body and interior Paint Job $$$

[182kartracer]

I'm looking at getting my car painted this fall and was wondering what others have paid recently for theirs. Ill probably also get the bodywork done at the same place prior to being sprayed. Thankfully the body is in good condition so that wont be too much extra. Just let me know what a recent spray cost you guys. Thanks

Edited June 6, 2014 by 182kartracer

[FB73tii]

Searching on "paint" and "paint job" is not particularly helpful, but when I searched on "roller paint job" I got a ton of relevant hits. That comes from the $50 paint job using free surplus school bus paint, small fine foam rollers, and barrels of elbow grease (and a few kegs of beer )

 

Here you go:

 

So I painted my e12 with a roller

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/136696-so-i-painted-my-e12-with-a-roller/

 

Great paint job on the cheap?
http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/131662-great-paint-job-on-the-cheap/

Some help understanding repainting
http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/130984-some-help-understanding-repainting

 

The answer of course is you get what you pay for and the question is what is your end goal? The range is $50 to $10,000 depending on if it's a Chump race car or a Pebble Beach show car.

 

--Fred (who has done some roller painting, but only the primer)

Edited June 7, 2014 by FB73tii

[2002dean]

I'm not going to be surprised if 10k+ is the number for me and I plan on doing plenty of disassembly before it gets to the body shop. The car isn't a rot box either.

[jrhone]

I have gotten quotes ranging anywhere from $1200 (seems Waaaaaay too low) to $2000 for a guy who LOVES BMWs and does great work, to $4k for a shop that does phenomenal work.  If you shop around $2k-$5k is what you can expect.  Just depends on how much work you plan to do and what you expect.  If you want a concourse job expect $10k minimum.  

[ibewebbman]

I am going to guess it's somewhat regional as well. I just paid 8500 in CA for a very nice job after stripping the car myself. There was 44 years of fender bender bondo to deal with but very little rust. Materials alone were 2 grand...

[ryansti]

I spent $1350 on all materials in CA (including Malaga and Nevada paint) And paid $3500 in labor to a family friend that owns a shop. And that was with a huge discount. That included installing all new seals.

 

Before and after pictures

[GoFaSSter]

I spent $1350 on all materials in CA (including Malaga and Nevada paint) And paid $3500 in labor to a family friend that owns a shop. And that was with a huge discount. That included installing all new seals.

Before and after pictures

Your paint job is way nice! It would be incredibly expensive to have a car with that quality of paint.

[Zorac]

depends on how much rust.  I just paid $4k just to have rockers rebuilt/repainted (and I supplied the repair panels).  restoration shops run $125ish an hour around here though.  most wont even touch my poor car (either they don't do rust, collision only, or they only do full restorations).

[Mike Self]

If you're willing/able to do at least some of the work yourself, and don't want a concours quality paint job--but a good daily driver appearance, you might try visiting some of your local high volume paint shops--Earl Schieb, MAACO etc.  Don't laugh....most of the $$ in a paint job is in the preparation; actually applying the paint (not including the materials of course) is neither time consuming or terribly expensive.  

 

So find a shop with a really good painter, then talk to the manager about your doing the prep work (trim/glass removal, sanding and as much bodywork as you have the skill for).  Then approach the painter, tell him/her what you want, and offer a case of his/her favorite beverage (or whatever) for an extra nice job...There have been some outstanding paint jobs pictured here on the FAQ that were done just that way.  I had my '69 done at a traditional body shop where I did all the trim removal/reinstallation, most of the bodywork and some sanding  and most of the masking for about half of what it would have cost me had I just brought 'em the car...I even taught 'em a trick on masking around windshield/backlight gaskets.

 

cheers

mike

[nbcbird]

Mike--so what's your windshield/backlight masking trick?  I'm about a month away from finally getting my '71 to the shop for paint.

[creede]

I spent 5K for paint only (no bodywork). Car was stripped bare prior. Single stage Glasurit Inka Orange. 

[Mike Self]

NBCBird:  masking trick for windshield and backlight rubber gaskets:  get some plastic coated clothesline, and starting on a long straight stretch of gasket, take a thin piece of wood or plastic, force the rubber lip up and away from the body, then slip the clothsline under the lip, letting it rest on the clothesline rather than the body.  Use plastic coated clothesline as it's easier to force in place than heavy cord or thin rope.  

 

Do that all the way around the gasket, then mask off the gasket (and its glass),wrapping the tape over the now exposed lip of the gasket.  

 

After the new paint has thoroughly dried, remove the masking tape and carefully pull the cord out.  You'll have a nice clean paint job right up to the gasket with no orangepeel, and no overspray on the gasket itself.

 

Bonus tip:  use aluminum foil to mask off odd-shaped items (like an outside rearview mirror if you're not gonna remove it).  Hold the foil in place with tape, and use tape to mask the joint between the mirror base and the door.

 

cheers

mike 

[nbcbird]

Thanx Mike.  I hate overspray on ANY part.  Have stripped to bare metal with everything removed so will not need to use clothes line trick--excellent idea which I will keep in mind.

[nicktahoe]

Just spent roughly $8500 for materials and labor. A few small rust repair spots, lots of metal work to ensure minimal bondo. It is amazingly beautiful. Probably straighter than when it left the factory. It was a little more than I had initially planned on spending but now that it is complete, its worth every penny. Every where I go the car turns heads. 

[TKMad]

Mine is a daily driver so I didn't want to spend too much considering how much use it was getting.  It was pretty rough so I had Maaco block it out and paint it for $1200. 

 

Going on 3 years and it still looks great, I am quite happy with it.