Paint Job way past due.

[Diplomat]

Someday soon I hope to have enough cash to paint my car. I've never had to do this before so I need a few pointers. I have a 90 Laser in that Gold/Champagne color. I've never liked the color and I'd like to change it but it's just way to involved to PROPERLY change the color of a car. Plus it's a good sleeper color. I'd like to know what I should expect to pay to have the entire car repainted not including the engine bay, door jambs, trunk, etc. I also plan to have any sheet metal imperfections pounded out unless they can be fixed with body filler. I'm hoping for something just a few notches below show quality shine. So there will be some additional labor (wet sanding) I know I'll need to factor in. Of course, even an OE shine would look great at this point.

Also, I think I'll likely have the black side moldings, mirrors and black roof painted to match the rest of the car. However I would like to add a little twist to it. I was thinking of having it painted with one of those deals that shift from a lighter to darker shade depending on the viewing angle. Not a COLOR shifting paint. But rather one color that is two different shades, if you will. Something subtle, but different.

If anyone in the know, or even just someone who's recently had their car painted, could give me a rough idea of how much I should budget, I'd really appreciate it. I know I need to shop around and get some quotes. Although they won't mean anything to me if I don't have even a rough guesstimate with which to compare. I also need to find a paint/body shop with a good reputation. So any tips on that are welcomed. Thanks.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

$300-$2,000
Do as much prep work(bondo, sanding)
And as much finish work(wet sanding,buffing)
As possible will save you money. If you want a good look and have no clue what your doing it may be better to pay a litte extra to have them do it.

 

[Diplomat]

Well, I'd love to do the prep work or even some of the finishing work as you mentioned. Unfortunately my experience with auto body work is limited to rubbing compound and wax. So... yeah. I'll be spending some of my performance budget.

Damnit!

 

[Redmachine]

It's a type of metal flake that helps with the "color change" Different angles. My brother had it done to his z28, it's far from color change paint but at different angles it's dark blue, purple and black. The metal flake is extremely tiny smaller than glitter. If its a diy read up on the types of spray guns, and nozzles(different stuff for different paints and additives ie metal flake). A Good gun is always high volume low pressure gun.