Larry writes,
> Bingo! Allen is correct. You will never beat Maaco's price for laying
> on paint. They will apply the paint cheaper than you can buy the paint
> and supplies. There bodywork however is marginal.
I suspect that quality varies widely with location and the specific
shop. In Tulsa, you could brush paint a car with barn paint and get
a better finish than from Maaco. I wouldn't let them paint my
wheel-wells. For my money, it is well worth visiting a few shops
and looking at their product. There should be examples of their
work there for you to view. When you find one that suits you,
ask what the paint finish is and what it would cost.
And prep-work, as you say, is 90% of the solution. The money
will go for prep and paint supplies, the actual spraying doesn't cost
much because it doesn't take much time. Prep can go anywhere
from $25 to $60 per hour. I don't mind paying that premium for
a professional straightening panels and making the metal right.
I don't want to pay that price for some schmoe to remove door
handles. Hell, they'll probably loose the screws anyway. Besides,
you want all new rubber after fresh paint anyway. That is best
done by YOU.
The second big cost is paint. The base coat alone for my car
cost $360 / gallon. It then had to be clear-coated a couple of times.
This was all over acid-etch primer. Yes, you can paint acrylic
enamel over a sealer and it will shine, kinda, for a while but a real,
quality eurothane finish is expensive.
If I had put a zillion hours into the mechanicals and lovingly did
all the prep work, I would not want it painted with cheap paint by
an 'economy' paint shop. It is just false economy to cut costs at
that stage.
Of course, these are just opinions. Judge a quality paint job for
yourself: http://www.aubard.com/SideLo1.jpg
best,
rick
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