Fiero Store Side Mouldings or Repaint? (Page 2/3)
saaron NOV 16, 06:29 PM
I have had several new cars repaired at this shop (LaMettry's in Lakeville, MN) and they have impressed me as well run and they have always done really good work. Also, for this job, the painter met me and looked over the car with me. It turns out he has done previous panels-off Fiero paint jobs, so I am pretty comfortable with the shop and the work they do. I'll know for sure by early December when it is done. I'll post before and after pics at that time.

As for the price, I was surprised by the $7,400 price tag for sure, so I shopped around. Most of the places I called would not take the job at all. The general feedback I got was "we don't do full repaints because they take too much time and they are very expensive." Apparently cranking out insurance repairs is where they want to spend their time. The few who were willing to do the job had prices between $10K and $15K.

Anyway, hopefully this is good reference information for folks who are considering a complete repaint in the future.
Mickey_Moose NOV 17, 03:28 PM
Cost - well one has to remember that this is a panel off paint job. Much more work removing and reinstalling them afterwards. Be far cheaper if it was just going for a general paint.

The problem with reusing the trim would be how brittle they are after all the years. If they are in great shape I would consider painting them this way to color will all match. I have seen several cars with the molding painted and the paint seems to hold up well. It all comes down to prep.
saaron NOV 17, 03:40 PM
I was thinking the same thing. A ton of work to remove/prep/re-install all of the panels, plus all of the glass.

Good to hear that you have seen the moulding turn out well when painted. Mine is in really good shape, and when I spoke to the painter about the need for adhesion promoter and flex agent the response was basically (I'm paraphrasing). "Sir, I have painted this type of moulding a thousand times. I know it will turn out great. Also, we have a lifetime warranty on our work"

Honestly, at this point, my biggest concern is losing the VIN stickers on the areas that will be repainted (front bumper, rear bumper, and front fenders). I wish I could salvage them somehow.
skywurz NOV 17, 10:24 PM
Ive only done some minor research but i believe you may be able to order some repo vin stickers from places like this https://autodatalabels.com/
saaron NOV 18, 01:48 PM
That's great. It got me searching and I found what appears to be the *only* factory authorized company for replacement VIN decals.

http://www.ecsvin.com/index.php

I had reached out to a couple of others and they said the decal would be "close", but the fonts would not be the same.

But E.C.S. said it will be identical because they are licensed by GM and they have all their watermarks and what not.

The cost per sticker is $44.95 and $3.95 shipping. Cheaper than the others I called.

I've ordered one and will upload a picture when I get it.

[This message has been edited by saaron (edited 11-22-2021).]

saaron NOV 22, 05:16 PM
As promised. Here is a pictuer of the new VIN decal from E.C.S.
saaron NOV 22, 05:23 PM
skywurz NOV 23, 04:34 PM
Sweet those look amazing!!
saaron DEC 10, 02:12 PM
As promised here are some pictures of the Fiero repaint in progress. Assembly is underway now and I'll post the end product when I pick it up next week.







[This message has been edited by saaron (edited 12-10-2021).]

saaron DEC 10, 02:19 PM
And some more with primer and final coat.