paint and body work for my '63 sdv....any recommendations???

[Joe L.]

Hello everybody, my '63 sdv will need some rust repair and paint work soon and have had her out to see about 8-10 body shops and even 1 restoration shop nearby.  Pricing has been from $1000. all the way up to $10,000.- This is an old lady so I want to treat her right. I live in Phila., Pa and would appreciate some suggestions and/or recommendations of shops nearby. The concern of a few shops is the chrome trim and the screws /bolts that hold them on...Some shops weren't concerned about that so I don't know if they are knowledgable with the older cars. Thanks to my experienced and knowledgable friends for responding.

[Otto Skorzeny]

I don't know anyone near you but here's the straight dope:

The $10,000 bid is probably closer to what a proper job should cost. Properly repainting a 45 year old car is extremely labor intensive. To do it right all of the exterior trim including the bumpers, lights, etc. should be removed. Doors and door sills? The interior door panels will have to be removed.

Most of the fasteners holding the chrome trim on the car should or will have to be replaced. Whether you see it or not, you will have rust underneath some of the trim and in the holes for the fasteners. There is probably rust under the front and rear windshield trim as well. Do these windows need to come out? Maybe so.

The car may look straight and defect free but it's a huge car and still has to be sanded and smoothed - removing all the old paint.

The decision you need to make is how much is this car worth to you and what do you plan to do with it?

A $1000 Macco job can be done by leaving all the trim in place and taping over it. That will likely end up looking like $hit and you probably won't be happy with the results.

Perhaps a shop that regularly works with antique cars would meet you half way. If you stripped the car of all it's adornments (chrome, mirrors, bumpers, lights, etc.) maybe you could get a lower price. What about doing some of the stripping and sanding yourself?

[Bill Gauch #23121]

I agree. You will get what you pay for it. One reason for the huge difference in prices is likely caused by the difference in types of shops you went to. A late-model body shop is going to give you flat rate pricing to rough things up, smooth things out with body filler and paint. As was said, low-end places will likely leave the trim on and cover it. Higher end places will likely remove the trim and give you a slightly better quality job. The job will still be done with a good amount of body filler and any rust removal will likely be a simple quick grind-off and cover. If you get higher quotes from a late-model place, they are likely giving you a high-ball price because they just want you to leave their shop so they can get back to their insurance repair jobs. The restoration places are likely giving you a dollar estimate generated from an hour estimate. One huge difference between the estimates... A late-model place will likely be within 10-20% of the written estimate. A restoration place will work however many hours the job takes and you pay by the hour. Unexpected things will likely mean your price may go up by 50-100%.

All that said, $10-15K seems about right for a good, thorough, high-quality professional body work & paint job these days.

[Hollywood]

Just ask what their bid/quote includes (Are they taking the trim off to paint, are they replacing the old fasteners?)......A reputable company won't have any heartburn explaining the process thoroughly and what you will be paying for/what other costs might be incurred...Just my two pennies  .....H'wood

[Joe L.]

Just ask what their bid/quote includes (Are they taking the trim off to paint, are they replacing the old fasteners?)......A reputable company won't have any heartburn explaining the process thoroughly and what you will be paying for/what other costs might be incurred...Just my two pennies  .....H'wood
Thanks for answering both Q's   the only shop that explained in detail what was needed and how to do it was the $10k shop. Gave me a full tour and had several cars in various stages of completion, etc.  Very professional. So we'll see what happens. This car is my 1st Caddy and don't want it to beat me up too badly. hahaha.  Thanks again Mr. H............

[homeonprunehill]

Joe L, let me tell you of my experperience. On a '38 La Salle coupe I paid over $9,000.00 for a Black Paint- job. And I removed all
of the chrome and stainless steel. Look for a clean shop with older workers. Try to have the repaint done in the origional colour, unlless it is some God Awful colour. You can match-up the colours pretty good right here on the board, plus you have  the paintcode on the data plate . I would not hasitate going to a MACCO for a paint job only, but I WOULD REMOVE ALL CHROME andTRIM and sand it the way I wanted it. HTH,Jim                p.s. You will notice i missspelled "color" I did that for a certin friend that spells it that  way !                                                                                                 

[Joe L.]

Thank you Jim, the car has the original paint both top (ebony) and body (royal maroon) and the build sheet verifies that. I am leaning towards a restoration shop and pay the big bucks. They seem to be more knowledgable about what has to be done and my friends who responded here appear to be right on the money.