repainting 30 tudor
- Thread starter Larry29
- Start date
BButturff
Senior Member
Here's one way to look at it. You can buy a pretty nice '30 Tudor for $20,000 USD. You might spend another $1,000 USD replacing and adding some things and you'd have spent $21,000 USD. I don't know what you paid for your car but you should ask yourself if you can remove and dip the body, clean up the engine and frame, paint everything, make it the way you want it and have less than $21,000 USD invested. If so, and you have the money, you might choose that route. If not, then just have it painted and enjoy it.
My point is, it's pretty easy to have more money invested in a restoration or partial restoration than the car will be worth.
My point is, it's pretty easy to have more money invested in a restoration or partial restoration than the car will be worth.
Synchro909
Well-known member
Dipping still has that reputation, IMO
Charlie Stephens
Well-known member
A little advice. Get a copy of the paint and finish guide from the National Clubs (MAFCA/MARC collaborated on it) and paint the car the original colors. It will greatly increase the value if you ever sell it.
Charlie Stephens
Charlie Stephens
deuce5wndw
Well-known member
This has been my experience also! Makes a mess to redo!
Find a paint shop that will paint the car, that in itself may not be easy, they will tell you what needs to be done to the body and fenders for them to apply a new coat of paint. My opinion is the fenders and hood will need to be painted off the car to get complete coverage. Be leery of body shops that do mostly insurance claim work, as they will promise you a quick turnaround and your car may sit in the back of their shop for months.
Marshall V. Daut
Well-known member
By far the main time-eater is surface preparation prior to spraying paint. The more you do yourself with elbow grease, the more you will save. I have been painting Model A's and T's since 1984, preferring Ditzler/PPG products, mostly Concept. I have always used a good putty knife and a disk sander to remove old paint. The couple of times I tried paint stripper, it ended up being very messy and VERY expensive. Use a narrow and flexible putty scraper and attack the old paint like you would when scraping ice off your car's windshield. It'll come off. Finish down to bare metal with a rotary disk sander and 80 grit sandpaper. Just do a panel or two a day and in a week to ten days the paint will be gone. The first couple panels will be challenging and maybe frustrating, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be surprised at how quickly and thoroughly you can scrape away old paint.
After the body is down to bare metal - and you MUST remove all old paint and primer so that they don't lift the new paint in a chemical reaction - you can send the car to a paint shop and will have saved yourself many thousands of dollars by exerting your own labor. I can guarantee you no paint shop will take the time and make the effort to create a bare metal base for painting. They'll just scuff up the existing paint and spray a thick primer. Perhaps a professional restoration shop will go down to bare metal, but your typical local paint shop wants to get the car in and out as quickly as possible - with predictable results. The actual spraying of a Model A is relatively quick. Should you have the body shop color sand and buff out the paint, that will end up costing more time and money. You can also do that yourself and save a bundle.
Below are two examples of using PPG's Concept line of paint after sanding and buffing.
Marshall
After the body is down to bare metal - and you MUST remove all old paint and primer so that they don't lift the new paint in a chemical reaction - you can send the car to a paint shop and will have saved yourself many thousands of dollars by exerting your own labor. I can guarantee you no paint shop will take the time and make the effort to create a bare metal base for painting. They'll just scuff up the existing paint and spray a thick primer. Perhaps a professional restoration shop will go down to bare metal, but your typical local paint shop wants to get the car in and out as quickly as possible - with predictable results. The actual spraying of a Model A is relatively quick. Should you have the body shop color sand and buff out the paint, that will end up costing more time and money. You can also do that yourself and save a bundle.
Below are two examples of using PPG's Concept line of paint after sanding and buffing.
Marshall
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ThirstyThirty
Senior Member
I read some reviews on that Model A place that recently had the estate auction. the Review contributor had said he gave 'the shop'... over $100,00.00 for Model A restoration! about $23K in parts and about $77K in labor! ...and change.
without adding any further comments, or opinions... seems possibly a case where invested $$ exceeded fair market value.
BButturff
Senior Member
Of course, I would never try to discourage someone from the experience of restoring a Model A. This is, after all, a hobby for most people. However, in my search last fall for a '30 or '31 Closed Cab Pickup I found many nice '30 & '31 Tudors in the range of $15,000 to $19,000. That's pretty cheap compared to the cost of a restoration. IMHO anyway.
Ayers1
Well-known member
Lots of advice here, so here is my 2 cents worth. If you're planning on keeping the car for a while, and you just want a driver, check to make sure the doors close properly and the wood seems solid. If they are then I would remove the fenders and aprons, and hood. Leave the body on frame, and sand it down to get it ready for paint. If you can paint or know someone that can then let them take over from there. That will save you a lot of money and still get you a nice job.
I would not have it dipped for reasons mentioned above plus you will be taking the work to a whole different level. You start replacing wood, interior, etc which you may not want or need to do.
I would not have it dipped for reasons mentioned above plus you will be taking the work to a whole different level. You start replacing wood, interior, etc which you may not want or need to do.