I now understand why so many of you are doing your own paint
 

Took my truck around to get a few quotes on body work and paint. Most shops would not even give me an idea because they wouldn't do the metal work (just collisions, ins, etc.). I found 2 that would do that and was quoted 10k from one and over 25k for another (for driver quality paint). 25k!

Now that truck does need 2 new front cab mounts welded in, the passenger bed wheel area, and a patch or two in the bed, but... wow, that's a lot!

I guess I need to learn to weld! I'll have to take it around a few more places first though, just to see what other people are quoting.

That's the truth, that's what a good decent paint job costs with minimal repairs. I paid 13k to have my 76 done in 2014.

I went through the same thing and thought those numbers were outrageous. And then after I completed my own repaint, taking the time to do it right, I realized I would want the same high price do it for someone else's truck

If I didn't do the work myself (along with other members who have donated their time and skills) I wouldn't be able to restore this truck. It's a labor of love I'll never get my money back out of but I don't ever plan to sell it so I'm fine with spending my time on it. No way I could afford shop labor + materials to have this truck fixed up, If I was that rich I'd go buy a restored truck for $25,000 and let the previous owner take the probably close to $30,000 hit on restoration costs lol.

Paint is something I'm going to try myself and only if I fudge it up real bad will I check out what a shop wants for the job.

The paint itself isn't what I'm cautious about trying, it's the welding in body panels. But... for that kind of price it might be worth it to buy a decent welder and start practicing!

Check the services section on Craigslist. I was quoted $7k just to spray paint and primer after if I did all the body work myself from a local shop. I ended up finding a retired bodywork guy on craigslist who did most of the body work, primer and paint for $4k. He did a beautiful job. I would recommend a few references of past customers before you go that route though, to avoid being screwed.

I recommend getting a welder and learning how to weld! It comes in handy for more things than just body work! And it's a lot of fun :)

X2 on the welder purchase
 

I agree with buying a welder and learning to weld. There are some nice weekend warrior wire feed welders available now that will pay for themselves rapidly in outside labor savings.

Yes buying a welder and learning to weld is a skill that opens soooo many doors for you! Definitely give it a try.

But practice practice practice before you weld on your truck... don't want to fix a fix on these old trucks lol (well more than you already have to, hopefully the PO didn't screw too much up)

Welding sheet metal is a bit more challenging than the heavier stuff but there are tricks and techniques you can learn to better balance the equation. Back when I set out to learn how to weld, there were no CDs, DVDs or Internet (the dark ages). I had a book or two, a gas welding outfit, a pile of mild steel scraps and a lot of optimism. Nowadays, it's much easier. I've been very impressed with what one can find on YouTube, especially the videos put out by vendors of welding equipment. Eastwood's videos are especially good because they use vintage tin examples.

Yess buy a welder. And look on YouTube for tips and tricks. Once you learn to weld you can make money off of it.

Anyone can do the heavy stuff, welding and straightening. the final bodywork and paints is best left to the pro's if you care at all what your rig looks like it really that simple. they guys who brag about doing their own paint don't need to tell me, I can tell.


just the materials will run a minimum of $1000 and can go way up from there for the good stuff. step over a dime to save a nickel ?

I'm taking my high boy in this winter for new paint , it has no rust and only minor dents, it will be stripped, sanded and ready to start priming and blocking when they get it. with Glasurit base /clear it's going to cost me right at 8k . for the quality of work these guys do that is more than fair in my opinion, since the materials are about 25% of the cost no way am I going to do it myself and screw it up.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

Here is another way to get it done. Some others may chime in on this one. As long as you aren't in a hurry, find a local school that teaches auto body repair and have them do it. I didn't have the time they required for my truck when I called about this idea. Guy said it would cost me the price of paint and materials and 10% of book cost. I ended up painting it myself. I spend right around $1000, which included a $500 air compressor. I didn't know that prep requires so much work. Took me almost 2 months to get the job done. I made a thread about it, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-thread-3.html

It's not as hard as you think. Go slow and have fun with it. Make sure you buy a decent gas mig welder. Don't try learning on a flux core welder. You'll be miserable.

Ain't that the truth. I was struggling on the welder from HF. Then grinnergetter offered to help me and while working at his shop with a nice welder I instantly became a pro! (Ha ok maybe some exaggeration, but I was able to weld MUCH better with a nicer welder)

I had no idea what a paint job cost. Clicked on this thread. Now im doing my own paint.

Another thing that will help lower the cost is looking for rust and dent free body parts. They are out there. Just gotta find them.

Any way you want to look at it it will cost you.
Either on the front side, finding rust free parts, buying patch panels & welder and doing the replacement, body work & paint.
or
On the back side. Having a shop do the work.

When you do the work the hit to the pocket book is not as hard as it is done over time and your time line were a shop wants some up front and the rest before you get the truck back.
Has any one checked into what body work supplies run? Filler sand paper, primer, etc.
I can also tell you the paint is not cheap, some colors are more than others, my red is not cheap!

Then you have tools like compressor, air system (drier & filters) sanders, grinders, spray guns, etc.
FYI you will need a good size compressor (220 volt?) to just to spray paint and more so for air tools.
Do you have the room / place to do all this work?

I don't have issues with guys / gals doing their own body work & painting but you need to look at the full picture of what it takes $$ to do this.
Some may want to do the body work, don't need air tools for this, and farm out the paint job.
Most if not all privet shops may not touch it if they don't do the whole job, cant warrantee it, but Macco will paint it so that could be away to go.

Just think and price this out before you jump in with both feet.
Dave ----

When I was in high school, I was working at a friends bodyshop after school and on Saturday's, it is a Truck collision shop, Peterbuilt, Mack, etc... I brought my 67 Fairlane in for a bunch of metal work, had to make a jig and rip more rust than was initially thought from her. All I can say is that it didn't look nearly as bad as it actually was..... it is a unibody car so torque boxes, floors, fenders, lower rear quarters, section of the cowl, rear wheel houses, patches in the radiator support, almost a new car. 9 months later I only ended up paying him $2500 for all the work, he said 19 years ago (wow I can't believe it has been that long already) that it would have been a $15k job if I wasn't there working on it and for him, and if I was just some guy off the street. Can't even imagine what it would cost today, That is why I bought both my trucks with paint and body already done at least close to what I would have liked if I had it done.

I know we want our trucks to look and perform the best possible.... BUT, to me, all the fun and satisfaction at the end of the project is doing it ALL myself.
I have a friend who won awards at car shows with his FIRST self applied paint job. He took a LOT longer than a pro shop but he said his secret to success was putting on several light layers of paint and wet sanding between coats.

It all boils down to this..... pay $$$$$ OR.... "just do it".

Have fun!
:-X22

The welder makes the difference. Much cooler weld with great penetration and less warpage. I love doing metal work on cars. Theirs definitely some awesome people on this site.

you can buy rust free parts out west CHEAP. way cheaper than imported junk parts. or just buy a clean 2wd long box for $1500 and ship it east for parts.

The shipping on parts would cost more than the parts cost. but in the end you save time and money . just look on craigslist they're all over the place.

Where are you located Meridian Mike? I graduated high from meridian high school in Sanford Michigan

Well.... I graduated from Meridian High School in Meridian, Mississippi...

(Small world...???)

LOL... Meridian, Mississippi is where I reside.

:-X0A6

Yes it is. 2000 miles apart but still small world

Here is what I'm working with. Truck is solid everywhere but here. The floor behind these front mounts is also solid.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...e56b6b9258.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...23db5df013.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...b0aa093cf1.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...afba1a2d4b.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...500e12c43c.jpg

Omg I love that truck. Fortunately that's an easy fix and no bodywork

I know right? I love it too. Just want to stop any of this cancer before it does get bad. I really didn't think the parts that need metal work were that big of a deal. That's why I was shocked when the 2 quotes I got were 6k-15k just to fix these few things.

Wow. That's crazy. But theirs people that will pay it. Lol. I've got three of those trucks. By far my favorite of all the trucks

I've completed the paint and body on a couple of cars now. First one was a '55 Chevy Nomad, and I just finished a '63 Corvette. Both have turned out incredibly well.

The amount of time required for each of these cars were well in excess of 500 + hours. I actually documented the number of hours for the '55.

I'm sure a professional could have probably cut that time in half, but none the less, I have a (newfound), ton of respect to those paint and body guys who actually take pride in their work.

But even at 250 hours, @ shop rate, can add up to quite a bit.

If you want a professional job, there's just no such thing as cutting corners (much like anything in life).

Materials for each car, cost well in excess of 4k. That's sand paper, filler/glazing, primer, sealer, paint and clear. All top quality products, but as you can see, none of them are inexpensive.

I'll be doing the bed and tailgate on my '75 4x4 soon. Actually, it will seem like a walk in the park after the previous two.

Pat

True that. I've done paint and body work for 30 years now and speed definitely comes with experience without cutting corners or buying cheap materials. You get what you pay for. But some take it to extreme. They think they're chip foose or Boyd coddington. Lol. Classic car restoration is the most fun. I love cutting them apart and making them nicer than new.

Good work ain't cheap
Cheap work ain't good.

"Fast, cheap, or good. Pick two."

Body work & paint costs are why "patina" became a thing in recent years.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...5615976061.jpg
Thats why i did this truck. I put rear wheel arch patches. Two cab corners and a new tailgate on this truck and painted it with dupla color paint from autozone and didnt clear it. I think it turned out perfect and it was very affordable

Here's an interesting video of a Porche getting a concours paint job. https://www.motorauthority.com/news/...evel-paint-job

I wouldn't dare guess how much it actually costs to go to such extremes.

Yeah concours jobs you even have to match the factory overspray and only get paint where the factory put it and leave an "overspray" edge on certain spots. I bet that's a PAIN to follow

I'm not sure these pickups will ever need to be concours judged, I know mine won't. but that level of quality is way beyond the price range most of us consider reasonable.

That said good examples of these pickups I believe are worth restoring to a high quality level and they will appreciate in value enough to warrant it. within reason of course. sure there are a lot of nice 73-79 fords out there but there are less every day. and many of the ones that are left are getting trashed as daily drivers and el cheapo restored often doing more harm than good.

The disappointment low quality lingers long after the joy of low price fades.

A perspective from a body shop owner.

Body work on older vehicles is a completely different approach in the work,materials involved,the hidden damage or repairs needed and MAINLY a customers expectations. This all affects the estimate and price given a customer.Experience tells you whatever you see for rust; it is usually only about 1/3 of what is actually there. (yeah,I know but I'm in rusty New England)
Most people do not need or want OR can afford a $20,000 repair bill. Most want a good driving truck that they are not ashamed to pull into the local gas pumps.
What happens as a Body Shop attempts to cover its cost/labor/materials/unforseen work; you increase the estimate to hopefully cover this overhead and give a good end result As you increase the customer cost, the customer expects a better end result (as well they should!),so to get a better end result you increase the cost a bit more so then the custo....... well hopefully you get the picture.If you as a body shop needs to warranty EVERYTHING for EVER (tongue in cheek reference) then you need to get paid ALL those BIG bucks because the customer just paid an ENORMOUS amount of money and "there better not be ANYTHING for a problem EVER" or back to the shop.. A viscious circle !! Accident, crash work; pays the bills as you generally get paid for most of your labor from the $ whittling insurance companies and you make 25% profit on the parts.
This is truly no different than a mom & pops store trying to make a profit or at least break even on selling a loaf of bread. The other side of the coin of being self employed.
The bottomline in my shop of heading towards 40 years ??? Nope,don't,won't, do overall jobs anymore. Absolutely, losing non,profit work. A true dilemma for us car guys.