fishmanjoe

HEY GUYS,maybe someone can tell me what to expect to pay for a decent driver quality paint job on my 1970 el camino ss.It has been years since I have had one painted. I just take it to the drags some and use it as a weekend cruiser.I am going to keep it the same color,fathom blue.Iwill be removing all the trim before it goes to paint and no body work needs to be done.Any replys will be helpful.FISHMANJOE.

Tod74

You can't get an accurate answer without knowing what kind of paint you want put on it as well as what kind of paint is on it now and how much. What is on it now will dictate what must be done to prepeare it for what you want put on it. Example you can't put base clear directly over laquer.
I'd say if you just want it wet sanded and painted with a single stage urethane and zero body work around $1000 by someone who does it at home on the side. If you are talking taking it to a body shop then who knows.

TheRabbit

I have no idea about paint. I hate body work 'cause i suck at it. I do know that red paint is as freeking high as Giraffe ..... I bought 1 gal and all the stuff to go along with it for almost $400 in jan or feb of this year.

fishmanjoe

I want to repaint it the same color that it is now.That is the GM fathom blue,which I think they used lacquar back when the car was built.FISHMANJOE

TheYellaBrick

Your gonna need to go price shopping, Joe. The shops need to have a physical visual to be able to give an accurate or close quote. Just doesn't work on the phone, just too many variables. Take a weekday and go cruise a few shops from the high end to the Maco's. Ask to see some of their current paint jobs. At a minimum for a decent driver job ,figger at LEAST $800 - $1000. Except for the Maco's.

Tod74

NOBODY uses laquer anymore. PITA ....at least nobody I know.

I prefer to only use base clear but you would have to use some sort of sealer or a 2k primer first because base coat will lift laquer. If it is the 40 year old paint I'd want it bare metaled but if that isn't an option I'd at least use a single stage urethane paint, not laquer.

jmo

DirkaDirka

I know back when I painted my Celica I bought some laquer in NV. I always try to find the automotive paint and supply stores that sell the laquer still. It is getting harder and harder to find it tho since they are all going to water base now.


But to answer the original question........

It is hard to tell how much a paint job is gonna cost you due to the fact that prices are different in one town to the next. I know that a 5,000 paint job in California could cost 2,000 in Tennessee. So I say take some of the advice you got here and go around town and check out some shops for pricing. Not trying to be an azz or anything just stating my opinion

buickcoupe

For a decient job your looking at 5 to 8K. Materials alone these days can be around 4K or more. Just look at paint costs and sand paper alone. Also are you painting jambs, is the glass coming out? You say just pait and no body work but a good painter will skim coat areas and block. If they dont do that you should just get a compressor and do it your self. Just my experience

DRTRCR22

A buddy took his baby blue Ford Maverick drag car and did all the bodywork, sanding priming, trimming and masking himself, then took it to Maco where he finished masking it off himself. They then rolled it in a sprayed some baby blue barrel paint on it for cheap, and it came out really nice... I was impressed. He unmasked it himself and put all the trim back on, and you could not tell it wasn't a high dollar shop job on it.
If your are not a perfectionist, and money matters more than quality, it may be worth checking into to see if Maco or whoever in your area does budget paint jobs, might have a matching barrel paint color like yours for cheaper price.

TheYellaBrick

This definitely the way to go when on a bigtime budget and you can burn up all your own time on it. It's ALL in the prep for a smooth paint job. Have them dump on a coupla extra layers of clear so you can color sand and cut'n'buff it to glass. The paint quality is the defining factor for longevity especially on a driver exposed to year 'round environment extremes. For a race car that is babied, it'll last fine.