Painting recommendations

mikester · 02-08-2003, 09:33 PM

I'm starting to do the research on getting my car painted.

She's a '74 Light Ivory.

The body's in pretty good shape and I don't really have more than a few dings that might require attention. I don't want a color change, I just want it shiney again of course.

I'm in the LA area and I'm looking for something economical and good.

Any recommendations? Where and how much (ballpark)?

Attached is a pic of the car.

Thanks guys.

Jim Chambers · 02-09-2003, 08:24 AM

Clearly pictures are deceiving. That car looks pretty shiny to me !

Zeke · 02-09-2003, 09:52 AM

Think of it this way: Nobody paints more cars a day since the factories went to robotics. The painters at ES and One Day, etc. are very very good. That's all they do all day long. It's the prep and masking that suffers. And they don't use anything but thier paint which is not top grade as it is bought in bulk. If you can get them to use the better paint (or bring in your own), I agree that the job looks good.

mikester · 02-09-2003, 10:11 AM

Very helpful fellas, I was actually thinking about Maaco or Earl...

I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be shunned from the community if I did...

I did have one really bad experience with Earl though...it was along time ago and in Florida.

I had my old mazda painted there, they did a real bad masking job and painted somethings that weren't supposed to be painted...

I made an appointment to get it fixed 30 days after and when I came back the business was gone.

Lame...

That was about 10 years ago

mikester · 02-09-2003, 10:36 AM

Oh...and the picture...it's accurate...it's just the camera isn't the HIGHEST quality...the shade helps a little.

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

The point is that you don't let the cheapie shops do the prep work. That's where the real labor is, and the real money. If you take the car in there like the guy with the Benz did, you can be fine. Depending on exactly who does the shooting and what paint they use. But if you just drive the car in there, you usually will get a paint job with crappy prep, which ain't gonna be good no matter what.

The real time and money is spent on the prep work. DIY or pay someone quite a bit to do it for you. Or take it to TJ like others down south do and pay the smaller hourly rate.

--DD

mikester · 02-09-2003, 05:24 PM

Thanks Dave...

Here's a pic of her I took today.

scg · 02-09-2003, 06:41 PM

Isn't it just amazing how good they look on digital film?

Our cars may even look great to other people, but we notice every ding and scratch and feel it looks terrible.

If you really want paint that will last forever, get the car done in that ugly institutional green that Chrysler used on the Dart/Valiant in the late 60s and early 70s. There are several of those around here... and they look just as good today as when they came off the assembly line

Biggy72 · Biggy72's Garage

hahaha ya I never thought bout that. There's a girl in a town down the road a little ways with an old valiant that's that green. Looks bout as good as that green can get.