What should I be paying for this paint job?

[dacantu]

Can you guuys give me an idea of what it costs on average to get a decent paint job on our cars. So i guess what you guys would typically pay to have your cars painted. I'm going to be reapinting my car soon and this would be the first car I ver have painted so I have no idea.

My paint will be fairly simple, just reapinted black, then clear coated. I want a real modern looking paint job like the ones you see on much newer cars. I dont think my car was clear coated when my dad had it painted years ago. I'll also be having my brake lights coated in a dark red then clear coated, if thats possible. and my and front corners and trim will be painted black along with the car. also clear coated.

So If you guys have any opinions about my paint job or ways to go with it or about doing it, im open to your opinions. I also hope that you guys can help me out with an idea of what I should be paying for something like this.

There also is not much body work needed done to my car other than probably filling in a small dent on my hood from a small rock. hope my description was good enough guys.

[frantik]

i havent gone out and priced paint jobs myself but from everything i've read it's totally variable and really depends on the shop. ive heard a couple hundred bucks to over a grand just for a simple paint job so YMMV

[charliekuney]

Around here, for full body work and paint, it's anywhere between $300 and $2,000, so it really depends on where you go.

[2ndGenGuy]

If you want black, you better be willing to cough up some good cash. Black will show EVERY flaw, every ripple, every fisheye. If you're cheap, expect cheap work. Look down the sides of your car from a fairly sharp angle in bright light and look at every little door ding. Those will be blaring obvious screaming fucking flaws once the black paint and shiny clear coat are laid down on it. A complete paint job, for something decent, expect around $2000 minimum I'd say. And that's if they're just stripping off the old paint and specifically filling in only one dent. If you do that, all your door dings will show, I guarantee.

Also, is your car black now? If not, you probably will want to do the jambs and engine bay and under hood and trunk too. That, I don't know if you realize, is a fuckload of work. And if you don't match the jambs it's going to look shitty.

[Civic Accord Honda]

around $2000 for a good paint job.

best thing to do is perp the car your self ^_^

[stat1K]

like i said at least 2k for same color at least 3k for color change.

[LewZur]

Also, is your car black now? If not, you probably will want to do the jambs and engine bay and under hood and trunk too. That, I don't know if you realize, is a fuckload of work. And if you don't match the jambs it's going to look shitty.

One thing I've found with painting the same color (meaning you're not going to have to jam it) you must prep the jams to avoid overspray. Even if you mix to factory specs for an original color that shits going to be slightly off and while others may not notice, you will notice the overspray in the jams. A show car paint job will run you anywhere from 2k-6k where I live for a small car. Good luck with it and post up some pics of before and after:cheers:

[Dr_Snooz]

I spent $600 for this from Maaco:

http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq132/dr_snooz/DSCN2306.jpg

http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq132/dr_snooz/DSCN2305.jpg

I'm really happy with it. There are flaws, overspray, one fish eye, etc. but so what. Nobody is going to notice it but me. The dents you can pull out afterward (or before) with a paintless puller. They're $20 from Wal-Mart and break quickly, so be gentle. Any flaws, swirl marks, fish eyes, etc. can be removed with a buffer and some polish. No big.

Honestly, you can spend $6,000 on a paint job, but if your trim is all fubar, no one will notice the paint. If your interior is all trashed or dirty, no one will care about how much you spent on the paint. I don't think you need to spend money, you need to spend time. Spend time pulling trim, prepping and painting it properly. Spend time pulling dents. Spend time at the junkyard finding replacements for your broken trim clips. Spend time detailing the interior and engine bay and spend more time caring for the paint after the job. That will make a bigger difference than another $1,000 spent on paint.

Just my two cents. Hope it's helpful.

[Pico]

I spent around $3500.00 on a paint job and that was back in 1992.
So it all depends on how clean you want it to be, Street driving quality paint where the occasional rock chip wont bother you or Show Quality where you baby the hell out of the car and never let it leave your sight.
I swore I'd never spend that much on paint ever again, not worth the headache to not be able to truly enjoy the car
Heres the car I spent so much on
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/picopop/ScannedImage-3.jpg

[Civic Accord Honda]

I spent $600 for this from Maaco:

http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq132/dr_snooz/DSCN2306.jpg

http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq132/dr_snooz/DSCN2305.jpg

I'm really happy with it. There are flaws, overspray, one fish eye, etc. but so what. Nobody is going to notice it but me. The dents you can pull out afterward (or before) with a paintless puller. They're $20 from Wal-Mart and break quickly, so be gentle. Any flaws, swirl marks, fish eyes, etc. can be removed with a buffer and some polish. No big.

Honestly, you can spend $6,000 on a paint job, but if your trim is all fubar, no one will notice the paint. If your interior is all trashed or dirty, no one will care about how much you spent on the paint. I don't think you need to spend money, you need to spend time. Spend time pulling trim, prepping and painting it properly. Spend time pulling dents. Spend time at the junkyard finding replacements for your broken trim clips. Spend time detailing the interior and engine bay and spend more time caring for the paint after the job. That will make a bigger difference than another $1,000 spent on paint.

Just my two cents. Hope it's helpful.

which macco did u go to? was it one in fresno? if i can get a decent paint job like that for $600 i may just not worry about finding the proper color fender for the accord and do that since my paint has alot of scratchs/chips

[Dr_Snooz]

which macco did u go to? was it one in fresno? if i can get a decent paint job like that for $600 i may just not worry about finding the proper color fender for the accord and do that since my paint has alot of scratchs/chips

Yeah, it was the one on Blackstone & Herndon. They were real helpful and had the car back to me in like 4 days. They steered me away from the most expensive paint job to the mid-grade one which I really appreciated. I definitely recommend them.

6750 N Blackstone Ave
Fresno, CA
(559) 439-0339

I have a feeling the Maaco shops vary a great deal, so if you find a good one, stick with it.

[stat1K]

Well the problem again with maaco isn't the initial finished product, it's how long it lasts and what it looks like in 2 years... seen many of these cars painted by maaco, they look terrible after a couple years... especially in arizona, the sun just destroys single stage paints... they have better products available but at their price you may as well just pay a normal body shop to do it... plus the smaller guys will work with the price a lot more with you, just talk to manny like i told you and see what he'll do for you.

if you want it to be black it's hard because black shows more dents and dings than any other car...

[dacantu]

Here are a couple of threads that I have started when I first started using 3geez. They have pictures of my car so you can see that overall its not very banged up its actaully in very good shape. Its just the paint thats hella faded. And the dent on the hood is literaaly like the size of a dime and wont need more than a litttle bondo to fix it. It can probably even be banged out.

ill post pics a little later on this thread but for now here are some pics that i have posted on other threads

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70339

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70324&page=2


Around here, for full body work and paint, it's anywhere between $300 and $2,000, so it really depends on where you go.

See thats what im talking about. I'm not trying to spend a ridiculous amount for some nice paint. I just want my car to look a bit cleaner. Maybe max spend like 1500


If you want black, you better be willing to cough up some good cash. Black will show EVERY flaw, every ripple, every fisheye. If you're cheap, expect cheap work. Look down the sides of your car from a fairly sharp angle in bright light and look at every little door ding. Those will be blaring obvious screaming fucking flaws once the black paint and shiny clear coat are laid down on it. A complete paint job, for something decent, expect around $2000 minimum I'd say. And that's if they're just stripping off the old paint and specifically filling in only one dent. If you do that, all your door dings will show, I guarantee.

Also, is your car black now? If not, you probably will want to do the jambs and engine bay and under hood and trunk too. That, I don't know if you realize, is a fuckload of work. And if you don't match the jambs it's going to look shitty.

Damn that seems really pricey. But yes my car is black currently. I wont be repainting the the door jambs or under the hood or trunk at all I know its wont look great down there but for now i'll be okay with it.


around $2000 for a good paint job.

best thing to do is perp the car your self ^_^

I thik this is what im going to end up doing because I really really want to cut costs lol. I've got the money but painting it isnt the only thing id like to do. So in other words I want some cash left over. lol


One thing I've found with painting the same color (meaning you're not going to have to jam it) you must prep the jams to avoid overspray. Even if you mix to factory specs for an original color that shits going to be slightly off and while others may not notice, you will notice the overspray in the jams. A show car paint job will run you anywhere from 2k-6k where I live for a small car. Good luck with it and post up some pics of before and after:cheers:

Yeah i'm definitely going to want to do it right so i will be prepping it enough to not get over spray anywhere. I Probably will need to clean up all of the jams so they can somewhat match the car because i know they will be an off color.


I spent $600 for this from Maaco:

I'm really happy with it. There are flaws, overspray, one fish eye, etc. but so what. Nobody is going to notice it but me. The dents you can pull out afterward (or before) with a paintless puller. They're $20 from Wal-Mart and break quickly, so be gentle. Any flaws, swirl marks, fish eyes, etc. can be removed with a buffer and some polish. No big.

Honestly, you can spend $6,000 on a paint job, but if your trim is all fubar, no one will notice the paint. If your interior is all trashed or dirty, no one will care about how much you spent on the paint. I don't think you need to spend money, you need to spend time. Spend time pulling trim, prepping and painting it properly. Spend time pulling dents. Spend time at the junkyard finding replacements for your broken trim clips. Spend time detailing the interior and engine bay and spend more time caring for the paint after the job. That will make a bigger difference than another $1,000 spent on paint.

Just my two cents. Hope it's helpful.


Yeah I wont really need to be pulling any dents but I definitely agree with you on if everything else looks trashy then no one will care about the paint. So yeah im happy that atleast my interior is very nice. the only thing i might do eventually is get a new carpet. but even that is in okay condition for now. I really think that the only thing my car needs at thiss point is paint and maybe just cleaning the engine bay a bit.


Well the problem again with maaco isn't the initial finished product, it's how long it lasts and what it looks like in 2 years... seen many of these cars painted by maaco, they look terrible after a couple years... especially in arizona, the sun just destroys single stage paints... they have better products available but at their price you may as well just pay a normal body shop to do it... plus the smaller guys will work with the price a lot more with you, just talk to manny like i told you and see what he'll do for you.

if you want it to be black it's hard because black shows more dents and dings than any other car...

I know thats the thing with black paint i hate it because it gets dirty so fast it shows scrathes and dents very soon. I see many new cars driving around with black paint and even they look really bad. But when theyre washed constantly they look real clean. and yeah i know what you mean after a couple years. thats what happened with my car after my dad painted it. it looked really bad after a couple years and has only been getting worse ever since. I also got in touch with this other guy that showed me some pictures of his work and he seems to know what hes doing so im going to see what hes going to charge me and ill keep you guys updated. I might not end up shaving the moldings if it costs too much either.


Thanks for all of your input guys I appreaciate all your guys' help.

[dacantu]

Sorry PICO i left you out but yeah man youre car is Amazing! lol I probably wouldnt be willing to spend that much on any car ever unless it was a show car and only like a every other weekeend kinda car. so i definitely want something like a high quality street car paint. something that i can drive on the daily but also not a shitty paint job.

like I was saying earlier though I've got like 3 grand but I still want to do a couple performance upgrades.

I also have already bought some rota j-mags just waiting for them to be delivered. so wiith some toyo tires thatll be bringing me down to about $2100.00

Paint I wouldnt like to spend more than $1100.00. That way i'll still have about a grand left to do some nice performance upgrades.

I already have exhaust and lowering springs. Ive also done a full tune up pretty much with ngk spark plugs, ngk wires a new rotor and cap. new injectors. so those wont be affecting my budget,

I do want some headers and maybe an adjustable cam gear.

If anyone has any ideas on what else I should do to boost performance on top of a set of headers and maybe a cam gear without going over $1000.00 bucks please give me your ideas. Also if anyone is selling a set of DC headers i'd love to know. Because JUSTANOTHERMIKE isnt getting back to me about his. he told me he still had them but never replied with any details.

[Ichiban]

Like 1ndgen guy said, it's not the paint job that's expensive, it's the prep. Bodywork is critical, and a lot of minor flaws won't show until either the car's painted, or it's been shot with a guide coat and the entire car blocked down. A truly proper paint job involves removing everything from the exterior body of the shell that's removable. This includes door handles, locks, glass, all trim, all lights, bumpers, all clips that retain trim, door latches, strikers and bumpers, window run channels, emblems, etc. The entire shell must be coated in an unbroken coat of paint, as edges can allow water up and under, leading to corrosion and other B.S. Plus, paint masking lines on door jambs and around lights/latches/trim looks like absolute shit.

Here's what the car really should look like for a proper job;

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h256/jgturk/2geez%20july2007/S6300885.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h256/jgturk/2geez%20july2007/S6300904.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h256/jgturk/2geez%20july2007/S6300907.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h256/jgturk/2geez%20july2007/S6300908.jpg

[Civic Accord Honda]

Yeah, it was the one on Blackstone & Herndon. They were real helpful and had the car back to me in like 4 days. They steered me away from the most expensive paint job to the mid-grade one which I really appreciated. I definitely recommend them.

6750 N Blackstone Ave
Fresno, CA
(559) 439-0339

I have a feeling the Maaco shops vary a great deal, so if you find a good one, stick with it.

Thanks man! ill be getting my accord done there when that time comes :thumbup:

[Dr_Snooz]

Here are a couple of threads that I have started when I first started using 3geez. They have pictures of my car so you can see that overall its not very banged up its actaully in very good shape. Its just the paint thats hella faded. And the dent on the hood is literaaly like the size of a dime and wont need more than a litttle bondo to fix it. It can probably even be banged out.

ill post pics a little later on this thread but for now here are some pics that i have posted on other threads

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70339

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70324&page=2


Based on your pics, I'm having a hard time seeing why you're painting it. Are you sure it's so bad that a couple Saturdays with a buffer and clay bar won't revive it? Based on the pin-striping, I'm guessing that's still the factory original paint. You'll pay a lot of money to get a paint job better than the one on there right now.

[Justanothermike]

dacantu:

Check your PM. I need your email if you want to see some pictures.

[dacantu]

Based on your pics, I'm having a hard time seeing why you're painting it. Are you sure it's so bad that a couple Saturdays with a buffer and clay bar won't revive it? Based on the pin-striping, I'm guessing that's still the factory original paint. You'll pay a lot of money to get a paint job better than the one on there right now.

No actually its not the original paint its just that the pinstripig was put right back on there after the paint job.

i have buffed it before just never used clay bar. I have no idea what that is and what it does lol. I just used like a wax which i don't know if that even does anything to my car except for just making it shiny but you can still see the scratches.

Anyways my car crapped out on me this weekend. my alternator went out completely and left me stranded sadly. Its weird its only about a year or so old so theres got to be something wrong with my electrical. i know its also not my batt because i literally bought a new optima red top battery and an hour after i installed it my car died again. how f'd up is that? . good thing is its got a lifetime warranty on the alternator. anyways ill probably be holding off on my paint job now. i have to find whats wrong with my electrical now. bummer

[Dr_Snooz]

When you say scratches, are you talking about buffer swirls or key marks? If it's just buffer swirl, go after it with some good polish. I like Zymol's stuff and you can get their polish from Target for pretty cheap. If you spend some time polishing it, you'll probably be so happy with the results that you'll stop thinking about new paint. If you aren't, follow up the polishing with a good wax and you'll be surprised it's the same car. Anyway, read up on what you're doing before you go crazy with polish. Buff long enough in one spot and you'll be looking at primer before you know it.

If it's key marks, they sell kits for filling scratches and stone chips that give good results. Even when they don't give good results, they are still better than a scratch. Just take your time and read up carefully before starting. You can also pay pros to fill scratches for you.

Sorry about the alternator.

[Civic Accord Honda]

where did u buy the alt from? the ones from autozone and kragen etc are normaly crap and go out about a year later lol (not all u sometimes can get a good one

[dacantu]

When you say scratches, are you talking about buffer swirls or key marks? If it's just buffer swirl, go after it with some good polish. I like Zymol's stuff and you can get their polish from Target for pretty cheap. If you spend some time polishing it, you'll probably be so happy with the results that you'll stop thinking about new paint. If you aren't, follow up the polishing with a good wax and you'll be surprised it's the same car. Anyway, read up on what you're doing before you go crazy with polish. Buff long enough in one spot and you'll be looking at primer before you know it.

If it's key marks, they sell kits for filling scratches and stone chips that give good results. Even when they don't give good results, they are still better than a scratch. Just take your time and read up carefully before starting. You can also pay pros to fill scratches for you.

Sorry about the alternator.

Maybe thats my problem Ive been using a wax and an orbital buffer. But i havent used any polish yet. Also they are more like swirls over the entire car. and the top of the trunk and roof are very faded almost gray looking now. I dont know, would a polish work to bring back the color in that? And yes I have alot of stone chips all around the grill of the car so maybe ill find some nice touch up paint to cover those up. But thank you I think for now that will be my most affordable alternative.

About the alternator, Im not worried about it because it does have a lifetime warranty. I just dont have the time to replace it or check my electrical right now. Im almost sure theres an electrical problem too because if I dont use my kill switch every night, after a couple of days my battery dies. So thats going to be some work trying to find whats wrong.


where did u buy the alt from? the ones from autozone and kragen etc are normaly crap and go out about a year later lol (not all u sometimes can get a good one

I dont think it is from wither of those places. I think its from a BAP import parts which has fairly good parts. I have to confirrm with my mechanic who I always take it to. But yeah it was disappointing and made my weekend very frustrating. (Considering it the only car I have) I guess its a good thing that I live at school and don't really have to worry about driving during the week though. Im definitely going to be going back home to work on it this weekend though.