Paint Job quote for S13

[S14RB]

Hey guys just wondering if this is a good deal I'm getting for a full paint job on my red 91 s13.

$250- Materials, Prep ( $100.00 for primer/other materials etc. $150 in labor, but I'm also helping prep my car.)

$300- Paint - (Supposedly discounted from a paintshop, because the guy [who is my buddy's dad] who's the one quoting me, gets a huge discount. Says it comes with everything clear coat etc . And usually costs $600.00(especially since its red).

$250-$300 Painter -( Guy has supposedly had 25 years experience, is very good. And the guy im working through trusts him.)

$800.00 - $850.00

BtW this is all going to be done in the backyard of their house. They have like a makeshift booth lol. Actually a couple, and plus compressor, paint gun, etc etc all the toolz they need to complete the job. Its like a little side-job shop.

So, is this a good price? Being that its not @ a proffessional place BUT flipside not a crappy place like MAACO. I know im taking chances with the paint job ( im not worried about the prep'n cuz I see them prep dozens of cars a year), Im just worried about the paintjob. But its better then spending $500 @ maaco, and having it come out crap. When I could have a chance for it to look awesome , at half the price normally at a nice shop. (Prolly more).

Any suggestions?, thanks:)

[S14RB]

Btw, Ive spent the $250.00 already in prep'n. Went today and helped prep my car. Tommorow it gets primer'd.

[wootwoot]

Being that cheap I wouldnt expect anything spectacular

[w1ngzer0]

Everyone wants to charge me 1500-2k for a complete repaint. I am talking just the outside. This is at a shop with a vent room

[nissantuner22]

not true. my dad just had his 300zx repainted by a guy who works outta his makeshift paint booth/garage. for 800 bucks cash, he finished sanding prep work, laid a nice coat of primer, 3 coats of paint, and 1 clear. For comparison purposes, my buddy has his 90 prelude done, for 2000 dollars, and it looked just as good, if not WORSE than my dads Z.

Its all about who it is doing the painting. Not the price.

[MugenHonda]

As long as they have proper ventilation etc, the paintjob can come out as good as it would at a shop. Good luck.

[wootwoot]

not true. my dad just had his 300zx repainted by a guy who works outta his makeshift paint booth/garage. for 800 bucks cash, he finished sanding prep work, laid a nice coat of primer, 3 coats of paint, and 1 clear. For comparison purposes, my buddy has his 90 prelude done, for 2000 dollars, and it looked just as good, if not WORSE than my dads Z.

Its all about who it is doing the painting. Not the price.


Give me this guys phone number, I wouldnt be bothered driving four hours for something nice like that =)
I allready have the paint too..

[SirWarrior]

thats a good price.
I got quoted 1100 for the repaint of my car plus a fix of few dings.

[Tygma]

yes thats a good price, i got my paint for 560!! 3pints, gallon of clear, activaor, reducer and misc supplies.

[ZK]

Price is good as long as he does a good job. Ask to see if he can show you some samples of his work.

[S14RB]

Thanks guys, I REALLY appreciate your insight. I will keep you guys updated, and post some before/after pics, so i can get your opinion's. Thanks again.

Btw as far as ventilation is, their makeshift booth(is attached to their house), the entrance is open, but the end of it isn't. So I'm wondering if thats too much ventilation lol. Like the car can be fully in it(till it hits the end closing), however a few feet from the rear, and you're outside. Imagine a garage housing but with no closing door @ the entrance.

Its been REALLY cold lately, and their last job ( a mercedes 97), the clear was running down on some areas. Cuz of the weather. However I was told the painter (the one I prefer not to paint my car) isn't very experienced, only has 4 years exp. And that may have played a role. But he did go over it again today, and fix the errors. Tis why I want the 25+ yr exp guy to do mine. I hear he can go over any spots with ease, and not have it screwed up.

I wish we were in summer:( Make things so much easier.

But sounds 2 me like, I'm getting a good deal. My buddy's 5.0 got painted there (pearl white), and its awesome. He paid $1200 though. $600 alone was the paint.

[S14RB]

BTW he (the prep'r, the guy im working with who has connections with the painter), is going to fix the dents I have. And most likely give me a free detail. No fancy detail, but something decent I'm sure. So thats a plus too.

[sw20>>s14]

what part of cali are you in? got me all excited...

[Twinkie]

not true. my dad just had his 300zx repainted by a guy who works outta his makeshift paint booth/garage. for 800 bucks cash, he finished sanding prep work, laid a nice coat of primer, 3 coats of paint, and 1 clear. For comparison purposes, my buddy has his 90 prelude done, for 2000 dollars, and it looked just as good, if not WORSE than my dads Z.

Its all about who it is doing the painting. Not the price.

Word. and keep in mind that all the magic happens within the prepping...if you want your car to look awesome, spend a lot of time with sanding it down, popping out dents and repairing dings, bondo-ing, primering and stuff like that.

get some good quality paint and clear coats too.

[S14RB]

what part of cali are you in? got me all excited...


If you mean me, I'm in Contra Costa(Eastbay).

[1121S13]

thats a good price for a full paint job including,prep,primer,base coat,coat,clear...
You shouldnt be worried if he had 25+years of experience in painting.
I had my car painted for under a grand as well and it turned out descent.
give time...dont rush.

[sw20>>s14]

tell me how it turns out, i might want to do a paint job soon and i like your guy's credentials.

[Thorpedo]

ive seen cleaner jobs out of wet down garages than some booths. the key is to have someone doing it that actually knows what theyre doing and not some dude who bought a gun and has never even prepped a car before. prepperation is the key to a good paint job. you can always(usually) fix runs and peel and dirt to look like it was never there.

[S14RB]

tell me how it turns out, i might want to do a paint job soon and i like your guy's credentials.


Will do. Ill try to take the after pics. I have the before pics already.

[sw20>>s14]

keep us posted, and hope you like it

[Legacy]

Being that cheap I wouldnt expect anything spectacular

Ignorance. It's only cheap because of the price given. The paintjob itself might very well be worth 2Gs. If the booth is built properly and the work is done correctly the paint job could come out spectacular. However, if the painter is inexperienced like myself the paintjob could be destined to failure.

[CrispMofo]

nothing is cheap if the bodyman does a shtty job on bodywork.
have u seen his work?
if u have, view the car he worked on at an angle and look for waves or uneven surfaces.
anybody can do bodywork, but who can make the car body look even?
i have a friend that's is well-known for his painting skills,
but his bodywork is p00p.

[S14RB]

nothing is cheap if the bodyman does a shtty job on bodywork.
have u seen his work?
if u have, view the car he worked on at an angle and look for waves or uneven surfaces.
anybody can do bodywork, but who can make the car body look even?
i have a friend that's is well-known for his painting skills,
but his bodywork is p00p.


Yeah, the guy who's doing the body-work is very good. He makes sure everything is even, and doesnt have any grooves, or wavyness. However, when i was prep'n with him, he ran out of particular sand paper, the ones where you use it to watersand. I think 400, Im not sure.

So we decided to dry sand it. Will this affect it totally? He went over it by hand(we all did), as well as with a machine to make it even. So how much of a difference does it make from water sanding or dry sanding? Cuz we water sanded HIS car in the front (hood/fenders), but ran out of the paper. And Im kinda wondering why we drysanded mine:( lol. But I take it if he goes over it and make it even, it wont make a difference?

Btw, the reason may have been also cuz the weather was cold. Any thoughts guys?

[1121S13]

dry sand first.

[MakotoS13]

better watch out, your car may come out looking as bad as this POS i found.

http://www.makotoseven.com/240/level1/hood1.jpg
http://www.makotoseven.com/240/level1/hood2.jpg

[sw20>>s14]

i don't get that post?...is he being sarcastic? it doesn't look that bad? well, anywho, how's the paint dood? look good? keep us posted

edit: i guess the second pic looks kinda weird...nice and wavy

[Thorpedo]

dry sanding will not make your paint job come out any differently(unless you use to low of a grit) obviously. sandpapers are made for different applications ie if you use wet sanding paper(800) grit with no water, you are in reality achieving a grit scratch close to 400 or 500. we run a 800 grit dry on a orbital sander(also known as "D-A") over panels we blend on and you'll see none of the stratches once you clear over it. If youre putting base on top of everything(as you are), you can go with a lower final grit than 800 because the base and clear will fill those in. But id still go over everything with atleast 800 wet or dry before painting just to be safe.

[S14RB]

Ok guys, Imma post pics within the next couple days. My car is all primer'd up. Yeah we dry sanded it, and later that day he went over it with the d-a.
AND he said we will water sand it again before it gets painted. So all is good.

So far it looks great IMO, the only problem is they didnt get under the front lip, or under the rear. But that really doesn't matter, since its going to be water sanded , and painted in the future. Plus it isn't very noticeable.

Ill post pics, and you guys can give me your opinions. Cuz I'm definetely not an expert in this area:)

AND good news, they have the 25+ yr exp Painter working for them now. So I'm looking forward to the paintjob.

[Blues13]

Heh, keep us updated.. I'm sure if he wants, he could probably get a lot more business from this forum if the job turns out well.

[sw20>>s14]

like i said, if everything works out for you, put me down...

[sw20>>s14]

so how'd it go dood? sorry, im just itchin' to get some new layers!...

[S14RB]

I apologize, been kinda busy @ work and with alot of other crap. I have the before pics (i gotta upload them to photobucket). But I gotta take the after pics. I'll be on it asap.

Some idiot bumped my rear though, and left scratch marks(my car was parked)......... my neighborhood needs a god damn curb/with wider streets. Cuz stupid drivers don't know how 2 get around, and WATCH OUT for parked cars lol.

But yeah, im on it asap.

[infinitexsound]

the reason why that silver car looks like shit is that gold and silver colors kinda makes the scratches in paint becomes visible, in no way can u get rid of it even if u sand and poliish it, its in the prep...... having a well ventilated place only helps with the painter seeing and breathing while painting. it helps also with overspray... but what are tack clothes for?? 850 for a paint job isnt so bad... but i probably wouldnt do it for that much, me being the painter or even the prepper. priming just helps with keeping the body straight even tho its straight it still can be even more straight, or even filling in scratches from bondo. i think those guys know what theyre doing, i wouldnt worry, what your saying about there prep is somewhat the industry standard. but each shop has it own way. u can even paint ontop of 320. its no biggie. hope ur car turns out the way u want it too... if u want more of a sleek look , u can always sand down ur clear with 1500 then 2000 wetsand of course and polish it, foam pad, glaze.... etc. just to get rid of those annoying dirts, and that orange peel. so u painted ur car red, i did my brothers crx in the s2k+ nsx . looks real nice... what color code did u pick?

[S14RB]

Ah crap I didn't mean to get everyone confused lol. I was going to show pics of the prep'n. Before/after (after being prep'd). I'm meaning to get it painted very soon, perhaps next month. Just funds are VERY limited atm.

Then after it gets painted, to show you guys those pics. Sorry if I confused everyone. They got their painter, car is prep'd, all I need is the $$ ha ha. Which should only be $250-300 + $300 for paint. But having over $1k in bills this past month, my funds are limited till feb.

[sw20>>s14]

maybe i can drop by his shop/house and check out his work...then i can start working something out with him. need paint pretty soon...let me know