I am looking at another 64 Fairlane, and it looks like it was painted with household interior paint. Total paint failure, cracked, worn, pealing. Any guesses what a proper paint job would cost? I could get http://www.earlscheibautopainting.com/ paint job but, they are well known for painting door handles, windows, tires, ect. but, your car is painted. I prepped my Mazda truck many years ago and had a great paint job that lasted many years for $400. On the Mazda, I pulled the door handles, locks, bumpers, lights, wipers, and put them back on myself. I do not want to do that for the Fairlane and there are bunches of chrome to consider.

A good car deserves a good paint job. Open the check book

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Michael Geddie Photography

To have a collision shop or custom shop do a complete start to finish BC/CC in a regular solid color, including all bodywork, prep, and disassembly- I would say you are looking at a minimum of $2000 to $5000, and it goes up (quickly) from there.

Run (don't walk) away from Earl and Maaco and any other cheap paint jobs. THEY DO NOT LAST and end up looking worse as soon as a few months after it was done.

Above all, make sure anyone that does the work offers a lifetime warranty on all work, labor, and materials.

I am a trained and certified collision repair and refinish technician.

[This message has been edited by BlackEmrald (edited 05-02-2013).]

I've had a few vehicles (cars, trucks and bikes) painted. I've run the entire gambit from the $200 Earl Shibley weekend specials to the $8k truely custom jobs. From what my untrained eyes saw, it appears that the body work/prep made all the difference. I had a CJ5 Jeep painted at MAACO for less than $500 and looked just shy of show quality for years. I spent $3k (back when $3k meant something) on a T Bird and within a year, it looked like it had floated over with the Mayflower. I saw the detail work the MAACO tech did. He spent hours carefully sanding this and that and I know he repainted at least the hood and roof more than once because he didn't quite like the look. I'd try to see if you can watch a couple cheapy paint jobs done and get a feel for the effort going in to them. Sometimes, you can get a very good paint job for little money by doing some legwork and looking around.

I see your in Calif. One Day Paint and Body is by far the best of the cheap type paint jobs. Better paint and prep than Maaco or Earl Schieb. They painted my 88 CRX Si, 87 Prelude Si, and 95 del Sol VTEC plus the front bumper on my 88 Fiero GT. I just got my del Sol done $900 included numerous small dings, and a couple of bigger dents. They have 4 paint jobs each one better paint and prep. Go on their web site I discovered they were having a sale on the next to best job, thats what I got and am happy with it.

I've only had one vehicle painted and it cost in the vicinity of $3000 to 3500. It only cost that as I know the bodyshop owner, the guy who did the work said it was closer to $7k worth of work.

quote Originally posted by Loki: A good car deserves a good paint job. Open the check book

I agree. Don't cheap out. A good paint job will look great for many, many years. I paid for a good paint job for my Fiero and don't regret it at all.

Roger G. will probably have some good advice when he sees this. Listen to him.

I agree with getting good paint but I will never pay someone thousands of dollars for a paint job.
As a painter once said in an article I read "with the way BC/CC is made these days you could almost spray it on with a windex bottle"
Then color sand and you are good to go.
I guess it comes down to how much do you think your labor is worth.

just the paint and materials will cost you several hundred dollars more depending on the color you choose and if you change the color or not. the labor is what will kill you, and the reason Maco paint jobs are so cheap is they buy paint by the 55 gallon drum. hell just a gallon of paint can cost you 100+ dollars.

steve

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Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't



Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

Lots and Lots of prep work! I agree,this is going to run into some big $$$.Add metal flake,pearl, UV clear coat or ghost flames to the bill,includeing any body work. Sounds like a money pit,if you ask me.

Depends a LOT on what your willing to do yourself. Your going to have to remove that bad paint completely. Will it sand ? If it powders instead of caking up the paper, you can DA sand it with #80. You dont have to get all the OEM paint off...only any thats bad. Media blasting is the best...either walnut shell or soda...costs more but done fast. If you just want to drop off and pickup finished, your going to be $3000-$5000 minimum like already said. Ive been in the business since 1965, owned my own successful body and custom shop for 30+ years. They just did a 64 Fairlane restoration on TV last week. They bought it for $800 and spent $40,000. Make sure you have all the trim. It has lots and none is reproduced.Finding them used is near impossible and costs big money. Not a Fairlane, but I paid almost $1000 for a single piece of chrome trim on my 66 Dodge.