I got a few quotes to paint my quite straight 79 Camaro and they ranged from $1000 to $3500 !!! I'm gonna have to go for the cheapo ... if I put in $3500 I'd probably only get $4000 if I sold it.

 

That's not actually bad; a good two-stage, color sanded and buffed paint job around here is $5K to $10K+ depending on how nice you want it. That's why I paint my own!

Jody

 

i have heard of guys getting a cheap "Macco" style paint job and doing all the wet sanding themselves. A friend of mine did his 98 trans am for $400, and it looked good!!!! If you know anyone that knows how to wet sand a car, or are willing to do the research, it could save you a lot of money. Also offer to strip all paint, chrome, etc. even offer to mask off if they will let you. Any work you can do yourself will save you $$$$$$

 

strip your car of all the moldings, door handles, weather stripping, everything! Then take it to a body shop and see if they will prep the car....then take it to Maaco. I remember hotrod had an article about budget painting.....

 

The only cheap paint jobs that I have seen that look passible where where guys stripped all the trim, and did a lot of prep work themselves... however I have seen some turn out pretty crappy with a ton of orange peel on them. I'd say unless its white... its worth the extra to get it done right.

 

That's not bad! I'm looking at getting my '80 T/A painted, and they will have to do some rust work, and I am going to get the undercarriage and the subframe powdercoated as well, and I am looking at around 8-10K

 

dont waste your money on the cheapo $300 paint jobs from macco, do all the prep work yourself which will save you some serious cash then save a little longer and get yourself a good urathane paint that isn't gonna gonna look like crap in a year.

 

Want some business?

 

No Way!!!!! The guys who do the job correctly are definitely earning their money! If you haven't painted a car it's hard to imagine; it was quite a learning experience the first time!

Jody

 

Where are you located exactly? I got my 4 coats of old paint striped, a new dash welded in, new quarter panel, floor pans, and serious rust work around both winshields done, as well as underbody coating, and a great paint job all for $3300. I got quotes for 8000-12000 from well known restoration shops, but found this place through a friend and saved a LOT of money.

 

I'm located in Newport News, Va. The labor rate is 34/hr which seems cheap. Most places basecoat/clearcoat paintjob is $850 plus any body work. They are hammering me hard on the lower rear quarters (16 hrs total) and the stripping of the old flaking clearcoat in several areas. Since my Camaro is a 79 it is really not worth a $3500 paint job (i.e. they made ~280,000 that year). I'm most likely going to get the $1000 Maaco and not worry about the specks in the paint ... or the orange peel ... or the fisheye ... but I will complain if there is any runs!!!

 

My paint job was about 6G, you can't tell in this picture but it also has the ghost flames.

68 Camaro Conv


CadJock: you part of the Camaro Legends group?? I will be coming to that area soon and looking to join up with them.

 

That is one sweet 68 !!!

 

Sorry 68 ... I don't know anything about the Camaro Legends.