Tudor paint job prices

I wonder how many of us are upside down in the value of our cars right now because of the initial cost or re-paint/restoration or just the additions we have made over the years. While it may make more sense financially to pass on this one and look for another that needs nothing but a new home putting your mark on your car can mean a lot to the owner. To me, having a new paint job or new WW or BW tires or refreshed motor etc... would can I say"bond" me even more with the car. The bragging rights would give something too. Does it make financial sense, probably not! But then how many of us expect to make money from the hobby?
 
My personal cars I tend to go upside down on, but I don't care as it's what I want and I'll spend whatever it takes to get the car how I want it. None of my personal cars will ever be for sale in my lifetime so I don't worry about it.

Sure it's cheaper to go out buy a car that's already done and that's fine if you don't want to build a car or have the knowledge/tools to do it. For me I get just as much enjoyment if not more out of the build than driving that car.
 
Whew! I'm getting my education about paint! And I don't like it! $48@qt for primer? What in hell is in there? Spray cans of etching primer $16@ a can? Again, what in hell is in there or is the whole auto paint industry over priced? This is primer, not some pearlescent, top of the line, paint made from ground up rubies, with petried fish scales for irridescense. Jeeeezz what a rip off!
Terry





unclerichard said:
Only after one has bought all the needed materials and supplies to paint a car will they ever realize what is costs. $500-$1000 is VERY reasonable for the materials alone. Starting from bare metal to shiny finish is a long road. If you do the work yourself of course the time is worth nothing. But there aren't many people that will look at your car with the same passion as you will. Therefor, you will pay them their price. Ask yourself "would I do all this work for nothing?" This is why I do my own.
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Terry said:
Whew! I'm getting my education about paint! And I don't like it! $48@qt for primer? What in hell is in there? Spray cans of etching primer $16@ a can? Again, what in hell is in there or is the whole auto paint industry over priced? This is primer, not some pearlescent, top of the line, paint made from ground up rubies, with petried fish scales for irridescense. Jeeeezz what a rip off!
Terry
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I got 2 words for ya on this one:

PETROLEUM DISTILLATES

Seen the price of gas lately? I've watched mat'ls go up almost 2000% since I started in this craft. Brent gave some very sage and honest advice. Why is the labor so much? Have you ever been quoted for Workman's Comp? Liability insurance? A worthwhile wage for good help? The taxes you have to match for that worker (16-22% depending on location)? Forget the rising cost of heat and electric, and all the miscellaneous supplies and equipment, consumables, cleaners, shop towels...I'm gettin a headache!

To add insult to injury, there's a lot of hacks out there that can make a sow's ear look like a silk purse, and talk to you so nice you want them to marry your daughter! Reputation is everything and it's never for sale. It's the craftsman's personal investment in your project.
 
When I started getting razzed about the clear coat on my coupe, I started pricing
out having it painted to Ford specs. When I started getting prices in the 10K to 13K
range my clear coat suddenly looked real nice to me! :)

Jack
 
Terry said:
Whew! I'm getting my education about paint! And I don't like it! $48@qt for primer? What in hell is in there? Spray cans of etching primer $16@ a can? Again, what in hell is in there or is the whole auto paint industry over priced? This is primer, not some pearlescent, top of the line, paint made from ground up rubies, with petried fish scales for irridescense. Jeeeezz what a rip off!
Terry
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$48 a quart??? where? Be grateful you do not live in California. Du Pont primer here runs 80-100 a quart. If you can find a county that has not made it illegal, color and clear coat run 800 a gallon, unless you want red....that's almost a grand a gallon. Forget single stage paints in Silicon Valley ....they're illegal too. Yes, its cheap in San Diego, but the cost to ship a "hazardous material" runs $600 a gallon.

overpriced auto paint or environmental controller freaks gone wild??

it's probably a conspiracy between the two.

is it any wonder why preservation cars are the latest fad?
 
I spent around $1000 last summer for acrylic enamel. We wet
sanded it almost to bare metal. It was more work than I ever imagined. But it was the most fun I have had working on my 29 Tudor. I have a friend who is a expert antique car painter so he did the actual spraying.
We removed the tank and treated the inside also. No one advised me to do a base coat/clear coat paint job. You want a paint job that will last.
The best advice I can give is take your time, don't rush it. Its worth the time it takes for a good restoration. In SC I paid around $100 a gallon for the black and $175 a gallon for the Bonnie Grey.
 
Personally, as a do it all myself home hobbiest, I like acrylic enamel. Never found any reason to move on to base clear for a Model A.
 
Yeah I know! This just bolsters a long held belief that the oil companies have made back all their costs and profits before they sell the first gallon of fuels.
Terry





theHIGHLANDER said:
I got 2 words for ya on this one:

PETROLEUM DISTILLATES

Seen the price of gas lately? I've watched mat'ls go up almost 2000% since I started in this craft. Brent gave some very sage and honest advice. Why is the labor so much? Have you ever been quoted for Workman's Comp? Liability insurance? A worthwhile wage for good help? The taxes you have to match for that worker (16-22% depending on location)? Forget the rising cost of heat and electric, and all the miscellaneous supplies and equipment, consumables, cleaners, shop towels...I'm gettin a headache!

To add insult to injury, there's a lot of hacks out there that can make a sow's ear look like a silk purse, and talk to you so nice you want them to marry your daughter! Reputation is everything and it's never for sale. It's the craftsman's personal investment in your project.
Click to expand...
 
Here's a great topic. I've been into restoration work for 35 years. And it all come down to what you want and what you want to spend to get it.

I've tracked the time to do these jobs over the years and no two are alike!!

On average to strip a car to bare metal, do the body work prep, paint and polish it takes 300 hours. If its a fairly clean car that doesn't require alot of panel fabrication. Include that and your looking at 500 - 800 hours or more. I just finished a 1956 Jag 140 and I had over 1300 hours in it.

The average cost of materials these days is around $5000.00 for Base-coat Clearcoat (as single stage is almost gone) So your looking at 300X $50.00 = $15,000 + $5000 = $20,000. Plus tax. $2600. = $22,600.00
for a paint job on a Model "A" Doesn't make sense does it.
And I'm in the trade.


So it must look good: The Old Tinbasher

P.S. Now I'm on to Colour sanding and polishing
 

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Thank you all for putting the efforts of cosmetic restoration into perspective and taking the discussion above just an approximation of cost...the specific efforts involved is more of what I intended to discuss so I appreciate the collective wisdom.
 
I know a lady who has a '29 town sedan. When her kids were little, they couldn't tell the difference between her model a, and everyone elses. So she took it to Maaco and told them to paint everything about the belt line black, and everything below yellow. She then vinyl stickers and put checkerds on the belt line and "Carter Cab Co" on the doors. For $400, and the abuse she has put it through....It has held up very well 25 years later.
 
dlshady said:
$500 won't even buy you decent materials, so be very careful. An average quality overall repaint using decent quality materials should set you back at least $500 for the materials, and likely closer to $1000.


Deron
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you are correct sir. 100% agree
 
Truthfully, $1000 probably won't even buy enough decent quality materials to do an overall repaint. I'm just finishing up a 68 Camaro for a customer who chose to go with top-of-the-line primers and paint, and there's nearly $6200 in material cost alone in the job. Paint products aren't by any means cheap, especially not the good stuff!


Deron
 
Hi All,
If the owner wishes to do all the grunt labor.....sandblasting, sanding, cleaning and bring it to me ready to paint it will be the very least expensive way to go. Unfortunately he just did over 85% of the work. Now add $1500 for paint and another $500 for sandpaper, cleaning chemicals masking tape and buffing compounds etc. $500 will hardly get one gallon of Concept black with catalyst and one gallon of reducer. The problem is unless you are very wealthy you must prepare to do as much as you can and rely on the body shop to do the least and maybe you can get it into your budget. I could never afford to pay someone to do my work so I learned how to do it and here I am today.....uh oh that how I got into this mess........I just painted the running boards for the fire truck and it is 10 at night so I am off to find something to eat and a bed....What a great hobby,
Ken
 
Ken is spot-on with his comments however there is a couple of things that is always worth repeating when topics like this come up. To do a quality job requires the use of 2k primers/surfacers under modern paints. For the hobbyists who do not have the proper gear or knowledge to spray this stuff, please understand this stuff will kill you!! This is not meant to be a diversion or scare tactic to persuade someone to not do it themselves, but the days of doing it like my Dad did in the backyard are gone. Yeah, you might get away with it for a short time but the iso's attack your nervous system where your breathing becomes more shallow until you just stop altogether. So when we stop and look at this whole topic from beginning to now, is the risk really worth the reward on something that is only a hobby?

Second, the price of materials mentioned above is very correct and it takes experience to obtain successful results. There is always a value in learning a new craft such as bodywork & painting however there is a price attached with this education. In the grande scheme of things, teaching oneself with lacquer paint was a fairly inexpensive lesson however in today's times, spending $1,000-1,500 to learn with a sincere risk of failure involved does not seem prudent in my views.

.
 
Listen to Brent about the dangers. These mat'ls can kill with little to no warning for some. There's no flat rate for when someone's metabolism will be sensitized by the chemicals involved. It may take 25 years, it may take 25min. The effects are like being choked from the inside and there's not a huge amount if "instant" recovery techniques.


Tinbasher, it makes perfectly good sense. Have you priced an "economy car" lately? Here's a spin for some of you related to another car. A dear friend and customer was a tad concerned at how much he'd spent on his restoration. It was substantial and his concern was valid, he wanted my outlook. At the show there was a Rolls/Bentley display within sight, and I said "For the same money you could have bought that Bentley over there. Which would you rather have, and which one is worth more 5-10-15 years from now?" "Well of course I'd rather have this." I would too. 34 Packard vs 2010 Bentley? Later he was asked to drive up for the award he rec'd and smiling so big he had to nearly turn his head to finish the grin. "Hey, I wouldn't have won this with that!", pointing at that new Bentley. $22K now, plus the car and the other services needed. 25yrs from now it looks the same, largely related to the newer mat'ls but also proper work applied for longevity. 25yrs from now that cost will double again. In the long term, nothing performs like the investment in a quality collectible car. The losers are the mudded up cheapo jobs. False economy...
 
I would spray some primer on the bad spots or go to napa and have them match the existing color and have them put it in a rattle can. I doubt you could get $12,000 for the car after you spend $15,000 for paint. The car market is in the dumps right now and there are people desperate for money to just pay for the boat anchors they bought when the economy was good. My thinking has always been never go farther out of town than you can walk back. The other thinking is " invest in what you enjoy and if the market goes bad- who cares. I will leave you all with these theories and if I think of some more I will post them. Please do not thank me in advance because I may not be able to come up with some more trite sayings on this subject.
 
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