tyeler18
Well-known member
I did my grille in the front in plastidip. I was trying to get the AMG theme to a USDM bumper. I know I'll get hell for it, and I'm on the fence on whether or not I truly like it, but it's held up awesome and looks good.
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Plasti-dip
- Thread starter maxash0775
- Start date
curtis
Well-known member
Well what ever you guys use if you do it yourself buy a respirator. And imron is some nasty stuff you never want to breath it, most planes and boats use it and is damn good paint just nasty if you inhale it.
rdomeck
Well-known member
Turbowop, what do you do for a living? How many cars have you painted?
turbowop
Well-known member
Quoting rdomeck:
Turbowop, what do you do for a living? How many cars have you painted?
What does that have to do with anything? I shared my experience. Sorry if it offends you...
Turbowop, what do you do for a living? How many cars have you painted?
What does that have to do with anything? I shared my experience. Sorry if it offends you...
The paint itself cost me well over $800 back in the mid 90's, so don't want to think what it'd cost me now! This is material only too, fwiw and doesn't even include the clear. Granted, it is a red pearl metallic chromabase, but still. I have tons of sandpaper, some good industrial sprayers, but not so sure I could paint it here at home; although you can rent a booth for not a whole lot...Still, the prep is what is key and that is a lot of time. I am anal about straight panels and especially one something like the 'velle, but even on the galant I'd have them (or me) spend more time block sanding and so on, so I can see it getting $$$ cfast, even taking all the stuff off yourself. Does that mean you'd have to spend thousands, probably not on something like these cars and especially if it's not a color change. I disassembled everything myself and had them spray just about everything, since I cannot stand having different colors or even shades (not talking clear vs no clear), regardless if I can see it after.
As for plastidip, I've never used it, but it seems to be pretty popular these days on all the cars I've had (forums) and is a good temp. paint and is especially nice if you want to experiment.
As for plastidip, I've never used it, but it seems to be pretty popular these days on all the cars I've had (forums) and is a good temp. paint and is especially nice if you want to experiment.
jepherz
Staff member
I think you guys are dealing with whole different spectrums of auto body. Mark, correct me if I'm wrong, but you knew the guy that painted your car and he most likely gave you a deal. You also mentioned you used cheaper paint, and besides a few deep scratches, I think you just scuffed up the paint and re-sprayed BC/CC and didn't remove the side door cards.
I'm guessing Rdomeck is referring to much more work, re-primering the whole car, tearing it down to the metal and respraying the whole thing with sealers etc, which add up very quick.
Also, sun does HELL to car paint. You can get away with lesser materials etc. if you park in a garage and have it hold up just fine. Park the same car out in the sun daily and it will start to break down a lot quicker. Nothing wrong with either way above, there's just a BIG difference in cost.
I'm guessing Rdomeck is referring to much more work, re-primering the whole car, tearing it down to the metal and respraying the whole thing with sealers etc, which add up very quick.
Also, sun does HELL to car paint. You can get away with lesser materials etc. if you park in a garage and have it hold up just fine. Park the same car out in the sun daily and it will start to break down a lot quicker. Nothing wrong with either way above, there's just a BIG difference in cost.
yeah, sun does kill the paint and especially if it's a darker color. My chevelle went to crap in a relatively short time after I pulled it out of the garage. But, I also didn't keep up with the wax and sort of didn't care as I planned to get it repainted anyway; was never 100% happy with it. I got a good deal on my paint job and did most of the work myself and it still cost me ~$3k and that was in 1996. Even then, a really good job would've been at least $5k doing a lot of the work yourself (this is top of the line paint though) with regard to just having the car taken apart (color change)...I can see spending $10k easy on it now, although I wouldn't or couldn't unless it was like a $50k car+.
so, if you got a nice paint (looks good in pics) for ~$2k, you did get a really good deal!
btw - the white on these cars has held up outstanding and still shines like new! and that's being outside, too. Still, I try to keep it waxed and want to buy a cover for it, cause the last thing I want to have to do on this car is paint.
so, if you got a nice paint (looks good in pics) for ~$2k, you did get a really good deal!
btw - the white on these cars has held up outstanding and still shines like new! and that's being outside, too. Still, I try to keep it waxed and want to buy a cover for it, cause the last thing I want to have to do on this car is paint.
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turbowop
Well-known member
Quoting jepherz:
I think you guys are dealing with whole different spectrums of auto body. Mark, correct me if I'm wrong, but you knew the guy that painted your car and he most likely gave you a deal. You also mentioned you used cheaper paint, and besides a few deep scratches, I think you just scuffed up the paint and re-sprayed BC/CC and didn't remove the side door cards.
I'm guessing Rdomeck is referring to much more work, re-primering the whole car, tearing it down to the metal and respraying the whole thing with sealers etc, which add up very quick.
Also, sun does HELL to car paint. You can get away with lesser materials etc. if you park in a garage and have it hold up just fine. Park the same car out in the sun daily and it will start to break down a lot quicker. Nothing wrong with either way above, there's just a BIG difference in cost.
No, I totally agree. That is kind of what I'm getting at. You can pay full retail at a shop for a respray that will be amazing but cost an arm and a leg. Or you can find a guy on the side willing to give you a deal and use lower quality materials that will still look good and last quite awhile. Most guys with GVR4's aren't willing to spend double or triple the KBB value of their car on paint. They just want it to look a little more fresh, without the door dings and scratches and flaking clear coat.
That said, my door cards were pulled to be able to remove door handles and beltline window trims. But not everything was removed. The roof moldings were left on, the front and rear windshield trim was left on, etc. If rdomeck went over my car with a fine tooth comb, I'm sure he'd be able to find tons of fail in my paint. If anybody normal person from this forum looked at my car, they probably wouldn't see 95% of the sh*t he would. Like I said, it's not a $3500 paint job...but it's no $500 paint job either.
In fact, look at that pic of my car and look at 503 sitting behind it. The clear is flaking off both doors. I would gladly pay for a cheap subpar (not $3500+ job) respray if it just made the car look better as a whole without crap like that. And I think that's what most guys want, yanno?
I think you guys are dealing with whole different spectrums of auto body. Mark, correct me if I'm wrong, but you knew the guy that painted your car and he most likely gave you a deal. You also mentioned you used cheaper paint, and besides a few deep scratches, I think you just scuffed up the paint and re-sprayed BC/CC and didn't remove the side door cards.
I'm guessing Rdomeck is referring to much more work, re-primering the whole car, tearing it down to the metal and respraying the whole thing with sealers etc, which add up very quick.
Also, sun does HELL to car paint. You can get away with lesser materials etc. if you park in a garage and have it hold up just fine. Park the same car out in the sun daily and it will start to break down a lot quicker. Nothing wrong with either way above, there's just a BIG difference in cost.
No, I totally agree. That is kind of what I'm getting at. You can pay full retail at a shop for a respray that will be amazing but cost an arm and a leg. Or you can find a guy on the side willing to give you a deal and use lower quality materials that will still look good and last quite awhile. Most guys with GVR4's aren't willing to spend double or triple the KBB value of their car on paint. They just want it to look a little more fresh, without the door dings and scratches and flaking clear coat.
That said, my door cards were pulled to be able to remove door handles and beltline window trims. But not everything was removed. The roof moldings were left on, the front and rear windshield trim was left on, etc. If rdomeck went over my car with a fine tooth comb, I'm sure he'd be able to find tons of fail in my paint. If anybody normal person from this forum looked at my car, they probably wouldn't see 95% of the sh*t he would. Like I said, it's not a $3500 paint job...but it's no $500 paint job either.
In fact, look at that pic of my car and look at 503 sitting behind it. The clear is flaking off both doors. I would gladly pay for a cheap subpar (not $3500+ job) respray if it just made the car look better as a whole without crap like that. And I think that's what most guys want, yanno?
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jepherz
Staff member
I think rdomeck is just cringing at a $2000 paint job like how you would cringe at the wiring behind my TV /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif it's all relative.
turbowop
Well-known member
Agreed. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
rdomeck
Well-known member
Mark, It is not your experience that offends me....It is the lack thereof. My point in asking what you do for a living or if you have ever painted a car is to inform everyone reading this to understand what it takes to do this kind of work with any kind of decent result's.
Lets say you use cheap paint. Lets even say that you get the paint for free. You will have 50 hours minimum in doing a half ass paint job. Now divide $2000 by 50 and you end up with $40 an hour. Now go find a shop or any actual business that charges $40 an hour these days. I flat rate on insurance is $45-52 an hour on average across the country. Now in order for any body man or paint man to make a living that person has to flag 80-100 hours a week. That means that $45-52 turns into $90-104 an hour.
Now lets bring that same money back into that 50 hours and you end up with $4500-5000 in labor. Bring materials back in and you end up with $6500-7000.
Mark, Do I remember that you are a phone man for a living? I can speak with a lot of experience on that front as well. I was a phone man for 10 years. I have been out of the that business for about 10 years and I'm sure it has changed a bunch, but it was common to charge $125 an hour for that kind of work. I could charge that with a $5000 truck and another $5000 in tools.
I have my shop insured for $250,000 and I'm not sure that would cover everything in it!
Now go take your car to that guy who works on the side. Ask him about what happens if his garage burns down while your car is in his care. Ask him for proof of insurance. Or if he takes it to his work on the weekend and that shop burns down while he runs across the street to grab lunch while your car is sitting inside that shop. Who pays for your car?
I do about 5 full paint restorations a year that range from $5,000-15,000. That is about 5% of my business. I don't make much money on restoration work. I like doing it and I like to teach my guys how to do things the correct way. It is nice filler work.
I see threads like this it doesn't offend me. It make me want to explain things like I have above and to educate those who do not know the business why it cost so much to have a car painted.
If you don't have the time or money to do the job right the first time, were will you find the time or money to do the job right the second time?
Lets say you use cheap paint. Lets even say that you get the paint for free. You will have 50 hours minimum in doing a half ass paint job. Now divide $2000 by 50 and you end up with $40 an hour. Now go find a shop or any actual business that charges $40 an hour these days. I flat rate on insurance is $45-52 an hour on average across the country. Now in order for any body man or paint man to make a living that person has to flag 80-100 hours a week. That means that $45-52 turns into $90-104 an hour.
Now lets bring that same money back into that 50 hours and you end up with $4500-5000 in labor. Bring materials back in and you end up with $6500-7000.
Mark, Do I remember that you are a phone man for a living? I can speak with a lot of experience on that front as well. I was a phone man for 10 years. I have been out of the that business for about 10 years and I'm sure it has changed a bunch, but it was common to charge $125 an hour for that kind of work. I could charge that with a $5000 truck and another $5000 in tools.
I have my shop insured for $250,000 and I'm not sure that would cover everything in it!
Now go take your car to that guy who works on the side. Ask him about what happens if his garage burns down while your car is in his care. Ask him for proof of insurance. Or if he takes it to his work on the weekend and that shop burns down while he runs across the street to grab lunch while your car is sitting inside that shop. Who pays for your car?
I do about 5 full paint restorations a year that range from $5,000-15,000. That is about 5% of my business. I don't make much money on restoration work. I like doing it and I like to teach my guys how to do things the correct way. It is nice filler work.
I see threads like this it doesn't offend me. It make me want to explain things like I have above and to educate those who do not know the business why it cost so much to have a car painted.
If you don't have the time or money to do the job right the first time, were will you find the time or money to do the job right the second time?
turbowop
Well-known member
I'll still take the low chance gamble that having a guy do the job on the side will end up with my car burnt up inside his shop that caught fire. That is why I have excellent insurance on my car and why I don't just have anybody work on it.
For the same reason people pay me to do wiring on the side, I pay body guys on the side to do paint work on my car. It saves large amounts of money for minimal risk. And it's obviously not hurting your business since like you said, you rarely do work like this. And most body shops charge retail amounts to the insurance companies, which is where they make their money. I pretty sure they don't pay the bills with your average car guy's rig being resprayed.
For the same reason people pay me to do wiring on the side, I pay body guys on the side to do paint work on my car. It saves large amounts of money for minimal risk. And it's obviously not hurting your business since like you said, you rarely do work like this. And most body shops charge retail amounts to the insurance companies, which is where they make their money. I pretty sure they don't pay the bills with your average car guy's rig being resprayed.
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If I could find a competent guy that does this type of thing on the side and has a decent place to spray it, I wouldn't hesitate bringing it to him. Thing with most body shops is they like and prefer $$$$ insurance claims, so either they charge way too much, or are not interested, do a hasty job, etc...There are some niche shops out there that would do the type of work I'd expect on say the chevelle or other car I'd want top quality only, but hate to think of the price.
I don't see anything wrong with going to a person that does it on the side, but I would have to really know him or see a lot his work, cause everybody's an "expert" until you see what they actually do /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I don't see anything wrong with going to a person that does it on the side, but I would have to really know him or see a lot his work, cause everybody's an "expert" until you see what they actually do /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
James
Well-known member
I see where Rdomeck is coming from in terms of high end jobs. But we're not looking for high end 100% strip down and perfect job. Most of our cars see some abuse. Be it at the track or in harsh weather. There's no way I paying for a paint job that costs more than my car.
