I guess mine will have between $1000 and $1500 into it including the paint guns (Finishline) and materials. This is also my first attempt and I think it is going well so far. Mounting all of the fiberglass parts should be a challenge. I wish I had more time to play with it.

One other thought, at some point in time you will more than likely will want to sell your car. It's easier to sell a car with a great looking paint job than one that was done at Earl Sheib's. The money you save now might cost you more money in the future.

We do it on the side to support are racing habit 25 per hr per man cash.materials cost can range depending on what you use.If you watch what you buy and DO NOT WASTE you can get buy for 1500-2000.
zinc-chomate primer225.00
mud 50.00
180 paper role 35.00
180 board file 45.00
80 board file 45.00
36 board file 45.00
320 board file 45.00
400 dyno interface 65.00
blocking primer 200.00
tape 50.00
paper 50.00
paint(ps2 silver) 350.00 dupont chroma base
base maker 120.00
12305 base hardner 95.00
nason sealer 100.00 setup
nason clear w/hardn 225.00
tac cloth 20.00
cleane up thinner 39.00
pre cleaner 40.00
scotch bright 25.00

these are the cheapest materials you can use and still have a nice paint job.It all depends on how you want it done,would we need to do the bottom side? does the sheet metal fit? any welding? on a scale of 1-10 how strait is the body (dents)? are you willing to sand the body and get it ready for epoxy prime (starting prime)? do you pay cash? do you want it wet sanded and buffed?All these play a part in the final bill.We have painted a number of race cars from 3500.00 to 7000.00, 150 hrs cost 3750.00 plus materials you pay for body materials up front and paint and clear when it is ready to spray.We bill every 50.00 hrs after you look at and we go over what we did.That is as fair as it gets.We have three lined up for this winter and may be able to do one more.

I was looking at the pics of your car and motor. If you don't have a chassis cert tag on that rollcage, you should address that before getting the paint work done.

find a friend, or a friend of a friend to help with the prep work. That is the majority of the cost. You can talk to a body shop about spraying the color, as someone will prob do it for a few hundred. Or as mentioned, the maaco/scheib guys can spray it(they get lots of practice), its just that they spend no time on prep. You may find someone to handle that part of the job for sponsor-space and save some there. (Having someone more experienced do it will save on cost of gun, having to learn to do it, and they'll have a booth)
Summit paint is an alternative to save on supplies. Someone mentioned colors, basic colors are usually less expensive than reds, etc... So ask about that. You can do it on your budget, or close to it, but you will have to be creative and do alot of the work yourself. Even if your not confident doing major bodywork, there is lots of little details you can do, ie door jambs, under trunk lid, taping, etc....
Good Luck

I paid $3500 for a complete paint job on my Duster and a local bump shop did it. All I had to do as far as body work was prep the door jams and engine compartment. Everything else was taken care of by the body shop. Check out my photo bucket album, the link is in my sig. There is no wax on the car in those pictures. There are body shops around that love to do the old cars (and do them cheep) because it is fun and something out of the norm for them. You just have to shop around.

I would sand down that car and put it in some basic primer, then get my drive train assembled and sorted out.

You can paint the undercarriage and interior with spray cans or a paint brush. Final bodywork and paint can be done later.

To each his own...on all the race cars I've had, the engine, trans, and other gear had to come out numerous times before a good working combination could be sorted out. Thrashing on a race car to make it live throughout an entire season of racing takes its toll on the paint job.

Thanks Guys
The only thing holding me back is a paint booth. I dont have the space or place to do this.
I have a car port attached to my house I also thought about adding some lumber and making a temp spray booth with some sheet plastic etc.
I actually have most of the tools, cheapo gravity feed HVLP gun, 18" air file D/A etc, and a 60 gallon compressor.
I might start a thread in the tech section if I could get some of you painters to answer some dumb questions for me.
The car really would be a good one to learn. The car is very straight believe it or not.
But the old primer needs to come off. I would be afraid to paint anything on top of it and lift the paint.
Sand off all the primer with like a 180 grit. It comes of easy like red dust. Then could I just go with a 2k urethane High build, or would I need some type of epoxy/sealer primer, then the high build?
Also things like what size tips need to be answered as in spraying like high build..Im sure it would need a larger tip than normal.
Flash time etc.
If you guys could lead me through out a thread and follow my progress that would be the best thing in the world.
Also, could one spray his primer out side for now? Im talking about building primer blocking the body, guide coats etc...would it matter if it gotta bug or dirt etc?
Tell ya what
Give me about a two weeks and a list of stuff to round up, like what kind of primer i need for the first coat, what grit paper I need etc..What tip size etc..
The guy I got the car off of, told me to forget about any air tools IDK. Said he uses the paint mixing sticks a bunch. Just wraps the sandpaper around the stick, and show me not to go up and down, or side to side but kinda at a angle. And when the paper needs changed just rip off that small piece and go right back at it?
Also, I plan to add some lettering, and if possible add this under my clear coat. Can this be done with Vinyl lettering? Or should this be painted?
At first I thought about copying the Old ShadowWoods Plymouth, but Instead of Black and white, do it in Red and white. Which would make a really cool looking car, and dont think anyone has done this before. But also thought about just going with a Viper Red, or Ruby Red, and just putting "Plymouth" down the 1/4 panel.. and up front adding "Its A Hemi" over each fender well Like the 5&50 tribute car, but curve the lettering around the fender well.

What ya think guys?
Took this "ONE" pic at the Classics this spring.

I would use dupont zinc chromate primer for the first application of primer it has top shelf adhesion and corrosion characteristics. It does sand hard so you can do a wet on wet application of nason 421-19 build primer and do your bodywork on top of that.You DO NOT want to try to straiten dents or waves with primer that is what dollies,body hammers and filler is for the application of 421-19 is simply easier to sand than zinc chromate so two med wet coats are plenty.You can then sand the 421-19 with 100 to apply filler after all the filler is strait and sanded down to 180 grit apply 3 coats of 421-19 over all the filled areas,after it is dry block with 180-220 and sand the rest of the car down with the same apply 3 more coats of 421-19 over the entire car let dry for a couple of days block with 320 to finish getting it perfectly flat and finish sanding with 500 and it is ready to spray.
tips for success:
1)let all primers and fillers dry per directions
2)keep it at least 62 degrees f until dry
3)pre clean before you apply anything every time
4)spend the extra time to do it right,If you don't feel like working on it take a night off,body work needs to be done by someone who is excited about it not by someone who thinks it sucks.
5)Read a book and if you need help pm me I will be happy to answer any questions.

Good luck,Bruce

I spent $3500 on a paint job, single stage, white, no clear coat...RACE CAR.......

Local guy that used to own a body shop did it,,,

I brought him the car as a roller,,,no interior,,motor,,etc,,,he pulled the fenders,,doors, deck lid off,,,,,painted the car and everything seperate,,,and put everything back on,,,lined it up,,,and i did the rest,,,,he also did some minor rust repair,,,(2 small holes in the rear quarter,,,otherwise very solid car)

Car looks good up close,,and has held up very well x the past 3 years....

Dosent the COLOR you choose also dictate how much you might spend ??

I know white is alot easier,,,compared to other colors....

I think i got a good deal,,,for the work he did.....sure i would have paid more elsewhere....

Before...





doors installed,,,prior to trim going back on.........front fenders still off.

I need to find a body guy for those prices....I have had 4 guys look at painting my duster. The prices range from $5k for an "ok" paint job to 10k for a great job. Not to mention that the car is really straight and completely rust free....