Paint job cost ? What have you paid ?

[Ford_Fellow]

This is a condensed version of all that goes into a frame off paint job...I posted this just to kind of show a little of what goes into a fixer upper....

[Ford_Fellow]

[Ford_Fellow]

[Ford_Fellow]

[Ford_Fellow]

I hope you have enjoyed this little pictorial...Sorry it not of a 57 Ford...I hope to do my 57 Skyliner in the next year or so...

[canadian_ranchero]

i have seen some cars that people have paid the big money for the body and paint work,and thought to my self that i could do a better job.AND I AM NOT A BODY MAN!!.so i am going to do as much of the body work,paint as i can. then i will know what is under the paint,as some of the supposed good body men around here are real good at laying the "mud" on[bondo]

[cool57]

The car's I am about to show are not 57 Fords but the pictures are just to show a little of what goes into Paint and Body repairs....My own cars are Fords and 55 & 56 & 57's are where my dreams are...The paint and body work is same idea on the different brands..I have been doing this work for just shy of fifty years...

Nice pictorial, thank you. What stripping method do you use?

[Ford_Fellow]

Nice pictorial, thank you. What stripping method do you use?

On a car that is completley stripped out I will sand blast the inner parts door frames and around the window openings and trunk openings and inside the trunk and underbelly...NOT the outside skin...I will use an eight inch pad with 80 grit on a polisher type angle grinder...The polisher type is designed for slower speed..When you are striping a car with the original lacquer on it if it gets hot it will just melt into your sanding disc... ..so I do not heat things up...I will use paint remover only in places where it does not get into places you can not get rid of it...I do not get a car body shell dipped because if you are not able to get rid of all the acids they use to clean they can resurface and ruin your paint work...The 55 Chev I did not take off the frame I sanded all the paint off and it took forever it seemed to do in the trunk and around all the inners. The Chrysler I took off the frame and sandblasted the inner stuctures and eadges and was much quicker and better time and quality wise...The sand will get into everything so is nice on the rotisserie to blow it out with the car in different positions...All the sand must be blown out or will come out of somewhere and get into your paint...

I will only sandblast a car myself as done wrong it WILL RUIN a car....

[clubcoupe57]

Hi Guys, most of you have seen the pics I have posted on my 57, I am more then happy with my paint job, all the rust was removed, base coat clear coat, plus the shop is going to color sand and buff it out and it cost me $5750.00.I know I got a good deal , I got 3 estimates and they were all around that price, but i am not sure if they all woud of done as good of job.  I bet 95% of us like our classics not for how much the paint job is but the nostalga of something we had when we were younger, you can only afford what you can afford , that is why I think the rat rod thing is so popular because when we were kids making $1.00 an hour that is all we could afford to do!

[RICH MUISE]

Except for the fact they are chevies (lol), great layout ford fellow! Thanks. I have a question...I am planning on two toning my car, and additionally it will have graphics  (flames? I haven't decided for sure), so I have decided to do the final paint with the car assembled. My plans are to do the firewall,cowl and jambs, the inside of the doors hood and trunk and then assemble it for the final adjustments, blocking and paint. I was planning on using a tinted sealer before the basecoat, but now I'm wondering about that overspay getting into the jambs, etc. causing a blending problem. Do you use tinted sealers? How can that problem be avoided? I appreciate your input.  Rich

[Ford_Fellow]

Rich if you have striped all the old paint off the outside skin or if you have primed the complete car with a quality primer that the basecoat will not reactivate then you do not need a sealer...I do not want to get into brand names but there is what you call tint-able primers and also called value shade primers. In other words you can purchase the primer you want in the base color that you need so the proper background shade is there to give you the shade of color you are supposed to have..When I mix my base the formula will tell me what shade of primer to use  like a white will be value shade 1 and black will be value shade 7 ...Clear as mud...yup yup yup....

Reason for the chev and mopar is something has to pay the freight around here..

Unless you are a very practiced person at assembling a car after painting I recommend to have all your panels on the car and the alignment work done...It takes time but on a restore you should prefit all your items before you paint including bumpers so that when it comes time to assemble you have all the proper clips bolts and hardware so that on assembly it goes smooth and you are just concerned with care....Tapeing of sharp and cushioning products on the edges or where ever  needed are a good thing...watch to see problem area's when doing your trial fit before paint...

There is a masking material that you can put into door eages and trunk eadges that is a real help in blocking off the paint entering the jams..It is a round foam with one sticky eadge..An excelent masking job needs to be done to get the result...and a little bit of very fine grit sanding in the jam if needed in the clearcoat to achieve the look you desire..

[Ford_Fellow]

Here are a couple of pictures of stuff out back as me personal endeavor's are Ford and Merc...

[RICH MUISE]

Awesome collection...like your dogs too. That's not southern cal is it...Oregon?

[rmk57]

 I'm guessing interior of B.C or Alberta. Does Southern California get that kind of snow?

[Ford_Fellow]

My location is Prince George British Columbia Canada...fifty miles off the center of British Columbia...