Hemmings article on body work and paint cost

Comments

  • Good article Kerry. REAL glad I've done my cars  myself. YEOW!
  • After reading this Hemmings article about how pricy car body work can be, the old TV commercial tagline comes to mind, "If you don't know, you better get Maaco!"
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • onerare39 said:
    Hey John they forgot the part about"ten dollars worth of free bodywork if you come before this weekend".  Great stuff.
  • I'm working on a 58 stude right now that had a cheap maaco paint job acouple of years ago. Nice shiny paint with little to no depth. Horrible body work that can be seen looking at the paint. The most overspray i have ever seen on a car. Paint already peeling in places. A super cheap paint job that looks good from 30 feet.
    Glad I am only doing mechanical work on it.
  • I can paint a car in a day.  But I'll need a month to prepare it. 
  • Clearcoat 2 and 3 stage paint looks incredible when done well but none of these cars came from the factory with that kind of finish.  To save a lot of time and money single stage paint looks much more authentic and easier to touch up if chipped.  Just my opinion

  • Kdancy
    edited November 2019
    I use basecoat clearcoat almost exclusively now. Easier to spray metallic and the end result is better then single stage ever was. Not any harder to touch up or fix a bender then single stage.
    Like any paint finish, it's only as good as the prep work.
    Just my opinion!



  • I am not saying the catalyzed single stage is better but it gives a more original finish than basecoat clearcoat.  Original paint finishes were never as deep as the current two stage paints.  As for metallic touch up, if you look at a car in natural light and see two panels that look different that is the result of the metallic particles laying at different angles due to the wetness/dryness of the spray technique causing the metallic to stand up or lay down which reflects the light differently.  This can make repairing a metallic finish more difficult than non-metallic. Everyone has their preferences