DIY full respray costs

[robbyj]

Can anyone that knows the industry give an estimate of how much respraying the outside of a car cost?

Including what sort of tools would be required, and all paint needed, undercoat, clear coat etc etc

I would really like to attempt this myself, providing its affordable for me.

What kind of tools such as spray gun (recommend one for diy use)
sanding tools?

The kind of paint i was thinking was like a glossy black with purple through it.
As i said i have no knowledge at all but would love to attempt it myself.

Any input is welcome

[Day-mow]

probably want to get a few trailer loads of elbow greese :P

[robbyj]

Originally Posted by Day-mow

probably want to get a few trailer loads of elbow greese :P

hahah thats for sure!

[Day-mow]

you'll need an orbital sander. with a heap of different grades of paper. im not painter/beater. but i've had a few friends do stuff for me and so much of a good job is in quality prep work.
personally tho i wouldn't do it. way to much hard work and way to hard to make it look good.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Do you see yourself doing a few paint jobs or just this one? Will you be using your compressor for other jobs or just painting?

If you are only doing the one off paint job, I would look into trying to hire a booth and borrowing the equipment you need if you can.

I did a backyard paint job many years ago and by the time I worked out the costs and what I bought I could have done the prep myself, taken it to a panel shop and ask them to let the apprentice give it a few coats then take it home and finish the job.

And the apprentice would have done a much better job than I could have ever done that's for sure.

Having said that, basic equipment may set you back a grand all up (at a wild guess) and I guess if you stuff up a few times all you need to do is buy more paint and try again.

[mongrelEF]

How long's a piece of string?
What condition's your bodywork in, what sort of job do ya want, what equipment do you have? What's your workspace like?

If you're talking about that chameleon paint, it's stupidly expensive and not easy to get right. A decent solid colour in acrylic is going to set you back anywhere between 100-400/L; and believe me you get what you pay for!
And a dark colour is going to require a lot of prep work - the primer will need to be absolubtely blemish-free before you spray the paint or every little imperfection will show up like dog's balls.

Assuming your bodywork's good, and assuming you're talking about a sedan, and assuming you're having the shell sandblasted, you'd be looking at about 3L of etch primer and another 4L of high build primer.
Couple of rolls of 400 and 800 grit wet'n'dry sandpaper. Can you hand sand? If not, you may wish to 'black block' - spray a THIN coat of black over the primer and cut it back with 400 grit. This will help reveal low spots in the primer.
Bog - polyester usually. Use what you need, cut back with 40 grit, then 100, then prime.
Once that's all done you can spray the paint. Usually you'd want a good few coats; I never go less than four, and if it's a dark colour I'll hit it with 800 grit between each coat. That's going to be around the 6 litre mark easy.
Once you've finished spraying you'll want to do the usual finish with minimum 1200 grit wet'n'dry - even up to 2000 grit before buffing depending on what finish you want.
One tip - if you want super gloss, you can spray clear while the top coat's still drying. Allow to dry, 1200 grit, then another gloss coat.

You can get away with varying that a fair bit of course, but that's generally what I do to produce a decent job. It's still not show quality, but better than you'll get from the factory at least: it won't be full of orange peel.

As to tools: Air compressor (duh ), spray pot (if you're doing a whole car it's much easier than a spray gun) and a sanding block if you want it. I don't use one, it's easier to feel imperfections in the body with your fingers. Also you'll want an orbital sander and a buffer.
Paper tape and newspaper if you're not removing the fixed glass.
Oh and thinners - Plan on using at LEAST 20L. Don't forget, it's not only thinning the paint, you're also using it for cleanups, etc.
And Prepsol or similar. You can also use thinners quite successfully to clean metal and dry paint prior to spraying, but it does pay to do it right


It's not easy and very time consuming, but done properly it's all about attention to detail. get that right and it'll turn out OK, and you'll have a car you can really show off.

I do recommend an easier colour to start with, any light colour like white or red is fairly forgiving. Get a couple of old crappy panels from a wrecker and practice on them until you've got the hang of bogging, sanding, spraying, and mixing your thinner correctly.

[Mr Hardware]

In brisbane, you can get closed-door taxi style resprays for about the $800 mark

obligatory minor overspray and very small runs

[Sterling]

Originally Posted by mongrelEF

the primer will need to be absolubtely blemish-free before you spray the paint or every little imperfection will show up like dog's balls.

take that seriously... its soooooo true

i didn't take it seriously when i sprayed the escort and i had to live with the flaws!

[Sterling]

Originally Posted by bobuleh

The kind of paint i was thinking was like a glossy black with purple through it.

my escort was gloss back with blue flake, i suggest if this is your first time dont take the bull by the horns, try to change your taste to a lighter colour, maybe blue, silver, white etc.

white with silver flake/pearl looks stunning, ive seen that done before!

[robbyj]

Thanks for the replies guys

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Do you see yourself doing a few paint jobs or just this one? Will you be using your compressor for other jobs or just painting?

If i bought the equipment im sure it would come in handy from time to time, i'd probably end up enjoying tinkering with paint.

Originally Posted by mongrelEF

What condition's your bodywork in: good except for dint in the bonnet where it looks like a soccer ball has landed on it.(i have a fibre glass body kit id fit aswell)
what equipment do you have?: none
What's your workspace like?: id build a dodgy spray booth in the garage
If you're talking about that chameleon paint: na not the finish i want
A decent solid colour in acrylic is going to set you back anywhere between 100-400/L; and believe me you get what you pay for!
And a dark colour is going to require a lot of prep work - the primer will need to be absolubtely blemish-free before you spray the paint or every little imperfection will show up like dog's balls.
My other thought was a tangerine orange, this would be better for the beginner?

Assuming your bodywork's good, and assuming you're talking about a sedan, and assuming you're having the shell sandblasted, you'd be looking at about 3L of etch primer and another 4L of high build primer.
Couple of rolls of 400 and 800 grit wet'n'dry sandpaper.



As to tools: Air compressor (duh ), spray pot (if you're doing a whole car it's much easier than a spray gun) and a sanding block if you want it. I don't use one, it's easier to feel imperfections in the body with your fingers. Also you'll want an orbital sander and a buffer.
Paper tape and newspaper if you're not removing the fixed glass.
Oh and thinners - Plan on using at LEAST 20L. Don't forget, it's not only thinning the paint, you're also using it for cleanups, etc.
And Prepsol or similar. You can also use thinners quite successfully to clean metal and dry paint prior to spraying, but it does pay to do it right


Could you give me a rough price for the Xamount of each type

[atec77]

Originally Posted by bobuleh

Can anyone that knows the industry give an estimate of how much respraying the outside of a car cost?

Including what sort of tools would be required, and all paint needed, undercoat, clear coat etc etc

I would really like to attempt this myself, providing its affordable for me.

What kind of tools such as spray gun (recommend one for diy use)
sanding tools?

The kind of paint i was thinking was like a glossy black with purple through it.
As i said i have no knowledge at all but would love to attempt it myself.

Any input is welcome

$600 paint for a light colour acrylic plus sanding compressor orbital sander stc and lots of other tools , plus a week of prep , a dark colour make that 10 days prep if you have a clue , sorta how longs the string , might be better to go find a $1000 splash and dash

[david lee]

im a panelbeater and i wouldnt do it . if u have plenty of time i would disasemble it rub it down and get a spraypainter to paint it in a spraybooth then asemble it yourself preparation is the key to a good job.

[blueoval]

I got quoted about 2-3k for an outside prep and spray job for my car a year or so back by a professional and that was a cash quote as well. Estimated time was 5-10 days solid. Removal of all blemishes, placement of any moldings, using DeBeers paint and booth time.

Just to fix up my scratches down the drivers side of the car and spray the boot spoiler was about $1600 cash.

I was told the paint job would be to the point I could not see where he blended it in.

Still considering it to this day.

For me to do it myself for the whole car, I'd probably save between $500-1000 (guess), late hours, impatience and potential mistakes.

I recently help my mate respray his XC falcon a few weeks back 2 weeks prior to his wedding. Took a week of solid sanding, prepping and find detail work between 4 guys. We had the car apart and back together within 2 weeks, hours before the wedding started. Sprayed in his garage and it turned out alright. Still needs wet rubbing to remove the orange peel which could take a full weekend of rubbing and buffing but we all vowed we wouldn't bother again unless we had more time.

The rewards are there, you learn heaps, but unless you have an open time frame, can afford to go without a car for quite some time, have an understanding better half, and are good with the gun, I would consider saving a bit more cash and getting someone who already has the gear and know how to do it for you.

And yes, 80% of a spray job is preparation. If you skimp out on that, you may as well not bother.

Thats just my personal opinion.

[mongrelEF]

Orange would be easier for a beginner, yeah. Rough price - here in WA I usually spend $1500 on a decent (not special) job. That's paint, thinners, sandpaper, bog, etc but not including sandblasting (usually $5-700). The same job at most panelbeaters would be around the 4-5k mark.
Bottom line - as above. You can save a good few grand but be prepared to have the car off the road for at least a month or two if you spend all weekend, every weekend on it. There's plenty of help available - particularly if you buy a slab - but a good job isn't a quick one.
Also bear in mind a colour change WILL mean removing the engine and interior; if you don't paint the bay and inside the doors, it's going to look like crap.
Oh and for the love of God, stay away from Motospray paint - it only looks good for a few years and then it starts falling off the car!

[mik]

what about safety gear??

[mongrelEF]

You might want a $5 packet of paper masks if spraying in an enclosed and non-ventilated space

[FGII-XR6]

don't do a full car if you have never done it before. get some old panels from a wreckers and practice over and over again till you get the feel for it. when you think you've got it right practice some more.
in the mean time you can be preping the car gradually if it is not a daily driver.
I can't stress how important preping the car is. Your colour coats are actually quite thin and show everything under the paint , sanding marks small imperfections etc to do properly takes a lot of time.
the quality of materials is also a factor, you reall do get what you pay for. a paint job done in a garage will never be perfect as you will always get contamination you won't get in a booth.

you might be better doing all the prep work yourself and getting a pro to paint it. strip the car remove everything you can rather than masking remove windows rather that masking. the more you remove instead of masking the better the final job will be. all this is labour intensive so by doing all this work you save $ without compromising on the final finish

[Yellow_Festiva]

If you are hell bent on the DIY paint job invest in a book that is prep and prep ONLY. I did and was well worth the $40 or so it cost me.

There is an order and direction to correctly paint a whole car, and will show you how to set up spray nozzles, how to mix and thin paints and provide a rough shopping list of what to buy.

My book was also by Donald Wait, but the cover was pretty much all dark blue.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Spray-Pai...item53e9094055

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Budget-Au...item3a698e03d7

This site looks good as well.

http://www.autobody101.com/content/

[Stagg]

Hi guys, Hi Rob,

I'll be having a go at a respray at the end of the year, and the above information is very much useful. Cheers!

One point which I can add is T-Pak's thread of his ex-taxi, he resprayed during summer, and simply used the sun to bake the car, and it turned out really well if you look at the pictures.

Also this guy in SA his resto thread of his Superbird XA is absolute gold and his thorough documenting is incredibly helpful and educational:

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11340242

I think I'm just like you rob (and a lot of other young guys here) that the benefits from doing a respray yourself is 50% cost, but also 50% the lessons learned. Anyone has to acknowledge that if its their first respray there is a much larger chance of mistakes made.

Anyway the colour I'm going is Poison Ivy, it's the emerald green colour of the current SS/SV6 commodores. Getting myself a challenge!

[my67xr]

have a look at my XR tread (link is below this post)
i did a 7 day respray on it a couple of years ago for my wedding too.
it was finished/detailed at 1am, the morning of our wedding.

a rough guide to prices etc;

a straight orange will cost you around $80+ per litre of acrylic, need 4 litres +, more for engine bay, boot, door jambs etc etc
tangerine sounds like its pearlescant, a bit dearer for the paint, but will need 4 litres clear over the top to seal/ give it depth, probably more clear needed, $100 odd for 4 litres
etch primer for keying the original paint and covering any repairs, give the primer something to stick to, $40 for 4 litres
primer filler about $60 for 4 litres
thinners , acrylic is mixed 4-1 so you will need 20 litres approx $150
leaves some left over for cleaning up guns etc.
4 litre tin of bog, $40 use Rage Gold if you can get it (easier to sand, goes on nicely too)
500g fine bog ( 2 pack bog) vfor skimming over any prep marks etc $30
masking tape, 19mm and 50mm, few rolls of each
brown paper or plastic sheeting for masking, $40
decent brand of sand paper (3M or Norton)-
36 grit for cutting & shaping bog about $1 per sheet
80 grit freecut for removing 36grit marks
180g freecut for removing 80g marks
320g freecut for scuffing paint and blending any repairs
then primer, 3 heavy coats
quick 320 w&d to flatten out anything you missed
600 w&d dry if you are fussy
then colour goes on
1 light coat, then 3 wet coats

then clear if required 3-4 coats

then rub back a couple of weeks later, with 1200 w&d , then 1500 w&d
leave it a few months if you can.
acrylic shrinks a lot, so prep marks will show up.

then polish with a cutting compound
then a finer polish
finally a decent wax

then the tools;
sanding blocks, 17 cfm compressor recomended, water traps, airline, blower, air fittings, random orbital sander and sanding discs, spray guns, 1 for primer another for paint, mixing cups for the paint, strainers for the paints, polishing buff, and pads......

then once finished......sit back and enjoy

cheers, craig