Painting Question

[zman-95-540i]

I've seen many posts around about quality paint jobs. I went to what is probably one of the better shops in Dallas for a quote today. My roof is severely faded and there are extensive chips on the hood. First question I asked was how much for a total repaint. Answer - $6k. Well, since the car only cost me around $6k I decided to pass. So, how much to deal with the roof. They would deal with the roof back through the rear quarters for about $2k. I don't think so.

So I guess I'm looking for other options. I don't need a Ferrari level paint job on my car. I like it but with 165k on the clock I don't want to invest that kind of $$. For those in the Dallas area do you have an recommended mid-level shops? I don't want a $299 Maaco job. I was hoping to get the hole car prepped and painted for around $2k. Is that realistic?

Thanks in advance.

[COT1]

Paint is expensive. Your top is probably spiderwebed. I have a '90 525 the same way, which means in those areas the bad paint has to be removed down to the meteland bring it all the way back up tp shine.
If you try to paint over this spider webbing the crackc WILL com back.
I paint Yachts and aircraft in Key West Fl.and to fix mine it will be a pain, but will be done.
If you can find a shop to work with you, you may be able to talk them into letting you sand or strip the real bad areas and save some $$$ but if you are not verry careful , Well that stripper is BAD stuff and if you can't sand you can F up your car.
Im not talking about a stripper in a night club, although there pretty bad too.

[angrypancake]

4k + man, you pay for what you get.

[632 Regal]

Ill paint it, no guarantee anything will match though.


4k + man, you pay for what you get.

[VentoGT]

My entire job cost me $4,800--bare metal respray. $6K seems a tad excessive but not ludicrously so...I most certainly would not paint part of the car with the paint in the shape you describe. As mentioned above, you get what you pay for, so live with it, buy another car, or pony up to get it painted correctly. The prep is key to not having future issues--my paint job has a warranty for as long as I own the car against any paint defects.

[Qube]

I surmise the paint job to be like insurance. At this point... you're not sure how long it will survive in general. So... do you invest in a high grade paint job, assuming you'll keep it for another 10 years, or a moderate ($2k) or less overpaint, on the basis if you needed you'd do it again in 2-3 years... assuming the base car will last another say... 5 years (no mech problems, no writeoff)?

It's a gamble.

[Evan]

Keep shopping around.

Here's what I learned while getting my car repainted;

Paint is not expensive but they want you to think it is. The materials for repainting the car are under $500.

Shops base the price of the paintjob on the brand of your car. If you were driving a Hyundai, do you think they would have quoted you $6K?

Removing all of the exterior trim and lights is easy. Do it and save yourself $500

Get estimates for having ONLY the body work done and for ONLY the paintwork. You want a two stage finish with clearcoat. Get the paint code for your BMW color. It makes you sound like you know what you're doing.

YOu may not need a Ferrari paint job on your car but the new paint will look Ferrari level if the bodywork is true. The paint products of today are fantastic... 100 times better than when our cars were new.

So educate yourself... put some legwork into it.. and you'll have a brand new looking car for $2K. Or go hand it over to some paint salesman...

ALSO: Maaco does a great paint job for $899... no bodywork included but two stage process and then a bake in the oven.

Let us know what you experience and good luck!

Evan

[pundit]

No matter how good the paint or the painter you won't get a great job unless the bodywork and preparation is up to scratch.
Any car with a few years on it will have numerous bodywork problems.
Shopping carpark dings, deep paint chips and scratches, poor quality previous repairs that need to be redone etc. etc.
If it was simply a case of scuffing the old paint with a 'Scotch Brite' pad and laying two coats of paint over the top then no paint job should cost more than $2k.
The reality is that most of the cost of a top paint job is in the preparation.
All trim, bumpers, lights, mouldings, seals, doorhandles, badges etc should be removed.
Good preparation takes time, lots of time and that costs money.
Fresh shiny paint over a badly prepared surface will look like the job it is... a cheap paint job.
A five or ten year old car will not have a perfect finish unless someone spent time making it that way.
So yes $2k will get you the paint on the car... and add another $3-$4k for the prep!!

[Tiger]

Agreed... the materials are about $500 total. The rest is labor and big profit. The shop does not pay their worker that might so the money goes to the owners.

I suggest you ask your mechanic for friends or buddies who own body shop.

[zman-95-540i]

I asked around some of the local BMW shops and got a recommendation for a small shop called New Concepts Autoworks. It took me a while to find it. It's in a very low rent area and basically looks like a dump when you pull in. However, in the shop they were finishing up work on an F355 and had two late model 911's they were working on.

Anyway, I spent some time talking to the owner about my issues. He said he would recommend repainting the roof, rear quarters, doors, hood and front fenders (basically the whole car except for the rear deck and bumper). He is extremely confident he can blend everything in the rear so it will look good (the paint back there is in really good shape).

Total cost will be around $2500. I feel pretty good after seeing some of the work he has done. He said they do not cut corners but can do the work for less because they have low overhead (no receptionist, crappy area, etc.)

I think I am going to give it a shot. I'll post some before & after photos. They have a 3 week backlog so it will be a little wait to get in.

Thanks for all the advice. Hopefully things will turn out good.

[Elekta]

fyi, you really can't fix the hood or the kidneys to perfect if they are all chipped up. If you are going to spend an equal amount in prep, might as well buy a new hood and kidneys. It's the one area you will stare at the longest...you will find imperfections in the fill work. It's what all the best painters will tell you. It's not that they're lazy, they are trying to give you the best value for your money.

this advice is for the a-retentive perfectionist types. At near $5k, that hood area around the emblem had better look new right?