Im not in anyway expeirence with paint jobs and body work, whats a good estimate for a paint job, including sanding the old paint off and fixing a few minor door dings? I know this is a little vague but im trying to figure out how much I should be paying, thanks.

from what ive heard, a good paint job which includes all the prep work can be a couple grand

It's tough to tell without seeing pics but for stripping old paint and fixing dings it could be anywhere from 2 to 4 or 5 thousand dollars depending on color and whether or not you do door jambs and under the hood. I know this is vauge but so is what you asked As far as quality, remember, you get what you pay for. That is especially true in paint and bodywork

I went to maaco cost me 700, They filled in the big stuff. I had them paint over the small dings because i didnt really care.

Only problem with the cheap Maaco jobs is they don't even sand the majority of the car correctly. I've seen more than one Maaco job flake off in less than a year. That and 4 out of 5 of them look like crap up close. If all you want is to look presentable when driving down the road and don't care how long it lasts then go for it, but if you want it to look good up close and last for a while spend the extra money and go to a good shop. I've had too many people come to me to fix their Maaco jobs only to freak out at the price when they hear that now their car needs to be stripped to get off Maaco's cheap paint. Again, you get what you pay for.

And for a good paint job, you'll have to pay a LOT. What's a DSM take, four quarts? What's paint up to now, $300 a gallon for the flashy stuff? It really is just about unbelievable. And even at those prices, I've never met a rich painter.

Bob Ross was probably a rich painter.

You will most likly be quoted 4000 or higher. If they tell you anything over 4,500 call bullshit. Yeah maco paint jobs are cheap.( but they will paint over bird shit if you leave it on your hood.)

Originally posted by Defiant
And for a good paint job, you'll have to pay a LOT. What's a DSM take, four quarts? What's paint up to now, $300 a gallon for the flashy stuff? It really is just about unbelievable. And even at those prices, I've never met a rich painter.

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Tell me about it, I can't even paint my own car for the $700 Maaco quotes to people if I use quality materials. The average material cost of a good job is around $1,200 at my cost, before any labor is involved.

Originally posted by bottledbird68
Only problem with the cheap Maaco jobs is they don't even sand the majority of the car correctly

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they sanded my entire car and filled all the big dings and did all prep fill/body work

That and 4 out of 5 of them look like crap up close.

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hmm guess i got lucky

Again, you get what you pay for

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right on never will i pay over a grand for a paint job on a 12 year old car SORRY

You are looking at about a grand for a good paint job with a little body work. If you have tio strip the old paint off you are looking at atleast 500 more. If you have over a 1000 in materials, remind me not to buy stuff from where you get it!!! We do body work, prep, and paint a car with less than 300 in materials. My eclipse's bill was 1800. It was 45 hrs labor and like 200 something in materials.

Laterz

Originally posted by chriw21_2000
You are looking at about a grand for a good paint job with a little body work. If you have tio strip the old paint off you are looking at atleast 500 more. If you have over a 1000 in materials, remind me not to buy stuff from where you get it!!! We do body work, prep, and paint a car with less than 300 in materials. My eclipse's bill was 1800. It was 45 hrs labor and like 200 something in materials.

Laterz

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Do me a favor and call PPG. Ask them for a price on a gallon of their DBC line of base/clear paints. Now get a price on a gallon of their 2021 clear with activator. Don't forget a gallon of NCP271 primer along with reducer for the paint. Now add in tape, masking paper, and sandpaper. I think the price will suprise you when you buy quality materials. Sure, I can get a gallon of the cheap paint and spray can quality primer to get the whole job done for under $300 too, but after spending all that time prepping why would I want to use substandard materials........ That and 45 hours labor? Must be nice when the shop labor rate is only $30 an hour. Around here it's $45 or higher at most places. That part definitely helps keep the cost down, but you can't argue the quality of good supplies.

Not trying to start an argument but, PPG is seriously expensive and not every shop uses it.DuPont paint and materials are of same or similar quality and average around half the price.PPG materials on the other hand, are far more user friendly(specifically their clear).So at $45 an hour it is conceivable to get a quality job for $1000 or so.Also I think the MAACO 7 or 8 hundred dollar job uses single stage paint, which is considerably cheaper.

Dutch Boy and a broom.

My black '94 has extreme clearcoat death. It breaks my heart to wash it and see how great it looks with an overall shine before it dries. Afterward, the hood, roof and fendertops are flat black.

This post is right on time as I'm thinking about painting my beater. There is no way that I'm going for the usual 3k paint job but at the same time I want the colors to match the original, especially at the door jambs and under the hood and I want a decent paint.

Does anyone know the names of paint distributers that sell online? I'm thinking to just buy the necessary paint and materials and then give it to Macco for them to use on my car. As anyone ever done this?

I admit I'm a noob when it comes to paint, other than drop it off and pick it up.

Forgot to ask, how much paint is required to paint an entire car?

It depends on color differences between base coat and sealer and how many times you mess up.Also you add reducer(thinner) to the paint, usually in the neighborhood of %50.I've painted my 2g more times than I can count and,using tinted sealers, I got away with less than 2 quarts.DuPont has what they call "Valueshades"(Im sure PPG has similar) which are different colored primers/sealers, what it comes down to is, it takes less paint to get your desired color.

Also, I don't think you are gonna find someone online that sells quality automotive paint, its usually considered hazardous and different states have different VOC laws.And I doubt a shop would want to use paint you brought them anyway ,most painters like to only use the paint they use every day, different paints require different procedures and application techniques.The paint itself is pretty much all the same, but the different clear coats seem to have their own personalities, and what works for one won't work for the others.

Thanks for the response. I guess I'll leave it in the hands of Maaco and hope it turns out right.

Originally posted by LightningGSX
Not trying to start an argument but, PPG is seriously expensive and not every shop uses it.DuPont paint and materials are of same or similar quality and average around half the price.PPG materials on the other hand, are far more user friendly(specifically their clear).So at $45 an hour it is conceivable to get a quality job for $1000 or so.Also I think the MAACO 7 or 8 hundred dollar job uses single stage paint, which is considerably cheaper.

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Are Dupont prices really half the money in your area? I know around here Dupont is the most expensive to deal with. I also think they have the best quality but I know that with activators and reducers I can't touch a gallon of dupont clear for less than $300. Maybe it's a regional thing........ Of course PPG isn't exactly cheap either, I recently painted an 81 malibu with a 2000 TA navy blue and the paint alone at my cost was nearly $400 for the gallon. Of course, I am in New England and things always seem to be overpriced around here...... What are the average prices in your area? Just curious

Which clear are you talking about? I usually used non- VOC compliant 7000 series(only a 2 part clear) which I get for around $160 per gallon with reducer/activator, but lately I use their "super productive" 3 part clear(sandable and buffable in a few hours) thats usually around $220 ready to spray.These prices are after a rather huge price increase a year or two ago.The PPG stuff I used a few times I could find no cheaper than $300(At least 2 years ago).I bet it would depend heavily on the area, the low VOC compliant stuff is alot more expensive.So area's with stiffer VOC laws I can see considerably higher prices.

Originally posted by jdmawd
I went to maaco cost me 700, They filled in the big stuff. I had them paint over the small dings because i didnt really care.

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I don't really care about the paint job quality but I went to the Maaco shop like a month ago, showed me all the cars that got painted with the Ambassador paint job which is the cheapest paint job. They looked nice not perfect but I don't expect the cleanest damn job in the world. I have clearcoat failure that's horrible to look at and I just want to get rid of it. I went there planning to get just the Ambassador job for $250, then he told me it'll look like crap without sanding prepping and shit so he said sanding, prepping, and ding fixes will cost around $450 all together plus the $250 for the paint job. He quoted me $700 for everything with a different package (Signature series which is a couple packages better then the Ambassador) and a 4 year warranty. I'm going to call the guy this Fri see if I can go in sometime.

Just wanted to give an update on my recent Maaco experience.

I took my wifes car to the Maaco in College Park MD. The car had multiple dings, bent drivers side door, a bumper that was coming off, and a few other things. On the the recommendation of JDMAWD I let them have the car for one of there $799 paint jobs. I figured that it would turn out ok at best but probably still have some problem areas. When everyone else is quoting you $1400-$2500 to fix and paint the car what can you expect?

I picked the car up this past Sat. It looked like it just rolled off the showroom floor. I couldn't believe it was the same car. I walked around the car for about 25 mins checking to see if they got out all the dings, if there was any overspray, etc. All I could find was a piece of masking tape still attached to the very bottom and a slight clearcoat scratch on the trunk which they volunteered to take care of.

To say that I'm happy with the work they did would be an understatement at best. It was the best $800 I think I could have spent. In a week or two I'm taking my Laser in to the same place for another $800 paint job.

Thanks JDMAWD.

Right on bro

id rattle can if before makco...:thumbdown

no but id take my chances doing it myself before bringing it there, and I dont know much about it.

The most important part of it is the prep work, if you know how to do that and you take your time, then bring it someplace and they just spray and clear coat it you would be suprised how well it turns out. remember to take your time, you will have to roll around with a sanded car for a bit if its your daily driver

does anyone have a good link that explains the full process of preping a car? like what grit sandpaper, primer