How much did paint cost you?

[OhDearAudrey]

Trying to shop around for some body work for my new Z and the prices i get are way different. How much did you pay for your paint / rust removal? I'll post some pictures just in case you want to know what i'm working with,

My Fender

My door

Below windshield

My dogleg

below tailights

The front side

 

There is not a lot of rust, most of it is surface, the paint that's on it is chipping off and is getting surface rust. Whoever had it before me (i just bought it) got the cheapest / worst possible paint job on it. Just want to get it cleaned up so it won't rust further.

Edited May 3, 2010 by OhDearAudrey

[hoov100]

completely strip and bead blast/sand blast the chassis and all the body parts and panels fix the rust and ask about how much a paint job costs.

[crazyoctopus]

$60, if you prep and rattle can it yourself.

[z2go]

There's no easy way to do it right. You should get it media blasted to remove the rust and crap paint. That paint job will do you nothing but problems if you try to paint over it. To have it blasted it runs somewhere between 60 and 100 dollars an hour.

[junglist]

Usually to have a car bead blasted its going to cost between $700-$1200. Rust repair, who can even say...it takes A LOT of time.

 

I just got a quote from my auto-body supply place for paint, Dupont Nason in black (non-metallic). 1 Gallon of Primer, 2 qts of paint & 2 qts of basemaker, 2 qts of activator, 1 gallon of Clearcoat...final price is $423 with tax.

 

I also have bought 2 qts of self-etching primer, Rage Extreme body filler, body glaze, seam-sealer, guidecoat and various sandpaper. Lets say total I've spent for body supplies alone including the $423...to be a little less than $700. You could do it cheaper or more expensive for a better line of paint.

 

I've been trying to go somewhere between show-car finish and maaco paint job since I'll be tracking the car and driving it on the street to shows/meets.

[OhDearAudrey]

If i were to prep it myself, sanding all the surface rust off, the chipped paint etc would i have to get every piece of paint off on the entire car, or just the bad spots? How hard would this be. Honestly i could care less about the rust holes, there is one on the fender and one under the car. Honestly the car cost me next to nothing and it's not worth putting more then 1000 dollars into.

[OhDearAudrey]

Site had an error and double posted here.

Edited May 5, 2010 by OhDearAudrey

[z2go]

If i were to prep it myself, sanding all the surface rust off, the chipped paint etc would i have to get every piece of paint off on the entire car, or just the bad spots? How hard would this be. Honestly i could care less about the rust holes, there is one on the fender and one under the car. Honestly the car cost me next to nothing and it's not worth putting more then 1000 dollars into.

 

 

Rust is cancer. Literally.

 

If you do not eliminate the rust COMPLETELY, it will spread, and spread, and spread, and spread, until there is no metal left.

 

If your only concern is to hide the rust, and not fix it, and you just want the car to look somewhat decent, sand down the rust, hell, even use some POR 15 on those areas. But, if you don't eliminate it, it will come back in a year or two, and you will be facing the same problem that you have right now.

 

 

You are right, if you are trying to get money back out of it, it is probably not worth putting more than 1000 dollars into it.

[OhDearAudrey]

Rust is cancer. Literally.

 

If you do not eliminate the rust COMPLETELY, it will spread, and spread, and spread, and spread, until there is no metal left.

 

If your only concern is to hide the rust, and not fix it, and you just want the car to look somewhat decent, sand down the rust, hell, even use some POR 15 on those areas. But, if you don't eliminate it, it will come back in a year or two, and you will be facing the same problem that you have right now.

 

 

You are right, if you are trying to get money back out of it, it is probably not worth putting more than 1000 dollars into it.

Not trying to get money back, the rust isn't an issue as much as paint chipped to bare metal making it look horrible.

[PSL_240z]

Not trying to get money back, the rust isn't an issue as much as paint chipped to bare metal making it look horrible.

 

Here is the problem. You can sand it and rattle can it for $50. Then when the rust comes back you can just repeat. The problem is that in a few years you may find that the body is so damaged from rust that it is junk.

 

Keep in mind that this is a uni-body and panels, doors, glass, etc all add to the frame stiffness. If panels are rusting away, your frame is getting weaker and weaker.

[z2go]

Here is the problem. You can sand it and rattle can it for $50. Then when the rust comes back you can just repeat. The problem is that in a few years you may find that the body is so damaged from rust that it is junk.

 

Keep in mind that this is a uni-body and panels, doors, glass, etc all add to the frame stiffness. If panels are rusting away, your frame is getting weaker and weaker.

 

That is exactly my point, too. What looks horrible in rust is also HORRIBLE to your car. Think of it as this: You find out from your doctor that you have skin cancer. Instead of undergoing treatment, you go buy lotion, tanning spray, moisturizers, and all other kinds of anti-aging type products to try to make your skin look better, to mask the cancer. The problem is, you have done nothing to fix the problem, and you are getting sicker in the meantime.

 

If you want to hide the problem, go ahead and rattle can it. Shoot, throw some bondo over the rust holes to make it look sort of whole again, even. Your car won't last 5 years.

[OhDearAudrey]

just not worth it to put the money into it. Anything over 1000 is more then i paid for the car. Which was a hell of a deal since nothing is broken on it, the only thing wrong with the entire car is the rust and paint. The Driverside dogleg is crappy and holes in the back passenger fender the floorboards are fine and the battery tray is fine. The rest is just surface rust that needs to be sanded down. I would LOVE to get all the rust taken care of and have it painted up all nice. It's just not cost efficient. I have been shopping around and it's just way out of my price range.

Edited May 5, 2010 by OhDearAudrey

[z2go]

just not worth it to put the money into it. Anything over 1000 is more then i paid for the car. Which was a hell of a deal since nothing is broken on it, the only thing wrong with the entire car is the rust and paint. The Driverside dogleg is crappy and holes in the back passenger fender the floorboards are fine and the battery tray is fine. The rest is just surface rust that needs to be sanded down. I would LOVE to get all the rust taken care of and have it painted up all nice. It's just not cost efficient. I have been shopping around and it's just way out of my price range.

 

There's no problem with not wanting to dump a bunch of money into a car. However, these cars are money pits. If you don't spend 9000 initially on the car, you can expect to spend twice or three times that to get it to the $9000 value. No one works on a Z because it's cost effective... in fact, most people don't work on any car because it's cost effective. Z's are just barely getting to the point where they are gaining value, and people have been fixing them up for decades. It's a love thing, not a logic thing.

 

If you want to do it on the cheap, you should sign up for a community college auto body repair class, and take your time. The crappy paint job needs to be removed completely, it's only going to continue to bubble up and cause nightmares. If you do it yourself you will save thousands, and it will probably look nice (enough) too.

[Lino]

just not worth it to put the money into it. Anything over 1000 is more then i paid for the car. Which was a hell of a deal since nothing is broken on it, the only thing wrong with the entire car is the rust and paint. The Driverside dogleg is crappy and holes in the back passenger fender the floorboards are fine and the battery tray is fine. The rest is just surface rust that needs to be sanded down. I would LOVE to get all the rust taken care of and have it painted up all nice. It's just not cost efficient. I have been shopping around and it's just way out of my price range.

If you're looking for cost efficient buy a honda or toyota.

 

I totally understand you not wanting to put much money into the car, but then you should put time into the car by fixing the rust yourself.

At the very least just sand/cut the rust out and spray-paint over it for a temporary fix.

 

I could fix the rust and paint your car for about $650-700 if you were near me.