I must be your "anybody", because the comments sound pretty much right-on to
me, with the exception that I don't feel basecoat/clearcoat is appropriate
for cars built before 1990 or so, but I do admit it makes for a beautiful
job!
Of course, if you don't use the word "restoration" when you talk to a shop,
and just ask about a "paint job", they will assume you are not going to be
as picky, and might quote a lower price. But you'll get a poorer job, too,
and you will get a shrug of the shoulders when you complain about some
defect in the finish. You can have a car "painted" for $500 or $5000, and
only a car person will even notice the difference. You can have a car
"restored" for $25,000 or $250,000 and only a careful inspection will show
the difference.
Few "restoration" shops will even quote a ballpark price to you, because if
they are honest, they are going to scare you off (worked, didn't it?), and
if they give you a lowball price to snag the job, they are going to be on
your "bad guy list" as soon as the truth comes out. They will charge you
for labor at their shop rate, and materials at their cost, if they are a
honest shop, and the total will be what the total is, regardless of what you
think it should be. They'll have an automatic lien on your car, so you'll
have to pay it or kiss your car goodbye.
Your alternative is to find a painter who will let you do the preliminary
work of taking the car apart yourself, and later reassembling it and buffing
it out, plus all the running around getting things plated and buying new
soft trim items. This might save you a few dollars, if you have the time to
do it.
My most recent complete repaint of a car was my Hudson, which I did by this
process. The cost to me was 6 months of my time, at perhaps 20 hours per
week, plus 220 hours of labor by the painter (plug in your local body shop
labor rate here) plus $1000 for materials and supplies. The total (in
today's dollars) in California would be $12,000 to the painter, plus my time
(6 X 4.33 X 20 @ $??) plus rechrome and replaced trim parts ($1600). The
total elapsed time from the day I drove it into my garage until I backed it
out, all done, was 9 months, 3 months of it at the painter's facility.
(I've eliminated from the above the costs I incurred and the time I spent
rebuilding the engine and transmission.)
The result is a car which would qualify for an honest #3 in the Old Cars
Price Guide, and usually wins trophies when I show it (rarely) and takes my
family where I want to go in comfort. It is worth perhaps $12,000 now, so
this is never a winning proposition unless you want to do it for personal
pride in accomplishment, or just prefer to drive a "new" 45 year old car.
Dick Benjamin
----- Original Message -----
From: Mark McDonald <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> I know this subject has been discussed at length lately, but I've
> decided it's time to paint one or two of my cars, if I can afford it,
> and I'm setting off on a quest to find the right painter. To me, that's
> someone who does good work at a reasonable price and I don't have to
> argue with him to get it done the way I want it.
>
> It's already turning out to be an adventure.
>
> First of all, it's amazing to me what people will say with absolute
> certainty, as if it were unquestioned gospel and everybody who's anybody
> already knows it.
>
> For example, the 3rd fellow I called said: "Our average restoration runs
> $15,000 to $50,000." I wasn't sure if I had understood him correctly,
> so I asked him if he was saying that his cheapest restoration was
> $15,000. He said that was correct and added "If you're not willing to
> spend that much you're wasting your time."
>
> 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.
>
> Some other statements, from various shops:
>
> 1. Chryslers are more prone to rust than other vehicles.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 5. The minimum amount of time I'm looking at is six months to a year to
> do my car.
>
> Anybody have an opinion on these comments?
>
> Thanks, Mark
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