Cost of getting my bug painted....

[MTT3107]

So, I have worked out all the mechanical,issues on my bug( '73 std) , now it's on to cosmetics.

So I started looking around for a shop to get it painted.
It needs some minor body work, has some dings on the fenders, and one in the roof, where a tree branch fell on it during a storm.
No color change, want it re-sprayed in the same color.

Just want to get a feel for what the "going rate" for something like this is, obviously there will be wide variations by location.

One shop here, who does a lot of resto jobs on beetles and Porsches told me "ballpark" 15-20 k......
For me, that's out of the question, the whole car cost me 4.5k, and I have put about 2.5 k into it so far...

[baldessariclan]

[Bonesberg55]

"One shop here, who does a lot of resto jobs on beetles and Porsches told me "ballpark" 15-20 k......"

Sounds like they consider all ACVWs to be Porsches.

[VW_Buggsy]

Seriously though any kind of body work and good real automotive paint is going to cost some serious bucks. Best is if you can make good friends with an auto body guy.

You can DIY it but that's not for everyone.

[VW_Buggsy]

Oh, you might check to see if there is a local auto-body trade school near you. They are often looking for project cars for the students to work on and everybody LOVES beetles to work on.

The quality isn't going to be the very highest, but it's usually pretty good. It's great for a driver's car that isn't intended to be a show car. Prices are generally very good, but they may want to keep it for a full class session so it can take a while.

[TDCTDI]

[Bugged Again]

Something else to think about when looking for shops. The bread and butter comes from insurance jobs so your work isn’t a top priority and if they are willing to take yours on they’re going to be high. If they are low then something’s wrong. It also comes down to what you want and expect.

That $15-20 K is I only paint high end, if you can pay that then okay. You should be able to find somebody who can do your driver for $4-5k and you’d be happy.

[Zundfolge1432]

[Cusser]

My 1971 convertible still sports its Maaco paint job from 1978; cost me $140 because was $10 extra to change color from orange to white.

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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

[bruceo98]

Depends on the shape of the paint now and how much time they will have to put in it to get the results you expect.i can tell you right now paint materials have skyrocketed. I was paying 500 a gallon for a gallon of white mixing color and now its up to 780, compound that was 60 a gallon is up to 153 a gallon. paint jobs, especially on older car eat up a lot of materials. it not hard to spend an easy 1000 just for materials and to do the job right taking all the trim off,lights bumpers, etc,etc eats up time. labor rate went up recently about 6 bucks an hour also. for a decent paint job you're looking at about 5-8 Gs. and that's just a basic paint job.Thank our government for all the increases.
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I may not be the best, but when the top 10 get together, they all talk about me.

[mikeonthebike]

You can probably save a few bucks if you do at least most of the prep work yourself. Time is money and prepping takes a lot of time.

[OldSchoolVW's]

[madmike]

Go to a car show ask around, I found a guy , he painted my Laser 917 for $500 included the Viper Red too, I don't think he made squat , he said my ride was his rolling advertisement
I had my Turbo bug painted last spring ,we traded,, I built a 1600cc for the bump shop owners son

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'Black Ice'Drag Buggy 'Turbo'
Rail Buggy 1915 turbo
76 Drag/Street bug 2180cc 'Turbo' 11:85 @113 mph"If I go any faster I'll burn up the Hamster" ,gets 28 mpg. also 10/09/22 11.90 @115 mph
"If I'm ever on Life Support,UNPLUG Me, Then Plug me back In see if that Works"

[lboos]

My 71 sb looked a lot like yours when I got it last year, it had a cheap 30 year old paint job that was faded out and had been parked under a pine tree for a year. I used a buffer and rubbing compound, and wax on it, put on some new running boards and a rear bumper, rear window seal, and a whole lot off cleaning.
It's never going to be a show car, but I do get a lot of comments on it.

[OldSchoolVW's]

[lboos]

Tom,
You really did a beautiful job on your bug, I think you get more satisfaction out of hard work [esp. when it comes out looking like yours] then you get from a new paint job $$$$.
I know some cars have a better finish, - bumps, scratch's etc. then others, but hard work will always pay off.

I know my 71 sb will never be worth what getting a prof. paint job will cost,
But, I'm happy with the way it look's with just a whole lot of cleaning.

[sghyde]

Here is my 1968 sedan. It was blasted to bare metal, rust repaired and repainted with single stage paint. It cost me in the ballpark of 20K.

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Steve
Early 1968 Beetle Sedan

[hitest]

A long time painter friend, VW restorer and bodywork instructor at a college often said this about painting a car:

You can have it good, you can have it fast, you can have it cheap- pick any two.
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[OldSchoolVW's]

[2type2]

These conversations always bewilder me. It's a Beetle,geez, not a 911. Why anyone would be inspired to pay more for paint than a car is worth totally escapes me. Paying $5,000 for paint alone also mystifies me. I 'm aware it's not in everyone's scope of skills or tolerable comfort zones, but it's crazy to see such money thrown about just because it's possible. Here's my story...... the first vehicle I ever painted was my '65 Chevy van in 1997. I had done some bodywork before, but never paint.Being a die-hard diy-er I went to Walmart and bought a CampbellHausfield compressor and paint gun. Then I shot the van which had about six different paints and primers exposed, with bond-seal primer. Then a couple coats of cheap 1 stage White poly based paint(Omni?). Did I know what I was doing?--- hell no! But I watched a few videos and read a few tech articles. Nothing to be afraid of except having to buy sandpaper and more paint again!!!! The results were satisfactory, and shiny.
Since then I have painted a 78 Bus, 71 Bug, and 66 Bus.
Are they perfect?NO Are they satisfactory ,to me? Yes! Most of all I learned a lot and did Not spend $60K on paint for old VW's.
So here's what I would do today as alternative: if not doing it myself would even be willing to buy a compressor and gun to leave with the person who will be painter, if the job price is right. Contact all the car clubs and offer up. Contact the High School shop, contact your brother in law, call the neighbor's hot rod buddy. Somehow you are going to get that car nicely done for a lot less than you thought.
If I wasn't enjoying my unhindered retirement, it would be my great entertainment to charge people $3,000 for a single stage job with $600 in materials. Being the local " one-man Earl Schieb" would be very profitable. One more thing---- do you really WANT a paint job that makes you sweat when you park your car downtown, or drive in a woodsy area? That might be 4 cents worth, but that's my jive.
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"A life of peace and happiness depends on your own gratefulness"