General painting cost question

Getting a car painted is a conundrum ... the cost is often more than the market value of the car.

A while ago, someone told me that one of the lower-end chains here in the SF bay area -- it might have been Miracle? -- does a pretty good job for a lot less. Might be worth a try in some cases.

There are also guys who drive around in trucks (which they call "mobile auto painting shops") and accost you to offer to fix a dent and paint for cut rates. I'd avoid them like the plague ... haha
 
Also, some aspects of car repair are profit centers for the shops. One example is a transmission rebuild: a small portion of the bill is for parts & labor. The rest is margin.

I think the same is true for car painting. My brother owns a BMW repair shop in SoCal. He gets his BMWs painted for a couple of thousand dollars, which I suspect is the real cost of the work.

Of course he can refer a lot of business to the paint shop he patronizes.
 
I work in the auto salvage industry and know many talented body and paint guys that buy salvaged vehicles and fix them. Some of them do much better work than the local well known upper end shops. I had a tii painted last year for less than $2k and it looks really good. $700-800 in paint and the rest in labor. I stripped the car and there was only minor body work needed.

Putting the paint on is the easiest part!

Dan
 
I hate this topic. From 20' my car looks pretty good, from 2'....not so much. The thought of dropping another $10k to get it done makes my stomach turn. Im not looking forward to the day I have to write that check, but I know it's coming....
 
taylorcom said:
David, I share your concern. You can probably by a very nice used BMW for about $10K.
Click to expand...

But not an E9...

My coupe had a good 10' paint job.
After a while the paint began to crack and I saw what looked like the beginning of rust in those cracks. That was the final push to get something done. I though my car was straight and fairly dry. Well, once bead blasted a whole host of issues emerged....

Today, the car looks very nice. I am happy but have never totaled the bill.
 
Painting an E-9--to Taylor

A friendly thought that I'll share-----
Do consider getting realistic regarding a "good" E-9. My observation as a long time
E-9 owner is--the last time I recall seeing a "good" $10K E-9 was something like 20 years ago.

A statement of fiction such as yours can be very misleading to the neophyte who may then believe he can jump into ownership of a good example for that amount and end up being financially buried when the reality of post purchase and ownership for that amount is realized.

Those of us with longer tenure on this and preceding E-9 sites have seen or known of this happening too often when the un-initiated end up buying a roach and then become very disappointed with their poor judgement for what they have done.
 
If this is a long-term show car, don't go to a collision shop. Find an old-schooler or restoration shop (that will likely have a higher labor rate because they're not rushing against an insurance adjuster's clock). Go with single stage (if CA allowed) for nonmetallics, else 2-stage. Specify in the contract (using words and photos) exactly how little orange peel you want in the final finish. Less is better but more expensive because of more wet sanding labor. These cars had some orange peel when new, but nowhere near what modern collision shops can turn out. Even new cars have a disturbing degree of peel / distortion.
 
yet another opinion

The last time I priced paint (some years ago) I started to believe the $2k materials numbers people are suggesting.

(1) Catalyzed etch primer: $200
(2) High build surfacing primer $75
(3) color/clear coat $1000 (Glasurit, Dupont, etc.)
(4) Shop supplies (solvents, degreasers, cleaner for the gun machine, tack rags, masking paper, etc.) $100
(5) new gaskets, trim clips, etc. $300

Now think about labor: how much time to disassemble sufficiently to do a decent paint job? And, you want this done carefully enough to not destroy your trim. Maybe the only thing not reused are the trim clips. I would call it 8 hours, which is $400 if you're paying $50/hr.

How much time to strip the old paint to bare/clean metal? Done right, it's a solid day or $400.

Paint Prep (including primer): 16 hours including masking? $800?
Color/Clear: 6 hours, $300
Wetsanding and buffing out: 8 hours, $400
Reassembling the car: 16 hours, $1800

That puts you at $1700 materials and $4100 labor = nearly $6k.

That's about what you pay if you get out of the Boston metro area.

Now, if you just meant not removing all trim, scuffing up the old paint, skipping the stone-chip areas, shooting a quickly sealer over it, and then applying C/C from some cheapo brand I could believe $2k - $3k.
 
For my first Bavaria, I had it painted at the local DO it Yourself Garage. I did most of the Prep in the driveway. If I recall they would spray it for $150 in Enamel, $200 in Acrylic Enamel. I did a Colour change on mine from Sand to White. Other than the masses of unsmooth Bondo it looked pretty good for a couple of Years till I bought my second Malaga Bavaria. I stripped the car of all trim and the windshield, then delivered it to a body shop the local car parts guy suggested. He painted it in Glassurit Polyurethane enamel for $2000. He took a couple of weeks on the body getting it perfect. Took a lot of the original paint down to bare metal. Car looked magnificent after and I ended up selling it in 94' for $4500 to a guy from DC (That was VG money for an E3). Those were the days .
 
Anyone know Benz Friends Auto Body shop in Seattle

I met someone with a gorgeous yellow (forgot proper name) 2002 today. We stopped and admired each other's cars. I asked him about his paint job, and he told me he got it done by Benz Friendz in Seattle for about $2500-3000, I forgot exact number. He said the guy works for $25 an hour, out of his garage, and does an amazing job. He highly recommended him.

Anyone in Seattle know of this company, or Rob? http://www.yelp.com/biz/benz-friendz-seattle-2#query:Mercedes Benz Auto Repair Shop

Benz Friendz
6249 Flora Ave S
(between Bailey St & Eddy St)
Seattle, WA 98108
Neighborhood: Georgetown
 
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