your truck may have been a Friday truck. What this means is that when the trucks were on the assembly line being painted, yours was started on Friday and finished on Monday. Usually what happens is that the sealer (which is applied under the paint) was applied Friday afternoon, but the line was shut down for the weekend and when it was reopened on Monday, the rest of the paint was applied. The problem is that the sealer shouldn't sit for much more than an hour before being painted or the paint will not stick.

Most reputable body shops should be able to fix this and make it look "factory".