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Tue Jun 24, 2008 3:02 pm

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

I must be getting old because I remember the Earl Shibe commericals were he said "I'll paint any car any color for $39.95, no ups, no extras"

Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:11 pm

Quote: I must be getting old because I remember the Earl Shibe commericals were he said "I'll paint any car any color for $39.95, no ups, no extras"

And he'd throw in a coat on the tires, the chrome, the glass... My father was in the automotive business in that era and what he had to say about Earl Scheib won't bear repeating. He had a grudging respect for Maaco, they were the company that tried to do 'low end' well.

The place I have in mind for Winston's sheet metal installation DEFINITELY does their own painting--has a huge drying shed. They're doing a Chrysler Airflow.

Yow.

Best!

Wed Jun 25, 2008 8:28 am

msinabottle wrote:

And he'd throw in a coat on the tires, the chrome, the glass... My father was in the automotive business in that era and what he had to say about Earl Scheib won't bear repeating. He had a grudging respect for Maaco, they were the company that tried to do 'low end' well.

LOL

I checked with an Earl Schieb in San Fran before I went with Maaco.

The manager tried to sell the paint-everything-job as "modernizing the look"

Painting bumpers, trim, door handles....

For all my bitching about Maaco though, I still think you can get a decent project done there.

I think you'd have to do much of the prep (if not all) yourself.
DEFINITELY fix your own rust.. or find a pro do it right.

You should pull everything you don't want painted and/or everything that covers an area where you want paint.

Maaco will charge $100 to paint inside each doorjamb.. probably more for the sliding door and tail gate.. but I would remove those, anyway.. along with the top. If you don't paint inside the jamb, they do piss poor masking and its amazing how far the paint travels into every opening!

I'd consider doing the top with marine enamel and a roller. (blaspheme!)

If I were to go to the trouble of removing the interior for an inside paint job, I'd definitely think about going to a custom shop... and working out a "plan"

I went to Maaco for a "maintenance" paint job.. and I didn't quite get what I paid for (IMO).. but they do provide a less than outrageously priced service.

Bottom line is to communicate the best you can and temper your expectations.

Lastly, I decide to put off painting the Westy for a couple years at least. My kids are 1 and 5.. and the poor van is taking a beating in the garage. I think I'll wait until jr has his first car so he begins to understand why dad walks around with a chamois all the time. :D

Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:05 pm

Hey Man!

this Bud's for you

Dan says he needs more work now.

Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:30 pm

[img

This is my $1,100 TJ paint job. The even removed all the glass and luggage rack for that price. I did not paint the door jams as I was keeping the color the same. They used Dupont basecoat/clearcoat all the prep as well as some body work. I had it quoted locally for $2k body work and another $3,500 for paint. They did a good job, not perfect but I expect the small flaws will buff out when I have that done in another month or so. It took them 3 weeks to do the job.[/img]

Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:35 pm

I tried to get my van painted a while back. The body is straight and solid, it has one quarter sized rust spot in front of a cooling vent, and a few bubbles. I paid $1,000 to a local, independent body shop owner, who is even friends with my dad. My dad suggested I pay him up front, and I agreed. I mean, hey, he's friends with my dad; I can trust him to get the job done. He was supposed to paint it over the winter. So, I parked it out in front of his shop and he said it would be in tomorrow. Tomorrow came and it became the next day. Then the next day became the next week. Then it was the next month. My van sat outside for all of a very harsh winter, and all the while he still wouldn't take it in. He has "a lot of projects, you see". None of them paid up front. None of them done either.

The snow melted, he told me to come to the shop. I figured it was done and ready to go. It was still sitting, caked with half-melted snow, exactly where I left it five months prior. He took a walk around and told me that "since it's sucha' big van, it'll run you 'round four grand."

I still don't have my money back. My dad has been waiting four months without a tailgate on his truck trying to get another repair done with my owed money. He won't answer the phone.

Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:09 pm

Bubs wrote: I tried to get my van painted a while back. The body is straight and solid, it has one quarter sized rust spot in front of a cooling vent, and a few bubbles. I paid $1,000 to a local, independent body shop owner, who is even friends with my dad. My dad suggested I pay him up front, and I agreed. I mean, hey, he's friends with my dad; I can trust him to get the job done. He was supposed to paint it over the winter. So, I parked it out in front of his shop and he said it would be in tomorrow. Tomorrow came and it became the next day. Then the next day became the next week. Then it was the next month. My van sat outside for all of a very harsh winter, and all the while he still wouldn't take it in. He has "a lot of projects, you see". None of them paid up front. None of them done either.

The snow melted, he told me to come to the shop. I figured it was done and ready to go. It was still sitting, caked with half-melted snow, exactly where I left it five months prior. He took a walk around and told me that "since it's sucha' big van, it'll run you 'round four grand."

I still don't have my money back. My dad has been waiting four months without a tailgate on his truck trying to get another repair done with my owed money. He won't answer the phone.

wow. no offense, but your dad's idea to pay him in advance was a really bad idea. But I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. If I were you, and I'm not kidding, I would go his shop every day and demand your money back. Seems awkward and all, but you'll get used to it. Start with "Just to be clear, you owe me a thousand bucks, right?" Once he acknowledges that, ask him (seriously), "Ok, what would you do if you were in my situation?" Let him squirm, make him answer the question. What's his name/phone number?

Back to the thread. I got a good paint job for roughly 2k but I did a lot of prep work (pulled windows, grill, sanded bumpers, etc.) I shopped around to find someone I could work with who was going to take pride in the job.

Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:05 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.

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.

I don't know how long rustoleum will last on the poptop?- I already tried to take the rustoleum "short cut" on a different car and it lasted about a year before rust started showing again and I had to repaint it the right way. I think with all the time you are going to spend preping using good auto paint is worth it- especially since you are already saving a lot of money by doing it yourself. Anyway, I don't know what paint is best for the pop-top but I wouldn't use rustoleum.

As far as the actual van if just the clear coat is damaged but the base coat is fine you might be able to fine sand it and respray just a clear coat? Or as someone else mentioned just a buff and polish will fix it.

Sun Jul 20, 2008 1:26 pm

scubabrian wrote: This is my $1,100 TJ paint job. The even removed all the glass and luggage rack for that price. I did not paint the door jams as I was keeping the color the same. They used Dupont basecoat/clearcoat all the prep as well as some body work. I had it quoted locally for $2k body work and another $3,500 for paint. They did a good job, not perfect but I expect the small flaws will buff out when I have that done in another month or so. It took them 3 weeks to do the job.
You got a decent job for a decent price. That is the way it should be!

Once your van acquires a few beauty marks you will be glad you did not spend big bucks. My first mark was some idiot tossed an egg at my new paint job. I washed it off fast, but some damage was done. So it goes....

Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:19 am

Personally, I'm thinking about buying a compressor and a sprayer and painting mine all by myself? I've seen used 8 gallon compressors sell for around $100, and I can get a nice sprayer for around $100. I'm not sure what paint costs, but I'm assuming I could get enough to paint my van for $300 or less. I'll need to get a mask, some goggles, and some clothes that I can get paint on. If I can find a place to do it where I won't have to worry about the wind or overspray, I'll be set. I plan on getting an old piece of sheet metal or something to practice on before attempting it on my van. Once I've gotten used to the sprayer, I plan on taking the time to mask off everything really well. If I take my time and pay attention to what I'm doing, I'm fairly certain that I can do a quality job. I've painted several houses using those piston pump sprayers, so I'm sure it won't take me very long to find a good technique for spraying the van. If I happen to mess up any spots, I'll just wait till the paint dries, sand it out, and touch it up. Even if I need to repaint it in a couple of times, all it's going to cost me is the price of the paint. Heck, I can paint it myself like five times for less than what some hack would charge for a piss-poor job.

For the record, this is just my opinion, and by no means am I suggesting that anyone out there attempt to paint their own vehicle, nor do I accept any responsibility for damage or injury that may occur from someone attempting to do so. Unqualified individuals should seek the services of a professional. Anyone who attempts to perform this task themselves is doing so at their own risk.

Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:47 am

Joyboy99 wrote: Personally, I'm thinking about buying a compressor and a sprayer and painting mine all by myself? I've seen used 8 gallon compressors sell for around $100...

Before you get carried away, check the CFM and pressure requirement of your intended gun before purchasing your compressor. Also make sure that you know the true continuous CFM/PSI output of the compressor, not the displacement CFM.

Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:50 am

Check around the classifieds regarding booth and equipment rental if you want to go that route. Personally, I think you'd end up spending more money on buying equipment and doing it yourself than just doing the prep work yourself and bringing it to Maaco. Renting a booth and equipment may be a good alternative.

Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:00 am

OK, so you buy a compressor and some random gun for $200. That setup will be fine for some spot priming. But, I am fairly sure you ain't gonna get all the color on (in any decent way) with that setup. But, all is not lost. Remember (and I quote myself) "paint is all prep." You are going to spend $200 to $400 on materials to prep your van. Then you still need color. Plus a decent place to paint. Materials for color are like $300+ and you will need a booth. Booth rental is like $100 or so, when, if, someone will let you. So it does cost.

After decades of doing this sort of thing, I have found it is most economical to do the prep yourself and let someone else paint it. Let a pro do the final paint. So after prep taking it to a "good" Maaco has worked well for me on every day driver cars. For something that needs to be really nice, do the prep and let a real paint shop finish the job. You will be happy.

Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:14 pm

Joyboy99 wrote: I'm not sure what paint costs, but I'm assuming I could get enough to paint my van for $300 or less.

To provide you some insight into the costs of automotive paint (which have risen quite steadily in the past year due to being petroleum-based) I paid at "cost" about $700 for the materials to paint my 1989 Syncro Tristar. That was with Sherman-Williams Ultra 7000 which is one of the better paints on the market but certainly not something you paint a Ferrari with. You could get away about 20-30% cheaper than that but the material quality is going to suffer quite a bit.

Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:51 am

Even if the paint costs me $700, I could still do a better job than Maaco. Not to mention, it'd still cost less.

Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:32 am

Joyboy99 wrote: Even if the paint costs me $700, I could still do a better job than Maaco. Not to mention, it'd still cost less.
There are good and bad Maacos. BTDT.

If you do a lot of the prep and go to a good Maaco, it is a good value.

Otherwise all bets are off.

Fri Oct 17, 2008 2:08 pm

Bubs wrote: I tried to get my van painted a while back. The body is straight and solid, it has one quarter sized rust spot in front of a cooling vent, and a few bubbles. I paid $1,000 to a local, independent body shop owner, who is even friends with my dad. My dad suggested I pay him up front, and I agreed. I mean, hey, he's friends with my dad; I can trust him to get the job done. He was supposed to paint it over the winter. So, I parked it out in front of his shop and he said it would be in tomorrow. Tomorrow came and it became the next day. Then the next day became the next week. Then it was the next month. My van sat outside for all of a very harsh winter, and all the while he still wouldn't take it in. He has "a lot of projects, you see". None of them paid up front. None of them done either.

The snow melted, he told me to come to the shop. I figured it was done and ready to go. It was still sitting, caked with half-melted snow, exactly where I left it five months prior. He took a walk around and told me that "since it's sucha' big van, it'll run you 'round four grand."

I still don't have my money back. My dad has been waiting four months without a tailgate on his truck trying to get another repair done with my owed money. He won't answer the phone.

Ever get your money back BUBS???

Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:43 pm

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

"I'll paint any car, any color, In at 9 out by 5 --$29.99
Won't chip, fade, peel, or crack, using our patented bake booth"

<<It was a $99.95 paint job.>>

Not really.
A wino washes the vehicle and wet sands it in one move.

The 4 ladies of color , having 3 rolls of masking tape on each arm, and ream's of last Sundays Chicago Tribune, mask it off while it's half wet.

It gets rolled into the Binks waterfall paint booth, where the painter wiped it down with a tack rag, fills his gun up with some of Earls own Diamond Gloss straight old enamel.

If you pay extra--you get a shot of hardener in the quart of paint.

Once over easy--over the body.

If you paid extra--you get the door jams done.
And half the interior.

The painter drives the car outa the paint booth, and into the patented bake booth , which is nothing more than a steel tunnel with hundreds of heat spot lights.

The guys beyond the bake booth remove the masking paper & tape, syphon half your gas outa the vehicle into empty thinner cans--and down the road you go with a professional barn paint job.

How do I know all of Uncle Earls trade secret's?

I painted there back in the 60's---I thought I has seen it all up until I got there.

Junk in--more junk out, plus a half empty tank of gas.
Not worth whatever they are charging now.

The place is there to wham , Bam, Than You Mam, refinish your vehicle--not satisfy the you.

<<You're looking for a neat, clean, and organized paint facility.>>

Not really.
The messier the shop--this means they turn out some work there.

Clean means they have a lot of time to clean up the place--but aren't turning out many vehicles.