For you own sake buy paint from your local jobber.

I see recommendations from others to purchase paint from mail order(summitt, tcp etc...) or internet businesses. Paint and paint products, in my mind are different than most tools or supplies. I suggest you would be better off to visit your local jobber. You may have to pony up a little more for material, but an experienced jobber can save you a lot of headaches and frustrations. He may be able to help you with technical questions, tell you what others in your area are using and experiences with that product. He will be able to mix you that additional quart u need without you having to call some one and have them ship it to you 3 - 5 days later. I think most paint and body men will agree, the knowledge of a good paint jobber is a valuable asset.

I'm not bashing internet or mail order suppliers. I just think, that the money you think your saving by ordering paint mail order, may come back to bite you in the ass later.

just my .02 chris

 

i agree 100% the guys at my PPG store are a great wealth of info that i wouldt have with ordering online. plus i llike to give the local guys the business!!!!!!!!!

 

Local PPG place went nuts on prices...no thanks, I will go elsewhere.

Asked them for a Qt of factory mixed. on the shelf, DAR 8000 white...they wanted 68 bucks...this was 4 yrs ago...to touch up a very old resto that was done in AE It's just acry enamel for stock cars..

Local Napa just mixed a QT of SS urethane white for a 86 OT pickup for my son to do just the bedsides. I told my son to expect 80 or 90 bucks...they did it for 39 and matched the original paint perfectly.


My 32 Nash paint will come from TCP because I ordered test quarts and they look great and match the orig. I'll likely get paint there for my hotrod too.

.

PPG can stuff it....

 

I took my T-Bucket to a local paint store last week to get an estimate on how much paint i would need to repaint the body and frame. I told the guy it ain't no show car so i'm not looking for an award winning paint job, just something decent. Hugger orange for the body and black for the frame. I told him the last time i did any paint work was in the mid 80's so i'm looking for something that's halfway easy to spray. He estimated about 4 quarts of paint plus primer. I almost choked to death when he gave me an estimate. Almost $800 for primer and paint. For a fucking T-Bucket?????? Fuck PPG.

 

Yeh the clowns out here think their paint is gold (pun intended!) i can save, even with shipping at least 25-30% over what it would cost locally. i don't know about you but i can use the extra $$ for other things, and besides they aren't that knowledgeable.

 

Thats very well said...... but......... The major paint companys are trying to move away from the local jobbers. (yes I KNOW what im talking about).
Its coming folks, its all about the $$$, NUMBERS thats all you hear in the paint business, the paint companys want super jobbers, with 8 to 10 stores, or something you are about to see is the paint companys having their own stores.
They want the "NUMBERS" from the big shops and auto dealerships.
They could care less about walk in traffic.
You think its expensive walking in to buy paint huh? Well ur right, YOU pay full price or maybe a lil off.
You would be amazed how the paint business works, something called "buying business" they PAY a large shop or dealership to use their products just to get the other paint company out of the shop.
You read that right, free paint.... I have seen checks wrote to shops for $50,000 to buy business, ive seen some weird shit done by the major companys.
Dog eat dog? Oh hell its worse than that! The lying and backstabbing between the paint companys is so bad it will make you sick.
I saw one of the majors take away the paint line from a jobber that had been in business for over 25 years and give it to a auto parts store (O'Reillys)........ how do think thats working out?
Paint company rep told the jobber that O'reillys wanted the line and they were a "BIG player" in the market and they couldnt say no to them.

Fuck it, im pissed again just talking about it. lol

 

TCP is my local paint supplier..

 

It is crazy. But, I have seen simular shananigans here. Its a paint rep circus. Most reps dont know much about what they sell, and are lost in the money game.

I still buy local, I cant imagine having problems over the phone.

 

What the hell is a Jobber?

 

Yeah, I have to agree that buying from my local guy is as expensive as hell, and it really hurts. However, it's been my experience that since I don't paint very often, the knowledge they dole out for the asking regarding compatabilities of the different paints, their quirks, mixing ratios, and other assorted technical info has saved my bacon more than once. So, in essence, I look at it (to a point, anyway) I'm paying for their consultation time as well as having my mind put at ease a bit about what I'm doing. Plus, it helps out my local economy instead of someone out of state. Just my .02...

 

Guys, this is the cost vs service trade-off that has been argued about for years. I can get paint from my local Super Cheap Auto (kind of like Pep Boys, stateside). It's cheap as hell but the quality is not what one might get from a quality range.

After 40 years of painting my own cars, I still go to jobbers for high quality paint and supplies, as well as their knowledge, experience, and most of all, service. If I want an oddball colour mixed, I get it done while I wait.

What Hellbilly says about the attitude of the manufacturers is another trend that's hard to ignore. The automotive aftermarket industry has always had slow payment (up to 120 days) as the norm and it's easier to deal with one big player than a whole lot of small ones. For us consumers, it means we're losing the service many of us have known and expected to receive.

 

Someone who sells supplies to the Trade.

 

OK, not what we called them at the panel shop I worked at!

Doc.

 

Guys dont get me wrong.... I LOVE THE LOCAL JOBBER.
It just pisses me off that the Paint companys want to move away from this much needed service.
I know small local jobbers that have been in business 30 plus years that have it rough now, the paint companys could do more to help them.... but they wont.
Let the small jobber close and be serviced by a distant superstore... yea right!

 

Haha. A very relevant question...but I cracked up when you asked it for some reason.

 

Has a very different meaning in some slang!!!!

 

Purchasing from Smart Shoppers was the only way I was able to afford HOK for my project. The only local supplier didn't even have my color in stock the day we ran out any way. All the tech sheets are online, and with wi-fi and my lap top in the shop, I have all the knowledge I need at my fingertips.

 

its all a ploy to get buisness. its not really a kickback... yes ive easily heard it over 100k, but when u think about it, its to get u in a contract that ur guna by x amount of paint for, x amount of time. so in the end its a "discount" and its mainly to the high end shops who will still be in the biz of buying paint. so it might be nice to get a 100k, but after uve been buying 10k a month in material, 700k in materials, and only 100k, is just a litttle "discount" in the end.

and if the kick backs dont follow through, well then they just raise their prices for us little guys

 

and if ur rep doesnt know shit about paint or what there selling, find a rep or a company who does.

 

Being an old bodyman and painter, I will buy mine off the internet again, Local stuff is just too expensive. you may call bull on this, but my car was sprayed over 4 years ago with $39.95 a gallon paint off the internet auction site and cleared over with a Maxim clear. it still looks like new. see pic

 

I believe that the majority of body shops buy their paint and supplies local and not over internet. Hmm wonder why?

I realize all jobbers are not created equal, but in general most are knowledgeable and accommodating.

My original post was directed to more of the less experienced guy, painting only occasionally, the guy who posts his paint questions on the board. I'm not suggesting that spending more dollars on material is a good idea. I'm just saying that it may not be the savings you think it is.

 

My local paint supplier charges just about DOUBLE what I can get the stuff for over the net! I take that as a message to be: "we don't want home hobbyist business here". I simply order a little extra from the interweb supplier to cover my dumb-factor. If I need some reducer in an emergency, I'll go there. But for major supplies, it's the web for me.

 

You're probably talking about the collision repair industry? Probably because they need their materials that same day, and they get a volume discount from the jobber. Also, they pass the costs along to the customer. Here, we're talking about the occasional (once every year, two, three years?) painter, the paying customer is ourselves. You cannot compare the two.

 

Good info..I hope The PPG place I call today doesnt scare me off.
I was just about to price coatings for my project, and I have 2 PPG stores near me.
Maybe i will also have to check on line too..any good online suppliers you would recomend? or ones to stay away from?

 

I would love to deal with them, but there just aren't any jobbers around here. I live near Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, Springdale Arkansas and there are several hundred thousand people in the area and one jobber. He's about 45 minutes from me in traffic. I would have to take the afternoon off work to buy paint supplies. I think for some of us the convenience of ordering online trumps local service unfortunately.

I did buy from O'Reilly's one time, what an aweful joke!

 

I sometimes buy bulk stuff on the net, like primer, sandpaper, etc. Problem is, the cost of shipping eats up any savings I get. Your local jobber isn't the problem ....it's the paint companies. There is no reason for paint to be so expensive, it's just greed.

 

If you ask most paint store behind the counter guys to recommend.... anything ..... it's a cluster-fuck.

If you don't know what you want, how could you expect them to read your mind anyhow? There are literally hundreds of choices for them to pick from. Most of them at the counter don't know shit about the nuts and bolts of painting anyhow. They're mostly of the hair-brained idea that the more it costs the better it is.

Know what you want in advance. Go research it online, https://buyat.ppg.com/refinishProdu...?BrandID=f7b90464-5ca2-4bef-95c9-eb8aefd601f1

Shop around. Get the best deal, use your brain. Figure out what you want, go to the local store and ask what the price is.

At my local store Dupont Acrylic Enamel, (OMNI MAE, single stage) costs me between $100 to $150 a gallon depending on color. Add another thirty for MX201 Gloss Enhancer if you want that wet look.

 

Paint? I don't need no stinkin' paint.

 

Understood and unfortunate.

 

I agree with antny. It's as if my local guy doesn't want walk in business. They've been around a long time and have excellent service. I walk in there and nothing, I mean nothing is priced. I understand they give price breaks to shops but the difference is HUGE. I have a buddy who's a retired body man but still does steady business on the side. He goes in with my supply list and get's things at his rate. They're still making plenty of him, they don't NEED to gouge me.