Cost to have a car painted?

[Butch627]

I would attempt to find a body man that does side work on his own time.
They will often be about half the price of a body shop.

This is where the biggest paint horror stories start in the internet

 

[nate77]

Yeah, it’s a cheap car.

immaculate interior, and engine compartment, (old lady car) with only 40,000 miles, but it is still a 2006 Hyundai Elantra, doesn’t warrant a $3000 paint job.

Not up on new tech like wrapping, or plasti-dip, I’ll have to check it out.

 

[mmpsteve]

That's an impressive transformation. I'd try a small spot on the OP's car if it were mine, depending on how bad it is. Lot of work, though.

.

Have you tried to polish it and bring the paint back. My suburban came from Arizona and the paint was very oxidized. We wet sanded/polished the whole truck and brought it back to an acceptable level. There are some places where it's a bit thin but we can touch those up without having to hire someone. My husband is pretty good with the paint gun just addressing areas as needed. Without a proper paint booth, doing the whole truck here would be a challenge due to dust, bugs, etc. We bought a variable speed polisher and that helped significantly. Used some of the Meguiar products.

This is the side not done as he was working on the hood.

This is the side he had done.

Back doors...

I think it turned out rather well.

 

[nate77]

Yeah, the suburban looks great. Unfortunately, the paint is almost gone on the roof, and trunk lid.

Maybe just have those two painted, and polish the rest to cut costs.

 

[mom45]

Considering the size of my truck, I thought it went fairly quickly. It took a few days but the power buffer made a huge difference. I think the Makita polisher was around $200 plus what the polishing compounds cost. Probably less than $300 for us to do the work and get it cleaned up.

 

[mom45]

Yeah, the suburban looks great. Unfortunately, the paint is almost gone on the roof, and trunk lid.

Maybe just have those two painted, and polish the rest to cut costs.

I have a few spots on the roof and the hood that are pretty thin after the wet sanding, but my husband will probably repaint those. I hate to think what a shop would charge me to repaint my truck.

 

[KittySlayer]

That's an impressive transformation. I'd try a small spot on the OP's car if it were mine, depending on how bad it is. Lot of work, though.

.

Lots of work? Sounds like a father/son bonding project.

Wax On, Wax Off

 

[mom45]

Lots of work? Sounds like a father/son bonding project.

Wax On, Wax Off

That's how I was picturing it as well.

 

[maxwelhse]

Yeah, the suburban looks great. Unfortunately, the paint is almost gone on the roof, and trunk lid.

Maybe just have those two painted, and polish the rest to cut costs.

Your car is almost certainly base coat / clear coat. You can't really polish that up that way you could the old enamel paints. Once the clear is damaged to the point that it's effecting the color, the game is pretty much over.

If it's really just 2 panels that look extra terrible... You can get factory color matched rattle cans (either online or custom mixed at an automotive paint store) and just bomb it in the garage or the driveway. 2 panels really isn't all that much car to paint... Early spring JUST before the bugs and lawn mowers come out you might get a chance at doing it outside if the weather is just right. You can cut rattle canned paint up to something very nice with a bit of work and the price is certainly right, but slightly spendy for spray paint. I think the last couple of cans I bought are about 1/2 size and double price, so about 4x more than regular spray paint.

 

[Sigblitz]

If it was my project, I would rough it with the orbital sander, bondo any dings, tape the jambs, and color match it in single stage, but when it's at least 73° out. And call it done. I would just have to buy the paint and a party tent. Masking everything would suck.

 

[Super Bee]

I have had a chat with a "friend" who paints. It is almost cheaper to go to a trade school, pay to learn how to paint, then do it yourself. Getting a car painted has become so expensive.

I agree with others on here about going to Maaco. There are some good and some bad Maaco shops. Luckily in Fort Wayne we have a decent one.

 

[IN71vet]

Ziebart

 

[churchmouse]

I have had a chat with a "friend" who paints. It is almost cheaper to go to a trade school, pay to learn how to paint, then do it yourself. Getting a car painted has become so expensive.

I agree with others on here about going to Maaco. There are some good and some bad Maaco shops. Luckily in Fort Wayne we have a decent one.

Look at what Fed. regulations have done to the industry. I have a good friend that retired recently instead of making the next hurdle the douche bags were forcing him to do.
Downdraft filtered booths with environmental systems. The cost of these are insane.
$700 a gallon for water based paint and then the reducers etc to cut it for spray out.
The full body suits and respirators……..All just stupid insane spendy.

Do these items clean it up and make it safe to paint......yes.

I painted this car 29 years ago. All totaled with the new passenger quarter it was salty for the day but doable. Painted in a heated garage in the country. Single stage.
I missed some fitment on the door so don't judge OK.

This is the last car I sprayed. 2006. Did it at the buddys shop that just retired. The steps involved and the costs were nuts. Thank the Gods he was there to guide me. He also made me paint it 2 times as my 1st attempt with the base coat clear coat sucked.

Costs more than tripled just for materials.

 

[usmcdjb]

Vocational school (not sure they call it that anymore) around here used to teach auto body and if you could get a spot could get something painted for material cost. Might not be a show quality job, but may do what you're after. If this is even still a thing

 

[nate77]

Wife got a quote from a shop in town, $6000. LOL

Leaning toward color match rattle can for the trunk and roof, and try to restore the rest.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Super Bee]

Look at what Fed. regulations have done to the industry. I have a good friend that retired recently instead of making the next hurdle the douche bags were forcing him to do.
Downdraft filtered booths with environmental systems. The cost of these are insane.
$700 a gallon for water based paint and then the reducers etc to cut it for spray out.
The full body suits and respirators……..All just stupid insane spendy.

Do these items clean it up and make it safe to paint......yes.

I painted this car 29 years ago. All totaled with the new passenger quarter it was salty for the day but doable. Painted in a heated garage in the country. Single stage.
I missed some fitment on the door so don't judge OK.


This is the last car I sprayed. 2006. Did it at the buddys shop that just retired. The steps involved and the costs were nuts. Thank the Gods he was there to guide me. He also made me paint it 2 times as my 1st attempt with the base coat clear coat sucked.

Costs more than tripled just for materials.

That Impala is a nice lookin car, it turned out nice. I like the look of the Chevy Rallys with the raised white letter tires.

 

[Alamo]

The next worst thing to Earl:

https://www.amazon.com/Krylon-K0130..._2?keywords=krylon&qid=1579547546&sr=8-2&th=1

 

[churchmouse]

That Impala is a nice lookin car, it turned out nice. I like the look of the Chevy Rallys with the raised white letter tires.

I like the look as well.

 

[7.62]

Thanks for the MAACO tip, I might try there too, there is one in Westfield, which isn’t a bad drive for me.

Try the one on 71st and Binford. They do excellent work at a good price! Check their reviews. I personally know the owners and they are fantastic and been in business for like 30 years. The one in westfield is new and they don't have near the experience this one does. They are franchises so they all are ran differently with different levels of experience.

 

[Longhair]

How old is your son? Just help him pick a nice ride and sell the turd.


I painted this in my driveway 20 years ago, I used Cat yellow @ $20 bucks a gallon, prep and a quality sealer is how you get a quality paint job.




I also painted this,