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Cost of painting

MikeCon

Full Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2019
Messages
276
Looking for someone to paint my 73 sport with Ranger package. Need to weld hood pin holes,bolt holes for tire bracket, and minor body work..Solid truck with very little rust. Got an estimate for $8,000- $10000. Sounds high.. Any opinions or ideas?
 

68Broncoz

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2017
Messages
403
Based on what I paid for mine that is a good deal.

I would ask alot of questions though to ensure you get what you expect,

Chris
 

johnbeck

Sr. Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2015
Messages
534
There is such a difference between good work and bad. On my friend's Bronco, from 20 plus feet away, you can't see that the front of the doors grind on the fenders when you open them. On my Bronco you don't see the bent fenders, the missing bolts, the not factory replace floor panels, the surface rust coming thru on the rocker panels, the rust in the tailgate, etc. unless you saw the before primer repairs. Single stage or two stage paint? Over a couple of weeks "stop bye just to see what your working on". Ask questions. I would strongly recommend going to 3 or 4 shops, ask what they would recommend doing in repairs and have them show you what there doing on cars in the shop. Ask if there are different levels of repaints(sanding door jambs?). What do they do on rust repair? Play ignorance asking questions, start with shops you don't think you'll end up at to get your basic education. There are good shops and bad shops. Good talkers, a lot who won't deliver. A lot of money, do you homework. John
 

1970 Palmer

Full Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2020
Messages
455
I was at a car show talking to a guy and his wife. They had a really nice hot rod. Another guy walked up, interrupted us, and asked "How much does a paint job like that cost you? The guy simply answered, "We don't discuss topics like that in Mixed Company". I bet the guy knows better than to ask his wife how much it costs to be a Blond!

You have to figure out what level of job you want and are willing to accept. No point in spending $50K on a paint job for a daily driver that will be parked outside. The paint job is really pretty easy, it's all of the prep and detail that run up the labor time. A really nice paint job is all about the time taken during panel fit and prep.

In my case, I knew the quality I really wanted was way more than I could afford, so I did it myself, in my driveway under a Ash Tree. I replaced four panels due to rust, four panels due to crash damage, a different roof (used) due to a roll over crash, metal worked every panel on the body, replaced all new seals, and did a single stage Carmel Bronze and Wimbledon White paint job. Every part was removed, prepped, epoxy primed, shot with high build two part primer and block sanded to 320 before I shot two coats of color.

I mention all of this this because you need to understand that to do a job like this consumes hundreds of labor hours. It really does not matter if you have a old guy like me doing it under his shade tree, or take it to a professional shop and pay them a $100 plus dollars per hour, it's still hundreds of hours of labor times the rate. At his point, I'm at final assembly, I've spent a couple of thousand with the Bronco vendors, a couple of thousand in 3M and paint/body materials, and I have worked on this project "almost everyday" for the past four months solid.

You need to go to any "local" car show, or hot rod gathering and ask the guys with nice rides for local referrals. The question to ask, Are you pleased, Would you use the same body shop again?
 

73azbronco

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 11, 2007
Messages
7,796
Kindig show let a number out during one show on how many hours it took to prep and paint one car. My math, over $100,000 to paint the vehicle, and another $150,000 in the rest of it, and thats their normal run of the mill show car.

8-10K is right in the ballpark for a really nice job, not showroom, but passable for the next 20 years. You want top dollar at Barrett, and you will be North of $50,000 in paint alone.
 

BGBronco

Contributor
N A S H V I L L E
Joined
Jun 23, 2017
Messages
1,543
Loc.
Tennessee
This is a $500 paint job on my old bronco, including prep labor (mine), single stage fleet paint, a $15 harbor freight paint gun, and $150 to the guy that shot it in his paint bay (a dirty warehouse).

Sure it's a 20 footer but I've seen people spend a lot more and get the same, or less. The comments from people were always, 'love the bronco, great color, etc' not, crappy paint job!

55E4D02A-3996-4082-9CED-5B86E2058DFD.jpg
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
34,833
As good as you think it is, it needs a massive amount of work to a painter.

The range of quality is vast. Show quality will cost you. Cheap is cheap. Paint an materials will be a few hundred bucks, maybe a grand (for fairly normal paint). Labor and prep are time. Labor is expensive. If the prep is wrong the finished job will suck.

For reference my daily driver is getting clear coat rot. I checked with a reputable body shop for a respray with no color change. Maybe an hour of to work some of the door dings out. It was still quoted at $5k.
 

Spaggyroe

Full Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2019
Messages
284
I'm getting ready to spray my 69. In materials alone, I spent $400 on primer, and another $1100 on base coat, clear, reducer, and hardener.

I'll have another few hundred into masking supplies, wax and grease remover, scotch brite pads, sand paper, tack rags, paint filters, etc, etc.

Supplies are the cheap part of a paint job.
If I were paying myself for all of the sanding and prep hours, it'd probably be in that 8-10k range too.
 

Bradsp8

Sr. Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2005
Messages
599
One thing I would do before leaving any shop AFTER receiving information and a quote.....ask them, "if you couldn't paint your own car who would you have paint it?" Some will BS you but others will shoot you straight. I may be seen as an ass for asking this question but I feel it's a fair question and if they get offended it's their problem not mine. If you receive two of the same response then there's your answer. Most good guys know their competition. You don't want a crappy paint job regardless of cost.

On another note, you might call around to hotrod shops as many modern auto body shops won't have interest or time in painting an antique car as they're tied up with modern cars and insurance claims.
 

markatherton

Sponsor/Vendor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 11, 2004
Messages
1,867
paint

We paint broncos "in house". My materials cost to paint a bronco are $2000 to $3000 depending on the color for a "frame off paint job. Labor can exceed $12,000 to $15,000 depending on the amount of metal replacement. It can easily take 300 man hours to prep and paint a bronco. I realize everything is more expensive in California...
 

sprdv1

Contributor
REBEL
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
81,734
well said and fine looking 20 footer too :)

This is a $500 paint job on my old bronco, including prep labor (mine), single stage fleet paint, a $15 harbor freight paint gun, and $150 to the guy that shot it in his paint bay (a dirty warehouse).

Sure it's a 20 footer but I've seen people spend a lot more and get the same, or less. The comments from people were always, 'love the bronco, great color, etc' not, crappy paint job!

View attachment 503401
 

blubuckaroo

Grease Monkey
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
11,795
Loc.
Ridgefield WA
You need to select the paint job for how you plan to use the vehicle.
If I planned to put it in show competition, then sure, a two stage paint job is the way to go.
On the other hand, if you drive on trails at all, a single stage paint job is easier to buff out scratches from brush. It costs less too.

If you strip the car yourself, you'll save a bunch. I pulled the bumpers, chrome, clearance lights, top, and interior myself. I drove it to the paint shop sitting on a tool bag. We hauled the top to the shop strapped to the top rails of a pickup bed.
 

BoltTurner

Newbie
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
33
8 to 10 sounds pretty reasonable. I had mine painted inside and out, very little prep work - what they called scuff and shoot and filled in a few holes from removing the stock tire carrier. It was 3 colors - blue exterior, silver grill, flat blue dash and white FORD on the back. I basically took it in completely ready to go with only 2 bolts holding the front seat in and everything else stripped. No gauges, no switches, no bumpers, no top, nothing. That still cost me 10k under the table and 6 months of waiting. Came out great. Near show quality paint job.
 

1970 Palmer

Full Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2020
Messages
455
We paint broncos "in house". My materials cost to paint a bronco are $2000 to $3000 depending on the color for a "frame off paint job. Labor can exceed $12,000 to $15,000 depending on the amount of metal replacement. It can easily take 300 man hours to prep and paint a bronco. I realize everything is more expensive in California...

In "todays market", your cost of materials are spot on. It's sad how much everything costs today.

The key point is that it still takes "even a specialized Early Bronco pro shop" with lots of experience, "hundreds of labor hours" to do the paint prep work.
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
34,833
You also need to have a talk with the painter on the level of finish. Color sanded and polished to perfection including the bottom of the rockers?

About 8 years ago I had a boat painted (Factory painted fiberglass, not gelcoat finish, old boat). Mine was for them to do the final primer and sand (we had a discussion prior about the materials I was using in the repairs I was doing) and paint it. No color sand, no buff. They were to put a day into final sanding but no more. Runs and nibs were to be fixed. Called it a 5-footer. Standing at the dock with the boat at your toes it looks great. On the trailer had drying it, there are flaws in the prep. I also pointed out that I intended to actually use the boat. Didn't want perfection as I would be too scared to use it. In the years there have been a few marks added to it. If it were perfect there is no way I could tie it to a dock or use it in any normal way.
 

ep67bro

Contributor
Bronco Junky
Joined
Aug 28, 2008
Messages
3,642
Loc.
Easton, MD
I think the estimate you got sounds about right. As others have said prep is key and very time consuming. What do you wan the truck to be? Show perfect, driver, wheeler?

I have painted two broncos my self over the years and they were 10 ft jobs. I used single stage paint, high build primer, basic prep. They looked good but they were not perfect but I didnt break the bank doing them. I wasnt afraid to drive the truck and I wheeled the hell out of my 67. I still have that truck and it still looks good from 10ft. I think I had about $1,200 in paint, primer, and materials but that was 15 years ago.
 

Howard2x4x4

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Apr 19, 2014
Messages
2,278
This is a $500 paint job on my old bronco, including prep labor (mine), single stage fleet paint, a $15 harbor freight paint gun, and $150 to the guy that shot it in his paint bay (a dirty warehouse).

Sure it's a 20 footer but I've seen people spend a lot more and get the same, or less. The comments from people were always, 'love the bronco, great color, etc' not, crappy paint job!

View attachment 503401

Ya dun good, Pilgrim!
 

AC932

Contributor
Full Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2018
Messages
247
All prep and sanding after the fact. I personally prefer single stage just cuz its pretty easy to work with, buff out, and patch. Not a bronco, but this T-Bird was the last car I painted. Maybe $2500 in materials, did it with a $30 Tractor Supply paint gun in our 1.5 car garage. Took probably 50 full days of sanding, didn't need any body work. I think it turned out pretty good, but if you're paying someone for it, labor is a killer.


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