Bodywork Budgeting in Maryland

OldBayAlex · Samba Member Joined: October 22, 2006 Posts: 222

I feel like I should preface this post by saying I respect the work a good bodyshop does. I've seen the horror stories of what happens when someone wants something done cheap, cheap, cheap. I have a '65 that I'd like to be road worthy for me to enjoy, and I'm budgeting out the repairs & restoration but the one wildcard is bodywork. I know pans and heater channels are being replaced for sure, and by nature of the rust probably will need some quarter panel work as well.

I'm reasonably handy mechanically but have no intention of learning how to weld for the purposes of this project. I've identified some reputable shops in the Maryland area, but don't want to offend anyone when getting a quote.

Question is: I'm budgeting about $5k for the rust repair, bodywork and paint. Is that reasonable for the Maryland area? Are there things I can do bodywork-wise that I can do that can save money without offending a bodyshop?

Quality: (Tell me if you're heard this before haha). I truly am not expecting show quality, but I'd say "good enough" quality. I'm not doing a full-on resto back to '65, I don't want to be in a magazine.

Sorry for the long post - I just like to clarify my expectations in a sea of vague posts. And now I humbly bow out and submit to the bodywork forum Gods. Shoot me straight!

Air-Cooled Head

c21darrel · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2015 5:17 pm Post subject:

If you bring a blasted body in for estimate...they will be more accurate than guessing whats under paint.
Agree with A/C Head above $5K sounds low. I spent about $3K in materials alone for my ghia.
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OldBayAlex · Samba Member Joined: October 22, 2006 Posts: 222

Thanks guys. So I've been thinking a little bit more, and perhaps I'm underestimating the job. To give you a little background, this has been a project that I've been tinkering around with for a LONG time (about 10 years) originally when I was poor and in college.

I was young and stupid and thought I could restore a Beetle for $2k. But now that I'm thinking more about it, my circumstances are a lot different now, I'm not incredibly pressed for time, and have a healthy respect for the work it's going to take. I've got the money to invest in a good welder, and I have a good dedicated spot to work on in my garage that my wife thankfully lets me indulge my hobbies in, outside of the elements rather than in a field like the car I bought before.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

I've got a 60 gallon compressor, so I'll have access to air tools which I didn't have last time, and in the worst case scenario I can always take it to a body shop if I find myself over my head. As I said before, I don't need it to be perfect so I can utilize the opportunity to buy some cool new tools, learn something and maybe, just maybe, do the bulk of the bodywork myself.

56bugdan · Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 6:16 pm Post subject:

I think you're on the right track with doing the rust repair on your own. It's time consuming but you'll learn a lot in the process. I know some shops that just won't do "good enough" because they don't want half ass work out there with their name on it. On the other hand I've seen some shops version of "good enough" and it can consist of pop riveting patch panels, hammering in rusty spots and loading it with filler and hiding piss poor floor patches in a half inch of undercoating. Unfortunately I still see a lot of this kind of work out there and it's certainly not exclusive to the VWs. Much like yourself, years ago I was too poor to pay anyone to do my rust repair work so I took it upon myself to learn. Fact is, when the car was done I knew exactly what was under the paint and there was no question about whether the rust was cut out or the panels were welded or riveted. Don't get me wrong, it's not always easy or quick but if you take your time, ask questions when you're not sure and don't take short cuts, you'll be much better off in the end.

Air-Cooled Head · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 8:44 am Post subject:

X2

What he said.
Decades ago, I couldn't afford to have the best guy in the area working on my car. So I befriended him, and learned from him. We're still friends today.
In the process, I learned how to weld, mix and lay filler, masking, painting, wet sanding, etc. I found out that I really enjoyed most aspects of body work, and would rather do that than the mechanical stuff.
You may find a new passion! Dancing

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67 Sunroof · Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 5:27 pm Post subject:

I remember sending many pictures to a well known (and very good) body shop in Maryland. I just about had a heart attack when I got my $20,000 estimate back from them. Holy hell....
It was a California bug and had very little rust and prep work. I wonder how much it would've been if I had some rust and repair work in addition to prime and paint work???
Shocked

56bugdan · Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:35 pm Post subject:

67 Sunroof · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 7:58 pm Post subject:

But...but...it's a BUG for GOD's sake!
The car was like $3,500 new!! Hahaha!i would expect that if I were painting a school bus!! Haha

buguy · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:34 pm Post subject:

You know thats how I got started doing bodywork and paint. I took my bug to a dude (the one and only person in town willing to do it by the way) and said to leave him a check for 10 grand and that should cover it. So I said screw that and did it myself. I thought the same thing! Its a bug for christ sake! This was in like 1994 too.

56bugdan · Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:53 pm Post subject:

Exactly! It doesn't make any difference what the car is! A Gullwing Mercedes won't Take any More paint than a Bug but do ya think somebody's gonna shoot one for $1500?! Not a chance, and if ya want a bus painted well just go mortgage your house. Most cars that I've seen guys call "ready for paint" are very far from it and there the guys that drop off their car to Maco type shops and cry about the outcome. Fact is, their. Not known a high end paint shops but I've seen a lot of nice paint come out of that place. The issue has always been the mess that they were left with. Their products might be lesser quality (I don't know) but what I've seen is all prep related and bad bodywork by the owners who said its ready for paint.

67 Sunroof · Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 6:20 am Post subject:

I went by my friends house who is going to spray it for me. He said he was still interested but I needed to get the rough bodywork done first. He is spraying it for free and I pay for the primer, paint and clear. He said I want to spend the most $$ on the clear though. Then lots of sanding afterward to get rid of the orange peel. He's painted for many years and his work is really good! But the prep work is the most important and I will be doing that myself. I'm scared to be honest.

BIGMIKEY · Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 11:33 am Post subject:

wcfvw69 · Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 6:19 pm Post subject:

What ever happened to Earl Schieb's "I'll paint any car for 79.99"!

It really is shocking how expensive paint jobs have become on cars. I drove my original paint, 67 bug that only had a few dings and minor dents to a known classic VW shop here in Phoenix. I asked for a quote to paint it if I brought the car down stripped off all parts. I was quoted $7500! Now, this shop does GREAT work but that was far more than I was willing to spend.

I went ahead and stripped the car down myself. I then went about the body work, dent repair, priming, etc. I then bought PPG Concept paint and shot it in my garage. After adding up all the $ I spent on paint supplies and the TONS of hours I had in the body work, paint and color sanding, paying the $7500 would have been the better play!

People who've never done paint and body work can't have a true appreciation for all the labor involved in doing it. The cost of the materials is ridiculous these days as well. I probably had over $1300 in just paint, primer and the other materials..
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buguy · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 8:40 am Post subject:

^^^Thats very true! And Omni is damn near the cheapest paint you can get. You should see what happens to the bill when you step up to the good stuff! But its the amount of labor that is really shocking. Im impressed by anyone that is able to strip a car down and restore it properly in their garage in their off time. Its a wonder they are able to ever get it finsihed.

wcfvw69 · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 11:42 am Post subject:

Air-Cooled Head · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2015 6:49 am Post subject:

green1303 · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2015 7:51 am Post subject:

My attempts at budgeting home improvement projects have been off by a factor of three, and the same was true of the Beetle. I don't buy no-name parts or use shops that bondo, tape, and spray, because that's not really a restoration. I want the car to outlive me.

If you want to save money, then you can source your own high-quality parts, do what you can yourself, and then have a shop strip and paint the car.
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buguy · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2015 7:10 pm Post subject:

Air-Cooled Head · Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 6:50 am Post subject:


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