Just how does one go about getting their car painted?

the only cars ive ever gotten painted in an acceptable manner AND timeframe was my neon. by a collision shop that does restorations as well, and is owned by a good friend of mine.

every other car, on the other hand, has taken either waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too long (elcamino going on a year now, duster took 5), or were completely unacceptable, or both.

so i have no idea how to go about getting your car painted, unless you have the money to pay bill the bodyman over at the collision center in albemarle, nc.

When a local body shop did the front 1/3 of my truck under an insurnace claim, I asked for a price to do the rest of the truck out of pocket. He wouldn't even consider it.

Spitfire and Duster, those are the sort of interactions I expect from body shops... I looked into this a few years back and couldn't find anybody (in my immediate area) with experience different from yours. I'm half convinced that the high price of paint and body work is one of the main reasons you don't see more old cars on the road.

Mezzanine wrote: ... I've been sorely tempted to paint it myself, and the reality of spending $4k on paint and being without a car for a month or more is motivating me to try my hand painting my spare hood first to see if I can do a decent job. I've got a HVLP gun and huge compressor with air dryers, so it just comes down to the craftsmanship. Damn decisions.

I advocate for this path.

Done two cars so far including the bugeye in my avatar, and while not perfect, they were certainly good enough.

If you screw up, no big deal, its just colored chemicals, sand the mistake away and use what you learned to make it better next time.

It is a lot of work. And materials will cost more than you think they should. But it is a great sense of satisfaction and empowerement when you are done knowing that you are no longer a slave to the bodyshop for this kind of work.

<img http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t520/NOHOME1/Lils%20Journey/DSC05564.jpg src="http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t520/NOHOME1/Lils%20Journey/DSC05339.jpg" />

Timely reminder that I painted my race car with foam rollers and 2 quarts of Interlux boat paint. This is what it looked like straight from the can, no final sand/buff:

That whole deal with sandpaper and everything maybe cost me $200. That said...it's a lot of work. Takes about 6 coats to get it done, so about 2 weeks of evenings and weekends (sanded between coats for adhesion and to knock the nibs/stroke marks down). Upside is you get to tell people you painted your car with a roller...the disbelief is a constant source of joy.

If you have a place to do it that won't get you in trouble do it yourself. I've done two cars and two bikes. It's not hard just time consuming and labor intensive.

This was done with Tremclad and a foam roller:

Click for larger image

It looks better the further away you are, but I was not after show quality perfection. I wanted decent colour to get me through road side inspections,, and enough orange-peer-texture to hide my crappy bodywork skills.

SkinnyG wrote: I wanted decent colour to get me through road side inspections

Splain this. You have to have paint to pass roadside inspections???

Absolutely love that truck btw.

Reasoning: Image. If I dress like a homeless bum, I would likely be treated like one. Think of this truck as a homeless bum, clean shaven, wearing a new suit.

In reply to SkinnyG:

Perhaps cops in Canada are different, in the US, the rattier and louder the truck, the less likely the police are to bother you, as it appears you

1: Have no money for them to ticket you for. 2: Don't give a E36 M3 that you may lose your license over said ticketing.

This only applies if you DONT look to be on meth and stay out of neighborhoods where the truck is worse than the landscaping trucks.

Your truck does look great by the way.

Combine the above with a small air compressor, some sandpaper, masking tape, and lots of patience. These days, there are many ways to get paint on your car without spending a fortune. Do an internet search for "$50 paint job". Lots of good info.

This guy rolled Tremclad on his Cherokee, but used a few drops of fiberglass resin hardener to give the paint some more durability.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=147035&page=3

Tremclad and Rustoleum aren't ~super~ durable compared to an iso-cyanite paint (which I'm not willing to spray without a breathable air system).

I painted a motorcycle tank (red) with Rustoleum. It's looks very nice when polished and waxed. It does seem to fade fairly quickly (but shines right back up). Gas does not destroy it. It is rather easy to scratch though. Bonus is that is it also rather easy to touch up.

The previously mentioned costs are why my Cutlass is getting a fresh coat of John Deere Blitz Black instead of going to a shop for paint. I REALLY need to get that thing stripped down and painted this summer...