[sbobosi]

So as I slowly tick away at the little fixes on my coupe, I am more and more convinced that she really deserves a better finish than she has. Paint swirls, scratches, clear coat peeling all leave no real option short of a full repaint.



Here is where it gets sticky. I know paint is all in the prep. I know I would never get the few hundred dollar shoddy job done on her. But I also know my wife would likely have a stroke at the thought of 6 or 7k on paint. I have never repainted a vehicle, and I keep running into half answers and conflicting info.



Is it feasable to budget 2-3K and actually walk away with a smile? I love the current color, so I would not be looking at anything radical. I would like her to have a nice wet clearcoat look, but wonder how far of a departure that would be from her original state.



Advice? Thoughts? Other's experiences with repaint? I am not looking at restoration or resale here. I am just looking for smile factor when I walk up to her in the parking lot <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

at least around here, 2-3 is low, but 4k is reasonable for a decent job



i spent 8k, but i took every panel off the car and stripped it down to the factory prep, shot it, assembled it, color sanded it, yada yada



you can get a paint job done for 2-3k, but it won't be something you will be proud of

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[sbobosi]

Thanks for that feedback. 4K is still pretty stiff, but I could probably pull it. I am pretty much decided that I will do it over the winter. I had planned on storing her over the Chicago winter. Do you think body shops are prone to a break if there is no time constraint? I certainly won't be in any sort of rush from December through March.



I know I am asking unanswerable specifics. I am just thinking it all through and am looking for any feedback I can find.

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[sasilverbullet]

There's a place near Austin Tx that only does Porsche/BMW/Mercedes called Klein's. They quoted me 5K and that was a strip to bare metal and then all the correct coats of the same stuff Porsche uses.

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[968crazy]

[quote name='flash' post='40326' date='Aug 23 2007, 07:48 PM']at least around here, 2-3 is low, but 4k is reasonable for a decent job



i spent 8k, but i took every panel off the car and stripped it down to the factory prep, shot it, assembled it, color sanded it, yada yada



you can get a paint job done for 2-3k, but it won't be something you will be proud of[/quote]



I painted at a body shop for 5 years and december to march was the busiest time of the year for us because of all the wrecks in the winter. 2-3k is plenty for a nice paint job just go look at different shops work and get some prices, but once you get a price you like I would stop by a few times to look at a variety of that shops work. Just because you spend more on a paint job doesn't mean you will get a nicer job. Dont worry to much about the high tech paint booths and equipment because 95% of it is the guy with the paint gun in his hand thats who makes for a really nice job, and if he can pull it off and not need to buff it thats when paint looks its best.

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[flash]

well....



i'd put 50% in the prep and 45% in the guy with the gun, but i get the point



the problem is the prep - that's where the money is - you can do a scuff and shoot, but that won't look very good



you could prime over paint, but again, that doesn't work well - the paint ends up being too soft



you really need to minimize the paint thickness - that means sanding off a lot of paint - that means time - there goes the money



it all depends on what kind of quality you want, and how long you want it to last - things like masking lines, door jams, etc are things that affect the cost too



around here 2-3k will buy you a maaco job that will last 2-3 years - more money has dimishing returns to be sure, but can really make a difference



also, the area determines a lot - around here it costs a lot more than in the midwest or a more economically depressed area - i'll bet you can get a good job for a lot less in alabama or kansas than you can here in los angeles

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[sbobosi]

All good points. Around here, the Maaco job is more like $500 than 2-3K. I live about 1 hr outside of Chicago.



I guess I am just looking for a nice balance. This car will never be a concours special. But she is running really well and deserves a nicer outside than she has. I like the idea of asking to see the work of places.



Guess the market will dictate in the end. I never thought about body shops being burdoned by winter accidents. So much for my hopes of an off season break!



The last thing I want is an orange peel special. But economic realities demand some weighing of cost/benefit. Flash, you echo what I have heard over and over: A ton of the end result boils down to what you put into prep.

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[968crazy]

[quote name='GreenMachine' post='40338' date='Aug 23 2007, 09:22 PM']All good points. Around here, the Maaco job is more like $500 than 2-3K. I live about 1 hr outside of Chicago.



I guess I am just looking for a nice balance. This car will never be a concours special. But she is running really well and deserves a nicer outside than she has. I like the idea of asking to see the work of places.



Guess the market will dictate in the end. I never thought about body shops being burdoned by winter accidents. So much for my hopes of an off season break!



The last thing I want is an orange peel special. But economic realities demand some weighing of cost/benefit. Flash, you echo what I have heard over and over: A ton of the end result boils down to what you put into prep.[/quote]



preps part of it but if the guy with the gun doesn't like the prep he send it back to get it right before he paints. if your car has original paint you dont need to strip it even with the new paint it wont be to thick. if it has already been repainted the you would need to think about stripping the car. yeah the area has alot to do with the price just like anything else you buy some areas you just pay more for things. I have painted lot of cool cars when I was at the body shop some of which were a shelby cobra, ferrari, 55 chevy, pro street 69 camaro, and many others including lots of porsches and when you get cars like that to paint even the worst painters will do better work because it gets interesting.



good luck and do some research

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[sbobosi]

[quote name='968crazy' post='40340' date='Aug 23 2007, 09:56 PM']if your car has original paint you dont need to strip it even with the new paint it wont be to thick. if it has already been repainted the you would need to think about stripping the car.[/quote]





The car is still original paint. My question would be about the couple of small areas where clearocat is peeling (Around the driver's side handle) and the handful of fairly deep scratches. If the car weren't stripped to metal, would these areas just be handled in a small, localized manner?



Once again, not making any decisions just yet. I like to gather opinions and then choose a path. Thanks for the feedback.

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[flash]

500 at maaco sounds like a scuff and shoot, with little primer - been there done that 10 years ago - was fine for a cheap car i was selling - cost me nearly 2k there 7 years ago to do a car that needed more prep, but was still short of a complete primer



in 30 years of doing this, i have yet to see a car that looks right to me with paint over paint, using these new paints - it just ends up too thick, and the paint is too soft - you used to be able to do it with centauri and definitely with imron, but you can't shoot those around here anymore



my car went through some of this before i stripped it, and it didn't take long to ding or chip the new paint - it's much better now that i removed all the old paint



get a meter on your car and see how thick the paint is now



i would not sand down to the metal - you coud break the galvanizing, and also, you stand a good chance of warping the sheet metal - stop at the original prep layer



this is all pretty subjective, and the individual shop has as much to do with the end result as anything



definitely go and check out their work



i tend to stay away from insurance shops - they are very reluctant to spend the time to get a really good job



cheap, good, or fast - pick any two

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[badberry68]

I had my hood, roof, nose and rear spoiler painted, $2k. They also took everything down to bare metal, except the nose. These cars look so good with nice shiny paint!

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[sbobosi]

So I have been reading this morning about Plastic Media Blasting (PMB). It sounds intriguing. The process is gentle, low pressure and fairly controlled. From what I have read, they can control the strip to the point of removing paint but leaving primer. It is gentle enough to leave trim rubber, glass, etc. in place. It sounds really inviting. And it is fairly labor efficient and cost effective. Anyone aware of this process and/or have any experience?

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[PorscheDude]

Some cars have water based paint (mine does, which I do not like). You can find out which you have by looking at the paint code on the option sticker.



Are these paints typically thinner?

Are they compatible with other types of paint?



You could save alot of money by removing body panels and trim then preping the bulk of the car youself. Have them do a final prep before paint.

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[Ryan]

Can you just do a fine sand and reshoot the clear-coat? If the paint is OK you might just save it. Just wondering out loud....

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[sbobosi]

I was wondering that. But I am not skilled enough to know if the swirl damage from some really crappy buff jobs done by the PO are just in the clearcoat or down to the paint. Also, the paint is thinning up by the driver's side roof...the section between sunroof panel and windshield. Dont ask me why, of all areas, this is the only one which shows any real thinning to the paint, but there it is. And there are at least a couple scratches all the way down to primer.



I guess the key at this point would be to find a decent body place near me that can do a real evaluation. I just don't even know where to start that process. Anyone have any connections around the NW burbs of Chicago?

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[968crazy]

first off water based paint from what i've seen is all crap and the paint companies got away from it. as far as reclearing a car not a good idea, they only do that when they are blending a panel. on porsches sanding to bare metal is bad unless you need to for bdy work because of the galvinization and thats your rust protection. fixing peeling clear and scratches just need sanded then spot primed and blocked out and the longer they let primer set before blocking it out the better it will be.

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[Ryan]

I know VW and Audi are using water based paints. I bet there are more. The paint on my Audi is fantastic. I had a friend with clear-coat issues on his black Jetta though.

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[gryphon]

GreenMachine, I found two excellent and very low priced body shops by getting to know the people that supply them with their paint--namely a small business that mixes paint for mostly trade but will do small bottles/shakers for the public. They know more about the body shops that I could have ever learn from anothe source. One of the recommended body shops just repainted the rear hatch of my Lexus hybrid in bamboo pearl--a tricky color to work with--for $200.



It might be worth some yellow pages research for paint suppliers.



Tom

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[Ryan]

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/113_050...aint/index.html



An interesting article on the future of paint and it is H2O

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[PorscheDude]

They had a show on NGC called ultimate factories, it featured Ferrari. They use a water based paint system. But it is light years ahead of what Porsche used in the early 90's.

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