paint prep. product prices...am i getting ripped off?

[marklaken]

okay went to my local jobber and bought:

1 Gallon Dupont Quik-Prep alchol based etcher, 1 quart 3m adhesive remover and 1 quart 3m Brush-On Seam Sealer = $101 after tax!...

I was more than a little surprised and the damn jobber doesn't put prices on anything and is always busy, so i don't really want to bring up like 40 products to the shelf and ask what the price is on each item....

not trying to cheap out here, but i don't want to be taken eaither...does this sound reasonable?....are there any cheaper products that do the same thing for less dough?....

all help is appreciated...Mark
_________________
Wish List:
1967 Wesfalia SO-42 Parts Needed: Kitchenette, Cot Poles

'65 rear left beetle fender

15" Bus Wheels in fair condition

Mark Laken
Fort Collins, CO

[VW Addict]

Mark, $101 is very cheap. I paid $218 for a gallon and a half of sherwin williams paint when I sprayed my bus. After all said and done for all the paint and supplies I was $350 some odd dollars. If you bought the adhesive, paint, primar and all for $100 your doing real well, very well.

[marklaken]

no i don't have any paint yet...just metal etcher, seam sealer and adhesive remover...
_________________
Wish List:
1967 Wesfalia SO-42 Parts Needed: Kitchenette, Cot Poles

'65 rear left beetle fender

15" Bus Wheels in fair condition

Mark Laken
Fort Collins, CO

[VW Addict]

Oh. I read it wrong when you said I gallon Dupoint. How much paint are you buying? Plan on spending well around $400 paint and all... stuff is not cheap... Your paint will run anywhere from $75-250 a gallon depending on what you buy. I think $100 is average for what you spent. I spent almost $200 on supplies like you besides my paint. Thats also not including my sand paper, bondo, spot putty etc.

[marklaken]

I plan on using dupont centauri Acrylic Enamal:

rizzagg wrote in a post awhile back:

"also my bus is a 67 westy and was all one color.
if my memory is correct $100 primer+$80 centari hardener +$60 centari reducer +2 gallons centari at $140 per gallon so right around $520, this is just a rough guess but im sure its very close."

so yeah, expecting it to be pricey...i was just surprised how much some of the prep products costed...
_________________
Wish List:
1967 Wesfalia SO-42 Parts Needed: Kitchenette, Cot Poles

'65 rear left beetle fender

15" Bus Wheels in fair condition

Mark Laken
Fort Collins, CO

[VW Addict]

Yes, I have been down that road. Just try to be optimistic and remember how much you are saving by doing it yourself, rather then a professional.

[Ipaintem]

You can ask if they have any generic form of what ever your trying to buy. Most of the time its just as good and a do it yourselfer will really never know the difference.

[Big Jim]

3M are the most expensive products on the shelf. My dealer has suggested alternatives to me a couple of times. Do the same job, maybe better for about 1/2 the cost. About the only 3M products I use are tapes.

[bastardbus]

high solids urethanes are very forgiving...if you screw up or want to get rid of that orange peel you can colorsand and buff to perfect finish. Enamels are very soft and do not respond well to a sand and buff....they almost always burn through quickly...and if you are not a pro its the best stuff for you

And yes those prices are cheap. Just bought 2 gallons DBC and 2021 Clear PPG with all the products for an interior bus in and out respray and was close too $1000....

[DaveM]

the paint industry is being hit hard by all the epa regs now-a-days... alot of the price you paid went to government fees.
_________________
Sounding like a broken record as to why You should be measuring protein during harvest in order to better your agronomic practices.

[ROBVERT]

SOUNDS A LITTLE PRICEY- TRY PROVEN GENERIC ITEMS- AND CENTARI IS AN OLD-SCHOOL MEDIOCRE PAINT WHICH IS NOT LEGAL FOR USE IN CALIFORNIA-USE GENERIC URETHANE PAINT THAT WILL BE MUCH BETTER THAN USING ACRYLIC ENAMEL

[marklaken]

any other paint suggestions?....i liked centari becasue it is the only paint i found locally that had the exact vw paint names in their database...and i would plan to use the eurathane hardener....
_________________
Wish List:
1967 Wesfalia SO-42 Parts Needed: Kitchenette, Cot Poles

'65 rear left beetle fender

15" Bus Wheels in fair condition

Mark Laken
Fort Collins, CO

[Big Jim]

What kind of paint?
Acrylic enamel with hardener will produce a more authentic look to the paint job. It will not be as hard as urethane and will not produce quite the gloss. It will age slowly from the start and eventually be just worn out and chalky. The urethanes will produce exceptional hardness and gloss. That is not without a downside. Hard paint chips easier. A BC/CC job will maintain its original appearance better until it fails abruptly by delaminating. In my personal opinion, the fact that something is banned in California means exactly nothing or that it was too good and they were afraid of it. I buy and use lots of products off the shelf here that can not be sold or imported to a certain state.
When you pick a paint technology, you need to decide what you want to achieve with the end product then pick the paint to get there.

[GjMan]

Let me put in good word for DuPont Centari. I've sprayed it (with a hardener) on about a half dozen cars over the years and have been completely satisfied. It color sands and buffs very well. And the price is reasonable.

However, I am considering using urethane on my next project--if I can get by the higher cost. Need to keep trying new things, y'know.

[Big Jim]

OK, I'll admit it straight out. I haven't used Centari recently but I really liked it in the past when I sprayed gallons and gallons of the stuff. (When you paint school busses, you use a lot of paint and you want stuff that is easy to apply)