Any recommendations for paint job in LA/OC

A

adammusavvir

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I would like to know where and how much. I would like to get an idea how much is the good paint job done for 1973 3.0cs.

I’m trying to understand what is the realistic cost to do it

Adam
 
Adam... better be sitting down when the price comes.

More importantly, you'll have to more closely define your version of "good" before a useful answer can be given, other than a range or ranges you aren't looking for.

Does the job include door jambs?
Will it be the same color paint?
Trim off?
Glass out?
Single stage, two or three?
What is the current condition of the car with respect to dings and dents?
Will the paint shop have to address rust?
What will you do if they find rust?
What are your expectations for the time you'll allocate for the job?
What is your preference or requirement for brand of paint?

And mostly, have you talked to anyone in your local area (shop or individual) to form some initial impressions?
 
Thank you for your response.
I am sitting down, and preparing myself to be blown away haha.
I am considering a good paint job, meaning the car is not in an original paint color and I want to restore back to the original color. I want to make it look like it is the way it was before. No overspray or anything or shortcuts. I would say include door jambs, trim off and glass out I guess.
I do not know the difference from single stage, two or three.
I'd say the condition is great. I didn't see any rusts at all.
I have no expectation or preferences since I have no knowledge in regards in body shop or paint job at all.

I have, they are giving very different numbers and ultimately I will have the bring car in. The car is not yet with me, hence the reason I am getting quotes to see to get the idea how much of the paint job knowing when proceeding the sale.

Adam
 
Adam, okay it would seem the car is in pretty good condition but repainted in another color. I'm no painter but the general description follows.

Single stage paint is sprayed (over sealer and primer) in the final color without an over-coat of clear. The paint is taken from the can, thinned as needed to spray, and shot onto the car. They can be enamel, acrylic, lacquer. The painted surface is directly exposed to the elements, unlike a two-stage paint. They are moderately toxic.

Two-stage is a name generally used for paints that are part resin and part hardener, and where the color coat is applied first, followed by a clear coat. They are generally urethane based and the vapors can be extremely toxic until the paint has cured. This drives up the cost for the painter who has to wear additional protection, and must spray in a controlled booth where the overspray and fumes can be contained, filtered and disposed.

Three stage paint is for "fancy" effects like candy coating, where after the first, color coat (which can be several layers, but all colored) the second layer is partially transparent, followed by a coat(s) of clear. Most expensive and generally, to pursue originality in our cars, not appropriate. But the owner's money speaks loudest.

In the end you and your car should visit several paint shops to assess cost, time it will take, and your general feeling for the work they do. It helps if you can see some of the cars they have painted previously.
 
It might be better to ask members here for paint shop recommendations in your area, then visit them for estimates in the flesh instead of us prognosticating from keyboards in our underwear. Then report back here for opinions on the estimates and findings.
 
My take on this is to understand what you have and get a paint job that's appropriate. If you have a very solid 73 3.0cs, the difference between changing the color of the car and going the next step and making it look like it was always that color is something that might haunt you later. If you're not the one stripping the car down and assembling it afterwards, that will be half of the cost. If you have a solid color it's single stage from the factory, two stage (base, clear) if it's metallic. Single stage paints are fine and will look original. These cars get garaged so you don't have to worry about fading or problems with polishing.

Hopefully some of the guys here that had their cars painted will chime in...
 
Richard Leong, great guy.
Has done so many top notch cars
Srennoc
Iverson
Pelly
And more....
It’s never the paint- it’s the body work.
20-35k
 
Thank you guys for the valuable inputs. I will definitely check out the shops and shop around. I think I may lean towards to stage one or stage 2. Depending on the pricing. Thank you again. BTW I had no IDEA how much paint job can cost. I didn't realize it was that expensive.
 
One thing I can add. If you take the car apart for jams, windshield out, trim off... engine compartment? It is very difficult to see the car go back together without putting restored or really good parts back on. In other words, you may start out thinking you're going to change the color of the car and end up do everything mechanical and chassis also.

What color is your car now and what is the color you're changing it to?
 
Dang,
You brought up a very good point. I will have to explore that option. I do not have any car at moment. I am planning to purchase one and I am trying my due diligence and understand how much I should be expecting for a paint job, it would be just go to back original color, I believe Nautblau.
 
I’ve been researching this for a while now. Ballpark figures I have found in California for a full respray of a different color (such as returning car to original color) not including engine bay, not including any body or rust damage and with you doing all the trim and window removal are roughly: $10k for a cheap job, $20k for a good job, $30k + for a top job.
 
Last edited:
Bmachine said:
$10k for a cheap job, $20k for a good job, $30k + for a top job.
Click to expand...

I think this is the right way to think about it:
ASSUMPTIONS
  1. No sheet metal work (no rust or big dents)
  2. Old paint is mechanically ok so car doesn’t need to be stripped to bare metal
  3. Dis/reassembly of exterior trim/glass by owner
  4. No respray of engine bay and trunk
  5. New paint NOT wet sanded and polished
  6. 3 stage paint
(1,2,3,4). Here near Boston we would expect to pay $10k for a nice 2-stage metallic color/clear coat paint job, appropriate for any modern BMW.

This is pretty away from what is appropropriate for a collector/show car. Many shops out here use water based paints as is done in CA.

Here are my estimates for variations:
(1) sheet metal work can run from $100 to maybe $70k? Obviously our E9’s are easier than an alloy car or a superleggera chassis.

(2) going to bare metal is +$4000

(3) this is a lot of work to do well on an E9. I’d guess +$3000

(4) +25%, plus $1000 for engine Removal/installation and $300 for the trunk R&R. Don’t laugh but it takes a bit of work to pull the trim, fuel tank, wiring, etc.

(5) $2-$3k to completely wet sand and polish the entire car to remove ALL orange peel. Obviously you can scale this back to a budget target.

(6) +$1000

And, if I took the same car to 5 shops, I’d expect to find up to a 50% increase in cost. This variance is a combination of how well the shop is run/managed and how badly they want your business.
 
If I am reading this correctly, you are still in the shopping phase of this adventure?

If so, may I humbly suggest you change your thinking a bit and take the old adage "buy the best car you can afford" to heart? The time, money, and frustration in restoring what looks to be a "nice" Coupe can easily run well beyond the purchase price of a car that's already had love, time, and money lavished on it. A perfect example is the brown coupe that recently sold on Bring-a-trailer. It sold for what many consider to be a very healthy number of 116k (121k with BaT fees). On the surface, you might say, wow, that's a lot of money BUT if you take into consideration what it would take to buy your average semi-rusted coupe and replicate what was done to that car, I would venture a guess that'd you'd be over 120k (in CA, especially) by a fair amount. Of course, you may be handy, and have a work area with a lift and previous knowledge of restoring cars AND love the process (very important) which will all reduce that number, but not many of us have those resources or if we do, the time required.

I don't know what your overall budget is but you may want to think about the short-cut of buying "the best car you can afford" and enjoy the alternative process of driving it vs restoring it.

My 2.5 cents!




adammusavvir said:
Dang,
You brought up a very good point. I will have to explore that option. I do not have any car at moment. I am planning to purchase one and I am trying my due diligence and understand how much I should be expecting for a paint job, it would be just go to back original color, I believe Nautblau.
Click to expand...
 
I was quoted $18-20K to strip my coupe by hand as I am not completely disassembling and I remove belt trim and bumpers. This is at a shop that has done several high end coupes. My paint is failing after 14 years and has lifted on the trunk from the primer plus small bubbles on the wheel arches which is not rust but prep related.
 
Following this thread...

I'm financially preparing myself for some rust repairs and repaint on my coupe for 2021, and also interested in bodyshops that that come highly recommended in LA/OC. I've got Richard Leong on my list, and interested and following for any other highly recommended shops.
 
tferrer said:
"buy the best car you can afford
Click to expand...

One of the harder things to do is to determine if a nice looking car is “best”

A shiny paint job and dishonest PPI can hide a mountain of ills.

What is worse than buying a seemly cheap but needy car is spending “restored” money for a car only to find out it needs to be re-restored.

A restoration Is only as good as the documented work underlying the shiny paint and polished valve cover.

This is why these days I pretty much only buy cars that are very well knoen among club members I trust. In other words, a car with know history.

My version of the quoted advice is “buy the best car you can afford, as confirmed by a through and detailed written inspection by marque/model expert who is biased in your favor.”

Shop carefully.
 
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