mpramsey Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I have my 78 280Z completely stripped of at least two prior coats of paint. I have sanded the entire car and it is almost ready for primer and paint. I dont have a paint shop selected as of yet. I am a bit nervous talking to the paint shops as I have not done any car painting and am not quite sure what to expect from a cost standpoint. As simple as it may seem and as I almost embarassed to ask but what type of questions should I ask these paint shops to determine if they will provide me a quality paint job? I have selected my paint color and it is a BMW Atlantis Blue Metallic. I would think that stripping old paint and sanding is the majority of the work involved with a new paint job. What could I expect to pay to have my 280Z primed and painted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 depends where you bring it and what you ask them to do. A simple 1 layer coat at a one day paint shop shouldn't be that much providing you bring them the paint. If you ask them to do 3 coats plus wet sanding out the perfections (which you could do at home) you looking at a much more thorough paint job. If you do bring them the car though, make sure they come out and look at the work you've done/the car itself. If they just glance at it and give you a quote get out of there. No real paint shop would accept a job without looking over the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsommer Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Figure body work and paint for a nice paint job you'll be looking at $4k to the moon. Any shop that says they can do it for less than $2500 you're not going to get any quality IMO. With out body work on a stripped car I'm going north of $4500 right now at a custom shop. Btw the car is going to be white not a metallic or pearl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75zcar Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Figure body work and paint for a nice paint job you'll be looking at $4k to the moon. Any shop that says they can do it for less than $2500 you're not going to get any quality IMO. With out body work on a stripped car I'm going north of $4500 right now at a custom shop. Btw the car is going to be white not a metallic or pearl. I think there are shops out there that do top notch work that arent gonna rape you 4500 just for spraying a stripped car. Same goes for needing body work and paint for 4000. The shop I worked at for a little bit would charge 150 per panel/ 100 a bumper for body work and paint. But the owner was also a crack head that was always just looking for enough money for his next fix haha. Just my input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palosfv3 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I posted this a while go regarding painting a Z . If your car is in bare metal let the shop take it from there. Its assumed that all trim and glass is removed since you have gone this far. Its interesting to listen to opinions of what a paint job should cost. The comments reflect personal standards , financial affordability, knowledge variables. Now add into the mix condition of the car, color , and region and you get some complicated data to sort out. Lets look at some basics that should be considered. Time study guides (flat rate book ) .There are posted times to paint each panel on a Z. These times are based on painting a new undamaged panel and are a good reference point to start from. If you had a new replacement fender for your car the book states it should take 2.5 hours to prepare and refinish the exterior of the panel and .5 hours to paint the inner edges. All panels of the car have a time assigned to them. Hood exterior (2.6 ) Door w/jamb (3.3) ect. There are corrections allocated for overlap and ad ons for getting exterior panels to the condition of a new part. Once the total time has been calculated industry standards apply a dollar amount per paint labor hour for materials and color. Flat rate time for painting all new condition panels is around 35 hours. This time also reflects a car that is apart and requires no masking. It doesn't include the engine compartment or other interior areas. Now add the time to remove the old finish , Many believe this is not necessary . This statement only shows ones inexpierience of the correct process. Any finish over 10 years old should be stripped. You're only throwing away good money and will jeoperdize the lifespan of the new paint. Figure about $900.00 to $1200.00 to media blast the body. Be aware that this will not remove any rust. Paint and material costs will vary depending on several things. Basecoat/clearcoat paints are more costly than single stage enamels. Reds are more expensive than whites and black. Pearls and tricoats are most costly than metallics. Good automotive paints ( DuPont, Sikkens , ect.) are significantly more costly than fleet paints ( Nason, Matrix. ect.). We have seen reds and orange pearls on standard late model colors at $500.00 plus for a gallon of basecoat. Yes , many will complain that that is just way to expensive but that is the going rate , if that is the color you want. I'm not going into what the body work would cost to restore each panel to new condition as that could take a long time to explain but plan at least 1/2 to 3/4 of the cost of painting minimum. Quick recap Refinish exterior panels 35 hours @ $$$.$$ per hour Rates can vary from region to region ( $45.00 to $ 95.00) Add labor for Clearcoat 10 hours @ $$$.$$ per hour Paint Materials $25.00 to $40.00 )per paint labor hour . Additional Clearcoat materials same as above. Color sand and buff can vary depending on desired finish . Figure between 12 to 20 hours @ $$$.$$ per hour. A quick add of the numbers runs a range of around $3500.00 for a quicky paint to about $9200.00 on the other side. This upper figure doesnt represent a show finish where the entire car would be water sanded with #1000 paper and recleared and buffed a second time to get an orange peel free finish. If your talented , have a work area available for an extended time and have lots of time on your hands, you can do this yourself and limit your expenses to basically material costs and your time but you wont get a quality professional job for $3000.00. Best Regards __________________ Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsommer Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 ^^^ excellent write up on the topic! As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. As far as crack heads painting cars, I wouldn't let them touch my car with a 10 foot pole. I shopped around before I chose the shop to paint my car, the estimates were all pretty close to one another. So you throw out the high and low and deceide from there. 75zcar, it's not getting raped, it's paying for a quality show car finish that's done right. I did find a shop that would do it for $2500 after looking at a "rod" they painted for a customer I couldn't get off the property quick enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpramsey Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 Thanks, this is exactly what I am looking for as to what to expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emeraldlion Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 MP if you find a shop you consider reasonable let me know as I would like to keep on file for my build. I would also google the Sherman/Denison area. You'd be suprised at the talent up there. You would pay a larger towing fee but may get a break. The grayson county college has auto body classes which feed the local talent and you might be able to find someone who has more reasonable rates for a good spray as opposed to the city guys/shops. Are you planning on doing the body work yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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