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Whats the average cost to get all the bodywork painted professionally if I do the prep work first?

it all depends on how good your prep work is and what you want. if you want 1 color and the prep work is good you will probibly be looking at $500 or $600 for paint and the labor. where are you located if you are near new england call Nick at the body shop, 603 635 2075 he does all my work

I live in Canada,thanx for the reply tho just getting ball-park figures.

I had a guy that does moonlight painting on the side do everything and it looks like glass for $600 prep, paint, wet sand and buff after it was on the car.

just have to find the right guy to do the job.

Mark

Why do all the hard work (prep) and then wimp out on the easy part?

Go to harbor freight (or online) and order the $15 on sale sprayer, then purchase a paint kit from eastwood or others. It's really not that difficult to do unless you want a show car paint job.

i can think of many reasons to not do the paint work yourself, first it is not as easy as it looks to get a quality paint job on your car. getting the paint on enough to cover the parts and not run off onto the floor is more of a skill than you would think.
the paint and clear is pretty bad to breath in and the fumes and the over spray can flash over without much of a spark. a good shop has a paint booth to contain the paint fumes and keep the fire risk down and the painter needs to use a paint mask, not the dust mask you will find at harbor freight. also keep in mind that any silicone used in the area (brake fluid, armerall tire dressing) will cause fish eyes that you will be wet sanding for days.
can it be done in your home garage, sure it has been done for years that way but you have to be carfull and take your time with the job, dont rush the paint, its better to put on 10 light coats than 2 heavy coats, I think that you would be better off finding a shop that can do the job for you, look for a shop that works on other race cars, they would be more likely to help you out

kidkoh,
lots of people have painted their own race cars. Since we are speaking of FV here, it doesn't require a lot of paint. You can get the correct niosh respirator from eastwood for $20. I know, I have one. Just paint it outside. It's not a show car. You really don't need a clear, but you can. It really is the easy part compared to the prep. If you get a run, sand it out and respray, no big deal. You really don't need a spray booth.

Painting is not that difficult. Just do it, as the saying goes. It's just a suggestion...

paint doesnt make you go faster, well not the paint we use, save it for entry fees

Last time I did a car, I went to the local trade school. They did it for the price of the paint and a $50 donation to 'lab fees'. They had fun and I got to show them the car after I put the bodywork back on.

I have painted race cars, and had them painted for me. I got far more satisfaction out of a little kid coming up to me and saying he loved my car when I did the paint as opposed to paying to have someone paint it. It does take time and a steady hand, but this isn't rocket science any one can paint if I can!! Unless you want a show quality car save the money and buy go fast parts.

JMHO

G.

In 2001 I had a full time pro quote me a price of $1200 to paint my D-13, After I sput and sputtered that all the surfaces to be painted werer prepped and would be off the car he lowered it to $600. Realizing this was not a show car but a "working" car I took it to a friend in town who was pretty good at painting. He charged me $75 and that included a gallon of red paint (he worked in an auto parts/body shop store.) I still have a little bit of the red paint left even after numerous repairs and alteration that I use for touch up. Bottom line is for me, make it look nice but over the months and years it is gonna get buggered up from flying rocks and what ever, and no guarantees you won't smack up your car the first time out with your expensive paint job. I would rather spend the money on tires or go-fast parts.

ok.............have seen this thred before but did not reply. just can't keep quiet.

I had the same question this spring, after many discussions with "the guys at work", info on youtube and internet; I deccided to paint my FV myself with Tremclad rust paint (Rustoleum). Worked out just fine. I ROLLED it on (5 coats). Lot easier than spray for me, easy clean up. It looks great, last laugh is on me as the guys i work with thought i was nuts. Hey it is a vee, saved myself some money. Trick is to thin it to a water consistancy, (used varsol paint thinner) and do the multiple coats. Used a hard sponge roller and wrapped it with plastic wrap between coats. There is lots of info on the internet for painting this way. I did have all the panels (4; two Side pods, upper nose/ body seciton and tail) off the car. I waited the reccomended 24 hours between coats for the first three, but because the paint is thin I was able to get 2 coats per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon for the last two. Don't paint it in the sun light as the paint will dry too fast. Yes I can see some of the sanding marks, but no roller marks, runs nor orange peel, and it looks just fine (paint is not tough though). Saving money is what I try to do (saved money will pay for my HANS), not to mention having fun doing the work myself. (tried to up load a pic, but won't work for some reason)

Don,

That 69 Charger thread (roller painting) on the Mopar website is about a zillion pages lat time I looked. Some very remarkable results. I read through those a couple years ago. It works and works well if you follow the directions. It is a lot of work if you sand between every two coats (at least on a street car). On our little cars spraying seems pretty simple if you aren't worried about a showpiece. My first car was rust oleum orange and came out fine.

Regards,
Barry

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What you can do with a spray can and a turkey baster...
Just an idea.

G.