Long time no vist down here in the paint & body section......


Alright, I need the professionals thoughts.

I have a (let's pretend it is a Ford) that I am needing to get repainted. Now I'm going to do this regardless of cost & it is going to be done professionally.


I am wondering about the possible cost range I'm looking at.

Don't quite have time to get estimates right now, & don't want to get any until I have a good chunk of money saved up to get it started.

I don't need any body work except for maybe a minor dent here & there.
I want the engine compartment, door jambs, ect. painted. This will be painted back to the stock factory color.
I also want the under carriage sprayed with por-15 or with something similiar.


Do you think I'm looking at around 7K? I know the engine & all hood compartment componets will need to be removed to paint in there.

 

Not a professional here, but I did my 79 just as you want yours done, but total color change inside and out. Most all the shops declined bidding the job ( they like insurance collision repairs, not restores) and the last shop that bid it, took it and screwed it up. So I did it myself. And yes, your close on the 7 k, if done by a top quality shop. The one and only true custom "restoration" shop that bid mine, gave me a time frame of two years to complete it, with a 10k + estimated price tag. jmo

 

I'm not looking for a restore. I suppose the under carriage being por-15ed could be done by myself if I can find the time.

2 years to complete? Is that covering everything or just the paint and body?


I have been told about a good shop here in town (chattanooga) that removed the body panels (the ones that can be removed) and paints the individual peices. They are probally going to be the #1 place I go and get estimated along with a few other places.

2 years isn't good enough for me. I'm looking at having that part of the car done by Christmas at the latest.
I don't quite have the means to do it myself & if I was smart, I would have had the engine compartment repainted when the shop did my engine swap last month. But unfortunatly I didn't see how bad the paint was until I saw all that pretty chrome in there.

My money here is good & I have plenty of credit to get it done, but I prefer to pay cash for this project. I just put over 10K cash in my power & drivetrain so I really can't afford to skimp on the body & paint.

 

That up to a two year bid you mentioned, was from a shop that only did customs and show rods, and had a backed up waiting list to do. I feel the job from them would have been top notch tho, they dont rush them like production shops do. It was for a total to the metal strip, paint inside and out, with no panel removals, prep/painting only. For 7K you should able to get a SUPERFINE job by a shop in the next 6 months. The hardest part I found was finding a shop that was capable of turning out the quality of work I expected. When shopping for a paint job, you must get it in WRITING, what they will do to the truck, as far as the extent of the body repairs, the paint products they will use ( enamel ,bc/cc, SS, etc) . You must get it across to the shop owner your expectations of the paint job you want. ...

Quality paint jobs in the auto paint business is a relative term, and is open for interpretation by many. Get references from the shop and ask if those people would mind you checking out their paint jobs this particular shop has done. If they have no references or willing to show previous cutomers, move on. The best place to start is shops that do a lot of hot rods and show vehicles, IF you want top notch work done, guaranteed. Go to car /truck shows and chat with the owners, they will refer you to their painters shop. A word of advice though, get this info without being TOO demanding, paint shops have plenty of work nowadays, and do not want to have to deal with overly picky people before the job is even done. . You just have to let them know what you expect for your money. jmo and good luck.