Reasonable price to repaint 83 300SD - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

eatont9999 · #1 11-05-2012, 05:50 PM

Hey guys and gals,

I have been thinking about having my 83 300SD repainted since the paint has long ago been sunburned. I am wondering what y'all think would be a reasonable price for an indy or body shop to charge for a full repaint. I want a decent paint job, not something that is going to flake off in a year or two but I don't want to spend the bank for a restoration type job. I want the same color, so painting inside the doors and hood, etc does not need to be perfect. I can pull the trim strips and lower exterior panels off before I bring it in to save some labor cost.

I know, it is not logically justifiable to have an $850 car repainted but after all the time I have spent repairing this car in the last year, I feel that the one thing left that is holding it back is the paint. I am expecting a price range of $1000-$1500 for a decent paint job. I have the number for an indy guy who does fantastic work. I just want to get an idea of what is fair market before I accept an offer.

Thanks!

rscurtis · #2 11-05-2012, 08:40 PM

I had my signature car done in June by a local body shop. He used Dupont Chroma Premier BC/CC. The car also required some body work on one door and had some hail damage (that I couldn't see with the old paint) on the hood and trunk. He stripped about half the car to bare steel. I removed all trim, so the car looked like it did when MB painted it. The only thing he had to mask was the windows and tires. The finish is as good as any new car, but probably not quite as good as the original MB paint job. You sort of know the car has been repainted, but can't find any evidence of it. Here are a before and after picture. I embarked on this because the RR door had a nice crease in it, and I knew the crazed original paint couldn't be matched. The cost was $4300. I also replaced the wheels with 4 new OEM wheels with the factory CC finish.

rscurtis · #3 11-05-2012, 08:43 PM

Here is the "after" photo.

vstech · #4 11-05-2012, 09:28 PM

yeah... only way you are getting a decent paint job for under 2K is if you not only remove all trim, but you must sand the original paint to a decent starting point, then buff the first coat, then buff the second coat... then polish the final coat...
and that is a LOT of work.

pawoSD · #5 11-05-2012, 10:45 PM

Yep, 4-5k to have it done completely and correctly with expected good results.

NC-Diesel · #6 11-06-2012, 12:29 AM

I am suddenly very depressed about the prospects for refinishing my car! $4000 is like more than it's worth! Guess I better learn to paint too!

willw · #7 11-06-2012, 01:16 AM

Check out youtube,com for "$50 paint job" or "rattle can paint job". There used to be a video of a guy that did an old beater and when it was done it looked factory. There was even a video he did a year after he was done to show how well it had held up. Of course I can't find it now :-(

Bob338 · #8 11-06-2012, 07:25 AM

If you have a MAACO anywhere nearby, check them out. They vary in quality by franchisee but some do a very acceptable job. With periodic specials you can get a pretty fair job for under $1000. I have a really good one not to far away.

You don't need to pay over $2500 for a really good job if you can find the right place. I'm right now in the same predicament and considering the two above options. I've seen the work product of both, the biggest problem is I don't see that much difference in what I believe to be the better and mor expensive job. The small operator will remove bumpers and repaint them, the mirrors and windshield wipers.

shertex · #9 11-06-2012, 07:53 AM

My auto body guy could do a first rate job on a 300SD for about $1600 (that was his recent quote for an SDL I had). My impression is that lots of people pay too much for first-rate paint jobs.

Zacharias · #10 11-06-2012, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willw

Check out youtube,com for "$50 paint job" or "rattle can paint job". There used to be a video of a guy that did an old beater and when it was done it looked factory. There was even a video he did a year after he was done to show how well it had held up. Of course I can't find it now :-(

There are a few "$50 paint job" sites on the Net. I like this one (which also has a link back to the original Mopar site that apparently started the whole thing):

Rickwrench, Alfa GTV, Falcon Squire, Corvair

Graham · #11 11-06-2012, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NC-Diesel

I am suddenly very depressed about the prospects for refinishing my car! $4000 is like more than it's worth! Guess I better learn to paint too!

I was in similar, perhaps worse situation about 7 years ago. My 85 300D had bad rust on front fenders and on edges of one rear well. Also some on front of one rocker. Also around the sunroof.

Price from best shop was $5-6k. At that time we had a Maaco here. They did the whole job including rust repairs, new front fenders and a complete respray for $3k. This was using there best quality paint system including clearcoat. 7 years later the paint job still looks good. ( I have rust elsewhere but not on the exterior sheet metal!

Actually Maaco were quite good - They treated my car well, possible because they don't get too many Benzes to paint

Jareb · #12 11-06-2012, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eatont9999

Hey guys and gals,

I have been thinking about having my 83 300SD repainted since the paint has long ago been sunburned. I am wondering what y'all think would be a reasonable price for an indy or body shop to charge for a full repaint. I want a decent paint job, not something that is going to flake off in a year or two but I don't want to spend the bank for a restoration type job. I want the same color, so painting inside the doors and hood, etc does not need to be perfect. I can pull the trim strips and lower exterior panels off before I bring it in to save some labor cost.

I know, it is not logically justifiable to have an $850 car repainted but after all the time I have spent repairing this car in the last year, I feel that the one thing left that is holding it back is the paint. I am expecting a price range of $1000-$1500 for a decent paint job. I have the number for an indy guy who does fantastic work. I just want to get an idea of what is fair market before I accept an offer.

Thanks!

IF your car has the original factory paint job; you might consider one of the high end type paint correction detailers. I have seen these guys work miracles with original paint. The best of these detailers are skilled and can compound, color sand, polish and make original paint look exceptional even if its sunburnt, scratched, clear coat issues etc. I'm not talking about your local detail guy that charges $150 but the real pros. It could cost north of $600 for the right guy. Of course, it doesnt matter if your car has already been repainted before. Worth thinking about.
John

cullennewsom · #13 11-06-2012, 08:54 AM

It ought to cost the same as any other car. Supplies needed are defined by surface area, and number of dents, not the age of the car. Same with labor, a car with lots of trim might cost more, but in general, shouldn't it take the same amount of time to sand an old fender as it does a new one?

And why isn't it logically justifiable to have more money in a car than you can sell it for? The same thing happens if you buy a new car. A car is not an investment. For most people it's a tool, like capital equipment. Want a shiny one? Then buy new, or, paint your old one.

charmalu · #14 11-06-2012, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cullennewsom

It ought to cost the same as any other car. Supplies needed are defined by surface area, and number of dents, not the age of the car. Same with labor, a car with lots of trim might cost more, but in general, shouldn't it take the same amount of time to sand an old fender as it does a new one?

And why isn't it logically justifiable to have more money in a car than you can sell it for? The same thing happens if you buy a new car. A car is not an investment. For most people it's a tool, like capital equipment. Want a shiny one? Then buy new, or, paint your old one.

X2, very will said.

I see so many time here that someone cannot see putting more money in their old car than what they paid for it. "Ah paid $600 bucks fur dis ole marcedis, an dar aint no way ahm pain $700 buck ta fix hur". but they have no problem buying a new "whatever" and dropping $50,000 for it, and making payments for xxxx # of years plus higher insurance and higher registration. OH and the money they just lost driving it off the show room floor.

Ever seen a hot rod show. some of those old cars are way over $100,000.
hate to think what my Bro in Law is dumping in his 41 Willys.

If you like these old cars, fix them and drive them. all cars (and Women) cost money.

Charlie

Zacharias · #15 11-06-2012, 10:48 AM

When it comes to paint, many people seem to think one paint job is the same as another -- all that matters is how cheap you get it. That is sort of like saying Nexen is the same quality tire as Michelin cause they both look nice and black and spiffy when they're installed.

Not all paint jobs are created equal.

Yes you can get an estimate for $1,600 and $4,600 for the same car. No that does not mean you are getting the same job, just one guy wants to skin you.

The $1,600 job may be fine for your purposes (and frankly that's the end of the spectrum I tend toward). But don't think that anyone with half an eye will ever mistake it for original paint. And don't expect it to still look great 4-5 years hence.

What you pay for:

- A huge amount of the work in doing a QUALITY paint job is the prep. If a proper job is being done, there is a huge amount of cleaning and detail sanding required. To achieve a good job, sanding of any edge on the car (hood lip, fender edges, hinges, etc.) is important -- Google "feather-edging". Around here there are freelance body guys who just do this detail-sanding prep work -- shops don't want to tie up their staff on it. (And I have done my own prep work on one job, trust me until you do it you can't appreciate how much time is involved.)

- Trim removal -- takes time and care to not damage stuff. On a quality job this will mean all new trim grommets and clips, and possibly new door handle seals.

- Door jambs are a PITA to do properly. Body guys hate it. On a quality job they should look original. On a cheap job they'll be skipped or the hinge area probably won't look very good.

- If a quality shop sees evidence of rust around the windshield or rear window, they will likely take them out completely to fix it properly.

- If some panels have already been spot-repainted, they may need to be stripped prior to a complete repaint.

Somewhere on here is a post where another member who was in the trade explains the variables beyond what I can say (deals with types of paint, how much primer and paint gets applied, etc.)