No Collision here Or at least very little. A really good restoration crew takes way too much time to make money on collision work. I had a shop owner tell me that if a guy could not beat the book rate by 50% he was fired! That means if the quote you get says it takes 10 hrs. to do a task, they do it in 5 and charge you for 10! To do it right usually takes 15 or 20 hrs. The rate is fixed at a certain number by the ins. co. Do the math. Also on top of that, we pay holidays, 1/2 health ins. premium, liability ins, worker's comp ins., sales tax, capital equipment tax, epa permits, business lic., bbb dues, etc, etc, etc. That is how 'some guy' working in his garage can undercut us by a bunch. We spend more in one month than a lot of people make in a year!:ball:
skip OK, Skip here is what I am hearing, on guy who's great bodywork & paint I have seen who own's a full service shop is telling me that to paint my car (bodywork/paint base clear) show quality starts at 5k, OK....but now another guy who does work at home is telling that he charges the same price? What's up with that...who's off base, I have not seen the quality of work from the guy who works at home but I "hear" it's good. Or is the other guy just low? From what I have been hearing on this thread 5K seems at the low end for a show quality paint job. Thanks for the input.:TU:
Not much of a show for $5k. For example, lets say the shop rate is $50/hr (on the low side here). Just color sanding and polishing for show, museum, what ever you call the best, takes at least 80 hrs. Sounds like $4k right there. Good paint with lots of clear coats is about $1k. Now how are you going to put 2 primer coats on with sanding after each one then 2 or 3 base coats and maybe 4 to 6 clear coats for $5k? Remember earlier I stated the key word is work. There is no way to get what I would consider a show quality paint job without lots of hours. I did not even mention bodywork. A show quality job is 3 or 4 times what you were quoted, oh and is either one going to warranty it for 5 years? You get what you pay for. Ever watch Dream Car Garage? They mention things like 500 hours on up. See if they will tell you how many hours will really be spent on your car. JMHO!
Ive spent up to 200 hrs. on some cars and that was with minimal bodywork. In my opinion, a "show quality" paint job will range from $8500 - $15000 depending on location. It all depends on what the customer wants and is willing to pay.
About $700, this was the second go round in '85. Did this one in an old house I was renting. It's back to primer right now, waiting on the next paint job when I get the time!
I did a semi-show job on a mustang (67 GT350) here. Customer supplied all of the parts and We installed 1/4s, took the car apart edged it and redid the entire thing less interior by the hour (straight time). The final costs were in and it was like this $2676.00 Materials (paint, clear, primers etc) Blocked and primed 3 times per panel to insure it to be straight as an arrow....................... And 268 hours @ $40 hour $10,720.00 Labor Total of $13,396. plus sales tax If you want a car done correctly you cant get a bid only a ball park of about where you will be. Once a car is stripped and disassembled is the only way to get close to being able to bid it, and even then its the unforseen that costs more money
I managed to get "the other guy's" insurance company to spend over $9,000 on my paint and body work back in '94. The body shop doing the work probably didn't make much money on the job since it took them over six months to complete. But, they took pride in a job well done, color sanded twice, lifetime guarantee on the paint and body work, etc. etc. Major panels replaced: driver's side quarter and wheelhouse, driver side door and front fender. Can't tell the car had ever been hit. Bondo in those panels - about a walnut's worth according to the artist doing the work. One of these days I'll scan some before and after pics.
I did my first body work on the 71 LeSabre.... I probably spent a couple hundred on tools and supplies. I spent $420 on paint and clear. Painted it myself and put 4 coats of clear on it. Then I wet sanded with 1000 grit, and buffed to a mirror shine. Mighty proud of my first paint job.....I just need to buy a welder instead of "getting away" with using so much bondo. This is after the hail storm that destroyed the sheet metal on the car.:ball:
:Brow: Check this one out....see the picture to the left?? 4 cans grey primer and 1 gallon duraglass, some bondo....Priceless!!! under 150 bucks......but its just a race car!!!!
I was 17 and I paid $2000 for the body work and paint job. This was in 1989-1990. There was considerable body work done but all of the rust was replaced with new metal, and most of the dents were straightend out. There is plenty of bondo in my car, and you can definately see it when you look. On the other hand, the paint isn't so nice that I'm afraid to drive it on a daily basis (in the summer) and the car still looks pretty good from about 20 or 30 feet. The 2G dosen't include the $500 I spent straightening and rechroming both bumpers.
Price of paint work Well, the only finished car would be my daily driver. I did a full frame off restoration on (do you think I love Buicks) and the paint and body on a rust and dent free full disassembled car was $3500.00 with base coat clear coat. Picture attached. AL
Price of paint work The other car is a frame off restoration as well and cost me around $4000.00. Both turned out real nice. AL
