Hey all,

This is only my first post, so be kind
I stopped by my friendly Chrysler body shop yesterday to get a quote on a little custom painting and was SHOCKED by the number that came back. I would like to have all the silver accent pieces on my Crossfire painted the same color of the body. I was quoted $647 to paint the door handles, side strakes, and wind shield surround. Has anyone else had this done and if so, what did you pay for the work?

I have an hard time paying that much for those tiny pieces, but I really want this done…

 

I know I saw someone on the forum with a white XF. The interior panels were a nice blue. I forgot who it was though. Maybe they'll chime in. I'd like to change mine too, & I haven't even gotten it yet.

 

Boilerup had those parts painted but I am not sure what he paid.
I had my hood, roof, grill, front bumper painted and it was $800

 

That sounds about right, how much were you expecting?

 

I got an entire [srt] bumper, part of my CF hood, Startech spoiler and part of my grill all painted and mounted for under $500 from a local body shop... shop around you should be able to find something better

 

You were quoted a decent price. The one thing you don't want to do is shop around for someone cheap! Unless you know the painter and know the quality of his work, and he's giving you a good price because you know him - the only way someone will go cheap is to cut corners and quality.

 

you would be surprised at the diff in body shop prices !!! My daughter saved 200 bucks by shopping around for just a rear bumper paint job & 2 dings taken out of side !!! Place we always went to wanted 500 she got it done some where else for 300 !!!!

 

sounds about right to me as for "local friendly body shop" is it a dealer body shop or a local private shop...and also where do you live price vary from state to state...

 

Some of our Forum members are correct when they say shop around. Check the paint/repair work various shops are doing. Also check with the Better Business Bureau for customer complaints. I had a small ding in my Volvo and the extimates ranged from $1,500.00 to $350.00. I saw the final products from the different shops (some did lousy work). Two of the shops did a great repair/paint jobs. One of the best shops quoted me the $350.00.. I went with the $350.00 job and it came out great. They eveny guaranteed their work.

 

DIY. Also, I've gotten some breaks by doing the prep myself. Anything smoothed with a final wet-sand at 1200 should paint out nicely.

 

Something else to consider is what brand and line of paint is being used.
The good stuff has gotten redicuoluly exspensive so many shops are useing lesser products to keep costs down.

 

John is right, painting is not a one size fits all approach, look at Maaco, they paint a car for $500 and a good paint job could cost 10x more. There are also big differences in materials, prep, and finish. Is your paint metallic, then it costs more. Also, the smaller parts are harder to remove and prep than the larger ones, and if anyone is going to paint them in place (without removing) then RUN.

I have had many pieces on my car painted, but I am friends with a painter and a body shop owner, so my prices are a little different. One way to save money would be to remove/reinstall the parts yourself, many good painters will not allow someone with little to no experience to prep their parts.

May I suggest an alternative that would be cheaper? Have the pieces wrapped in a vinyl that will either better accent the cars color or try to match the cars color, that way you saved money, but if the next owner does not care for it, that can easily take it back to stock....

 

Paint "quality" is a bit less of an issue than you might think. The biggest cost in the top of the line paint is in color match documentation, OEM certification, and warranty. Two of the three have nothing to do with the quality of the product.

You have to go pretty far down the chain to find poor quality product.

 

I used Nason from O'reilleys. I got a sprayable gallon of black, sprayable half gallon of Viper red, high-gloss clear, and all of the prep stuff for right at $300 when I painted my daughters Eclipse OZ. It was cheaper paint but the finish turned out great!

 

This is something we are going to disagree on.
Although I could just be a paint snob. I have been spraying high end cars for at least 15 years.

 

I worked for one of the largest paint companies in the world for a bit over 8 years, specifically in their automotive division and I can tell you exactly what is in the paint you're spraying.

From whatever your chosen paint company's top tier line, to the next one down, there is zero, or near zero difference in the paint.

Go to the next one down, and the most likely difference is a lower solids content - which just means you might need more coats to cover. Once the solvents are gone, you're still left with the same thing as the higher cost product.

All your additives? ... reducers, hardeners ... most of them are made by a few different companies and labeled for each paint company. Of the 20 different reducers sold by your favorite paint company, all of them are likely 1 of 2 different things, and the only difference between the expensive reducer and the cheaper is the label.

We had extra labels for a lot of our products, so if we ran out of something, we could change a label and ... Poof! ... we're not out of it anymore!

 

Not to hijack this thread but that is some interesting stuff.
I may want to follow up with you on some of this. It never hurts to learn new things.
I am always looking for clear that lays out better and buffs good when flat sanded.
I mostly use ppg 2021 with dcx9 hardener.

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1970 Road Runner Conv.

 

That's one place where things are far different from paint - clears. Clear technology keeps improving. Of course, the main improvements aren't usually in appearance, but rather in speed - getting the cars in and out of the shop as quickly as possible.

When you get into the ultra high speed clears, appearance usually suffers. Each brand has a much better appearance clear.

With clear, I'd always stick with the same brand as the paint. I know a lot of custom painters who don't. If the car won't be a daily driver, that's fine. However, for UV protection, it's always a function of the paint and the clear. One company may have a lot in the paint and a lot in the clear, another may have almost all of it in the clear. Sticking with one company gives you the best level of protection.