Ever since I bought my SRT-6 Roadster (off a used car lot, a few years ago), I've had it in the back of my mind that I'd get the whole car repainted eventually.

I've never really warmed up to the SSB paint color, for starters. I mean, it's "ok" -- but I'd really like this car to be a deeper metallic "royal blue" or something along those lines. Additionally though, it has a nasty circular mark near the trunk lid where it looks like someone's magnetic mount CB antenna scratched it up. It's down through the primer so can't be buffed out. That, plus a few other misc. deep scratches means if I didn't do a full repaint, I'd at least be paying thousands to repaint several body panels and having them blended to match.

I just forked out the money to get the top replaced though, since the rear window started falling out and mine isn't one from one of the states where Chrysler extended the warranty on the top repair. (Went with a nice, custom-made top where the back window is sewn into sort of a "pocket" in back, so it will hopefully not come loose again like the OEM design with the glue did.)

Now, it makes me all the more interested in the repaint project, so the whole car looks nice again (not just the canvas top!). But here's the question. In the Maryland/Virginia/DC metro area, does anyone have a good recommendation for a shop to do the job at a good price?

I already got an estimate from a small local shop in Brunswick, MD where I live. They do great work, but told me the cheapest they could repaint my SRT-6 would be around $3,500 - and they'd need a month or so to finish the job since they only have a couple guys working there and work pretty slowly.

If I didn't just spend the $'s on the new top, I would probably be more "ok" paying that price, but right now, it's all adding up to more than I can afford, especially with the holidays approaching. Any suggestions out there, or do you all generally think $3,500 is about as cheap as you can go for a "good" paint job (EG. actually paint the underside door sills and under the hood on the inside, etc. so there's no evidence of the original paint job that can be seen)?

 

I have nothing to contribute to the main question, but I simply wanted to confirm your choice as being an AWESOME one

I've always felt that the Crossfire would be a wonderful canvas for a nice dark blue -- the silver trim would contrast nicely, and the metallic paint would bring attention to the natural lines of the car.

Not sure if you're taking recommendations on exact color codes, but I think the blue used on the newer SL models (Lunar Blue, MB color code 890) would be an excellent choice.

Examples below:

SL:

http://www.rssportscars.com/photos/c...nar-blue-m.jpg

C63:

http://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbwo...266b25fe3a.jpg

As for the price, that doesn't sound awful IF they plan on doing a proper job in the door jambs and sills, underhood, etc. The Crossfire isn't a big car, but the roadster top will add quite a bit of complexity.

Keep us updated.

 

A full respray for $3,500 in a month's time....hell yeah that's cheap!! My concern would be when they go to dismantle a car they don't know. Stupid little things like broken trim tabs and clips to mouldings for the car are very hard to come by these days. The price is beyond fair and if they do good work, take it there.

 

Personally I love all blues, my wife's SRX is Glacier Blue, very similar silvery blue color. And my 2006 Charger was PB8 Midnight Blue and my 1967 El Camino is Deepwater Blue (almost black in dull light). I would go with Chrysler "Patriot Blue" it looks like this

Or the old Santa Fe Blue like my Shelby Charger was

Both go great with silver.

 

Here's my .02

Ice blue on another shapely car.

1950 Packard Super Eight Victoria Convertible - Photos and Video

 

also, check out William Garcia at Innovation Body Shop 4720, Unit B, Saint Barnabas Rd
Temple Hills, MD 20748

He did some awesome quality work inexpensively on my SSB SRT6 a couple years ago.

 

Well, thanks for the color suggestions!

That's definitely one of the issues I knew I was going to face -- having to give them an actual name of a paint color to use (as opposed to just trying to describe the type of blue I was after).

No offense, but that Packard in the "ice blue" is definitely NOT what I'm going for. That's a little too much like the original SSB for my tastes.

I like the suggestion for the blue used on the Mercedes C63 in the linked photo, though. That's much more of what I had in mind. I think Chrysler's blue as shown on that Prowler is, maybe, a little darker than I'd prefer -- though certainly not bad looking. I want a bolder blue color, but not one that will make the car look cheap. (I think a medium blue that's non-metallic would have that effect; making it look like something you'd expect to find on an economy car.)

I've even considered going with something other than blue -- but with the blue interior, I think it limits my options considerably. (I don't have the money to go changing BOTH interior and exterior.) If the interior was different, I think the Crossfire might look pretty good in a metallic emerald green, for example. Haven't seen anyone do that on one yet.

As for the price of the job? Yeah, I feared that might be the case (that $3,500 is actually a pretty fair price for a full repaint of this type). I guess I was just hoping there might be another option somebody knew of on here. (A few years ago, I ran across a guy who was actually a student learning to spray cars in a paint booth. He was willing to paint one of my cars for very little more than the cost of the supplies and paint, admitting that I might have to be patient with him since he was sure he'd probably make some mistakes that he'd have to do over until it was finally right. But I think that's totally acceptable. Don't have a contact like that anymore though.)

 

I'd definitely go with a full repaint, it's very difficult to match such a light color. The paint could be a dead match but if the painter holds his gun a little closer or uses a different pressure, it won't match exactly. The painting is the easy part, the sanding and rubbing out is where all the work is. 1 day to paint, 3 months to rub out and polish.

 

I didn't know of any Blue interior in a Crossfire. Can you share pictures?
My choice would be Santa Fe or "B5 Blue" do a search for that and you will see tons of choices, basically a bright metallic medium blue.

 

I'm still a fan of the 60's GM "Daytona Blue" - had a '67 Camero that color

http://images.buysellsearch.com/imag...let-camaro.jpg

 

Blue interior? Now I'm wondering if it's custom or color-blindness...

 

Ok.... no, I guess I should correct my statement and state that it's the typical GRAY SRT-6 roadster interior. But that said, I think there's a bluish tint to the gray, especially with the seat fabric. If that's color blindness, then so be it. But I think it might be a bit like that silly internet photo of the striped dress that circulated a while back, where people had different opinions of the color based on the lighting.....

Regardless ... I don't think it's a color scheme that meshes particularly well with some exterior paint colors. Personal preference, I guess, like anything. But I wouldn't do an exterior like emerald green unless the interior was a white or off-white leather, or maybe a light tan.

 

Volvo has had some interesting blues you may wish to consider from the bright
Sonic Blue to the near black Magic Blue