what should i look for when shopping around for a body shop to have my car completely repainted stock color. I would like at least a Showroom shine. Also what should be a reasonable price range?

expect to pay about 3500-5000 for a good paint job.



mike

What to look for/ask:

-What type of paint are they using, and the type of clear, alot of shops are using some ******* ghetto clears with thier panits now. So even if a shop says they are PPG, Sikkens, DuPont, etc, they use these universal shitty clears.

- What kind of primer, specifically NO LAQUER primer, this applies only where body work is going to get done

- If bodywork is going to be done are they pulling the dents with a stud gun or are they using a old fashoned slide hammer or banging them from the inside and filling them, or just plain ole slapping body filler right on the dents?

-Do they have a spray booth with baking capability?

-Are they wet sanding and buffing the car after its painted?

-Are they sanding the car or are they going to run a scuff pad and some water over the car to prep it for paint?

-Ask to see some full jobs and even some repairs that they are doing, see them before, and ask to see them when the car is done.

-How long have they been in business?

-Will they take the car apart/put it back together?

-How long will it take them? Dont rush them, just ask so your car wont be a hostage in thier shop for months.

-How do they stand behind thier work? If the shop isnt certified by a major paint company like the ones listed above and you have a problem with the paint, who will cover it?



Just some questions to ask, and DO NOT look for the cheapest guy out there, he is cheap for a reason. Shop around and use the shop you feel best with, hopefully someone you know used someone and can give a good reference.

im repainting my car this winter too....using dupont paint + dupont cc ... it will be done in my garage by a relative....

Sounds good, alot of these newer clears really arent designed to be sprayed on the "floor" though.

Be really sure to ask about this, my friend just had his TII painted.



He specifically told them to paint the car with the mirrors, door handles, and side moldings off of it.



They sprayed it with all that on, and it looks bad with painted door handle gaskets, and the mirrors and moldings look terrible because of the paint buildup in the cracks. He tried pulling a mirror off, and cracked the paint all to hell on the door.

My next door neighbor builds custome bikes and said that he could paint it for $700. if i help masking, prepping and sanding...etc. PPG all the way through. so i would make sure that it would get taken apart. it'll be done in a garage, in which he paints bikes.

Let him sand it and you help with other things, sanding is THE most important part of the paint job. Again, todays clears and paints really arent meant to be sprayed without the benefit of a booth. No big deal except you will have to wet sand and buff the car more when your done. Painting small things like bike tanks,frames,fenders are easier outside of a booth being as they dont have many flat surfaces and the parts are so small anyhow so they wont show the orange peel as much.

Good advice man. This one is going ot the FAQ section. I"m going to print this for future reference, i want to have my car painted this winter.



C

$700? thats pretty cheap even though you will help, plus what color is your car? and what color do you want it to be? door sills done or not? under hood? also, depending on brand as Rob said. depending on how much body damage it has i probably wouldnt take less then $1500 for a full car, including wet sand and polish and all that good stuff, but not taken apart, thats very time consuming and costs more, but make sure you see their work first before submitting your car. good luck