Paint. Where do I begin?

[VF1Skullangel]

I'm turning my V6 Camaro into a ZL1 concept Replica like john mosses car from the late 90's and have put on simluar ground effects to the concept before the 98+front end conversion. I also bought a freedom design wing to go with it which is still in the box ready for paint. We mocked up everything for it however.(drilled the wholes and such)

Everything has mounted in the car just fine and it looks very OEM from what everybody is saying however the car needs paint.

The current color is a Ferrari Silver, the car used to be white. It was poorly preped before repainted in the silver color and it currently has chipped paint here and there. From a distance the car looks fine but up close its not lookin to good, it also never had clear coat.

I figure I would go shop around at the local body shops but everybody has averaged price for me is $4000!. All I originally wanted to do was paint the car black. The car itself has no structure damage at all, the paint isn't super severe in fact the current paint can be saved.

The cheapest place is Macco, I know many people do not like them but they are currently the cheapest place I can go for paint. They can repaint the car the same color at a very reasonable price which is not a bad thing all id want from them is to fix the scratches and put clear on it.

Many have told me I should paint the car myself but I have zero experience or tools to do it. I do plan on painting the wing myself along with the berger panel with bumper coating.

My budget is $1500, I could pay more but I'm trying not to.

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

Depends on the quality you want. You can't expect a $4000 paint job for $1500. Maaco's are individually owned and operated, so I'd go to them and have them show you some of the cars they've done or request the numbers of a few of the previous customers to have a look at their cars. My guess is you won't want them touching your car.

If you do prep work and taping yourself, you will save a lot of money and might be able to go to some place with a little bit better results, so I would suggest finding a place that has done some nice work but is reasonably priced and do as much of the prep work as possible.

[BallerMaro13]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

just hire Schlotzky and supply a box full of spray paint for him --- you'll be all set lol :D

[Watazz]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

Really all you will need is, paper, tape, a DA, gravity feed paint gun, alot of different grit sand paper, spray paint primer, and whatever paint and clear coat you want to use. Oh and of course water. You can expect a $4000 paint job for less than 1500 if you do it yourself and spend plenty of time on it. Its alot of paint, sand, paint, sand, paint, sand. You get the best results if you remove the panels, and bumpers and paint them off of the car. The hard thing is laying the paint as even as possible. Watch some youtube vids and practice. You will get the hang of it, its pretty basic.

[Shodown]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

Really all you will need is, paper, tape, a DA, gravity feed paint gun, alot of different grit sand paper, spray paint primer, and whatever paint and clear coat you want to use. Oh and of course water. You can expect a $4000 paint job for less than 1500 if you do it yourself and spend plenty of time on it. Its alot of paint, sand, paint, sand, paint, sand. You get the best results if you remove the panels, and bumpers and paint them off of the car. The hard thing is laying the paint as even as possible. Watch some youtube vids and practice. You will get the hang of it, its pretty basic.

You forgot several important details. He'll need a decent air compressor to run the guns and if he wants the paint to lay half decent then he'll need 2 separate guns: one for paint and one for clear coat (one gun for both is bad juju). He will also need a TON of plastic wrap and VERY clean garage (or a legit paint booth) to ensure that no dust particles land in the wet paint or clear coat. Dont forget all the tape, paper and covering materials.

Painting itself is basic, but its also an art. Not just any joe shmo can do it and make it look right. You cant just "learn it on youtube". And it should NEVER be paint, sand, paint sand...thats wasted time, effort and money. It should be sand, primer, paint, clear, buff and you're done.

[Watazz]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

^ I kind of figured the compressor was a give in. You arent doing anything with air tools without a compressor, hahaha. I just figured id at least give him that much.
I worked in a garage for a short period of time and we used DA, wet sand whole, primer, wet sand, paint, wet sand runs, paint, wet sand runs, clear, and then buff.
Even if you are really good you will get runs from time to time, that is mostly what wet sanding is for.

I did this in my 9X20 garage, at my house, with the door open, before i knew anything about body work, or paint. I was 16. So you dont have to be very skilled. I watched someone do it, and then practiced for an hour or so.

[Mighty Thor]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

^ That's pretty good job for a 16 yo.

If you plan on having Maaco do the job I suggest you prep it yourself and ask them if they have dupont or sherwin paint.

[T-Mill]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

I recently took apart a firebird that the previous owner had painted at Maaco... and it wasn't pretty. There was paint on all the weatherstripping, runs and drips on the bottom half of each door, some overspray on the glass. I even found some blue paint in the grooves between the rims and tires

I wouldn't take the car to Maaco unless you do all of the prep work yourself, but if you're willing and able to do that, then with the money you save, you might as well have it painted by a reputable body shop by someone who's been doing it for a few years instead of a recent JVS grad...

Also, if you really can't find anywhere that's within you budget, I would try calling or e-mailing a local community college or something since they may do it as a teaching experience for really cheap, or even free... you'd probably end up with equal quality work as Maaco, but cheaper...

[accident_prone247]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

it sounds weird but check craigslist. under the labor section. i found a few painters that were looking to make money on the side and painted my durango. no body work and just a simple base clear coat. it was only 500 dollars. and i trusted his work because he had numerous show cars and personal references that ranged from el cheapo to prestine show car quality and they all backed him. but with times hard i'm sure you could find something cheap

[Watazz]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

^ That's pretty good job for a 16 yo.

If you plan on having Maaco do the job I suggest you prep it yourself and ask them if they have dupont or sherwin paint.

thanks bra. It took me forever since this was my first time and i wanted it to look nice.
But yea I dont know about you guys area but i wouldnt consider taking my car to any macco in the hampton roads area. It almost looks as if they spray paint it , and i dont even think they clear.

[VF1Skullangel]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

Thanks guys for your imput.

My resorces are very limited, my garage is small but thats where the camaro sleeps at night........ along with my dogs.:rolleyes:

If I decide to go with macco i'm going to do just a basic touch up on the silver. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, pay the $500 and get err done!


I can check with my mechanic to see if he would allow me to do the painting at the shop. He's got the air compressor to run air tools so Id figure go buy some plastic wrap, pain guns and paint. I'm willing to bet I can do it for under $700 by doing it all myself. Id have to know what grit paper to buy and where to buy automotive paint locally

As far as the Craigslist idea thats an option also. Ill have $500 hopefully by friday so ill see what I can cookup.:stp:

[accident_prone247]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

if you paint it yourself don't do it anywhere there is oil products stored. so doing it at your mechanic shops is not a good idea. the oil in the air can screw up the paint job fast. also if you do it yourself windex is your friend.

[Watazz]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

Thanks guys for your imput.

My resorces are very limited, my garage is small but thats where the camaro sleeps at night........ along with my dogs.:rolleyes:

If I decide to go with macco i'm going to do just a basic touch up on the silver. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, pay the $500 and get err done!


I can check with my mechanic to see if he would allow me to do the painting at the shop. He's got the air compressor to run air tools so Id figure go buy some plastic wrap, pain guns and paint. I'm willing to bet I can do it for under $700 by doing it all myself. Id have to know what grit paper to buy and where to buy automotive paint locally

As far as the Craigslist idea thats an option also. Ill have $500 hopefully by friday so ill see what I can cookup.:stp:

I guess your macco is a little more caring than mine hahaha. they charge 235 a job or some crazy Sh*t like that.
I also did that paint job for well under 700, hell even uner 500. I Borrowed the gun, DA, already had a compressor, tape, paper, and buffer.

[ssms5411]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

Macco wanted $500 to change mine from white to black, but I just shopped around and found a independent guy who did paint and they did mine for $2000 , took out some big dents and did some fiberglassing and painted the door jams and such. Did a O.K. job on it , might have to have it redone in about 5 years before my warranty runs out, but overall after I do the car with the Black box wax job it looks outstanding.

[VF1Skullangel]

Re: Paint. Where do I begin?

I could always get the carbon fiber wraps:D

http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/ca...800202TXxHgcTX

But seriously though I'm sh!t out of luck here with my resorces being so limited.:work:

I might have to paint my car out in the open but everyone keeps telling me that its not a wise idea.