$$$ Paint

[Tropicalcats]

I am looking for a ballpark price to get my car into paint (70 Dodge Challenger) The minor body work will be minimal and I plan to go with PPG it's FCC 7 Plum Crazy. I know this is very tough question but what have you guys paid to have a shop paint your car.

[anlauto]

In this area of Ontario Canada...The avearage cost of a paint job with minor body work and ZERO metal work is $10K-$12K  

I've had 15 cars painted in the last six years. The cheapest being $9K and the the most being $19500.00

[anlauto]

My above quote is for slightly above average quality, NOT show quality, but not driver quality either.

[Topcat]

I paid roughly $1,600 for paint and $4,800 for final bodywork. PPG Deltron.

I did over 80% of the bodywork.
They just fine tuned everything then sprayed, wet sanded, and buffed.

[Cuda Cody]

If you do nothing yourself, plan on about $10K to$15K for a good paint job.  Show quality will be more.  That's on top of the price to blast, dip and / or e-coat.

[FY1Cuda]

Our Cuda was painted for about $2000 ($1500 labor and $500 materials), but it was single stage and I painted the door jambs, trunk, and engine compartment.  I also had to do some color sanding and polishing on it where I wasn't satisfied.  I would recommend going to some local car shows and asking everyone there about painters in the area.  You're sure to get some leads.  For the purple paint, it's obviously going to be a two-stage job.
On a different subject, if someone suggests Sherwin-Williams FC7 Plum Crazy paint, don't laugh.  It's excellent paint and the color is dead on.  On the other hand, Dupont's idea of FC7 is too silvery and just doesn't pop like the Sherwin-Williams.  I've heard good things about the PPG FC7 and I'm sure I've seen it, but don't dismiss the Sherwin-Williams offhand.

[shawge]

In the Portland, OR area, PPG DCC (single stage) EV2 came out to ~$600/gal with activator.  I bought 2 gallons and it took me just over 1.75 gallons to put 4 coats on my Challenger, 3 coats on the inside doors, engine bay and trunk.

[burdar]

The guy who painted my Challenger is now working for another shop doing restoration work.  His base price is $15,000.  That's without any metal replacement/dents to pull exc.  He said it would be around $20,000 for my Dart.

[Cuda Cody]

I like to think about like this, if you were to look at a complete show quality paint job and divide it up in to 60 seconds, the actual squirting of the paint on the car would be around 1 to 2 seconds.  The rest of that 60 seconds is the time it takes to compete all the real work that makes a show quality paint job.

There are places like Macco that will paint a car for a few hundred dollars.... and that is exactly what they are doing, just squirting the car with cheap paint.

Pay for the good paint, pay for the time it takes to have it done right, or learn how to do it yourself and do it right.  It's not hard, it just takes a lot of time.  Anyone can learn how to paint a car and have it come out nice.  If you do take it to someone to have it painted, an absolute before hiring them is to look at some of the previous cars they have painted.  Lots of painters think they are great, but you need to confirm that with your own eyes.

There ought to be a word for the real work that happens between the metal work and color being placed on the car.  That's where the true "painting" of a car costs can add up and makes or breaks a good paint job.

[moparmaniac59]

Six years ago I paid about 10K to have my Challenger prepped/painted. It was minimal body work. I had the trunk pan replaced. That was about it for body work and it was a PPG Concept 2000 paint with a clear coat.



                                                                          Matt B.

[anlauto]

  EXCELLENT explanation Cody....

[Topcat]

I took my car bodywork as far as I could on my own behalf.

Towards the end, I was realizing I couldn't do this right without a paint booth.
It needed sealing in a clean enviornment prior to painting.

Chasing the bodyline was by far the hardest challenge. At least on Cuda's it is.
Even the shop owner said it was a hard one to get right.

They showed me that there is a slight downward curve towards the front fender.
I kept fighting that over and over till I gave up.

Use the metal prep prior to Epoxy if you do it yourself.
All it takes is one froggy wet fingerprint on clean blasted sheetmetal to rise up thru the paint and ruin it.

[Chryco Psycho]

My Challenger was over 20k , the paint costs alone were around 5 k for epoxy primer / base & clear all PPG  , I used a custom mix for FC7 slightly darker then most but a perfect match to the color on my car in hidden areas from the factory

[Tropicalcats]

Thanks for all the great information.
Now my big decision is what type of paint to use. I have a buddy who owns a drywaller painter company and can get me a great deal on Sherwin Williams. I am going for a very original look so the paint will be single stage, Acrylic enamel. I have heard that Sherwin Williams is spot on if you want an OEM look.
I talked with a S-W rep today and with my buddies discount I can get 2 gal of color, hardner,etc  for about $600.00 and that's the top of the line S-W. the car will already be in epoxy primer.
Not sure of all my terms. There is so much I don't know.

[Cuda Cody]

Between the epoxy primer and the final paint there's about 58 seconds (see above post) of work.  That's where most of your money will be spent, not in paint.

Also, in other posts you seem really concerned about doing everything to the best it can be done so it lasts a long time and now you're saying you're going to save and cut corners by using a single stage.  Single stage is fine, but it will not last as long or look as good as a base / clear.  So if you do everything right all the way to the end and then use a single stage you might go from spending $15K to $13.5K. 

I will tell you this, I own a sign company and we use / spray a lot of SW paints.  I can get it for a super good price on my account and I still choose to pay retail for PPG for my cars.  I've sprayed enough of SW and PPG to know better.  And in signs, I'm the one that gets called back 5 to 10 years later to make changes to the sign so I get to see the product after years in service.  SW for houses, PPG for cars. 

If you do go with a base / clear, look at PPG 2021 clear.

This is not mine, but it gives you a little idea of what is happening on a good paint job...

http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/perfect%20paint.htm

Thanks for all the great information.
Now my big decision is what type of paint to use. I have a buddy who owns a drywaller painter company and can get me a great deal on Sherwin Williams. I am going for a very original look so the paint will be single stage, Acrylic enamel. I have heard that Sherwin Williams is spot on if you want an OEM look.
I talked with a S-W rep today and with my buddies discount I can get 2 gal of color, hardner,etc  for about $600.00 and that's the top of the line S-W. the car will already be in epoxy primer.
Not sure of all my terms. There is so much I don't know.