Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - I now understand why so many of you are doing your own paint

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Ptjsk (Post 18703347)

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flowney

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.