TheSamba.com :: View topic - West Coast Vanagon paint and body recommendations?

Wed Sep 13, 2023 7:39 am

Beginning to look into a good paint job with minimal body (no rust, imagine that) anywhere on the west Coast? Wondering if you have had it done and recommend a shop? Price is important, thinking realistically around $10-15,000.00 but not 3-4 months. Maybe two months , is that unreasonable?

No color change just Vanilla!

Thank you for your resources and kindness, K&K

Wed Sep 13, 2023 8:53 am

Hey K, many people rave about a shop in Baja, and that’s personally what I’d do (if not eventually painting ours myself).

Someone here will know that specific shop.

Wed Sep 13, 2023 9:08 am

Thanks, yes we looked at Live the van life, and thought several times! They are definitely reasonable with price and some good references. We thought about 1500 miles one way, 3000 miles round trip and gas. We then realized 3-4 months estimate of time they referenced or so after reservation. We now wonder if something closer and easier to travel along the West coast might be an option? Anyplace from Vancouver to LA, maybe? Thank you, K&K

Wed Sep 13, 2023 9:28 am

*Everything* on the west coast is overpriced, whether that’s paintwork, vans, or omelettes — so it’s the last place to expect a fair price.

I’d bet Las Vegas and other inland cities have great paint vendors. I’d personally build a pdf document showing all the worst body repairs you need, and start getting quotes.

Wed Sep 13, 2023 9:37 am

By now, this is an old reference that I've never used, but...

The Maaco in Bainbridge, WA was/is (?) owned by a Vanagon owner who once sent me photos of several Vanagons his shop has painted. I've been meaning to check in with him on paint for my van but that day hasn't yet come. He said he did paint for Small Car in Tacoma/Fife so you may want to give them a call too to see if they have a reference.

Wed Sep 13, 2023 9:46 am

jimf909 wrote: By now, this is an old reference that I've never used, but...

The Maaco in Bainbridge, WA was/is (?) owned by a Vanagon owner who once sent me photos of several Vanagons his shop has painted. I've been meaning to check in with him on paint for my van but that day hasn't yet come. He said he did paint for Small Car in Tacoma/Fife so you may want to give them a call too to see if they have a reference.

i think pjn_wyo reached out to him earlier this year and he was still available for that work and from what i recall if it was drivable (relevant because the specific van hes working on is just a roller now) they could squeeze it between other jobs fairly quickly.
i think everything i remember hearing was that it would fit well within OPs requirements for price/timing
i think specifically he mentioned that if there was any welding involved the price climbs pretty rapidly but paint and seams sounded reasonable and didnt affect the timing much.

worth reaching out i would say!

Wed Sep 13, 2023 9:58 am

Thank you for the Maaco in Bainbridge, WA reference.

I can not find one in Bainbridge, see photo? Any of these?

Thank you, K&K

Wed Sep 13, 2023 10:35 am

It's the Bremerton one

Wed Sep 13, 2023 7:32 pm

valvecovergasket wrote: It's the Bremerton one

Doh! Correct.

Wed Sep 13, 2023 11:12 pm

California Westy did mine last year. Amazing paint and body work

https://www.californiawestys.com

Thu Sep 14, 2023 7:10 am

[quote="Corwyn"]California Westy did mine last year. Amazing paint and body work

https://www.californiawestys.com

WOW, BEAUTIFUL!!!
Can you tell us ball park cost? PM if you want thank you! K&K

Thu Sep 14, 2023 7:34 am

WOW, BEAUTIFUL!!!
Can you tell us ball park cost? PM if you want thank you! K&K[/quote]

PM sent.

Thu Sep 14, 2023 12:32 pm

@walty87 went to maaco, turned out pretty good.

I did mine in my garage.

Thu Sep 14, 2023 2:22 pm

Standing by with canoe paddle in hand in case anyone posts ‘Earl Schieb’

Thu Sep 14, 2023 2:49 pm

Abscate wrote: Standing by with canoe paddle in hand in case anyone posts ‘Earl Schieb’

In the early '70s, I used to take fleet trucks into Earl the Squirrel for $39.99 jobs (cars $10 cheaper). They were all about coverage: tires, chrome strips, wipers, license plates, door handles, ~5-10 of the glass, mud clumps, you name it, it got painted. But for a '39 IH flatbed truck without a straight square inch of metal, hey it worked. And bubbles and orange peel were included free!!

Thu Sep 14, 2023 3:18 pm

Earl the scheister also had his own colors, you could see one coming from far away and it didn't look good. I had my Volvo 544 painted that way and regretted it as soon as I saw it.

Thu Sep 14, 2023 6:09 pm

khughes wrote: Abscate wrote: Standing by with canoe paddle in hand in case anyone posts ‘Earl Schieb’

In the early '70s, I used to take fleet trucks into Earl the Squirrel for $39.99 jobs (cars $10 cheaper). They were all about coverage: tires, chrome strips, wipers, license plates, door handles, ~5-10 of the glass, mud clumps, you name it, it got painted. But for a '39 IH flatbed truck without a straight square inch of metal, hey it worked. And bubbles and orange peel were included free!!

These squirts that pass for men today don’t know how easy life is now. When you painted in the 60s and 70s the Shinola was so toxic when you finished you had three balls.

Thu Sep 14, 2023 7:47 pm

I stopped by the Bremerton Macco last month
I talked to the owner
Nice straight up guy
I would love to have him paint my rig
My seams are shot
He said total restoration 1-2 months
Total strip down
Total build back up
$20,000

Thu Sep 14, 2023 10:08 pm

Abscate wrote:
These squirts that pass for men today don’t know how easy life is now. When you painted in the 60s and 70s the Shinola was so toxic when you finished you had three balls.

I was thinking this very thing when you mentioned Earl Scheib. I figured he died at 65 from the toxic paint but he lived to 85. Started the company when he was 30, grew it to an international biz with $50M in sales and then croaked. Maybe he got out of the paint booth early.

Painting 20-30 cars a day probably didn't leave a lot of time to wash the cars before painting.

https://www.autobodynews.com/industry-pioneer-earl...-cars.html
The company was founded in 1937 by its namesake, Earl A. Scheib who opened the first Earl Scheib Paint and Body in Los Angeles. Scheib decided to paint a few cars in his gas station’s garage during the evening hours when the station was closed. What began as a small, after-hours endeavor soon blossomed, and Scheib could not keep up with demand.

Scheib was the first to introduce production painting of automobiles in the United States. Offering low prices of $29.95 for sedans and $24.95 for coupes, Scheib seriously undercut competitors’ prices, which generally ran a few hundred dollars for a complete job. Because of the rock-bottom prices, customers rushed to Scheib’s shop, reportedly causing traffic snarls that required assistance from the police. Open daily, Scheib and his ten employees painted between 150 and 210 cars per week during the early years.

Scheib began to expand nationally in the 1950s, and to raise awareness of his auto painting shops he turned to advertising. Earl Scheib marketed his shops through low-budget television commercials on late-night TV programs. Scheib soon became a national icon and celebrity, and his oft-heard sales pitch, “I’m Earl Scheib, and I’ll paint any car, any color for $29.95. No ups, no extras,” became an instantly recognizable phrase.
Scheib is credited as being the first spokesperson for his own company, handled all advertising and developed and wrote his own television commercials. Scheib believed viewers would find his ads more convincing and genuine if he spoke directly to the viewers about the company’s offerings.

Fri Sep 15, 2023 1:59 am

Some people just got the stuff. 50 years later I can still play the commercial in my head.