How much and how long would it take to get the whole car painted?

 

$200 to as much as $10+ grand in some cases. Depends how far you want to go as far as quality goes.

 

do you want the engine bay painted? How about the door jams?

 

Since you posted in the 3rd gen section I'm guessing you are talking about an FD. For a paint job worthy of an FD you are looking at no less than $1,500. Probably more like $2,000-$3,000 if you want the color changed. How long? Well that depends on where you take it. I painted my Fiero myself and had at least 50-100 hours of labor in prep, painting, and buffing. Of course, it was the first time I'd painted a car so I went a lot slower than a pro would. Most people can't even begin to comprehend how much work goes into a good paint job. There is no such thing as "good enough" when it comes to painting. Everything has to be perfect in the prep or it won't be perfect in the finish. Well I'm done rambling for now, hope it answered your question.

-Charlie

 

char, whats the proper way to prep the car before painting? im curious as i may want to try and prep the car myself and then bring it to a shop to have it painted.. and how many coats do u recommend? and clearcoats?

 

This most likely isn't an option at a quality paint shop. Not because they are trying to rip you, but because YOUR quality of prep work doesn't match THEIR quality. Your prep work might be good to you, but **** tho them. Then the paint won't go on as they are use to, or provide as good a finish. Then their reputation is all over that job regardless of who prepped it.

 

actually, i've heard of people prepping the car and then taking it to Maaco and doing fine... but, search online for prepping and buy a few videos...

 

On occasion I have prepped and had a maaco like shop paint the car. It works out nice when you have a dusty shop etc. Prep is 80% of the paint job. Most first timers are not going to be happy with the results if they want a factory like look. If all a person wants is one color covering the entire body then it's a good alternative.

(the prep part of the job is a really nasty dusty crappy job)

On an FD I'd say good paint job is very important do to the curves. I'd find a good shop with a quality setup like good down draft paint booth. Stay away from a place that look like the guys are just standing around picking their noses and are covered in paint or primer spots.

Depending on the needed prep for door dings and the like I'd say 2500-3500 for a good job. If a person is going to drop a bunch of money into the rest of the car for extra bling I'd get a super paint job.