Let's talk about paint (please).

I've got the gold paint on my 1987 740. Now, amazingly the sides of
this car look like the day it left the lot - shiney, hardly a visible
nick or scratch and even the pinstripes are intact.

The hood is pretty bad, the roof is VERY bad and the trunk is so-so.
After all of the mechanical and electrical work has been done, as well
as tires/suspension, I want to have the bad areas re-painted.

I have heard about a few good local independent shops, and was even
surprised to hear a few good stories from MAACO [sp?].

Because I understand this to be a common problem with paint from this
era, I assume many folks have had to deal with this.

My questions would kindly be:
1) Assuming all paint fades at different rates, is there still a
particular name/type of gold that I need to use?

2) Does anyone have good/bad things to say about the discount paint
shops?

3) What range of prices have you paid for paint?

4) Any lessons learned as far as what should have/would have/ could
have been done to have gotten a better result? (better prep, a clear
coat, different type paint, etc)

5) Anything you want to throw in.

Thanks!

 

Well, so far my experience is showing that I DO NOT want to deal with
Earl Scheib. I have no idea about their paint quality, but their Web
Site customer service is VERY poor.

The several e-mails I have exchanged with them so far has me not
wanting to ever deal with them.

 

Believe me, you're not missing much. Paint jobs are truly one of those
things where you get what you pay for. If you get a cheap paint job, you
will NOT be happy with the results, and it will just be a waste of
money. I've seen the work that Earl Scheib and Maaco do, it has always
looked from bad to terrible.

 

If it were me (and I've had to have some accident repairs done), I'd find
out from your local Volvo dealer what shops they use for body work (most
dealers don't do their own), and then negotiate with those shops for a total
paint job using the original paint specs.

As someone said, you'll get what you pay for, and it sounds as though your
car warrants a quality fresh coat, given what you already have in it.

 

In <5TgOf.28428$2c4.27719@dukeread11>,

Hi Jamie,

I have the following observations regarding paint. As others have said,
you get what you pay for. The discount paint shops (Scheib, Maaco) will
offer you their best job for somewhere between $500 - $800. For this, they
will just tape the areas that don't need to be painted, and spray-paint
the rest (after removing the old paint).

In addition, they'll charge between $50 - $100 for each door jamb.

If you want a really good job, they have to take all the panels off etc.,
and that adds considerably to the cost of the paint job - now you're
looking at $2000 - $4000.

Minor body work (pulling dents) at the discount places will run about
$50 an hour.

It all depends on how long you want to keep your car, and how good you
want it to look.

I know you've said that your phone experience with Earl Scheib was not very
good. I've used them and have been satisfied with the results (for the
price). I've also used Maaco.

Good luck,
AC

 

Since Maaco and scheib do so many cars, the spray technique of the
painter can be very good. Prep and paint quality....ah...leave
something to be desired.

I know of some people who have prepped their cars first, removed trim,
masked what they could, and supplied their own paint, and paid one of
these shops their normal fee. And they were very, very happy. That
presumes you want and are able to properly prep the car.

Last car I painted myself was a '73 ES. I used PPG single stage paint.
Including primers, reducers, activators, paint, and all, I spent
almost $600, and of course have lots of each left. If I had macco
spray the car, I could add at least $300 plus a tow bill each way ( it
was stripped to a rolling shell)

All of the sudden I would have just as well off at a real body shop,
where they use materials they are familiar with, don't have the
massive waste, and most of all, being in control of the whole process,
are more likely to stand behind the paint work.

(BTW, after this last car, I'll not paint one myself again...I'll
strip it and do the basic rust repair and/or dent repair, they can
finish it up, and paint it. It'll be a better job, no more expensive,
and far friendlier to the environment)

Ron/Champ 6

1963 8E5 Champ (Champ 6)
1995 VW Passat (Vanilla..yuk)
1994 Volvo 850 (Tilley)
1973 Volvo 1800 ES (Hyacinth Bucket)

 

Thanks for all of the replies!

Just to re-cap: The sides are fine, the paint is in REALLY great shape
on the sides. I just want my hood, roof and trunk painted.

Thanks!
Jamie

 

Then a GOOD body shop is where you should take it...Why? because even
though the sides are in great shape, there is imperceptible
fading...at least until you see it against the fresh paint. A good
painter can better match the color, and properly blend in the new
paint to make it nearly undetectable.

Ron/Champ 6

1963 8E5 Champ (Champ 6)
1995 VW Passat (Vanilla..yuk)
1994 Volvo 850 (Tilley)
1973 Volvo 1800 ES (Hyacinth Bucket)

 

Take it to a body shop and get an estimate, they paint individual panels
all the time and can fix any dents or dings in the process.

 

Thanks again to all. I telephoned a cousin back home who is a
professional painter for an automobile dealer. I was surprised to learn
that the estimate for my car at his professional shop was about $500 @
$40/hour. He said $400 - 600 to prep and paint the hood, roof and
trunk. For a car the size of an Accord, he can do a complete, 1st class
paint job for as little as $1200.

This is great, because I might drive home in a month or two (400 miles
away from where I live) and get the top parts done. I really think the
sides are OK, but can always do them later. (Money doesn't grow on
trees.)

I may do the whole car if the budget allows.

Anyway - $500 is not bad for a professional job, I suppose.