What can you tell me about Auto Painting?

[SeaKaye12]

Hi,<br /><br />I just bought my neighbor's '89 Ford Bronco. It needs a paint job.<br /><br />Obviously; this aint no Lamborghini...I need to get it painted at a decent price....decent quality that will look good and last.<br /><br />When I go to paint shops; what questions should I ask?<br /><br /> I've heard the term "single stage"...vs. base and clear coat. Should I want/need one over the other?<br /> <br />I just want to be able to talk intelligently and know what's important to pin down.<br /><br />I have little or no body work needed; although the original paint is peeling back to primer in a few places.<br /><br />Also, the front bumper is bent upward and inward a little. Can it be straightened? Or should I look for a new one? Are there good after-market bumpers for Fords? Names??? Sources???<br /><br />Thanks folks, Chuck

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: What can you tell me about Auto Painting?

Front bumpers are cheaper to replace than repair including the brackets. Under $150. (do a google search) you can lesson the cost by going to a junk yard. The majority of paint cost is the prep. If your paint is peeling then it has to be sanded off.... re-primed and tehn painted. The cheapest paint job vs the most exspensive is where the money is spent on prep. Single stage paint or base coat clear coat will not make any differance if the prep work is done right and they will both last a long time.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: What can you tell me about Auto Painting?

Regarding the bumper, if it's just the actual face bar, then it will be very easy to unbolt it, and bolt on a replacement. Keystone Automotive is the aftermarket supplier I know the best. They will have a front bumper face bar for that truck, for about half of Ford. However, if the brackets are bent also, then you're gonna have to go to Ford for them. You might ask Keystone if they sell brackets with their front bumper, but they usually don't. My local Keystone store is here in East Peoria, IL, but they would give you the number to your local store. 800 322-2415 If you get Mike, tell him Bill from Westfield told you to call.<br />Bob is exactly right about paint jobs. It's mostly all in the prep work. If Maaco actually tries, and preps a car well, their paint jobs are good. But they usually don't prep them well. At least not for the 189.99 base price.<br />For an independent body shop to do a whole paint job, they should figure around 24-30 hours of paint time. Repair time would be additional. In my area, most shops charge $28 per hour of painting time for materials. That's $700 in just material. But if you stay away from red paint, they should be able to cut that price for you a bit.<br />The only time I saw an estimate from SoCal, was from the Cadillac dealer in Torrance, about 5 years ago. They were charging $36/hr and about $24/hr paint/materials. If they have adjusted in the last 5 years like here in Peoria, I suspect they are at $46-48/hr now.

 

[PierBridge]

Re: What can you tell me about Auto Painting?

Save you money it's not cost effective and the paint job will not last.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: What can you tell me about Auto Painting?

Well, I was in the autobody business for about 25 years, so here is the skinny!<br /><br />To do it "RIGHT" would cost you more than you paid for the rig. Doing it right entails removing all the bumpers, lights and door handles.<br /><br />If you want just a regular paint job with decent materials, you may be able to get it done for a bit less. Around $1,500.00 buy shopping around.<br /><br />Now, there is allways Maaco or earl shieb type places. If they have a good painter, you can remove all the stuff yourself and if its not red it will last several years, especially if you can park it inside out of the sun. Basecoat clear will last longer than a solid color if they put on enough clear. This is where I have had problems with the cheap places. They will tell you that they put on X amount of coats and they dont.<br /><br />I have had incredible paint jobs from a Maaco in my area, but I know them and they know that I know whats up. I do all the body work, priming and sanding. I even go down there while they are painting and make sure that I get three full coats of clear. I then wet sand and poilsh them. I can get the car painted for the price I would have to pay for materials when they have a sale, and I dont have to get my hands dirty.

 

[SeaKaye12]

Re: What can you tell me about Auto Painting?

I hear ya pierbridge....I remember another neighbor who spent big bucks getting a Ranchero painted....<br /><br />Poor thing faded to junkyard dull in just a couple of years.<br /><br />I don't really understand what the mystery is of the factory type jobs that really seem to last decades. I have a white toyota camry 1993 that looks just like new.<br /><br />Thanks for reading, Chuck

 

[POINTER94]

Re: What can you tell me about Auto Painting?

Hey Chuck,<br /><br />Try this site they have everything a bronco could ever need. And they also carry non-oem parts at very reasonable prices.<br /><br /> http://www.broncograveyard.com/ <br /><br />I have a 94 that I needed to do some work on the tailgate and some rust over the wheel wells. If your tailgate is good go to the autoparts store and get some spray on bedliner and load up the bottom third with liner then drill holes for drainage.<br /><br />

<br /><br />The only good thing about this is nobody ever tailgated or wanted to rear-end me. I got a new tailgate and I will have her on in a couple of weeks.

 

[Ron G]

Re: What can you tell me about Auto Painting?

I just got there catalog they got alot of stuff in it.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: What can you tell me about Auto Painting?

LMC Truck publishes a great free catalog for ford stuff. Pointer get the lower panel repair panel for your tailgate and pop rivet it right on. It will last longer than what you have in the picture. There are also wheel arch repair panels that are only $25 each and easy to use....been there done that.<br /><br />I have a 78 bronco that I have as a plow truck. Mine is set up with 3/4 ton springs, lots of bondo, some repair panels and a coat of paint! I shot it right in my driveway and it is holding up pretty good (going on 5 years) for red paint.