The cheapest paint job my shop would guarantee was $6000.00 for a complete exterior repaint.
Am I crazy for spending this much on body work?? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter emanning
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what do the rear frame rails look like? On my 87 they were shot and for my money I would go for the basics and make sure they are covered. Where are you located, clean rust free doors may be a cheaper option than repairing those doors. And if you are going to paint it may make sense to start with rust free where you can. Also having donor rocker pieces can save time and labor. If the outer fenders look like that what does the inner floor at the front of the wheel wells look like? $6500.00 sounds like a lot but at $ 65.00 an hour (pretty average shop rate and less $1200. for paint would leave you with about 81 hours of labor, sounds like a lot but it goes really fast. Good luck I know you love this truck and it deserves the save.
I would pull the body off the frame, strip the interior, fix the underside myself, and the interior metal. Then send it to a good shop to get the exterior work and rust fixed and painted. Do a really good job once.
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FYI, to fix a bad clear coat on an 80-series which means a sand back and re-clear cost me over $2500 two summers ago by a pro. Good body work is not cheap folks and when you go the cheap it sucks badly and shows. Cheap body & paint work in my opinion = wasted $$$. $6500 might not sound cheap but the shops I use would be at $8-15k to do it right and paint it up. You got some easy areas in this truck to fix and some real nasty ones. Like the doors, better to replace them with rust free ones then try and get the rust out of those seams.
Cheers
Cheers
Where in socal is this? I just got a quote from a guy in Reno starting at $6500. But did not guarantee that it would be there. He was worried about what it would look like when the glass comes out. Labor is expensive in the bay area.
My 60 is a cali truck and does not have this amount of rust. I think $6500 is cheap.
Where in socal is this? I just got a quote from a guy in Reno starting at $6500. But did not guarantee that it would be there. He was worried about what it would look like when the glass comes out. Labor is expensive in the bay area.
My 60 is a cali truck and does not have this amount of rust. I think $6500 is cheap.
I do not mean to be a little pissed at the industry but why isnt there a supplier that makes fiberglass parts for these trucks? Or even aluminum replacement parts? It is Soo much easier just to cut out a quarter panel, bevel bend the edge with a pneumatic stamp "i have one but not sure if that's what it is called" and then drill and apply adhesive and use rivets to rivet the fiberglass to the sheet metal? Perhaps there is not enough money to make the plugs? Anyway, im done ranting. my 60 is not as bad but I would get rid of it.
Covina,CA.
Took a lot of negotiating and was a low priority for the shop. Took 3 weeks or so. They actually took doors, hood and tailgate off. Straightened out dings throughout including roof, hood, fenders, doors. I really think it was a fluck because the shop guys thought I was paying her a $6,000 job and wondered why the boss was giving them a hard time for taking so long.
- Thread starter
- #29
Haha, well it sounds like my question should have been "Am I spending enough on body work?"
I've been casually looking into this project for the past year or so but to be honest, there's still a lot that I don't know about body work and paint. So I really do appreciate all your input.
As far as the Maaco quote goes, I just want to reiterate that the only reason I went to this particular shop was by recommendation of another guy who's had two of his LCs there. So at least they have experience with the car. I am also looking to get a quote from Redline Land Cruisers down in Colorado Springs (although they've been fairly difficult to get a hold of. Anyone else have experience with them?).
The Maaco quote is for a mix of cut & weld for the big stuff and grind & fill for the littler stuff. You can look at the attachment on the first message of this thread for each line item if you want. The quarter panels, dogleg, and lower corners of each door are all cut and weld. As far as the type of weld...I'm not sure. I'm glad you brought that up and I'll be sure to bring that question back to the shop. Sounds like overlap welds would be better in the long run?
The quote for paint is their "Signature Service" with "Prep Plus" but no clear coat. I realize Maaco doesn't have the best reputation for paint quality. And I'm not looking for "show quality," just something that'll last the next 20-30 years (but maybe there's not a difference between those two...). Either way, it sounds like I need to be spending significantly more just on paint alone...
Doing the work myself is probably not an option, although I would love the experience. However, I live in an apartment with no garage and like I said, she is my daily driver. And on top of that, I just can't imagine my quality of work having never welded before would anywhere close to what a shop can do, even Maaco.
So let's say I hold off for another year or two to save up and really go all out to get this done right. What can I do now to prevent those problem areas from getting worse (and more expensive) until then? I haven't found a whole lot in the forums on slowing rust down, although I'll keep searching. Would it be enough to sand those smaller areas down and paint with a rust converter or inhibitor (thinking rust bullet)? The quarter panels are pretty much gone so how much do I need to worry about that? Once concern I have is it spreading to the bed or wheel wells inside the truck.
Again, thank you all for your input. The community on here is pretty impressive. I always get a kick out of passing another Land Cruiser and instantly connecting with the other driver through a smile and wave.
I've been casually looking into this project for the past year or so but to be honest, there's still a lot that I don't know about body work and paint. So I really do appreciate all your input.
As far as the Maaco quote goes, I just want to reiterate that the only reason I went to this particular shop was by recommendation of another guy who's had two of his LCs there. So at least they have experience with the car. I am also looking to get a quote from Redline Land Cruisers down in Colorado Springs (although they've been fairly difficult to get a hold of. Anyone else have experience with them?).
The Maaco quote is for a mix of cut & weld for the big stuff and grind & fill for the littler stuff. You can look at the attachment on the first message of this thread for each line item if you want. The quarter panels, dogleg, and lower corners of each door are all cut and weld. As far as the type of weld...I'm not sure. I'm glad you brought that up and I'll be sure to bring that question back to the shop. Sounds like overlap welds would be better in the long run?
The quote for paint is their "Signature Service" with "Prep Plus" but no clear coat. I realize Maaco doesn't have the best reputation for paint quality. And I'm not looking for "show quality," just something that'll last the next 20-30 years (but maybe there's not a difference between those two...). Either way, it sounds like I need to be spending significantly more just on paint alone...
Doing the work myself is probably not an option, although I would love the experience. However, I live in an apartment with no garage and like I said, she is my daily driver. And on top of that, I just can't imagine my quality of work having never welded before would anywhere close to what a shop can do, even Maaco.
So let's say I hold off for another year or two to save up and really go all out to get this done right. What can I do now to prevent those problem areas from getting worse (and more expensive) until then? I haven't found a whole lot in the forums on slowing rust down, although I'll keep searching. Would it be enough to sand those smaller areas down and paint with a rust converter or inhibitor (thinking rust bullet)? The quarter panels are pretty much gone so how much do I need to worry about that? Once concern I have is it spreading to the bed or wheel wells inside the truck.
Again, thank you all for your input. The community on here is pretty impressive. I always get a kick out of passing another Land Cruiser and instantly connecting with the other driver through a smile and wave.
Holding off another year would bring the cost up much more. Remember to check your chassis for rust.
Have you pulled up any of the rear carpet yet to see if there's any rusted through areas near the wheel wells? If not, remove the screws from the trim strip at the rear tailgate and pull the carpet up to the back of the fender wells and see what you have. It might help you determine how deep some of it is. Mine was all the way through, just behind the wells, but luckily that was it.
Eastwood has a nice rust converter. Coat the rust, then paint over it in a aerosol that somewhat matches your paint. Avoid winter driving in mag chloride and if u do drive in it rinse it off ASAP top to bottom. I have a friend in CO that does body work out of his garage if your interested.
What climate are you in (location)? Even the best rust repair will take a beating in the Midwest. If you're going to use it as a sunny-day driver, then the restoration could last many years (with good rustproofing and careful washing/storage). If you're going to DD it in the Midwest, it will be rusty within 3 years, almost no matter what you do.
No overlap welds, only butt welds! Overlap welds are just an invite for more rust to start. Without question butt welding requires much more skill.
Also the "grind and fill" of the small areas is a joke. The small areas will become big areas in a short amount of time.
Also the "grind and fill" of the small areas is a joke. The small areas will become big areas in a short amount of time.
Check out my thread. I just did the same thing. One suggestion is to consider what was done on mine. We Rhino-lined the lower section of the rig which made for a lot less in labor on body work. All new metal and the Rhino liner hid a lot of the flaws. Have fun.
I think you don't realize how much work is involved. This Maaco quote is a bit misleading. I have had bad experiences with these
'signature service' and 'prep plus' lines that are used. Then I see 'no clear coat'.....Big RED light here. You can't put a base coat paint down without clear on top. The paint is nothing more than a colour to please your eye and make your truck pretty. The real protection to the
body work, primer and paint is the Clear Coat. My clear coat on my truck cost over $1000. Just the clear. 4 coats. It won't last 20 yrs,
but maybe it will. But without that protection, won't last at all. If you want 20 yrs of service from this body job, you will have to do a lot
yourself, and then go talk to a painter/bodyman and ask real hard questions. The guy at the front desk just wants you to sign in, leave
the truck. I would recommend another opinion, and confirm you want metal repaired with metal. Good luck., just advice. J
Actually, you can. It's called single-stage paint, and most of our trucks were painted with it at the factory. Not as common today, but available. IIRC, the PO's truck is metallic, so a base+clear would probably work best for him, but certainly not the only option. Main thing is to budget for quality paint.
- Thread starter
- #38
Here's what I'm looking at right now. It hasn't gotten to the wheel wells yet (and yes, I did look under those wheel well covers). The worst is a small 1.5" square spot on the right hand side of the bed.
I had almost the exact same problem but near on the left wheel well. Mine, too, was near that black cap. We took off the cap, sanded it down, and used a fiberglass kit (about $15). It looks pretty decent now, especially since we have since sprayed the whole back with a truck bed liner. Let me know if you want pictures.
