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Old 10-12-2000, 06:35 PM   #1
uncleho
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Member#: 1905
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Howell, MI USA
Question What to look for in a Paint Shop???

I have an older car which I'm considering getting repainted and some tiny and minor scratches/dents fixed. I'd appreciate any tips you guys/gals can provide.

1) I want a descent paint job(i.e. not the kind for restoring Ferraris, but not one which will flake off in a year). The shops seem to be divided between: dealers, family-owned, or chain(MAACO, etc.). What would you suggest?

2) What price range should I expect for a "descent" job?
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Old 10-12-2000, 07:05 PM   #2
SubyRacer
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Location: McLean, VA, US of A
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dont go for the cheap $199 ones u see they look like crap. the main thing with appearence that u gotta watch out for is how far away they put the fan when drying the paint. a lot body shops and such are in a hurry and theyll place the fan to close to the car and when the paint drys there is a dimply effect in the paint, it isnt smooth and looks like crap.


[This message has been edited by SubyRacer (edited October 12, 2000).]
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Old 10-12-2000, 07:06 PM   #3
Corey
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Well, I'm not sure what you mean by "family owned" but I wouldn't go to a dealer or to MAACO either. If you want a "decent" job you should find someone who does some custom work. Ask to see pictures or ask to take a look at some of ther cars that they have there.

EDIT: Most guys that own body shops drive cars that were wrecked and they fixed. Ask to take a look at their personal vehicles if this is the case (and it always is).

Corey

[This message has been edited by Corey (edited October 12, 2000).]
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Old 10-12-2000, 07:42 PM   #4
Boom
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like theres a choice BLUE

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Well considering I work for a body shop, I can give you some things to work with. Look for a shop with a downdraft spray booth, and ask spefically if they bake the cars. Thats the first thing to look for in a shop, next what kinda paint will they use, ask for a two stage paint, called base coat, clear coat. That will make the paint (last) the longest. I say (last) I mean that the paint won't fade as quickly, there is no garantee that the paint will not flake off. Usually if the paint shop has the right equipment, then they will do a good job of prepping the car for paint. The size of the shop doesn't matter, I have seen the best paint jobs come out of the smallest hole in the wall shops, as long as they use the right materials, thats where the expense comes in. When you use the high quailty materials it really jacks up the price, which is why maaco can do it so cheaply, they use crap paint and crap materials. They don't make anything mint before they spray the car. Thats the most important part. the paint will only look as good as the prepping job under the paint. Make sure they spend some time stripping your old paint, and sanding everything flat.
Price wise, I would say your looking at a about 1 thousand bucks for a really good job, anything under that and it will begin to get carppy. The paint alone will cost around 4 hundred bucks, if there is any hidden body work, or anything that needs to be fixed the pricce will go up. just some FYI I am not an appraiser, nor do I write the estimates so I could be way off base, but I think they are in the range of 1000 bucks.
Well I hope this helps a little. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. Good Luck
Steve

[This message has been edited by Boom (edited October 12, 2000).]
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Old 10-12-2000, 08:35 PM   #5
david2z4
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I agree with Boom. I did autobody for 4 years. In my area the very good private "in home" shops cost from $1500 all the way up to $5000 for a show quality job. For a small car like Impreza a paint job that is better that factory will probably be up to $1500. The guy I have guarentees no bubbling or other defect flaws for the life of the car. But he will not paint it unless you let him strip to bare metal. His price is about $4000 for the Impreza.
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Old 10-12-2000, 10:52 PM   #6
Scooby2
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We'll I'm an estimator for a body shop and we get any where from $2500.00 to $5500.00.
It all depends what your looking for. If you want it to look like the factory paint that is on todays cars your looking at $3500.00 or so. When its done right all the trim handles moulding etc. have to come off or you can get peeling and you can also tell it's been painted. The others are right you want to get Base Coat/Clear Coat it will give you the best shine and last the longest.
And by the way not all body shop guys drive POS's (peice of *****) I personaly have a BG98
and most of our guys have nicer cars than me.
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Old 10-14-2000, 12:49 AM   #7
adam99rs
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In general..cleanliness is key. If the shop is dirty, I guarantee so will your paint job. i wold say a sealed booth is mandatory....good shops will have them. also, lok at the quality of car hat he has in the shop. I would steer clear of those who have 10 '84 Accord 3 doors beig worked on. You'll find that more often than you think, the shops that have the higher end cars in there all the time are quite reasonably priced, and a relative bargain compared to the otehr guys out there. Best bet, do what I did: go to some local shows (Amercian ones are best, as theya re more frequent), nd just ask around......I bet you can narrow it down to a short list in an afternoon of picking people's brains.
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