What’s a paint job going for these days? (NJ)

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RojerLockless@reddit

So fucking expensive.

In all my C3 corvette groups people talk about 20 to 25k for a pain job when the fucking car isn't even worth that much.

Found a local dude who had a paint booth to spray for 3-5k and does great work. I strongly suggest finding something like that.

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DerTarchin@reddit

hi, im' also in NJ. Can you send me the info of that dude?

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Fdholly@reddit

Find a freelancer and rent a booth you’ll probably get a decent paint job for under $7500

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largos7289@reddit

LOL i got in good with a guy that ran a Maaco shop. He painted my car back in the day for 2000. F**Ker chipped off after two years. Thought i was getting a deal.

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angel_of_death007@reddit

My stepson payed $3200 and same thing happened in 2 months.

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Paid-Not-Payed-Bot@reddit

My stepson paid $3200 and

FTFY.

Although payed exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:

Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. The deck is yet to be payed.
Payed out when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. The rope is payed out! You can pull now.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.

Beep, boop, I'm a bot

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angel_of_death007@reddit

My wife’s vehicle had to be repainted due to hurricane throwing shingles across it. So no body work at all except paint prep. Repainted the same color cost $15k at a reputable business.

My stepson had his vehicle repainted at Maaco same color cost $3200, two months later the bumper spiderwebbed. Maaco would not warranty it and honestly I could have done better doing it myself.

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If you are really all in on a paint job for this car, not concours show quality but a good job that looks sharp and lasts you will be significantly disassembling the car, and stripping anything that has damage or adhesion problems. With materials costs being significant ($2k in just materials is not difficult to spend) along with parts like weatherstripping, plastic/rubber body components, emblems, etc., $12-15,000 is not an unreasonable estimate in Northern Illinois.

This is more of a restoration job. These days the vast majority of shops do production collision repair for insurance companies. That's a different ballgame. You need a shop that does complete paint jobs and restoration work, not a typical body shop.

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GTAmark@reddit (OP)

Hi V8, I’m not looking for show quality, just about the same as she came from the factory. If it’s 15k so be it, it’ll just be a while longer until it happens. Thank you for the insight.

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beachie11@reddit

I had my 2005 Tacoma XRunner painted last year. I went to MAACO because I had a limited budget because it is 19 years old with 270,000 miles. Replaced tailgate and rear bumper, the roof was rusted, and there were some large rust spots on the hood. I got the mid grade paint with a 4 year pro rated warranty. $4500. They spent a little over a week on it, not counting the cure time before I could take it home. It's not show quality, but it looks pretty good.

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Jean_le_Jedi_Gris@reddit

Tell me more about MAACO. I've got a project that doesn't need or want the show-room treatment, but the last owner gave it a rattle-can special and I'd love to get it looking just "not terrible".

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beachie11@reddit

The pant job appears to be decent. It's only been 10 months, and there is no peeling or chipping so far. The clearcoat is smooth, with no bubbles,etc. Unless you are really eyeballing the truck up close, you wouldn't know it's not factory paint. But I will say that they will nickel and dime you. The original estimator was good about telling me which trim pieces they couldn't reuse and the cost for the rust remediation and things like did I want used parts or aftermarket. (I had to get a new tailgate and rear bumper cover.) But what he didn't tell me was that if parts had to be removed, there is a charge for that. The inside of my mirrors and door handles were rough to the touch. When I picked up the truck, I complained about this, and they told me that it wasn't in the estimate to remove door handles and mirrors. They were painted but not sanded. We came to an agreement where they paid for the labor and I paid for the paint to get it fixed. They appeared to be customer oriented. When the cost was over the estimate, they called and got my authorization before proceeding ( it was only an extra $100.) My point is that I was happy with the service and the end result, but you have to ask lots of detailed questions when getting a price so that you get what you expect.

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Jean_le_Jedi_Gris@reddit

Thanks man! its good to get a sense of how that place works

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knobbedporgy@reddit

Biggest thing is not all MAACO’s are the same. Ownership and staff make a huge difference from shop to shop. Read review and ask a particular MAACO to show you cars they’ve painted on the property and you’ll have an idea of what you’re getting into.

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PooterScooter0@reddit

Are these the quotes bc he has a classic? Lol I was wanting to do a paint job on my 1995 toyota corolla but not for 10k

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HowToCook40Humans@reddit

Even early pandemic, it was close to 10k. I wanted to repaint my 2v but not now lmao. For an old Corolla, consider maaco

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PooterScooter0@reddit

I do have a Maaco like 5 mins away from me.

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MrFurzzy@reddit

No, it's because materials have skyrocketed and so has the cost of living. Good painters are a skilled trade and deserve a decent wage. I'm doing a budget garage paint job on my project car and materials alone are getting close to 1k. I can't even imagine what show car level paint costs.

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lunchpadmcfat@reddit

If you were painting an incredibly expensive car, you wouldn’t mind shelling 40k on a pristine paint job.

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Chevrolet1984@reddit

About one fiddy , on the low or half an arm on the high . Ask your local dealer for the high and your neighborhood jack for the low .

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RPE10Ben@reddit

I will absolutely not feel bad about using rustoleum turbo cans on my project after hearing these prices. Literally multiple times the purchase price of my car. Fuck that.

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lunchpadmcfat@reddit

If you’re at the point of doing it yourself, shell a bit more money and get a 1000x better result. An HVLP sprayer is not that much. A few hundred more for a tent will get you a really decent result.

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GTAmark@reddit (OP)

Don’t. If I had the time, space and talent I would absolutely do it myself. I tried doing the hatch deck lid as it was a small and obscured piece of body work. Never came out right for whatever reason. Also my color is a metallic and the spray cans I was having made were not mixed right. I’ll leave it to the pros.

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RPE10Ben@reddit

I’ve done a lot of rattle can jobs. I just did my cheap fiberglass hood last week and it came out really, really nice. My rusted and gutted shitbox MR2 doesn’t deserve a professional paint job hahaha

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No_Hour_0@reddit

From previous comments it looks like no one does restoration in here. I’ve done body work for 20+ years and this is a hard ? to answer because it depends on condition of the vehicle. A simple repaint of the same color no jambs is 10k using a good product. (Diamont, PPG, Sicken) A full restoration with minimal rust repair is 30k+.

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lunchpadmcfat@reddit

Yep. If all they have to do is shoot it with primer, light blocking, a few coats of color and a few coats of clear (no disassembly, no body work), you’re probably out the door for 3-7k depending on the size of the car.

I think a lot of these estimations include a decent amount of body work.

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Youeffeduphaha@reddit

Location Location Location

15k here ( upstate ny) is about average for a show quality paint job including jambs and bodywork ( im not talking about replacing quarters floors skins etc.)

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No_Hour_0@reddit

That’s fair if there is no major body work. Just depends on how much time I have in the car or truck. I do it by the hour plus materials.

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Youeffeduphaha@reddit

Yep. People really hate to hear that though. They always want a number. " i can give you an estimate after all the paints off"

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No_Hour_0@reddit

💯 Best just to tell them what they need to hear rather than telling them what they want to hear. You just end up with a pissed off customers not wanting to pay. I would rather give a high estimate and watch them walk away than give them a low estimate and end up working for free.

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Johnnya101@reddit

From the two body shops I know, $10k ish will do a pretty good job with removing bumpers and such, $15-$20k will do a decent show level paint job, but that's removing everything and doing it the right way.

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9inchjames@reddit

I read that an average paint job is about 45 labor or hours. So after material cost, they're getting like $3-400/hr

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lunchpadmcfat@reddit

Fuck being a lawyer, apparently.

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too_much_covfefe_man@reddit

$3000-$30,000

I'm shopping for my rx-7, there's a... range

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9inchjames@reddit

Use a roller and get real good at wet sanding.

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DocTarr@reddit

Cost will vary heavily based on the amount of work the vehicle needs (filler, etc), the type of vehicle (amount of sheet metal, trim, complexity), and quality of work.

That being said, you won't be getting a decent paint job on a whole car for less than 5-digits. $15k could be fair depending on condition of the car and quality of the work.

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direcheetah4579@reddit

No wonder patina is so popular....

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SlashEssImplied@reddit

And matte finishes. Soooo much easier to get right than gloss.

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direcheetah4579@reddit

Yeah, I was thinking a matte or satin finish myself

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discussatron@reddit

Right? Guess my shit’s never getting painted.

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Effective_Sundae_839@reddit

I think id rather try the rattle can special lol

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direcheetah4579@reddit

I'm gonna go harbor freight special gun and a couple rolls of plastic and do it myself. I can paint it a dozen times for less than paying a shop. I figure I screw up the first couple and I'm gonna start getting better by the third time....

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0_1_1_2_3_5@reddit

Make sure to get a respirator with organic vapor cartridges!

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HarlanCulpepper@reddit

Just practice on your neihbor's car.

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0_1_1_2_3_5@reddit

Depends on the car.

Under $100k? Patina = can't afford paint

Over $100k? Patina = all original

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Hoovooloo42@reddit

No kidding, my mental math was WAY off. Guess my beater project car is gonna get a home job that people will point and laugh at on the internet

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Skullwilliams@reddit

Right. I like the look of a car that shows it's age- I like the worn out paint and dents. It shows it's character and it's story.

Secondly, fuck paying 10k for paint.

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Kooky-Answer@reddit

Painting is EXTREMELY labor intensive, and a significant portion is highly skilled labor. Even if the materials were cheap (they're not) a paint job is usually going to be cost prohibitive.

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AC4@reddit

any good shop will be over 10k, probably. what my cheap uncle did for a while was just do all the bodywork and strip it himself then let maaco just do the spray, and it turned out decent. although at that point it might just be worth it to invest in a compressor and one of those inflatable paint booths

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Blartibartfast@reddit

This is the way to do it if you don't have the room to spray it yourself.

Painting is not difficult at all but a dedicated area does help a lot. Prep takes time and effort and you can do that anywhere

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mjeter45@reddit

I was quoted $25k for my 86 Firebird TA because it was a “classic”. This car is worth $5k on a good day. Seems most other places are charging between 12k and 20k.

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GTAmark@reddit (OP)

Yeah that’s where I’m at now. I can’t justify spending all that money because the car isn’t worth it yet.

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coyote_of_the_month@reddit

That "yet" makes your whole premise iffy. If you intend to make it worth that kind of money, the paint job makes sense before the new engine goes in.

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SendMe_SmallBoobs@reddit

My dad got a rough quote of $10k minimum plus labor for rust repair for his two tone truck.

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mpython1701@reddit

Recently had a quote for Dodge longbed regular cab from a reputable shop at $11k. Minimal body work. No jambs or bed.

Took it to a homeboy who did it in his garage for $2500. Bodywork was meh. 2-stage paint. More orange Peel than I cared for but was able to sand and buff it out. Looks like an okay amateur restoration.

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Corrupt_Reverend@reddit

I don't know if it's true, but I've heard that maaco paint jobs can be good if you do the prep yourself.

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Elk_Man@reddit

On the high end of the spectrum, when I asked a local specialty shop about some paint and body work on my car they said something in the ballpark of of $60k

That would be a full frame-off rotisserie job, with significant body work including a whole new floor and bed (El Camino), and an extremely high quality show level finish.

It wasn't anything financially feasible for me so I didn't pursue the conversation much beyond shooting the shit with them in hypotheticals. They were doing some insurance related work for me, and the shop is so well regarded their backlog for that kind of work is over a year long.

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ZeGermanHam@reddit

My painter charges $20k for a full bare metal, glass out paint job.

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beermaker@reddit

5 figures for paint only, $20k with bodywork where I live... Only specialty/hot rod shops will touch 40+ year old metal. Gone are the days of the $700 maaco spray job.

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sony1492@reddit

Full respray of jambs, engine bay, backsides of all relevant panels, dent repair, all glass removed, and minor rust repair is easily 3-4k in materials and several hundred hours in labor. 15k isn't bad, shops don't generally like these jobs because they are a massive time sink and a bit complex compared to smaller repairs and newer vehicles.

Peeling paint means everything has to be stripped back to bare steel, windshield has to come out, door internals are removed, all panels come off the car to prep and wrap the paint into all corners and edges so it doesn't peel again. Accepting some risk you can have the car repainted with the glass in, backtape the jambs, and just spray the exterior for 5-12k. White hides alot of imperfections in bodywork and shops know that, quotes for a respray at 50hrs labor will look different then 120hrs. Single Stage paint will save time and money and isn't necessarily a bad idea but will fade if it's left in the sun for years.

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therunningjew1@reddit

It really depends. I have a ford probe that I had painted last year. I did all the bodywork, already had the car apart, windows, trim and lights removed, primed the areas that I fixed. All the shop had to do was hit the car with some 400 or 600, cover the window areas so paint didn't get to the interior and spray the car. I chose a modern OEM color. Most body shop places wouldn't paint the entire car. A couple restoration shops would, but minimum work order was 10k. I found a mom and pop style shop that was willing to paint it for ~3500 plus another 500 for a new windshield and putting in the rest of the glass. They also buffed it to remove any orange peel. This is in las Vegas. So far its held up and looks great

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PsychoEngineer@reddit

For a proper disassemble, fix any MINOR bodywork (small dings/dents/scratches), sealer, primer, color, clear paint, and reassemble; that's not out of line at all.

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EC_CO@reddit

It really depends on where you live, but in my area 10 to 15K for a decent pro job that isn't show car finished. But, there is a Maaco in my area that has extremely high ratings and they do a few classic vehicles per year, mine would have been about four grand. The other alternative is to jump onto Craigslist and go under services, automotive. A lot of smaller backyard places and ones with questionable reputations are there for a couple of grand.

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FatalSky@reddit

$18,000 was what it cost to do show quality rust repair (quarters and fenders) and paint and body on my nova. In 2005. $15,000 sounds like a good deal since inflation puts that at almost $30,000 nowadays.

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cocksherpa2@reddit

10K+ for a collector car is about right depending on additional body work that could double

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BenderBill@reddit

I don’t have a dollar number for you, but when it comes to paint you really do get what you pay for.

Shop around, read reviews is all I can offer

That said, 15k doesn’t sound outrageous, I’ve heard of people paying 20+ for paint jobs, but that’s usually inclusive of the engine bay, undercarriage etc.

If 15k is just for the outer body panels, that does seem a bit steep, I’d be happier paying 7-12k depending on the quality of their work