bbreeze93

ok so i've been reading other threads and everyone says it depends. I know price matters and paint jobs can go from $500 to $15000. My car is red now and i want it repainted black. Since I'm doing a 98-02 ss swap to my 93 Z, the fenders, hood, bumper clip and ss spoiler will be in primer. there are a couple small dents that need to be patched up. i would need the rest of the car prepped, prime and painted. i dont want the absolute best paint job but i dont want a crappy job that will chip and is uneven. How much should i plan to spend roughly?

L.dookie

it's always hard to say with paint jobs. depends on where you take it. you could drive to your nearest body shop and get an estimate. my guess, and this is a really big guess, would be 1500 to 2000. I personally repainted my car. i bought on the cheaper end of decent paint and just for primer paint and clear i paid about 700. so you should guess about 8 or 900 for quality stuff. thats just paint. bear in mind there's still supplies they buy i.e. sand paper, filler, basic shop supplies. plus man hours. maaco is a cheap place to go. some people have luck, some don't.

TD95Z

Material is expensive as hell, but the biggest killer is the labor. If you can get it to the point where it simply needs to be rolled into the booth, masked, and sprayed, you'll probably come in around L.dookie's quoted price range, assuming a quality brand-name paint system. Bodywork is actually really easy on our cars, considering most of it is plastic and RTM composite. Tend to the dents in the metal parts of the car, shoot three coats of a quality high-build primer, sand it until it's straight. Obviously I've oversimplified it a bit, but the point is that the expensive part is the work that requires minimal skill and maximum attention to detail.

I'd leave the actual painting to someone that knows what they're doing, given the cost of materials. Speaking of materials, we'll be using the Summit brand paints on my friend's race car in the near future, so hopefully I'll be able to post a positive review of the stuff at some point. For those that don't know, the Summit 2-stage stuff is a relabeled mid-grade Sherwin-Williams product.

6SpdLT1Z

For a full paint job I'd plan on spending at least $3000, probably closer to $5k but it depends on who you are taking it to and how much prep the car needs. Since your doing a color change that means that everything has to be taken off to do it right (engine bay, door jams, etc.)

bbreeze93

yea i was planning on that. will the entire car need to be stripped pretty much?

rv93

that depends on how thoroughly you want it done. if you want it to look like it was black from the factory, the car basically has to be stripped to the frame. look around at all the red everywhere, and youll see how much has to be taken off.

97 CAIVIAROSS

In NJ a full color change at a decent shop would probably run you 5k. Would probably be cheaper to buy a black LS1 SS and sell your 93. Remember a full color change means the shock towers and radiator support etc.

bbreeze93

im guessing maybe i should just stick with the red then. i just thought that the black would be sweet but i love the red to

1996LT1Z28

To the folks in the Maryland / Pennsylvania area:

Beware of a couple that advertizes on Craigslist on "affordable paintwork" in Littlestown, Pennsylvania. The woman who posted the ad talks a real good story when you arrive.

My son and I bought into her bs, and we left the car thinking the car was in good hands.

When we picked up the car, my son almost had a fit. The car looked like crap. Overspray and tons of orange peel. Basically, the car is ruined, and now we have to hope that wet sanding and polishing will make it look better.

So beware of this ad. Save your $1400 and get your car painted right by a competant painter.

parkers Z28

Before the new engine goes in wash and degrease under the hood
you can paint this yourself .... wet sand the entire car until there is no shine
then take it somewhere to have the car painted by a professional
By the way I have seen some nice looking cars painted by kids and spray cans
not something I would do but people do it

horridohutch

Just had my car painted in California. They removed the windshield, mirrors, door hardware, spoiler and all the lights. I also replaced both taillights, bumper covers, window wipers, and windshield / hatch rubber. The wheels have been re-powdercoated as well. The shop charged $7350 allowing me to buy and provide my own parts. The owner hooked me up with a local Chevrolet dealer who gave me the shops price which was comparable to prices I was paying on EBAY. I have over 10k spent so far, just did the seats and that was 1k itself.
It is not recommended to change the color of a car especially with a highly contrasting color. You can never get in and sand all of the nooks and crannies. And if you do not sand the paint WILL NOT stick. Then you have paint flaking off everywhere. Which will not look good.