Has anybody had their car repainted?

[Screamin'Screw]

About how much am I looking at?


I want to do a base coat/clear coat with color change, but no engine compartment.

[fwMiata]

299 better get maaco...

when i do mine im budgeting 1500-2k for a same repaint and clear.

[EvilSpeeder]

How much more does the color change cost? I'm not looking to do that, it should save some $$.

[altiain]

My old FD RX-7 had a $1500 repaint (original color) on it when I bought it, and I was not impressed, to say the least. I'd expect to pay upwards of $2k for a decent quality single coat + clearcoat respray in the original color, and probably $500-1000 more for a color change, depending on the amount of prep work you're willing to do to save money.

When I say decent, I mean it'll look good for a couple of years, but it won't be show quality work. If you want a long-lasting, show quality respray with a color change, you're looking at a lot of money.

Also, the quality and finish of paint you select is going to influence the cost. A typical metallic requires at least two coats before clearcoating, and a typical pearl finish requires a minimum of three coats before clearcoating, iirc. Plus - just like everything in life - quality paint costs more. Some DuPont and House of Kolor automotive paints can get outrageously expensive.

Your best bet would be to find a shop that specializes in hot rods or customs, and actually sit down and talk to them and get a quote for the work you want to have done. We can hypothesize about it all day here on the board, but you'll never get a realistic estimate until you talk to a professional.

Last piece of advice - don't skimp on a paint job. You'll notice it every time you look at your car. I couldn't see spending a few grand on something, only to be dissapointed with the results.

[POS Racing]

I want to do a base coat/clear coat with color change, but no engine compartment.

Then when you open the hood to show folks the turbo, they are going to see it's a repaint, and that usually hurts resale if you ever plan to change cars.

How straight is the car, if it has the normal Miata door dings and such you need to add that into the costs..

I think $2K may be a bit light for a quality job, but you can strip the trim off the car and do some of the prep stuff on your own to help lessen some of the labor cost.

You got any pictures of your car now?

[ATSChristin]

We spent about $2k getting our 99 FM2 Miata de-dented and repainted. However we got an excellent paint job on our 78 Corvette from Maaco in Denton. The final bill was about $800. It was a color change, but already had a black engine bay (factory on Corvettes)

Christin

[channelmaniac]

You get what you pay for...

If you want a cheap paint job then go to a cheap paint place...

If you want to do all the masking & prep work yourself then the cheap paint places aren't that bad really...

If you don't do the prep work yourself, don't expect much from a cheap place.

RJ

[ATSChristin]

Good point. I stripped all teh trim off the Corvette myself. If you don't want a part painted, you'd better take it off.

Aaron

[Titus]

Andrew Campbell (owner of the '95 Red Miata in the current issue of Sport Compact Car) did a very nice repaint of his car. From his website:

Car was painted at Wendell's Powersports in Garland, TX Nov. 2003 using Spies-Hecker SU-code paint with base coat/clear coat and extra clear. Rock guard below beltline was removed/smoothed, and car was disassembled/soft top removed to be painted. No overspray anywhere. Paint is absolutely flawless, and without dings or scratches. Paint was wet-sanded and buffed. As smooth as glass, and better than any factory paint. Lifetime warranty. Cost was $3500.