How much is too much for a paint job?

[kevincao]

I'm planning to get my car repainted. First time so I don't really know how much is too much. I'm not looking for showroom shine but better than it is now (which is basically a dulled out, scratched up paint job). A decent jet black or something like that. What price range should I look for when I go to shops around here (Arlington, Texas). How about a price range just for a bodykit painted black?

[Var]

over a grand IMO is too much for a paintjob

[kevincao]

Oh I'm definately not spending close to there. Trying to stay under 700. Too cheap?

[Var]

perfect! that's the kind of mindset i have.

[Andrew Bohan]

i try to get em for free if i can

[kevincao]

Yea, I mean a G is a lot of money. And paint will always get messed with. Don't want to waste money if the next day someone decides they want to key my car. Just looking for a good decent paint job. I know the subject's been covered but I noticed that some people extremely HATE Maaco paint jobs. But I think those people were looking for extremely great paintjobs. So if they do a decent paint job on my car, I think I may just go there.

[wootwoot]

uh, a grand is to much?...What kind of a paintjob are you trying to get here? Just one color? Here are your around 3 grand will get you equivalent to stock and if you are spending more than that you are getting better than stock. I would honestly not get a paintjob cheaper than 1500 dollars if I was planning on keeping the car. I dont know where some of you guys come up with these prices. With a bodykit the price is going to go up a good bit too, espicially if you want it to fit good

[kevincao]

I got the kit on myself and it's flush with the frame. I also did all the prepping already.

[FaLKoN240]

Well, you COULD get an Earl Scheib paintjob, if you're really cheap. My friend says that the paint chips off and stuff if you hit things. . .I dunno. I wouldn't pay over a grand, just because I'd rather have performance than looks.

[RiversideS13]

I think it is depend on how they prep the paint job. the proper way is sand your old paint down and prime it (i heared prime quality matters alot too), than color sand it (to give the nice glossy look). the paint will stay alot stronger than just paint over on the top of your new paint (which is common macro method).

but some shops would refused to take a car is already preped because they cannot make much money out of you.

[kevincao]

Is Earl Scheib better than Maaco? I sure as hell dont want to spend over a grand on paint. Just looking for something that will keep my car covered I guess. But if Earl Scheib is cheap and looks at least decent, I'd do it. Not outperforming my car right now. Tires are too expensive for me.

[SR240DET]

iv seen 3grand paint jobs that are chipping now...

the best kind of paint job... is stripped to bare metal.. epoxy primer... body repaired... primer.. base coat.. and clear coat.... if you pay somebody to do that... and say over grand for that is too expensive.... then do it your self...

if you strip the paint to metal... epoxy primer.. bring your own paint and drive it over to them for them to do final details and just paint then expect to pay them a lil under a grand....

if you want paint that will fade and chip with in 2-6 years then fuck it... get the paint job where they do very little to no prep work.. and dont filter water out of there air lines.... whats the big deal right? it was under 1 grand....

all im saying is find out how they do the paint job and what they do to prep a car before you decide if paying a grand for a paint job is too much..

[SW20Racer]

i had a 9 piece body kit installed on my first mr2 plus a repaint on the whole car and i spent under 2k. after getting tint(t-tops also) i spent an even 2k so its not impossible to find a good price, i just had to look around for a couple weeks

[SimpleS14]

Man....I don't see how 1k is a lot for a paintjob. I guess its just your area, but over here to get a good paintjob for under 1K...it has to be a hook-up.

Right now...I want to paint my own car, but I have a lot to learn. Still clueless on what gun to get and what grit sandpaper to use. :/

[SW20Racer]

http://www.thebugshop.org/bsfqpnt.htm i used this guys advice when i painted my first car(coincedently also a vw bug) to build a paint booth i used pvc pipe and clear plastic tarp(visquine or whatever its spelled)

[zero.counter]

If spending $500 and up on a paint job is priority, then there is nothing more to say about that.

When I am driving around in my car in hell, I will be glad to have used the cermamic coated high-temp paints. ;)

[SW20Racer]

heaven for the weather and hell for the company eh?

[theicecreamdan]

a million dollars would be too much for a paintjob

[SimpleS14]

http://www.thebugshop.org/bsfqpnt.htm i used this guys advice when i painted my first car(coincedently also a vw bug) to build a paint booth i used pvc pipe and clear plastic tarp(visquine or whatever its spelled)


Thanks for the link, gives me something to read and get good ideas from.

[cotbu]

a million dollars would be too much for a paintjob
Those paint jobs are the ones that burn out your retinas

[theicecreamdan]

for a million dollars that paintjob better give me a blowjob.

[reefer1114]

for a million dollars that paintjob better give me a blowjob.

hahah thats all you expect from a million?

[sweet89s13]

you pay for what you get anywhere between 1000 and 2000 gets you a good paintjob. it makes no sense to waste money on a car. paint and body work are what sells a car in future changes dont forget it.

[m0rex]

LMAO! For a million bucks i better own the damn shop and it better be a ferrari f50.

[infinitexsound]

it astonishes me how cheap some people are... but u get what u pay for....... and with recent painted cars that are flaking.... it should be guaranteed from the bodyshop to be quality job, just like something u can buy it can be returned and redone..... if the shop guarantees it of course..

[justinhustle]

i paid 2500 for mine, its beyond show car quality, its looks oem brand new on like an m5 or porsche

however when i did my insurance appraisal of my vehicle, the paint shop evaluating the work/time/paint on my car said it should cost 6800+ to replace

i did get a fantastic deal, and i got more than i paid for. :)

[rainier]

if you want show quality and you want it to last long, you wont get it with somehting under a grand. i mean yeah itll look nice, but in a few months itll turn all ugly and some of it will fade. but if you keep it waxed all the time and all that then ull be good. just go to macco or something and get an estimate. they run around 700 for a A-OK paintjob

[FRpilot]

ive always thought that a decent paint job would cost around 1500-2000 that is about stock paintjob quiality. for 300-500 to get a paintjob from maico or some economical paintshop is a waste of money since it will just chip. ive seen those type of paint jobs and the paint doesnt even stick on the surface. no primer or anything. just sprayed over your old paint. its more like a protective film more than a paintjob. but people are poor, and dont want to spend too much on paint because they rather buy performance parts. but if they had money, they would probably buy both.

[kingsol]

2500 is the average going price for a good paint job.

[MakotoS13]

too much = more than you're willing to spend.

2500-5000 for a good quality job that you dont have to get dirty with.

[Var]

i'd like to change my answer

too much for a paintjob is more than 9% of KBB value of your car.

[TheSnail]

^^ That would make the most expensive paint job for us s13 guys $135. I would say for a real nice one, it would be $800-1000. I never got a paint job on my cars. I always think about the other goodies I can have with the money. Shit, I haven't shaved in a month, and been wearing the same clothes (with beer and mustard stains) and underwear for 2 weeks. The last thing I need is a flashy car that draws attention to a lazy bum. This almost motivated me to take a shower. Fuck it, maybe tomorrow

[Var]

^^ That would make the most expensive paint job for us s13 guys $135.


Yeah..maybe it should be 9% plus the cost of materials.

[blue109]

you can get a really good paintjob at maaco if you pay for it. they usually have awesom booths, and top of the line equipment. the problem is a painter will purposfully mess up your paint if you are only paying 2-300 for it. my friend works at maaco and has left runs in cars before, but also has an accord that will be on the cover of honda tuning in a few months. nobody will put any effort into a cheap paintjob. if you dont care about your car, why should they.

[srpowered240sx]

i dig maaco paint jobs. they lay good paint if you do your own prep. we have also had them fix runs upon demand if you approach it right. we sanded and did some body work on both of these and they were both painted for less than $600 each. whoever says it chips hasnt seen these cars, thick paint, they squirt it on heavily. my other peice of advice is go during the summer, the one we had them do in winter seemed to have runs in it at first. i think it was the shitty hardener they use, maybe they let it finish drying outside. and tape off anything under the car you dont want sprayed, they tape off kinda shitty.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a133/srpowered240sx/WAXED008.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a133/srpowered240sx/Truckandcamping023.jpg

[theicecreamdan]

how do you drive your car to a paintshop after you mask stuff off if you live far away?

[EchoOfSilence]

I've been to earl schieb...
my buddies and I sanded down the car to 1000 grit, and gave them the car and paid for their $500 paint job (which was on sale since it was 500 for their 650 paintjob)

When i saw the car after the spray, i wasn't impressed. The paint was lighter than the example they gave me, and it was already flaking in the airdam of the front bumper. I mean, this had a warranty, but after seeing all of the fuck-ups, I didn't even want to take it back to have them touch it up.


btw, the car was totalled 2 weeks later. fucking hitandrun drivers

[srpowered240sx]

how do you drive your car to a paintshop after you mask stuff off if you live far away?

depends on how far your driving. we just went a couple hours early, (lived 1.5 hours away) and taped it off in the parking lot.