First off, if I am posting in the wrong section, please forgive and advise me the proper section....Thanks!

I have a 1st gen with Persimmon Red. I plan on keeping the same color.

It has numerous dings around the entire vehicle with only one dent, which is on the hood and left fender. This is the only place where paint is missing and you can see the primer. There is rust where the dent is on the fender, and that is all the rust I can see.

My first plan is to go to someone who does paintless dent removal and fix as many dings as I can - in hopes of saving a few $$ by not having the bodyshop do it - - thoughts? Am I better to have the shop do ALL the work or doesn't it matter?

When I do the repaint of the entire car, am I best to take the entire car down, or am I ok leaving the original paint where there is not rust. Ideally I imagine it is best to leave as much original as one can, but I didn't know if that would be a bad idea because I do not know what may be under the paint. Can it be rusting UNDER the paint and I won't see it?

So far I was given an estimate of $3000.00 to remove emblems / trim / etc, fix dings, address dent and rust, and paint. - Fair price if done right? I imagine I could save a little by removing as much as I can myself BEFORE turning it in to the shop.

Given the year and how close it is to becoming a classic, will a repaint lower the value?

I know these may sound like novice questions, but I am not familiar with painting procedures / bodywork and am hoping there is someone here who IS.

Lastly if anyone knows of a VERY GOOD (not just "decent") shop to have this done in the SW Florida area let me know. I am in Naples, and I am willing to go as far north as Tampa, and east to Lauderdale / Miami.

Thanks in advance

 

Wow...Surprised there have been NO replies / suggestions !

 

$3000 is in the right ballpark for a quality job. The car will not lose value with a job done properly. I would let the shop do it all, providing they are removing lock cylinders,door handles etc. It doesn't need to be stripped if the paint is not deteriorated, but it will need a very thorough sanding for proper bonding of the paint. I have 30+ years of autobody restoration experience. Check out other work the shop has done. The good and the bad of autobody is that although it takes a lot of skill and experience to do properly, it is easy to see good or bad work.

 

I don't see why you would want to repaint that car? It looks fine. Give it a good claybarring and go to down with the buffer...or pay someone to professionally restore the paint.

Paintless dent removal is awesome. It's not cheap though. I'd recommend it.

 

These cars came in single stage all the way up to 1988. If you want to recreate the stock look tell the body shop you want a good quality OEM style single stage and it will cut the price at least in half. Clear coat is expensive plus there would be less work involved and it would take less time to get it back.

You could get a VERY nice single stage for under $1000. If you do all the prep work yourself, remove/re-assemble all the body parts yourself, mask off etc and keep it the same color you could have a nice paint job for under $500.

A nice quality 2 stage clear coat paint job will run about $2000. There shouldn't be a lot of body work by the looks of it. It seems pretty straight.

 

Hell if you're going to do single stage, why not do it yourself? Obtain a dented up fender and use it for practice. Laying paint isn't THAT hard. It's the before and after work that's a bitch!

 

Plus the fact I have nowhere to actually paint a car or even a "practice" fender LOL

I don't see why you would want to repaint that car? It looks fine. Give it a good claybarring and go to down with the buffer...or pay someone to professionally restore the paint.

I would rate it a good 20 footer. The dents on the hood and fender are the worst and where ANY rust is starting to be visible. Just about ALL the clear is pretty much gone as well.


That is so true. The estimate I received was approx $800....with no guarantee all could be removed.

 

Do you have a garage or a car port?

 

LOL I guess I do not know how to "multi-quote"....but you get the idea

 

I will have a 2-stall in a month when my home purchase goes through

 

Heres what i would do if i were you, it takes a bit of time but you will learn a ton and appreciate it in the long run. https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/my-way-painting-650337/

My 79 was in a lot worse shape then your 7. I had never done any body work or painting before my project. With a little research and talking to the people at the Dupont dealer, they walked me through it with no real problems. I know what i have done is not perfect and the paint is not flawless but i figure i have less then 800 bucks in it. Thats with have to shot the 2 stage twice because the entire passenger door sagged being the temp outside was about 40F. Any ?s just pm me.