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Cost of painting a 1968 Fleetwood Brougham

Started by Keane Taylor, July 09, 2006, 11:13:35 AM

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Keane Taylor

I would like to know if anyone has a real sense of what the  cost is to strip and paint a 1968 Fleetwood. Thank you. Keane

Michael Stamps 19507


Keane

I would appreciate someone telling me what they ACTUALLY PAID for a strip and paint job. Not a wild guess from here to eternity.
And a recommendation as well. I understand that it is very possible to get a quality strip and paint for $4000 from a reputable shop.

Joe Abernathy #17524

Stampies right.  How much do you want to spend and what do you want the end result to be?  I own and operate a restoration shop and would not touch a car like that for anywhere near $4000.  Materials alone will cost me at least half that.  Whithout seeing your car or knowing what you want done (trim removed or masked, changing color?, engine compartment painted?, door sills and jams?, body work or dings fixed?, etc) there is no way to give an estimate.

Ive seen the $4000 paint jobs that people are stuck with and are sick about afterward.  To fix it you have to do it all over again.  

I constantly get people saying well I dont want a show car, just a nice paint job.  We have profesional people using quality products that take their time to do the job right.  Which of these do you want me to eliminate?

The bottom line is you can have Earl Shibes paint it for $800 or you can go for the best and pay $15,000+.  It depends on what you want.

You get what you pay for!

Keane

Joe, Assuming the car is totally straight, no rust. A strip down and paint job would cost how much?
Why the enormous price ranges?
Several hundred dollars to $15,000?! Nothing in between!
Why is $4000-5000 low when I hear otherwise from seasoned restoration men.
That is very broad. Last night a member indicated that there is little difference between a $5000 and a $10,000 paint job!

Joe Abernathy #17524

Keane,

I still could not, and would not give someone an estimate without personally seeing the car and talking to the owner.

There are prices in between several hundred and many thousands.  Thats my point.  Someone could mask, scuff and paint your car for under $1000.  My guess is that you would not be happy with the result.

Be careful when getting opinions from someone about the difference between a $5000 and $10,000 paint job.  Are your standards of quality the same as his?  Look at any new car right off the lot.  Does the paint look good to you?  Stand in front or behind a car and get down on your knees and look down the side.  Do you see a perfectly straight body or are there waves in it?  If waves and orange peel etc. dont bothewr you then by all means go for the cheaper ($5000) painter.

It all comes down to labor.  You could train a monkey to squirt paint on a car but the real finish comes from hours and hours of prep work and finishing.

Im not trying to be rude but we have this debate all the time.  People dont understand why a good paint job is so expensive.

We strip every body panel to bare metal, prime, seal, do body work, (every car needs some if only small dings) apply surfacer primer, apply guide coat, block sand, fix missed imperfections, primer surfacer again, block sand again, seal coat, paint base coats, apply three coats of clear, after that cures we sand with 800 wet till completely smooth, apply two more coats of clear, wet sand with 1000, then 1500, then 2000, then polish and buff.

Hundreds of hours go into each job but we turn out perfection.

Good paint jobs arent cheap, cheap paint jobs arent good.

Bruce Reynolds # 18992

Quote from: KeaneThat is very broad. Last night a member indicated that there is little difference between a $5000 and a $10,000 paint job!

That was me, but I cant seem to find where the thread went to.

Was it Censored?   If it was, then I must have been a bad bad boy.

Bruce,
The Tassie devil(le),
60 CDV

JIM CLC # 15000

07-09-06
KEANE,I hope you are not expecting a good answer to your question!
A couple of years ago, I had a shop (auto body) sand blast and paint my 38 la Salle coupe. I left it up to the shop-owner to prepare and paint the car. I can not give you an exact cost but it was in the $9,000.00 range.
He,IMHO, did a good three-to-five foot paint-job. I can not tell you how many coats of primer. but it has three coats of color and two clear coats. Each coat was sanded.
HTH
The shop owner was a young man- trained by his Father, otherwise I would have hunted for someone with gray or no hair
One word of advise. Do not pay too much up front. Not over 20percent or you wont see much progress until he needs more money.
Good Luck, JIM

john fotakis

hi there !  for what its worth im getting a complete strip + paint job as we speak,  on a 1961 de ville.- here in australia mind you. not taking into account any rust repairs.  no engine bay work etc.  fellow who is doing the work is very particular + trustworthy. lots of pride in his work. very keen on a straight body,ripple free, panel gaps appropriate etc. all trim is off. cost- $8,000 australian- 6,000 in u.s. dollars

dale jackson

 Do what I did.
 

  I cant afford to have my car painted since restore and bodyshops charge to much money for there work. It not worth paying 10000 to have an 1968 cadillac fleetwood restored at at an restore shop . You Can buy an another car cheaper on ebay becides paying thousands of dollors to repaint an car such as 68 cadillac . It was say an 1959 eldo convertible or an corvette or whatever its worth spending 5000 to 15000 to repaint car. The expensive high dollor cars its worth it but low dollor cars its not worth it in the end.

 In 2004 my 1994 jeep was wrecked and rolled over and worth onley 3500 tops . It cost 5000 to 10000 for usa body shop to fix it. It was not worth fixing in usa.  I spent 600 for parts and installed them jeep. I drove it to mexico and paid 700 usa dollers to totol rebuild and repaint it. He worked on truck for 3 weeks.

 Mexican auto paint supply cost maybe 200 for materilas to do truck with clear coat. Strange in usa is 250 per gallen of clear coat over there it cost 35 bucks for gallen.  There paint is about the the same usa paint but way cheaper. I dont know why mexican auto paint is so cheap compared to usa paint.

  Its same the freon in usa r-12 35 per pound 6 per pound over there. Its the same stuff since dupont makes it.

 On finding an bodyshop in mexico try find one you trust and stuff. My bodyshop guy over I knew him well and trusted him and my freinds take cars to him all in usa to him to repaint and do rust repair.  We pay him 150 usa dollers to work 40 hours an week on  cars or truck we bring over there.

 Portor is right taking cars to peaple like joe is an rich mans game and not worth it unless car is worth it in end. I would take him say car thats worth 50000 to him but not low end cars to him. My low end cars go macco or earl Shabib in the usa or to mexico to get repainted.

 The problem In usa the us goverment as put so high starards on bodyshops and prices on materils is so expensive its not worth anymore.  Thanks usa goverment and greedy restore shops and bodyshop owners, paint manufactors in the usa. Its like they want get rich from peaple .

 One reason why is Insurce companys pays the bodyshops on wrecks big on lots money. Its Insurce companys that build the bodyshops for guys who work in them or own them. Most work these days is all Insurce work not work from the car owner.

 Dale

Bruce Reynolds # 18992

Dale,

I thought that you would realise why the Mexicans move North of the Border.   If you dont, it is to get better wages, conditions and a life.

It is the people like you that are supporters of Slave Labour and will use every means available to do things at the least cost, but when time comes to sell, demands the highest price.   A bit like the Sports Shoe makers and other conglomerates that move all their factories off-shore and take the jobs away from the civilized societies.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

dale jackson

 Bruce,

 I stayed there and I cant blame them for leaving mexico. I lived with those peaple before.

 Your right the amercican factorys over there work them to dealth at 50 bucks an week or less. It sad. My bodyman over there I paid him 150 usa per week compared to making 50 or 75 per week in an mexican owned bodyshop. He was happy since he cant enter the usa.

 Dale

Mike #19861


 Keanne,

 You may have not asked my opinion either.

 I do not see where Porters comments are racist or remotely derogatory to your original question. You asked the cost, and you were given an honest answer by a seasoned and professional bodyman. And, of coarse, by Porter whe does some pretty proffesional work on his own.

 When you post a question on this board, you are open to answers from anyone who desires to reply to your post. There is no sensor to stop replies that you do not desire from appearing.

 Now, if you have a problem with the answers that you have recieved, then just go and do what you want anyway, which Im sure you will do.

 My unsolicited reply. Report me to the moderators as well.

 Mike

Porter

Why stop there, just delete the entire thread while you are at it, fair is fair, selective censuring ?

Porter

Porter

Quote from: Joe Abernathy #17524Keane,

I still could not, and would not give someone an estimate without personally seeing the car and talking to the owner.

There are prices in between several hundred and many thousands.  Thats my point.  Someone could mask, scuff and paint your car for under $1000.  My guess is that you would not be happy with the result.

Be careful when getting opinions from someone about the difference between a $5000 and $10,000 paint job.  Are your standards of quality the same as his?  Look at any new car right off the lot.  Does the paint look good to you?  Stand in front or behind a car and get down on your knees and look down the side.  Do you see a perfectly straight body or are there waves in it?  If waves and orange peel etc. dont bothewr you then by all means go for the cheaper ($5000) painter.

It all comes down to labor.  You could train a monkey to squirt paint on a car but the real finish comes from hours and hours of prep work and finishing.

Im not trying to be rude but we have this debate all the time.  People dont understand why a good paint job is so expensive.

We strip every body panel to bare metal, prime, seal, do body work, (every car needs some if only small dings) apply surfacer primer, apply guide coat, block sand, fix missed imperfections, primer surfacer again, block sand again, seal coat, paint base coats, apply three coats of clear, after that cures we sand with 800 wet till completely smooth, apply two more coats of clear, wet sand with 1000, then 1500, then 2000, then polish and buff.



Hundreds of hours go into each job but we turn out perfection.

Good paint jobs arent cheap, cheap paint jobs arent good.

Joe,

You should have posted your website address, I saw it some time ago, I am fully aware of what is involved to do professional work in this field, your advice is 100 percent spot on the money but it will fall on deaf ears for the average Joe. When it comes to autobody and paint work the public has no concept of the labor hours and expenses involved. The Earl Scheib / Maaco cheapo paint job joints have warped the publics cost perception. When it comes to collision work the insurance company pays the bill, and the car should look as brand new. Nothing is cheap with collision work either , good cars get totalled easily, business is business.

Any huge vintage Cadillac is a brutal job, a different animal than a smaller car or a newer car without all the trim that needs removal and the huge chrome bumpers. Whoever does a strip and repaint better prep the sheetmetal properly too, and use the right materials so there is no paint failure dwon the road.

I like to talk autobody but I am through with this thread, they can delete this too for all I care.

Hope all is well with your restoration business.

Porter

denise 20352


Hi Keane

   I paid $4,792.34 for my paint job. It was done by a hard-working individual who, through no fault of his own, came to this country without documentation, in a shop owned by an African-American woman.  If that doesnt make you happy, I dont know what will.

-denise

Brad Hemingson

I just had my 2001 BMW M5 repainted after an accident. Some idiot turned left in front of me at an intersection. The repairs cost $34,000. They replaced front bumper,spoiler,rad support, fender hood etc. You get the picture. The wholesale cost of the parts was $22,000. I decided to get the whole car repainted at the same time to clear up some small scrapes and parking lot dings and to make sure the paint matched. The The labout to bolt on the new parts and paint it was $12,000. Best shop in town and it took them from Feb. 15th to last Friday when i picked it up. It looks new. Not a single flaw. That perfection cost a ton.

Mike

Good Lord!!  You all are so rude.  Why the attitude when responding to a perfectly okay question?  Are you all that snobbish that the thought of a cheaper paint job is out of your realm?  Not all of us have $20,000 to spend on a repaint of a classic Caddy.  I know I dont.  I have a 1962 Caddy that I love and enjoy.  It is by no means perfect and, yes, it does have a Macco paint job (GASP and then silence falls across the room).  Sure, the paint job is not perfect, but it is tons better than what it looked like before.  I am not ashamed to drive it like I am sure some of you would be, but I enjoy it and for the money I have (or dont have) to spend on my love of old cars, it is perfect for me.  Lay off the man who asked the forbidden question--thank God I did not make the same mistake and have asked the question earlier.  I thought you guys were nice guys who supported fellow old car enthusiasts, but I am beginning to doubt that.  Do not turn this group into a good old boys club that turns their noses up at those of us who want to enjoy classic Caddilacs but look to do so on a tight budget.  I would never be able to enjoy my old Cadillac if it were not for the dime store paint job or non-original additions.  And you have no right to make me feel guilty about doing so or that I am some how not worthy of owning and enjoying my car.

Sorry, but I just had to get that off my chest!

Porter

Did you even read his question , how much does it cost to strip and paint a 68 Brougham ?

What are the specifications for the work he wants done ?

You jump in here and wax eloquently about your Maaco paint job, blah, blah, blah, way too funny.

I know what your point was, but do you see how silly your rant was ?

You jump in here and deride and ridicule other people that gave intelligent experienced answers to his question and make a complete fool out of yourself, is that clear enough ?

You have a problem with reality, too bad.

Enjoy your Maaco paint job and try to get a grip next before you start spewing your insults and hypocrisy.

Porter





Mike

OHHH!  Scary big man!!  Sounds like you need to get a grip on reality and obviously have no problem spewing your own insults (like other members on this board).  And yes, I will enjoy my Macco paint job, even if I have repaint it in 6 months! :)