Repainting a car

[Aquaticedge]

How much would a decent repaint go for? my little ranger's paint is terrible... it's sat in the sun so long the paint is coming right off :/ I was thinking of sanding it down myself (when I clean out the garage) and priming it myself and having a body shop paint it, how much would it cost roughly?

[TheDon]

Why not do a roll on rustoleum job

[Skippy]

Two things to know:

1. The prep work is much more important than the actual paint and spraying thereof.
2. You get what you pay for.

You can do the prep work yourself, have a cheap paint job sprayed, and have something that looks ok and keeps it from rusting for a few hundred dollars. If you want it to look good it can easily run well into four figures.

[kerry]

I had a mid 70's Buick with badly faded paint from the Colorado sun. I waited until Maaco had a sale. I think it cost $250 for them to paint it. I wasn't concerned with perfection. It still looked halfway decent 4 yrs later when I sold it.

[greazzer]

Having wasted countless hours figuring out how to paint my prior, beloved W123, I came to the conclusion that the prep work is the most important part -- just like Skippy said. For me, time is my enemy. If you want a super primo job and save as much time and money as humanly possible, I would strip the car myself, e.g., moldings, lights, emblems, et cet. Use a bunch of bags to organize the parts and take a zillion pictures. You could probably do this in a weekend. Then, pay someone to soda blast it. That will cost around $650'ish. The paint job will cost at least the costs of the products and material used, so you're looking at another $300-$400. The soda blast will not warp the metal or panels, and it will remove all paint, but not rust. It will clean it down to the metal. I suggest you have all the logistics lined up, e.g., stripping of car, then soda blaster lined up, and then the paint shop. If this was a MB, then you will need some odds and ends to put the moldings back on. This assumes also your car does not need any body work, et cet. The only variable is the costs for someone's time and labor to final prep and paint the car. My new MB W123 had a $4K paint job ten years ago which would be valued at $6K in today's dollars which is why I got it. The real deal paint jobs from the few quotes I got run in the $6-$7K figure. But, as said above, you pay for what you get. I got my daughter a $600 paint job on her 1993 Acura and it is worth $600.

[jplinville]

Originally Posted by TheDon

Why not do a roll on rustoleum job

I agree...simple and cheap, plus it looks pretty decent and is nearly chip proof.

[chilcutt]

Originally Posted by jplinville

I agree...simple and cheap, plus it looks pretty decent and is nearly chip proof.

+3.
I have done a few Rust-O-Roll's. Surprised myself at the outcome.

[The Clk Man]

Originally Posted by chilcutt

+3.
I have done a few Rust-O-Roll's. Surprised myself at the outcome.

When I was in printing school, a janitor friend of mine told me that he had brush painted his mid 60's Ford. He dared me to find a brush mark, and I couldn't, talk about skill.

[jplinville]

Originally Posted by chilcutt

+3.
I have done a few Rust-O-Roll's. Surprised myself at the outcome.

I'm hoping to do this to the F250 later this year.

I did it to my F350 in UT and ended up selling it before we moved. The result was great!!

[chilcutt]

Originally Posted by jplinville

I'm hoping to do this to the F250 later this year.

I did it to my F350 in UT and ended up selling it before we moved. The result was great!!

Turned out sweet. Did you wait about 3 weeks for all of the gasses to evaporate, fine sand, then buff?

[jplinville]

Originally Posted by chilcutt

Turned out sweet. Did you wait about 3 weeks for all of the gasses to evaporate, fine sand, then buff?

It was more along the lines of 5 weeks, but each coat was sanded a bit before final coat. It's self leveling paint, so it fills in the imperfections on the hood and roof caused by surface rust and the like.

The 250 will be done in the same color as this 350 was. i miss this truck...

[colincoon]

Do chalkboard paint

[Aquaticedge]

Originally Posted by colincoon

Do chalkboard paint

No. have enough trouble with kids writing "wash me" on it despite my bumper sticker that says

I'm going to pull a couple dents and fix a couple small body things... I dont mind the prep work, that I can do. I've never painted a car so I'm a little lost on DIY'ing it

[MS Fowler]

As Skippy said, the most important part of a paint job is the prep.

With the newer coatings, I am not sure stripping to bare metal is a good idea. Sometimes, you have to. In general, I's just sand to remove the clear coat, if any, and to provide some "tooth" for the color to stick.

[Aquaticedge]

hmm, That is something to think about. I should look into the paint types and see what they require