Hour estimate on repaint

Posted By: curbman68

Hour estimate on repaint - 03/13/13 09:09 PM

Have a car I need to have repainted. 65 B body, no rust, no dents bigger than a door ding and all original paint except fenders which have been dipped and E-coated. Car will be dropped off as a shell with the underside already having the undercoating stripped. What should I expect for hours to have it painted inside/out and underside on a rotisserie. Looking for show type base/clear job with factory type finish on the bottom (no overspray though

) Got an estimate of 4-500 hours, does that seem in the ballpark?

Posted By: Challenger 1

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/13/13 09:37 PM

Sounds low to me, I'd say closer to 750 hours.

Posted By: DPelletier

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/13/13 09:43 PM

My car was 650 hours and it went to them sans engine/tranny and interior but still had glass, doors, suspension etc. That included rust repair/panel replacement as follows;
- pass 1/4
- sm patch, driver's 1/4
- sm patch, drivers floorboard.
- trunk floor
- trunk extensions
- dutchman panel
- rear window corners.

came back on the suspension with windows, vinyl top and trim installed. Show quality base clear rotisserie job.

Dave

Posted By: 68gtx

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/13/13 09:43 PM

Thats 35 to 45K depending on shop rate. WOW!!!!!!!!! Just go buy one done.

Posted By: 70_FJ6_RR

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/13/13 10:05 PM

Quote:

65 B body, no rust, no dents bigger than a door ding and all original paint except fenders which have been dipped and E-coated. Got an estimate of 4-500 hours, does that seem in the ballpark?

If the car is that rust free, 500hrs is not out of line. But you know, there's always surprises when the car is stripped. Knowing you're looking for a show finish, expect the hours to be in the 600-700 range.

Posted By: curbman68

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/13/13 10:16 PM

Quote:

Thats 35 to 45K depending on shop rate. WOW!!!!!!!!! Just go buy one done.

Looking at the numbers that would be the smart thing to do. Unfortunately this car has too much sentimental value and beside it's already scattered all across my garage, no room for anything else.

Posted By: moparpollack

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/13/13 11:53 PM

Are these one man shops or are they well equipped with adequate tools with multiple people working the job?

Posted By: demon440

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 02:43 AM

Good Luck,
I have a stripped down 71 Demon that I
need painted.
No rust or panel replacement.
Just sand and paint basecoat/clearcoat.
I went to 4 different places and was quoted
10-15 grand.

Posted By: pnypwr

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 03:20 AM

when i had my cuda done 10 yrs ago it was 12 grand...car went to shop in bare steel no metal work needed and it had a vinyl top so the roof didnt need to be perfect. a real nice show paint job is 20 grand...add for metal work...material is expensive too for good stuff, I think the base coat was 1000 bucks back then

Posted By: elitecustombody

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 04:03 AM

I'd say closer to 700 hours

Posted By: Challenger 1

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 12:14 PM

Quote:

I'd say closer to 700 hours

I'm also sure for a top of the line paint job it would take at least 700 hours.

I just bought a 400 dollar gallon of white urethane paint and 200 dollar gallon of epoxy primer. Both DuPont and that does not include any activator or reducers. Paint is way expensive nowadays. What if the paint you bought is not the regular paint that a guys sprays, then what? Bad idea buying the paint ahead of time imo. Do you have all the activators, reducers, additives to go along with your brand paint? Do you even know what should be used together?

And I don't think you will have much luck buying the paint ahead of time and then expect to give to a painter and have him apply over your body work. Do you take your steak to a restaurant and ask them to grill it??

No way I would do it, not unless you let me block the car until I'm satisfied that the car is straight. And even then I would not offer any guarantee as to the paint job because I don't know what's underneath your primer.

Good luck. Unless you have deep pockets and know a really good shop, I think it's better for you to do it yourself nowadays. Then you will understand what it takes and why 10 grand is not out of line today, matter of fact it's pretty cheap.

Posted By: Russ H.

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 03:39 PM

Quote:

Quote:

I'd say closer to 700 hours

I'm also sure for a top of the line paint job it would take at least 700 hours.

I just bought a 400 dollar gallon of white urethane paint and 200 dollar gallon of epoxy primer. Both DuPont and that does not include any activator or reducers. Paint is way expensive nowadays. What if the paint you bought is not the regular paint that a guys sprays, then what? Bad idea buying the paint ahead of time imo. Do you have all the activators, reducers, additives to go along with your brand paint? Do you even know what should be used together?

And I don't think you will have much luck buying the paint ahead of time and then expect to give to a painter and have him apply over your body work. Do you take your steak to a restaurant and ask them to grill it??

No way I would do it, not unless you let me block the car until I'm satisfied that the car is straight. And even then I would not offer any guarantee as to the paint job because I don't know what's underneath your primer.

Good luck. Unless you have deep pockets and know a really good shop, I think it's better for you to do it yourself nowadays. Then you will understand what it takes and why 10 grand is not out of line today, matter of fact it's pretty cheap.

Wow,

So it will take 1 man between 18 and 19 40 hour weeks to paint one car or 2 men between 9 and 10 weeks of continuous work. Is this what is being said here?

Russ

Posted By: MOPARMIKE69

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 03:58 PM

The last show car paint job I did, two months ago, it took me 60 hours to wet sand and buff alone. Just the supplies were almost $3000.
Then after finishing the paint I had to come back and mask off the car, sand and shoot the hood stripes and inside door panels black on a red car.
If you can get a show quality paint job for $12,000 jump on it.

Attached picture 7625667-Photo404.jpg

Posted By: curbman68

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 05:11 PM

So what would the next step below a show quality job be, driver quality? And how great is the difference in appearance between the two? If you were at the drive in and saw the 2 side by side would it be a night and day difference or would you have to really look at the cars to see it. This is my first time having a car painted and want to educate myself before I dig too deep of a hole.

Posted By: DAYCLONA

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 05:25 PM

Quote:

So what would the next step below a show quality job be, driver quality? And how great is the difference in appearance between the two? If you were at the drive in and saw the 2 side by side would it be a night and day difference or would you have to really look at the cars to see it. This is my first time having a car painted and want to educate myself before I dig too deep of a hole.

Rather than "beat around the bush", just drop the dollar amount your "willing" to spend, and what you actually have budgeted for body/paint, that will give a clear indication to the posters, as to what you can expect for your money....

Keep in mind that just QUALITY paints/primers/fillers/etc will easily set you back $2-$3K...labour is the killer, based on what your requirements are in the finished product, as well as what surprises await the bodyman prepping the car, location of the shop also determines current rates, on the east coast, a quality showcar finish starts at $20K, and that's starting on a clean chassis needing just the minimum in bodywork/blocking for a straight base to paint, and again unless you do bodywork for a living, most Joes have different ideas/concepts of what a clean straight rustfree car really is...

Posted By: DPelletier

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 05:56 PM

Quote:

Quote:

So what would the next step below a show quality job be, driver quality? And how great is the difference in appearance between the two? If you were at the drive in and saw the 2 side by side would it be a night and day difference or would you have to really look at the cars to see it. This is my first time having a car painted and want to educate myself before I dig too deep of a hole.

Keep in mind that just QUALITY paints/primers/fillers/etc will easily set you back $2-$3K...labour is the killer, based on what your requirements are in the finished product, as well as what surprises await the bodyman prepping the car, location of the shop also determines current rates, on the east coast, a quality showcar finish starts at $20K, and that's starting on a clean chassis needing just the minimum in bodywork/blocking for a straight base to paint, and again unless you do bodywork for a living, most Joes have different ideas/concepts of what a clean straight rustfree car really is...

Most shops won't do a lesser quality job; they do it how they do it and hopefully you are dealing with a shop that does it right or not at all. The only real difference should be whether you want to pay for extra wet sanding and/or addtional layers of clear.

I opted to avoid a wet sanding in the hope that the car would look a little more "factory", but there was no convincing them to add orange peal or do a lesser job somehow...and I don't blame them. Even without the extra wet sanding, mine turned out very nice, shiney and flat which is what you should expect from a skilled painter and body man.

My advice is to avoid the price shopping exercise of going with the cheapest as you will undoubtably get what you pay for. Get some quotes, get some references and inspect some cars that they've done so you have an idea of what to expect. Before I chose a body shop, I looked at a '70 RR and a '67 barracuda that they had done and that's when I decided I would be happy with their work.

400 - 500 hours sounds like it's in the ballpark to me for a car that is already stripped and requires no or minimal rust repair.

Dave

Posted By: curbman68

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 07:07 PM

Quote:

Rather than "beat around the bush", just drop the dollar amount your "willing" to spend, and what you actually have budgeted for body/paint, that will give a clear indication to the posters, as to what you can expect for your money....

After looking at cars at shows and cruise nights and talking to their owners, I figured I could get what I wanted for around $15K. If that's not the case, and it doesn't look like it's going to be, then it's not. I'm not going to try to save a few bucks and have to feel disappointed about the quality of the job I ASKED for. Sure there are guys locally that will paint the thing in their garage for less money and they might do a fine job, but I'm not comfortable taking a chance on that. I have no problem paying what it will cost, just trying to figure out about what that is going to be. Also don't want to get to the end and find out I paid 700 hours for a job that should have taken 500 hours. I already have spent probably $5K to a guy that did the rust repair on the bottoms of the fenders and took care of some other things I wanted done.

Posted By: hotairballoonpilot

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/14/13 10:05 PM

Figures used years ago to paint a car ranged in that 30-35 hour range,figure in jams then body work and materials it adds up. I would guess you would have at least 40-60 hours in refinish time by time you do jams and outside.. Body work figure double that to be on safe side. You are approaching 150 hours easy. If you find a shop say round here the going rate is 48-53 an hour, figure in materials you will have 2-4k easy by time go from primer to clear. My best guess is 10k-15k give or take a few pennies.

Posted By: Silver70

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/15/13 01:03 AM

Quote:

Wow,

So it will take 1 man between 18 and 19 40 hour weeks to paint one car or 2 men between 9 and 10 weeks of continuous work. Is this what is being said here?

Russ

You couldn't work on them constantly for 40 hours a week with primers, paints, etc... needing time to cure.

Anyways, the last one I did that was similar condition but with me doing almost the complete tear down and most assemble... came in around 450 hours. It also had some old crash damage and the owner wanted the underside painted which added some time. Needed some minor patch work done also. I did the rear suspension, owner did the front.

I think 400-500 is a fair estimate, could be less or more. But I don't think they said too low to get the work.

Posted By: moparpollack

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/15/13 01:29 AM

A local hot rodder is paying a guy $35 an hour for a custom work. The owner is buying all materials so this is cash labor only. From my experience he's getting rooked because the body man is only working one panel at a time instead of two or three while the mud is drying. So when the mud is drying it's a smoke or phone break.

The body was blasted and there was no material to strip. Missed out when he braced up a oil canned spot with fiberglass and paint stirs.

Posted By: Silver70

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/15/13 02:56 AM

When I apply putty, I don't count the time it takes to dry. I wouldn't think shops do, but I've never worked for anyone else.

Posted By: moparpollack

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/15/13 03:13 AM

Worked in a body shop for six months twenty years ago. We would hit the dents knock them out, grind them mud them then start da'ing the car. We always were working more than one panel at a time. We also would never prime until all the bodywork was finished.

Posted By: Mopargnome

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/15/13 03:34 AM

It really seems most people have no idea how labor intensive a good, quality paint job is. The 5 minute paint jobs and week builds on TV have given the masses a false impression of what it takes to build a car. I had a guy recently tell me he was looking to spend $1500-2000. I told him you wont be happy with a job that costs that. Figure $10k and it goes up from there depending on how nice you really want it. Oh, and watch out for all the flaky guys too!

Posted By: hotairballoonpilot

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/15/13 05:42 AM

I really try not to give anyone any guess. Seems like anything you say a number they keep that figure in the back of their heads then when you are over that amount then you look bad even if there has been extra work needed. I just say I keep an excel program going with every paint material and other parts/materials I use and log my hours. Only thing I have not figured out to cost out and should is items like welding gas,wire,sand paper,fillers,tape,paper,wax/grease remover. I keep up todate on costs on primers to clears. I figure it out my cost and mark up per ready to spray oz. that way when I use say 20 oz of surfacer I can log that amount. Kinda ałso gives people ideas on what each thing costs. Been pretty handy.

Posted By: moparpollack

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/15/13 09:54 PM

Quote:

It really seems most people have no idea how labor intensive a good, quality paint job is. The 5 minute paint jobs and week builds on TV have given the masses a false impression of what it takes to build a car. I had a guy recently tell me he was looking to spend $1500-2000. I told him you wont be happy with a job that costs that. Figure $10k and it goes up from there depending on how nice you really want it. Oh, and watch out for all the flaky guys too!

That's why I do my own. As many cars I own I could buy a house for the cost of getting cars painted. Material consumption is a cost savings, never understood the guys doing the cheese grater body work. Why lay it on thick to have it end up on the floor?

We use to completes in a week me and two guys along with whatever walked thru the door. Not every car needs to be stripped to bare metal and started from day one.

Posted By: RodStRace

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/15/13 11:21 PM

Quote:

I had a guy recently tell me he was looking to spend $1500-2000. I told him you wont be happy with a job that costs that.

But I'm a cheap guy!

Posted By: Mopargnome

Re: Hour estimate on repaint - 03/16/13 01:29 AM

Quote:

Quote:

I had a guy recently tell me he was looking to spend $1500-2000. I told him you wont be happy with a job that costs that.

But I'm a cheap guy!

It was different cheap guy!