Re-Painting A Car

[WhiteTiger]

So I did a quick search, and could find nothing about this topic.

I have recently purchased a used car, and would like to get it painted. Get some of the scratches and 'love' from the previous owner gone, that sort of thing.

I've never even really thought about getting a car repainted before. What are some of the good local (preferably SW-ish) shops? What sort of things should I look for? Look out for? It's a pretty average sized 4 door car.

[burn_this_city]

How much are you willing to spend? A decent paint job can be upwards of $7-10k.

[drewboy12]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

How much are you willing to spend? A decent paint job can be upwards of $7-10k.

I think this quote is pretty high, unless you are going with crazy high end paint, and custom work.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by drewboy12

I think this quote is pretty high, unless you are going with crazy high end paint, and custom work.

Are we talking a Maaco $500 special? Or actually painting it properly so it lasts the life of the car, and doesn't flake off in the car wash next year? If you get it done right it isn't cheap. They'll remove the windsheild, door panels, bumpers, strip the old paint job, fix any damage, sand it, rust proof, primer, paint, and clearcoat. You get what you pay for. In most cases it isn't worth it to even consider painting the entire car, unless someone else is paying for it.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by drewboy12

I think this quote is pretty high, unless you are going with crazy high end paint, and custom work.

I did this once years ago and cheaped out on the price of a paint job. Big mistake as the paint started to flake off within a few years. A good paint job will cost you a bundle as they take off the paint down to the metal.

[zamler]

A proper paint job is $$$$. Also some pics of the car would be helpful.

[drewboy12]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Are we talking a Maaco $500 special? Or actually painting it properly so it lasts the life of the car, and doesn't flake off in the car wash next year? If you get it done right it isn't cheap. They'll remove the windsheild, door panels, bumpers, strip the old paint job, fix any damage, sand it, rust proof, primer, paint, and clearcoat. You get what you pay for. In most cases it isn't worth it to even consider painting the entire car, unless someone else is paying for it.

Nah I totally agree. But I think you can find it for around 5k, for a mid size car.

No point buying a used car, and getting it re painted though if its just an everyday car. Huge waste of money. you bought it used, who cares about a few scratches. Unless they are bad and deep get them fixed so it doesn't flake or rust.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

So I did a quick search, and could find nothing about this topic.

I have recently purchased a used car, and would like to get it painted. Get some of the scratches and 'love' from the previous owner gone, that sort of thing.

I've never even really thought about getting a car repainted before. What are some of the good local (preferably SW-ish) shops? What sort of things should I look for? Look out for? It's a pretty average sized 4 door car.

Call Chippy. You would be blown away at what these guys can do with pretty rough looking cars. I have seen them work miracles with cars that I honestly thought were hopeless. Be prepared to spend $500-1000 for a full cut polish, chip repair, and scratch repairs on a medium to rough exterior. And as stupid as it sounds, the car usually looks better than a full repaint. Full repaints never look good unless you spend BIG dough. If you want factory spec finish, as others have said... it can be $5-10 grand. With these guys (Chippy) they will restore the original finish and only spot repair what is needed, leaving as much of the factory orange peel on the car as possible.

[Draug]

^^^

What he said. While I have no personal experience with chippy, I agree that miracles can be performed by a skilled detailer. Most car owners don't even realize there is such a thing as cut, polish, and seal. For anything short of real body damage, it's definitely the way to go.

Make sure the detailer is good and very skilled. A bad detailer can totally destroy the car.

[WhiteTiger]

Thanks for the information, guys. I had no idea about what a 'full' repaint would cost, so thanks for that heads up.

And thank you, Pylon. I have a feeling that's what I'll be doing. I like the original color (a dark-ish grey) but the original owner put some pretty big scratches into it.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by pylon

Call Chippy. You would be blown away at what these guys can do with pretty rough looking cars. I have seen them work miracles with cars that I honestly thought were hopeless. Be prepared to spend $500-1000 for a full cut polish, chip repair, and scratch repairs on a medium to rough exterior.

I had some minor work done at Chippy. They did a nice job, but the price was higher than I was expecting. I paid about $560 to have some very minor rust removed above the windshield, and then painted to match. I could have easily done the job myself except for the paint matching is a hassle. I got an estimate on another car, 3 places with minor damage, it was $800+. On that car, I had some paint matched and put into a spray can and did the job myself. It turned out very nice, about as good as a person can do with at home (everyone I've shown the car to have not been able to see where I did the repairs, but I can see the flaws).

So I think Chippy is a good place to go, but the prices are higher than I think they should be, the work you describe will probably be way over $1000. I also asked about having an entire bumper clear coated, the guy did not seem interested in doing that at all.