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Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:56 am

I'm in Los Angeles; looking to get a reasonable price on a repaint of my westy. Body is flawless; no rust, no dents; just severely oxidized paint. What should I expect to pay for a repaint with good materials?

Fri Jun 13, 2008 3:33 am

You'll get what you paid for.

Good old Earl Shibe used to advertize that he'd paint any car for $99.95.

It was a $99.95 paint job.

Go out and do some homework. Visit as many paint shops as you can. Ask to see their work. Get prices. Talk to others at shows, swap meets, club events, etc. and talk with the owners that had paint work done.

You're looking for a neat, clean, and organized paint facility. If the paint place is dirty, walk away.

Since you have no body work, that will save you plenty. You can spend more on body work than the paint process itself. Don't cheat yourself; if you have rust, get it taken care of; it will only come back to haunt a new paint job soon.

You can also save some money by removing the bumpers, outside mirrors, etc prior to taking the vehicle to the paint shop. Saves on "prep time".

Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:53 am

I have a 84 Westy that had oxidized paint. I paid for 2 professional details over 6 months that did a wet sand process on the paint. It woke right up, and now shines and feels silky smooth. If I were in your shoes, I'd find a reputable detailer that has experience with restoring paint that has oxidized. It will be considerably less than a paint job. VW used a baked enamel finish on at least the 84's, and it can handle removing a little with oxidation. My detailer used a product that breaks down the oxidation, then he spent hours with many different pads and a varible speed buffer. Check a detail shop out, LA area should have some good detail options.

Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:26 am

California will be switching over to water based coatings the first of the year. In other words, no more solvent based coatings.
I have seen some fine examples of water based fininshes and Ive seen some that look nice at first but then turn to crap.
Lotsa variables with water based finishes compared to solvent coatings.
The question that I would be most concerned with is the one about adhesion compatability.
Will a water based coating that has been applied over a solvent based coating ( the factory finish ) hold up for year upon year ?
How many paint jobs have you seen that have turned chaulky and are litterely peeling and chipping right off the surface.
If you choose to go with a water based coating be sure the body shop is a reputable one and that they use the best coatings available ( $$$$ )
and be sure to get a guarantee in writing and also follow the maintenance schedule to the T.
Best 2U

Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:39 am

Here' s my story. I did this in the OC, bet you can do it in LA, too. I took most of the stuff off my van. That included the front part of the pop top. I had some body guys do the body work on the weekends. $100/day/person. With materials I spent $600. I then took it to a "good" Maaco. (You must seek out a "good production" shop. I used the one in Costa Mesa which is VERY busy and had to wait.) My out of pocket price was $1200 total. Still is holding up well a few years later. This is about an 8 year service life everyday use paint job. I am happy with the outcome.

Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:54 pm

I too am in LA most of the year, along with my van. I got quotes for a full repaint on my '91 westy in 2004 and they were ~$5k for all the windows out, all the trim off, and repaint on the front door jambs. Then all reassembly. Fixing one rust bubble under the rear window seals was included.

We didn't do it then. I just got three more estimates (from the same shops I went to before) and they all quoted $7,000 +/- $300.

Seems that a lot of the indy body shops are using the 1day paint places for their paint now. They just do the prep and trailer it over for a quick paintjob.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:32 pm

Thanks for the replies.

I got a quote for $5000. not too impressed by the shop, but I know it's on the low end.

I like the Maaco idea.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:46 pm

BIRD84WESTY wrote: I have a 84 Westy that had oxidized paint. I paid for 2 professional details over 6 months that did a wet sand process on the paint. It woke right up, and now shines and feels silky smooth. If I were in your shoes, I'd find a reputable detailer that has experience with restoring paint that has oxidized. It will be considerably less than a paint job. VW used a baked enamel finish on at least the 84's, and it can handle removing a little with oxidation. My detailer used a product that breaks down the oxidation, then he spent hours with many different pads and a varible speed buffer. Check a detail shop out, LA area should have some good detail options.
Do you know what products he used?

Mon Jun 23, 2008 2:43 pm

I had a 77 Westy painted at a Maaco type shop. I did all the prep, removed all the lights and accessories, etc. I think paid $600 at the time for their polyurethane paint job and it truned out great. It lasted 7-8 years with little maintenance.

Most of the cost of a paint job is in labor. If you talk to the shop owner and tell them how much you're going to do and have the van almost paint ready, you can get a much lower price.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 2:43 pm

albiwan wrote:

I like the Maaco idea.
I just did a Maaco paint job to the tune of $1800 with some minor body work.
They were paid to "recondition" the top of the vehicle (not a vanagon) as the original paint had broken down and there were pin hole rusts spots.

I can't tell what they did exactly, but 6 months later and very slight rust stainging is coming back through from below the paint. Rust "garuantee" is 90 days.

Not happy with it. Not for what we paid.
It was a test run for the Westy.. but I will be looking for another solution when its time to paint the Westy. And'll I save another $3k if thats what it takes to get er done.

More than the $1800, it wasted my time in prep and other efforts.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 3:38 pm

For me, it's a matter of principle. It won't kill me financially to pay for a good paint job. But the van can't be worth more than $10,000, and to spend $7,000 on cosmetics is hard to justify.

Am mulling over the idea of repainting the fiberglass pop top myself; looking at threads where others have used Rust Oleum products for a decent finish.. Van is blue; white top would be quite cool.

Then, I'm looking at just leaving the color on the van as is; it is the dove blue but the problem is the clear coat is damaged by the sun. Can't see how I would get the color back. Thing is the original paint along with the faded decals, etc., make it clear that the van has never been crashed, repainted, etc. to put a low quality repaint over that would not really improve the value.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:01 pm

Flood penetrol for the top
It is liquid magic in a can.
There are many posts on this.
I would like to get a sand blaster and go to town on the seems. There’s not much showing at all, but you know there is something very ugly lurking behind it all.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:34 pm

albiwan wrote: For me, it's a matter of principle. It won't kill me financially to pay for a good paint job. But the van can't be worth more than $10,000, and to spend $7,000 on cosmetics is hard to justify.

For me it was a matter of function.
We have a 91 Civic.. It has lots of life left in it.. But the paint was going. We live in the ocean air and that means rust. If we ddin't stop it, it would be the end of the car in a couple years.

I explained this all clearly to the owner of the shop.
He said "Good idea"

I chose solid paint. No metallics. No clear coats.
And I chose a higher quality polyurethane over the cheaper enamels. I said, "Apply it thick, so I can buff it out when needed)

But no matter the quality of the paint.. if the prep sucks.. so will the lifespan of the applied paint.

Then he handed the project off to his "manager".. They said 5 days. I said, "No worries. Take your time"
They said "one week".
I said I'll be back in "9 days. I want it done best you can".
When I arrived it was sitting outside with tape bits still all over it. Someone had "detailed" the plastic front bumper with tire black but did not bother to remove the masking. They blacked the tires.. but did not remove overspray on the glass.
We didn't ask for a tire blacked bumper... I didn't ask for a tire treatment.
(a crappy silicone application that streaked in the first dew)
And It looked like crap.

The paint looked OK though.

But it sure would have been nice had they removed the masking and gotten all the overspray they reasonably could.

They knocked a hundred bucks off the price because they didn't finish cleaning it up.

This was to be a paint job to keep the car running. With or with out, the car is worth $1,500-$2,000. But the way I see it, it was to be worth not buying a replacement car sooner than we had too.
Function.

We will still keep the car.. and I'll touch up the discoloration as it pops up. Hopefully keeping the buried rust at bay.
Maybe I'll get 5 yrs out of it. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will be a bit more.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 9:44 pm

I should think you could get a very decent paint job for about $5000 somewhere in LA. I know you could in the Bay Area.

When I got my '83 westy painted recently, a good friend got his '83 westy painted at the same time. Both cars were in pretty much identical condition in terms of dents and rust. I went to a good body shop and paid $8000. He went to Earl Scheib and paid $2000.

Mine looks awesome. His looks like it still needs a paint job. And they painted both front grills the color of the car. While I paid a lot, he poured his money down the drain.

Proof, one again, that you get what you pay for.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:14 am

There is a guy named Dan Fleming, ddffpc@cox.net who lives in San Diego.

He is a Vanatic, owning more than one, even has subaru and TDi conversions.. very savvy on the whole vanagon thing.

He has a connection to a Tijuana body shop. He does all the prep removing handles and turn signals and such, then drives it to TJ..

His prices are 50% lower than US prices, and Im told his quality is actually better, due to different paint available in Mexico.

He is not fast, but he has a great reputation. Im having a van painted as we speak... should be done in a couple more weeks.. if you have not chosen a shop by then, feel free to remind me to post pictures.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:25 am

Jon_slider wrote: There is a guy named Dan Fleming, ddffpc@cox.net
He is not fast, but he has a great reputation. Im having a van painted as we speak... should be done in a couple more weeks.. if you have not chosen a shop by then, feel free to remind me to post pictures.
Please keep the board posted.. I'd love to hear the details and see some photos of the finished job.

Did you remove the glass?

I am not one to ship work "overseas".. but when local service dissapoints repeatedly.. I think there's no other option.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:51 am

That's very encouraging. I'll shoot him an email.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:06 am

Make sure all the "pot" is removed when you retake possesion of your van if it ends up being painted Mexico. Sorry for the stereotype. 8)

Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:09 am

Why would I want to do that?

I'd keep whatever bonus left over "materials" were on board when I picked it up in San Diego.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:13 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQiPTiLWpOU