what was your paint job and where?

[Damian Gomez]

okay so I have a 63' beetle, originally gulf blue, then someone repainted it like a plum purple and rattle canned the seats and visors black(used to be white I think) I want to repaint it Anthracite gray and will be doing a saddle interior, how much did you pay for your paint job and where did you take it? how long did it last before it began to fade? ive been thinking about taking it to maaco, has anyone taken theirs their? I would strip my car down and tow it their

[bagged59]

DO NOT go to maaco, or earl scheib, or 1-day. You get what you pay for, and there is a reason their paint jobs are so cheap. They are absolute crap. Quality paint costs money, but the meat of the price is in the labor for prep. Anyone who knows paint will tell you that prep is the most important part of the job.

There is no average price for a paint job, as it depends on where you go, and how much bodywork and prep your car needs. The more you strip yourself, the better. A quality job can run you anywhere from $2k on the VERY low side up to $20k or more.

That said, I paid around $3k for mine, and that was with a "hook up," and I brought them the car as a rolling shell, completely gutted, with minimal body work. They did a good job, eventually, but they dicked me around for a while and I had to take it back twice to fix their screw-ups. I wouldn't send my worst enemy to the place I went.

Do some research and look in the body/paint forum. Get recommendations from someone who has dealt with the shop. Most body shops are shady and will take you for a ride, but there are some good ones out there. Good luck!
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My 61 project- shaved, bagged, all original because it doesn't look like yours:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=460969

[Damian Gomez]

I didn't even think to post this their haha

[Chuey]

Four grand with just a teensy bit of body work and me doing most of the dis-assembly. TLC Autobody in San Marcos, Ca. I don't expect it to fade. I now store it in the garage.

Anthracite is a great color. I like it with a red interior.

Chuey

[50ate]

You would just be throwing money away at macco or any of those hack jobs.. It will look like shit 100%.. Prep is everything and they pretty much don't even wash the cars before they scuff with a scotch brite and spray.. Its a joke.. How nice door want it? If you want just a nice looker or do you want to have people drooling over the paint? I can get a nice solid paint job that I would be proud of here for about 4500-5500 , that's single stage.. But a nice paint job you can be 15+ into it for body n paint.. All depends on what your lookin for

[carcrazed]

It all depends how much work you are going to do yourself. If you strip, prep bodywork etc...etc, it would be MUCH cheaper.
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1965 Herbie Replica. 1776cc dual Kads.
1961 Beetle 33,000 Original Miles

"Just When you think you are getting ahead, you're always wrong."

[KTPhil]

Years ago on my '67 Bug I stripped the car and did all the sanding and prep myself. Took ages but the results were worth it. Saved a bundle since as stated above the labor is in the prep, not the spraying. I didn't have any rust to deal with so the prep was not hard, just time consuming.

At the other extreme, I drove my late fastback to ISP West and wrote a check. They did a superb job but of course it cost some bucks.

Depends on your touch/skills and available time. Either can work.

[Cusser]

For the record, my February 1978 Maaco paint job, cost $140, convertible was originally clementine orange.

Picure about three years old:

Picture a few months old:

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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[bladerunner80]

I've seen maaco jobs that didn't turn out like shit, my boss blacked out his SUV and his "pro" paint guy wrinkled the satin paint twice.... Anyhow, his paint guy busted down the paint to where it looked like urban camo and after six months of driving it around like that his wife sent it to maaco. That was over two years ago and it still looks good.

When I painted my car a couple years ago I did it myself in my garage. It was hard as hell and took for ever, but it turned out good and I get lots of compliments on it. There is a reason why good paint jobs are expensive, the work is super labor intensive and takes time to do it right. Prep...prep...prep
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http://das-auto-66vw.tumblr.com/

[Keith]

My '55 Plymouth Belvedere was painted at Maaco in 1998 by the previous owner. It was a scuff and spray with nothing removed ( just taped off) and cost $152. Paint was PPG, not shit no name paint ( had receipt and left over paint for touchup) that paint held up just fine and it sat outside every winter. I sold the car 2 years ago.

Don't believe the bullshit you hear about Maaco and Earl Scheib being shit, the problem is that people do NOT pay for proper prep work and try to get a $20,000 paint job for $200 by having Maaco do a scuff and spray. If you take your time and remove everything that should be removed before paint and have it prepped correctly you will have a nice paint job.
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Formerly known in the forums as "OVALTEEN"

"I firmly believe that some villagers from Botswana could probably build a better road than PennDot."- Splitty

"If you do anything to your car someone will hate on you for it. People absolutely love to complain and find fault with others. Don't let it bother you. Just live and have fun."- Lind

[Helfen]

Prep work and quality of paint,primers fillers, sealers is the ticket plus the person who's going the job all contribute. The last car I bought paint for I had to go out of state to buy the paint and primers/and sealers because of the environmental regulations in my state wouldn't allow the sale of those products. The cost for material was over 3K.
On the other hand, I helped a friend in 1978 prep a 1964 Morgan Plus 4 who then gave the car over to Earl Scheib. While in the booth with the painter my friend slipped the painter a extra twenty bucks and asked to lay it on thick. The paint was a single stage enamel British racing green. We did a lot of wet sanding to produce a mirror finish. A few weeks later this Morgan took first place in class at a car show called Morgans on the Lawn at Cal. State Fullerton where Morgans congregate from all over the west coast. You should have seen the expressions of the also ran owners when told it was a $39.95 + $20.00 paint job. Today that car still looks very good. Obviously the car is not daily driven and is garaged and covered....but still.

[Aynthm]

Roller Method
Some very fine results can be had simply using a roller and the right kind of
paint. This can cost under $50
The roller method page is a compilation of the information from a mopart.com
thread. Thread Part 1 and Thread Part 2 As the thread is quite large please use
the thread page compiled page to sign off on pages that have been compiled into
this wiki. Many different people contributed to that thread. When ever possible
the wiki should try to give credit to the appropriate sources. If anyone would like
information removed please just say so or remove it yourself and be sure to state
why so it doesn't just get readded. The base compilation for this page was
started by Morwan (Morwan Osman)'s PDF (Thread Part 2 pg 13).
Base Method
FAQ
Roller Method Frequently Asked Questions
Materials
· 1 Gal Acrylic-Enamel Paint (Rustoleum Professional Protective Enamel,
Tremclad)
· 1 Gal 100% Mineral Spirits (Available at some Sears, also at Advance Auto
Parts)
· 1 QT Lacquer Thinner (Used for prep)
· 4 4'' Ultra-smooth foam rollers
· 2 foam wedge brushes
· 80/100/200/600/800/1000 grit sandpaper
Method
Prep the car
Preperation
Any paint job can only be as good as the prep work done before painting. Skimp
at this part and your paint job will look skimped on.
· Tape up the car and remove extra trim. For trim either tape it up or wedge
fishing line or if possible just take off altogether.
· Clean the paint by wiping down the car with lacquer thinner. Use a lintfree
cloth like an old t-shirt.
· Sand with 80, 100, 220, and finally 400 grit.
· Power tools do not work well for edges, so only use them on large flat
areas.
· Use a sanding block to keep everything even.
Thinning The Paint
1. In a separate container, thin the paint with mineral spirits until it has about
the consistency of milk. Depending on the temperature/humidity, this may
be 20 - 50% Mineral Spirits.
2. Roll the paint onto a test piece. Any bubbles should disappear within a few
seconds, and the paint should be self-leveling.
Painting
1. Soak up a small amount of paint onto the 4" roller, and then apply a coat of
paint to the car. You should be 'forcing' the paint out of the roller, resulting
in a very thin coat. Use the foam brush to get at tough spots, like
crevices/fender wells, etc.
2. Allow the coat to dry. This may take 8-24 hours, depending on the
humidity.
3. Apply another coat.
4.Wetsand with 600, apply another two coats, wetsand 800, apply another
two coats, and then wetsand with 1000 grit.
5. After the paint has fully cured (this may take several weeks), buff to a shine
with a high-speed polisher and buffing compound.
Paints That Work
Rust-o-leum Professional & Stops Rust brands, Tremclad, and Interlux
Brightside.
Paint Thinners
100% Mineral Spirits: The best you can get.
Low Odor Mineral Spirits: Possibly works better with warmer temperatures,
slightly slower evaporation time than pure mineral spirits.
Penetrol: Can be used in tandem w/ mineral spirits, does not work well alone
(disputed). Penetrol dramatically lengthens drying time due to slower
evaporation.
Hints
· Roll with one hand, and hold the brush in the other.
· If there's any orange peel at any step in the process you have to get rid of it
before doing any more painting. Then, just keep the coats thin and the
mixture thin and you should be fine. I think if the hood was propped on it's
side, or otherwise not horizontal, that paint would have lots of runs in it,
but since it's got no where to go, it just orange peels. (exit1965)
· If you're getting orange peel, you're puttting the paint on too thick. Same
thing with bubbles.
· The number of coats you need depends on the color of your prepped
surface and of the paint. Yellow and red take 8-10 coats
· Make sure to try some test pieces before applying paint to your car. A
fender is the true test as it has both horizontal and vertical surfaces,
creases and curves - a little bit of everything. (ricklandia)
· Instead of having the roller full of paint and then just letting it drop down
and then rolling it on the car (which causes a lot of thick spots where the
roller first touches) I drain the roller very well so it's not completely soaked
and then just pressing down somewhat hard get thin coats. (Bakuryu)
· Work fast and don't spend 5 minutes on one area trying to get rid of
bubbles because if you have odorless, at least in my case, the bubbles are
evaporating by themselves and what are leftover I just go over with the
roller slightly. (Bakuryu)
· In my case I had to keep rethinning the paint in the bucket (I mixed the
paint and minneral spirit in a bucket and then poured it into a tray). It
would dry and slowly get thicker don't know why, but it's not that extreme.
(Bakuryu)
· Take your time, go slowly. Because if you try to rush it, get ready for a lot
of hard work. (Bakuryu)
· For problems with bubbles: Thin the paint as normal and apply with the
foam roller. Once you have done a small area go over that, ever so lightly,
with the tip of a foam brush. The bubbles disappear and the brush streakes
fade to nothing in a minute or two. (Senna)

[carcrazed]

Let me just add something. I did the prep and body work on my 1965 (cut, weld, fill, epoxy seal and prime). That cost me (back in 1998) about 5-600 bucks. I bought a one step urethane paint and had a pro spray it for $250 and it is still beautiful. SSSOOO...in other words...like everyone else said...prep is most of the battle.
_________________
1965 Herbie Replica. 1776cc dual Kads.
1961 Beetle 33,000 Original Miles

"Just When you think you are getting ahead, you're always wrong."

[jhicken]

I got a buddy who had his Thing painted at Macco. He stripped the car and it needed very little body work. It came out fantastic, and I'm pretty picky about paint. If your car is relatively straight, and you can strip off everything you don't want painted, Macco, OneDay, Earl Scheib or any other production paint shop can often do a decent job. Check out the work they have done, talk to the painters and tell them your goals, there's a good chance you you can get something decent done on the cheap. If you can't strip it yourself, then figure around 5k for a modest paint job. If you change colors, and need to paint inside the doors, dash, and under the hoods, it'll cost more.

As for longevity of the paint, cheap or expensive, it depends on how you care for it. If the car is garage kept, you wash it often and keep a good coat wax on it, it could last a life time.

-jeffrey
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Der Kleiner Kampfwagens