> His reasoning was, to "do it right once is better than doing it twice
> wrong." While I agree with this statement by itself, I don't think it
> explains his prices, and I find his prices astonishing. I am not
> looking for a car to take to Pebble Beach. I'm looking for a good
> quality paint job for a car that I intend to drive occasionally and
> carefully, and show every once in awhile. But I'm not really into
> competition, I just enjoy old cars & going to events.
That guy sounds like he's deliberately overbidding the price so the customer
will find someplace else to go. Shops sometimes do this when they're
overloaded on work, but sometimes they do this because they're $!#holes.
>
> Some other statements, from various shops:
>
> 1. Chryslers are more prone to rust than other vehicles.
All old cars are prone to rust, not just Chryslers. I have a Pontiac, a VW,
a Plymouth, and an Imperial. They all rust in about the same spots. The
lower fenders, the sill plate behind the rear window, and the trunkpan/lid.
Chryslers seem to rust out passenger floor pans cause of something with the
A/C dripping into the cockpit.
>
> 2. If I have rust underneath the car, the car is unsafe because it's
> unitized construction and therefore the structure of the car has been
> weakened. He recommended sandblasting the underside of the car and
> determing what needed to be replaced before even talking paint.
I'm not sure about this. I'm not up on structural theory, but I would think
that unless there's serious rust on some place that bears a lot of load like
the subframe, especially with high powered engines, then it would be a
problem.
>
> 3. Basecoat/clearcoat is the only way to go because A) it lasts longer,
> B) it's easier to maintain, and C) it's cheaper.
Not necessarily. You can get good results with a single stage paint, but
it's more expensive. Durability is a direct function of the type of base
and clear you use. Cheap paint is going to last significantly less longer
than PPG DBU and its DuPont, Sikkens, and Spies-Hecker equivalents.
Compared to single stage, base/clear is cheaper to purchase. Also, it's
more forgiving as you have time to get rid of mistakes in the base before
you clear it, so it's cheaper as far as time goes. This leads to turnover
which is where a shop makes its money.
>
> 4. No one will warranty their paintwork if it goes on over someone
> else's paint. The only way any shop will warranty their paintwork is if
> they are allowed to strip the car down to bare metal.
I would stay away from a shop that claims this. If you have good older
paint on a car, you can spray new paint over it with just sanding. A
reputable shop will look at the paint that's on the car and determine if it
will support a good paint job. They're not going to spray over old paint
with fisheyes or crows feet in it. If the paint is factory and it's still
smooth, they will shoot primer and paint over it. Taking a car completely
down to bare metal is unneccesary. You should only take it down to bare
metal if theres a lot of rust, or if the paint job before it does not
support the paint that will go over it. Every paint store will have a copy
of the specs for a given product. The spec sheet will say what the paint is
compatable with and what will conflict with it.
>
> 5. The minimum amount of time I'm looking at is six months to a year to
> do my car.
BULL! If you want a frame off sort of job where the car is completely
disassembled and the engine compartment and areas behind the fenders, under
carriage, and interior then it will take a year. If you have some minor
body work, a couple patch panels, and otherwise good paint, 2 weeks is not
unreasonable. I have seen a good bodyman with a good, well equipped shop
(with torches, air, and a frame machine) take a car that has had its front
end caved in, and made it look brand new within 3 weeks. Of course this is
a late model car where parts are easy to get and there are examples in
junkyards, but the principle still applies. The guys who take 1 year to
finish a car do so because they are doing insurance claims and leaving your
car on the back burner until they have slack time.
Ray Funke
69 Fury 3 ragtop
70 Imperial LeBaron 4dr HT
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