Cost of Paint

Bill Goddard

Bill Goddard

Well-known member
Does paint really have to cost $400-500 /gal? It has crept up on me. I can't believe the auto body stores are charging so much. Can someone straighten me out on this?
 
Its not hypothetical. I'm seeing prices of $500/gal in Mac's and my fellow club members are telling me 4-500/gal. Some people are talking about Dupont but I haven't heard much brand talk.
 
I had my 77 F150 sprayed W/ford darkblue pearl met. that was about 330/gal. When I have my 39 painted I may be going in on a dual buy with someone else to split the cost. we both like vermillion green a little over 400/ gal. if we spray 2 or more gallons.
 
Look towards PPG paint. Might be cheaper. It's not the paint but rather the ridiculous amounts of hoops, bells and whistles that hamper paint formulators and paperwork that go into making the paint imposed by the EPA both at the State level and the Federal level that costs so much. If there is anyway to make anything cost more it's the liberal do gooders that can do it. And of course it's never anyone else's money, it's always yours! You make a drum or RR tank car of paint, you got to live with it forever!


For maximuim Dollar Effiency [read cheap] I sprayed my 1957 CJ 3A Jeep with Rust-Oleum red oxide primer and red top coat. It's an enamel that lays down smooth as a babies butt. As long as it not a water base paint nor a poly---anything paint. I want paint. Not some space age newbie stuff.

RUST-OLEUM
Rust-oleum is a manufacturer of problem solving paint systems, designed for virtually all substrates.
Rust-oleum is regarded by 96% of Americans as the number 1 rust preventative paint and the
provider of advance problem solving paint solutions.

There is an extensive selection of topcoats available in RAL, BS 4800 and NCS colour ranges. These
performance coatings can be applied direct to rust and metal without the need to use separate
primers. Many of the products are available in both tin and aerosol offering better performance, greater
spread rates, covering power and longer lasting protection than alternative paint brands currently
on sale in the UK.

Rust-oleum has developed a large range of primers with anti-corrosive and special adhesion properties allowing users to take advantage of the
considerable technology Rustoleum have developed since 1921. Today Rustoleum also produce Hygiene coatings, Anti- graffiti protection, roof
paint, cladding paint, floor coatings and special adhesion primers for power floated floors.

skip.
 
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Paint can be VERY pricey. I ran across a price list and some of the reds (the most expensive color) were in the $2000 a gallon price range.

There are several places such as Southern Polyurethane that offer good quality paints for the undercoats at reasonable prices. Depending on the color you are looking for there are companies offering quality top coat paints at much lower prices that will do a good job. You really need to check on the paint before you buy. Some paints are cheaper because they use less of the solids and will take more for the same coverage.

The hot rod guys usually know the better low cost paints. Do some searched on their forums.
 
I guess it just depends on what you are looking for. I have used Nason and Omni and had very good results. If I was building a pebble beach car and money was no object I would probably go with something better. Although, Im not sure more expensive ALWAYS means better? What does the paint have to do? cover the car with color and hold up under normal wear and tear or sit in a garage under a cover?
 
i havent bought any in a couple of years but the last ppg i bought was about $160 a gallon. i hope the price being shown above are not where we are now?
 
I just had my A painted with DuPont Chroma-Base , then cleared with PPG's generic called Shopline. IT'S INCREDIBLE. A lot has to do with having a reputable shop paint shop SPRAYING IT. They Absolutely have to PREP it properly. Some won't use your paint, only theirs. ALSO, I WAS QUOTED FROM $1,000 TO & $5,000 FOR THE JOB. I paid $1,000 AND I LOVE IT.....

BTW, my car is a 30 cpe and I only had the body (not fenders) sprayed.
 
Guys try looking at [ www.basfrefinish.com ]. I used Glasurit 55 polyester basecoat for the body and with firewall/fenderwell panels used rm-sm09 flattener [which did not help too much -still has a nice shinny finish] . PPG-DCC9300 acrylic urethane for all frame/parts. And of corse used PPG-DCX61 high solid hardener. What has not gone up? besides our pay??? Even if it does look at all those new taxes coming our way!!!
 
PPG's 'Concept' Maroon is only about $230 a gallon (4 quarts). The mix ratio is 4/2/1. By using 2 parts of Thinner (about $48 a gallon) and 1 part of DCX61 Hardener (about $98 a qt.) comes up to less than $51 a sprayable quart, --or $201.14 per sprayable gallon. Vermillion Red (about the most expensive Model A color) is about $270 a gallon which makes the "cost per gallon" about $241. With DCC**** Black being about $250 a gallon, it still falls under the $215 a sprayable gallon.

Some will argue that 'Concept' is one of the best paints available, ...and so with that mindset, I fail to see where we are figuring paint to be $400-$500 a gallon.


Pete, generally speaking, when applying flattener, the more coats the shinier it gets. When using BC/CC, you need to get enough mill thickness to protect the uncatalyzed basecoat but therein lies the problem. If the un-flattened CC had been applied and allowed to cure, then scuff it off and apply one medium coat of flattened clear, it would have been much "dull-er".
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19-c said:
I guess it just depends on what you are looking for. I have used Nason and Omni and had very good results. If I was building a pebble beach car and money was no object I would probably go with something better. Although, Im not sure more expensive ALWAYS means better? What does the paint have to do? cover the car with color and hold up under normal wear and tear or sit in a garage under a cover?
Click to expand...

To a certain extent, I believe what you are saying has merit however, someone who "knows" paint can look at the clarity in pigments and determine the quality of the paint. Omni is PPG's cheaper line. The products they use are not of the same quality they would use in their DBU & DCC lines however they offer it to be able to compete in a market of other cheap paint lines. The biggest thing I have noticed with the cheaper lines is that it takes more mil thickness to obtain coverage. Where this is detrimental is thicker paints chip easier.

Now where what you say has even more merit is when you consider that to authentically replicate Model A paint, one needs to realize that Ditzler's pigments were not that good, --and thus the paint was "muddy looking" at best. That tends to lend itself towards the cheaper paints. Also, the cheaper lines do not stand up as well to UV, ...but again, most of our cars are housed in the garage away from harsh elements & daily doses of sunshine.
 
This is just my opinion but here goes. I have used the Expensive stuff for my '54 Chevy and it's black with a clearcoat. It looks great, but it would have also looked great in single stage enamel and cost alot less. I thought because I was doing a full well done car I needed to step up. Truthfully Centari black would have been as pretty. I don't know what colors you are using but there is a wide range based on that as well. Reds are very expensive. But if you can find a Centari dealer who has original formulas you will be big money ahead. Dupont makes Centari. If no formulas are available you can match the originals if your paint guy has some time under his belt. Elmer's Auto Parts in Salinas California still carries this and has a great paint guy. The great thing about single stage is that you can spot it in, it rubs out beautifully and it has that "original" look about it. I'm not knocking the two stage but after painting alot of stuff I still prefer the old single stage luster and when I paint my '29 it'll be with that. Another thing is to have your primer tinted towards the finished color, that will save you topcoats and provide a much truer color.

Good luck,

Tim
 
If your gonna go black you can't beat nitrocellulose laquer at 85.00 a gallon from Bill Hirsch. You can also get nitro in any A color at 125.00 a gal but min order is 4 gals. I just ordered Brewster green so I have some extra paint if anyone is interested
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
PPG's 'Concept' Maroon is only about $230 a gallon (4 quarts). The mix ratio is 4/2/1. By using 2 parts of Thinner (about $48 a gallon) and 1 part of DCX61 Hardener (about $98 a qt.) comes up to less than $51 a sprayable quart, --or $201.14 per sprayable gallon. Vermillion Red (about the most expensive Model A color) is about $270 a gallon which makes the "cost per gallon" about $241. With DCC**** Black being about $250 a gallon, it still falls under the $215 a sprayable gallon.
Click to expand...

Last September I paid $123.80 for one quart of DCC in Ford Maroon.
Is a gallon really such a better deal, or are you simply able to get a better price than I can?

Doug
 
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I Just purchased a Pint of Red Base. $78.00. Paint prices are going crazy. The average cars is costing around 3500.00 for Materials only. To do a complete paint job. And then 250 hrs of labour to make it nice. @$50.00/hr. Do the Math. It costs more than the average "A'.!!!!!

The Old Tinbasher
 
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