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Technical What's a basic lacquer paint job cost these days?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by pat59, May 23, 2018.

  1. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,629

    The37Kid
    Member

    You need to understand a "Paint Job" starts with a bare body, the type of paint applied and the few hours it may take is minimal compared to the prep and post paint wet sanding & buffing. Look for things to start at around $5,000. Bob
     
    flynbrian48 and pat59 like this.
  2. Personally because I think modern paint looks awful on old cars.
     
  3. You can buy lacquer here in Missouri it is just not legal for a professional painter to use it.

    If basic paint job is all you are after do your own prep work and take it to Maaco for a simple enamel job. Less than a grand will get you out the door.
     
  4. Here in SE PA I go to Kayfield Automotive in DE, they will sell you lacquer paint but only if you do not live in DE, I had to show my license. I got a quote for an OT car recently "$8000-10,000" BC/CC they would touch it unless they completely stripped and repainted it. No rust, only clearcoat failure/chips..and as far as I know you can order it online from various places.
     
    porknbeaner and pat59 like this.
  5. COCONUTS
    Joined: May 5, 2015
    Posts: 1,163

    COCONUTS

    I painted a lot of lacquer in the 70s with a rented compressor and Binks gun. It is really a labor intensive work before and after you paint the car. I would buy one gallon of paint and 5 gallons of thinner and have at it. I would paint right out in my parents driveway, on a dry windless day with the driveway hose down. I would spend a day spraying the color coats and sanding the next day spraying and sanding clear coats. Let it sit for a week final wet sand and buff. I cannot see what a regular shop would charge. Now I have a buddy with his own paint booth and we just trade labor for labor
     
    pat59 likes this.
  6. Actually I have just used some DuPont Lucite acrylic that I gave 35 dollars for a gallon (a little less than it was new LOL) and it mixed 50/50. So other than clean up a gallon of thinner to the gallon of color.
     
  7. 2OLD2FAST
    Joined: Feb 3, 2010
    Posts: 5,217

    2OLD2FAST
    Member
    from illinois

    I was gonna ask what the extra 4 gal. of thinner was for ??
     
  8. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 14,802

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Here in So Cal I only paint “office furniture”.:rolleyes: You got to be on your toes when talking with them too. I’ve heard just about every line imaginable trying to slip me up. I mostly paint black....screw the AQMD...
     
    Tman likes this.
  9. Gman0046
    Joined: Jul 24, 2005
    Posts: 6,256

    Gman0046
    Member

    Paint jobs right now are some of the biggest sources of rip offs. A friend of mine had his 63 Chevy Nova and his dads 55 Chevy painted by a guy working out of a shop behind his house for a total of 16K. Both looked pretty decent but in about six months rust popped through everywhere on both cars. The same thing happened to another friends Firebird that also required a complete repaint.
    Has anyone heard of Paint Jail? I know of a couple of guys who've ran into that scheme. They take your up front money, take the car apart, push it to the side and never finish the job.
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2020
  10. Gearhead Graphics
    Joined: Oct 4, 2008
    Posts: 3,890

    Gearhead Graphics
    Member
    from Denver Co

    If you consider paint a scam, I recommend doing it yourself. I have 1200 in liquid materials to paint my t bucket.
    I cant count the hours Ive sanded it. 1.5 gallons of filler.

    If you like block sanding all day, and doing it again the next day and the next. Then sure, painters are ripoff artists
     
    tb33anda3rd and belair like this.
  11. Depending on where you live, paint costs if bought locally can be all over the map because of local 'environmental' surcharges. Brand and 'line' (OEM, premium, fleet) within the brand makes a difference, as does color. I've been buying all my paint mail-order, it's far cheaper that way.

    MAACO can do a good job, but some locations are much better than others. The more/better you do the prep, generally will result in a better job.
     
    bchctybob likes this.
  12. Driver50x
    Joined: May 5, 2014
    Posts: 421

    Driver50x
    Member

    What are some of the best places to mail order paint from?
     
  13. I figure $1250 material on just about every allover job i do. Haven't seen lacquer paint around my jobber since those factory pack deals back in the 90's. I'm surprised at how many customers are wanting single stage these days. I've done 4 allovers in the last 3 months that requested acrylic enamel. That was unheard of for a long stretch lol. Before base/ clear got so popular, everybody wanted Dupont Centari with the 2000 gloss hardener kit. Material and labor usually around $3000 in my shop, but i average 4 months on a complete job. If you want it quicker i charge a little more labor ;)
     
    bchctybob likes this.
  14. 67drake
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 472

    67drake
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Muscoda WI

    I know this thread is dated, but I saw MAACO mentioned a few times.
    I had an OT car I was restoring years ago. I did all the body work, priming ,sanding, ect. MAACO just had to wipe, tape, and shoot it. $200.
    Car was black. Wasn’t show quality of coarse, but good deal for $200. I drove that car for years and the paint still looked good.
     
    Driver50x and bchctybob like this.
  15. In '05 I bought a gallon of black lacquer base coat from Carquest for about 100 bucks, a gallon of gray lacquer primer for about 50 bucks, a couple gallons of thinner for about 25 bucks and about 50 bucks worth of sandpaper, mud and incidentals. I think I still have half of it left.

    It took a couple of days to prep, and prime and cut in the jams. It took about 2-3 hours to finish coat it. I don't like paint and body work, so it doesn't have the finesse of a professional, but it looks the part of a traditional hot rod paint job.

    It came out looking pretty good for not liking paint and body work. It's not flat and not wet looking. I'd say it's about 85% shinny. The only thing I don't like is it doesn't have any hardener or clear coat, so it is vulnerable to chips, chemicals, fingerprints and fading. I just give it a spray Turtle Wax job ever few months or so and it looks good. Not perfect, but good.

    When I pulled it out of the paint booth I had to leave for a couple of months, so it never got any clear coat. When I got back, I saw a few boo-boo's that needed fixing, but I said I'll fix it later when I get a hundred thousand miles on it, never intending to fix it. Well, I drive it every day and it's got 103,000 miles on it now, and I don't see it getting fixed anytime soon!

    It took me 3 years to decide how to pinstripe it. I saw it in a dream one night and instantly I knew what to do. I ended putting about 600 bucks worth of striping and lettering on it. I love that car just the way it is...

    It's like anything else, it's how much you want to spend and how bad you what to play.
     
    Driver50x, bchctybob and 2deuces64 like this.
  16. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,287

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Paint is dumb. It doesn't know how much you paid to have it sprayed.
    upload_2020-6-9_17-25-28.png
    upload_2020-6-9_17-27-56.png
    Uh oh, better get MAACO
    upload_2020-6-9_17-29-17.png
    Lots of body work, lots of prep, lots of wet sanding, lots of polishing, and careful re-assembly. I furnished my own paint. The results are show worthy.
     
  17. bchctybob
    Joined: Sep 18, 2011
    Posts: 5,190

    bchctybob
    Member

    I bought a quart of metallic blue acrylic enamel to experiment with from TCP Global on eBay. I ordered the wrong color but it looks pretty good and I didn’t lay it on like I would have if it was the right color. I figure it’s money and time well spent. I’m hoping to paint my roadster soon and like many of us I don’t have ten grand and a years time to waste.


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  18. Body men are not painters, they fix damage and rust, most of them can prime.
    A Painter is not a bodyman, but will do minor spots repairs.
    A prep person will finish sanding and do edge work and tape, most are female.

    FYI: I have been in the mechanical, autobody, inspection and appraisal business for 50 years
     
    32SEDAN likes this.
  19. 2OLD2FAST
    Joined: Feb 3, 2010
    Posts: 5,217

    2OLD2FAST
    Member
    from illinois

    Just fucking WOW! I can't think of one good approach to that statement ........
     
  20. rivguy
    Joined: Feb 16, 2009
    Posts: 150

    rivguy
    Member

    We all know that the price of the paint job is in all the labor of preparation. I've actually had Earl Sheib paint a couple of my cars, about 500.00 each and they looked okay. I had a local place paint my '70 Mustang. several years ago. My choice, any color. I chose Highland green. I chose to have them add a full base coat and UV protectant to the single stage acrylic enamel. No door posts or under hood or deck. It was around 700 dollars with taxes and whatevers . ( Fees)I thought that it came out looking pretty good considering the body was far from perfect. Before I brought it in I stripped the chrome, did some basic dent filling and primed the spots. and sanded the whole car a little. The shop told me that they couldn't guarantee the paint since they had no idea what was underneath the various primer spots. I was happy with the results as the paint was better than my bodywork and prep! Current base price for this shop's cheapie job is 699.00, 100 bucks off with the coupon. I plan on using them again I've seen their more expensive work and it looks good.

    Painting a car at home with lacquer is safer than with the current catalyzed paint formulas. If I lived out in the country I might try painting with lacquer. I spray bombed several motorcycles in my youth with satisfactory results. One thing about cheap jobs is that your expectations are low. If I was paying five grand or more for paint I would agonize over every defect. Luckily none of my cars is worth anything so I won't be considering any high dollar work. I used to work at the local GM plant screwing together Monte Carlos and believe me those car were never painted perfectly. For the most part new cars are better finished.
     
    ffr1222k likes this.

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