Paint estimates?

Terry Broussard

Terry Broussard

Beginning to start out on the painting of my Pontiac. Some rust on the wheel wells, two holes in the hood. Unknown what else I may find.

I will start with some local shops for estimates. Any ideas, ball parks, shot in the dark, as to what I can expect from these guys? My plan is from the window sills down only. The fiberglass top is in great condition. Bottom color TBD, but it won't be white.

Thoughts, advice, suggestions?

Thanks!
 
Mike Burkhart said:
Terry, probably $5,000 to $7,000 in my area. May sound high, but with rust and high cost of painting materials and labor, that's about what it would run.....
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Around here it might cost about that too. When I went for estimates on getting my car done, the cheapest estimate was $4,000 and that was at a place that wasn't going to do the best job. They weren't going to remove all of the trim, they were going to use lots of bondo, etc. The shops that wanted to do the job the right way cost between $7,500-10,000. This was 11 years ago.

Keep in mind, I was wanting the whole thing painted and I did have a decent amount of rust on the rocker panels. In the end I went with the $7,500 place. For that price they took the entire car down to bare metal, coated it with epoxy so it wouldn't rust again, replaced the rusted areas with new metal and painted it.

Hopefully Jerry will chime in here. He went to the same place with his 1974 M-M. He didn't get the roof done because it had a crinkle top, so his price might be more in line for what you should expect.
 
it would cost me right at a grand getting stuff wholesale to do it. that's the cost for materials. with rust issues big or small and they are always bigger then you see. three to five sounds reasonable. to paint the lower half. add a grand for the upper. a word of advice if your going to a shop not familiar with your type of car. you take the lights off keep them at home. also any thing manufactured specific that will be difficult to pick up. I know your not doing the top but pull the lens off any way and keep them at home. just before you going is the time to pull the trim pads power wash the insides of the doors. make the inspection in there and if preventive things need to be done do them first. clean the door jams of all grease and discuss what you want done there. if you do it you know it's done and anything that gets in here has a chance to stick not start peeing a year latter. your changing colors think about what you want the jams to look like when you open the door. if you feel that taking the car apart is not something you want to do. discuss it with the shop. then you go down and pick up the panels and hardware and take them home and clean them. 90% of the job is appearance and there is not many shops that will detail the car as they assemble it. a good shop will work with you on stuff and would rather that you took charge of a few things so they don't have to worry about damage to them. some times a little more money spend will get you a lot more. and one only wants to do this once.
 
I would agree with the others, around $5,000 or more depending on the rust repair. My 85 Superior FWD (which is a MUCH smaller car) ran me $3,500 with no rust repair in the year 2000.
Some advise, dont go with the cheapest person, in body work and paint you get what you pay for. Go to car shows and ask around to see who painted their car, It will give you an idea of the shops work. Remember anyone can make a quick cheap repair but it will not last and you will need to do it again. Its better to pay more for a reputable shop and have it last.
 
Great advice, and I really appreciate it once again. I figured I would strip it most of the way, arrange for the trim refinishing, etc. The interior is not that bad, but again, will require some upholstery, flooring, etc. I do my own electrical anyway, so removing the lights and siren is not a challenge.

The doors are in need of work, and I would like to take each one down to the bare metal, and rebuild them.

I'll start asking around.

Thanks!
 
Yup, 5000 ++ but 2000$ of material for a hightop, the rest on labor I tend to say. It's the work and time that are expensive.
 
i would say 5-7 im my area also, good materials are not cheap but worth it if you are planning on keeping it for some years, because if you cheap out and have to do it again it will cost more to strip it off, and then its like taking the money the first time and throwing it out the window.
 
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