How much does a "correct" paint job cost?

I think it all depend on the shop you choose but I don't think you can go lower than 10-15 for an acceptable job.

 

Totally correct. There is a cost for nice facilities, but it does not equal the result of their work. I have $16k Aston fender repair at the finest shop and still found a fish eye in the paint after delivery. I have seen some paint work on customized civics that came from small shops for little money that rivals premium shops.

 

Nothing for me doing my 328 all my self don't trust panel shops want done right do it yourself I say I will put pictures when I start the resto

 

My definition of "correct" = glass out, all rubber seals removed, all opening panels removed (doors, lids, lights etc.) and painted off the car, all badges/trim removed, all bumpers removed, all lights removed, door handles and mirrors removed. Door jams carefully masked. Paint removed to bare metal. All imperfections physically corrected rather than being hidden with filler. Quality brand primer and top coats with careful sanding in between.

 

I said in the 10-15K range based on seeing some of the work/cost of a few local specialty paint shops around here. The problem is at this cost unless you plan on keeping the car you won't get the money back at resale. If you have a good base with no rust and fair paint and you only want a respray you should be able to get a good job for around 7K. With that cost you should be able to recover it if selling the car for 30-40K range.

 

Michael Sheehan - Ferraris Online

 

I know it's outdated but gives a good perspective.

 

Sorry that they are not Ferraris but have a soft spot for mazda Rx-7s these are two of my paint jobs that im proud of that I have done on my old cars that I have restored and painted myself no im not a painter if you put the effort in it will come out great I can not wait to do my 328 with the same passion and love
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Oy my gosh.

 

Every car is different.

It all depends what is underneath, unless you are the original owner, or know for sure what was done underneath, you can easily exceed 30k ...and what is your definition of a paint job? Is it taping up the widows? Is it pulling out all the interior and door Jams and address any or all of the rust ? How about underneath where the suspension is ?
Too many factors to determine a paint job correction.
Pebble beach jobs cost 100k, and then a paint shop that only does pick up truck insurance accidents can be 5k
Really depends at what level an owner wants his car at....the majority tend for the cheapest and never really understanding the process, or the skill set of their shop. Just check this section and see the mess some have made on these cars. Our own Newman has actually posted be mistakes he has had to correct as best as possible.

Keep driving the 308s in the rain folks, they don't melt

It's 3x that price today...the article is 14 yrs old ...LOL

 

Where does a Newman job fall in the poll? Which also brings up the question of how much dis-assembly is required to perform a "correct" paint job?

 

What he said, except for the part about the widows, which sounds excessive IMO.

 

That's the one variable in play the can effect the cost exponentially. My definition of 'correct' paint job would be overkill for most. the minimum would be how it was done at the factory as it left the assy line, but even then that's not nice enough for my taste. I know that for me to do car 'right' would cost an easy 100k for paint/body work maybe more. But then it brings up another issue, driving it. I built a show car yrs ago, sold it within a yr of being done, couldn't drive it anywhere and it took the fun out, the paint on that one was ~20k and that was nearly 20yrs ago. it was stripped all the way down to bare frame and panels. including removal of the wiring harness -all the way down... full rotisserie.

 

For myself, the minimum is to strip the car, windows & seals included, because you cannot tape up rubber seals well enough to avoid a ridge at the rubber, somewhere, and this is where appearance issues (for the very, very picky) come in, not to mention possible corrosion issues down the road, as the area under the seals can hide hidden issues as well.

If the original paint is sound, no issues under the paint, sanding down to the primer can often be more than adequate, but whether or not this is enough- without going to bare metal, which is a lot more difficult, can only best be determined by an expert painter; too difficult a call for a beginner or amateur to make. If going to bare metal is necessary (not to mention panel repair itself!), at that point a lot of re-surfacing with either filler or lacquer putty or lots of primer/surfacer, with all the necessary sanding- will be added to the total, at far greater cost. The choice of color is also a factor; metallics are always problematic, as the smallest of variables in gun pressure, how the gun is held, and so on can cause adjacent areas to not match, even with the exact same paint! Light colors are always easiest, of course; black or very dark colors require a very high level of coachwork to look really good! Throw in panel repair (damage, rust,) fitting panels to various bits to be bolted on, whatever) and there's no way to give an "average estimate" of what a "good" paint job might cost, as there's no such thing as an "average" car, each one being unique... especially Ferraris!

One last thing... if the car you're looking at (or will look at) has been repainted without stripping the car, windows included, personally I'd pass. Just peek under the rubber- or else look for a slight paint ridge- to find out!

Cheers, Rich

 

a great example of a 12A and 13B car!!! You have two nice ones there mate!!!

 

Talent is priceless! Cost DOES NOT equate to quality! My neighbor is a hot rodder who built a paint booth in one side of his garage. His car has won major awards in literally dozens of shows. He tells me all the time he could teach the dog to spray paint...
He spends WEEKS sanding, filling and prepping before he paints. He also has the necessary HVAC equipment to maintain temperature and humidity in his garage all year long.

 

Does anone remember how bad the factory paint was. There is no way a great paint job should be more than 5K. Metal work of coarse is extra. I remember back in the 60s seeing a couple at my cousins body shoppe in for paint touch up from the local dealer. If you had 7coats of clear on it and then scuffed and buffed for days the paint would be at a much higher level than original-----------------and the point is? just sayin, Lost

 

I spent about 14k for a very respectable job. Primer (not down to bare metal),paint, and three coats of clear. No rust on this car which helped.

 

Glasurit paint alone I suspect would be almost 20% of your $5k plus stripper, supplies etc. so let's say $4k is left for labor. Typical shop rate say $50 (probably higher on the left and right coasts) gives 80 hours of labor, or 2 man-weeks to remove trim, strip the paint, mask, prime x 3, sand x 3, paint, sand x 3 and reassemble. Seems like a lot to get done in that timeframe. If you have to pay someone to do this work I don't think $5k is realistic. YMMV.