jjandros

iTrader: (7)

I've been working on a 1987 N/A for a good six months now and want to do it right so as that once I've gotten used to it I can swap in a TT setup.

I have EVERYTHING out of the car and have begun sanding/paint removal process. My dilemma is that paint costs a LOT to do right. I've been working as an apprentice mechanic for a while and have some friends in other fields EXCEPT for painters. A lot of guys have told me that if you do prep work yourself and buy all the primer, paint, and clear, etc... you should be able to bring the rolling body and panels to a shop to have it painted for relatively cheap. I want to paint it close to the old Ford Cobra Blue paint.
http://p2.la-img.com/989/19485/6634644_1_l.jpg
I'm thinking of having MACCO do the paint if I can find someone their that I feel I can trust. Has anyone had any experience with this or recommend a different route? I live in Durham, NC and am willing to travel an hour any direction to find a good artist willing to work on it if anyone knows of one. Also, any ideas on how much just having the car sprayed and cleared would be if I did all prep/prime myself? (I was thinking in the 300-400 dollar range as it would only need about 3 full sprays and no prep aside from tacking off. Is that reasonable? Opinions/ advise please. Otherwise I'll end up just masking off the garage and doing it myself which I REALLY don't wanna do.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

heh..
I like the way you sanded the hell out if that FC car Body to somehow turn into a Cobra there JJ!
Your arms must be tired!
Nice color though!!!
I don't know much about paint so,..UP and approve for this thread.
Good Luck.

jjandros

iTrader: (7)

yah, nothing but some elbow grease and a reciprocating saw haha.

I'm thinking that a gallon should be enough to get good coverage so I'm gonna call ford tomorrow and see how much it would cost for original OEM paint. If it's ourageous then I'll just find something similar online.

era1oner

iTrader: (1)

My experience with autobody has been from sanding to painting. Far from the best but picked up some skills and"know how" along the way. As far as paint shops, unless you know the place on a personal level expect to pay ,it's one of those things, you get what you pay for. No one is going to give your car as much love as you would .Prices? A great job will cost about 1500 , anything cheaper don't expect it to last that long. Ask the right questions as far as what paints they use how many coats ,single stage or base coat clear coat, etc.go with your gut feeling. Pm me if you have any questions about products and brands.

jjandros

iTrader: (7)

As for products/ prep I will be providing and doing it all myself. As for paint I'll be using either house of kolor or OEM ford cobra blue. My question lies in what primer and what clear? I want a medium to slow dry time so that it can all settle out. As for prices I just need to know what to expect and where to go to find someone knowledgable about spraying slow dry clear coats. I would do it myself if I was just doing a single stage paint but I want it to be done right and last. My thought is that someone cheap might spray it for 300 and someone with experience in the field might charge 500 (since all the money is profit since no materials aside from mixing cups and a booth will need to be used for a few days of dry time). I'm hoping I'm on the right track as if it can't be done after putting a grand into prep/prime and materials and another 500 to an artist then a cheap 1 stage for 300 bucks in my garage might be the way to go. My point about doing all the prep myself is so that When the car's done I can say I did as much work to the car myself as humanly possible. I don't want to source the car out to different shops. Hope that clears up all questions. Thanks for the relpy BTW.