Painting an entire cruiser? (1 Viewer)

[womacje]

So, I love the LX450 I have, but I like even more the Black LX450's I've seen. I'm more than happy to keep mine the color it is, but was curious about the opinions on painting a light colored truck dark?

How expensive is it to paint so that an open door doesn't tell you what the original color was, know what I mean?

I noticed on the Metal Tech(orange) cruiser, that the inner part of the doors (by the window seals) showed the orange paint job as well.

More a curiousity than anything else, since I'd rather put the money into thick steel for my rig.

Thanks,

 

[Aussie]

It's going to cost you some big bucks if you want the job done right. Engine bay, around all doors and upper and lower tailgates!
I'm not sure how much, but it would be alot cheaper sticking with the original color!

 

[KingOfFools]

To have it done right, door jams and all, I'd guess between 5-7k, depending on how much body work needs to be done. Not a cheap endeavor. Hell, you might be able to find a black 80 for that much. Leave it be unless the paint on it now is wrecked.

 

[Bat Masterson]

Or if money is no object I think the rolling bank vault concept really applies here. My rig was repainted the same color by the POC and it's funny--they painted the exterior only and not the roof--the blended at the top of the A-Pillars. :whoops: Must have been a cheapo job but for a 96' it does look nice. I would'nt imagine the same color paint job to be more than 2k if you don't need a lot of extra body work (that includes the roof).

Dave

 

[Bat Masterson]

Oh yes and that was metallic emerald green which has to be more expensive than white (as per CDan).

 

[okefenokeefzj80]

A body shop in my town quoted me 3500 for a repaint plus surface rust removal on the underside with an rust preventer sprayed.

 

[Nay]

I am doing a Durabak (smooth) coating in the original color (white) this spring. $500 for a pretty much permanent job. I figure if I am messing with it (rear hatch has some surface rust) I am going to get more out of it than just paint.

 

[TX80Fan]

If you're going to modify the vehicle anyway...you've already committed to altering the original integrity of the vehicle and its potential 'classic car' value. Hell, tape-off the jambs and spray whatever color you want...then paint it back original later if desired. This would be alot cheaper and give you an exit strategy if you wanted to sell later and not be hassled by potential buyers about changing from the original color...my .02

 

[firetruck41]

This would be alot cheaper and give you an exit strategy if you wanted to sell later and not be hassled by potential buyers about changing from the original color...my .02

This will actually lower the resale value tremendously, and will be a hassle to sell.

 

[tech_dog]

I paid $8500 for a complete dealer paint job in the original Metalic Emerald color. This also included replacing most of the exterior rubber and plastic trim, as well as new door handles and wiper arms.

I know some people pay more, but I think this was "full price" for a non-exotic paint job. While it was a lot of money, I'm very happy with the results and the vehicle looks fantastic.

I'd be inclined to not change the color. It seems like you'd have a high likelyhood of having some sort of problems.

 

[Ting]

I paid $8500 for a complete dealer paint job in the original Metalic Emerald color. This also included replacing most of the exterior rubber and plastic trim, as well as new door handles and wiper arms.

I know some people pay more, but I think this was "full price" for a non-exotic paint job. While it was a lot of money, I'm very happy with the results and the vehicle looks fantastic.

I'd be inclined to not change the color. It seems like you'd have a high likelyhood of having some sort of problems.

Wow! $8500 I will be afraid to go wheeling with this.

 

[Ting]

I love Black LX 450 too. Sorry. I stole these pictures from mud for my inspiration. Hope owners don't mind...











My favorite of all, but it's not LX. Phil's truck...

 

[SR.GRINGO]

I plan on painting mine tan with a white roof. Not sure where you live but dark colors get really hot. I can hardly touch my hood. Here in Mexico labor is cheap--$600 for a Tacoma painted with Dupont paint--turned out great.

 

[Brian Macgyver]

The doorjambs are the most expensive part to re-color.
I am an old bodyman and Jap mechanic. I have done this too many times.
Door jambs and other "hidden" areas are the hardest to paint, and when you pay to get them re-painted, you have no idea whether they are done right until the paint starts to peel several years later. Then you are stuck.
In a former life, I used to re-color classic Mercedes and Porches. We stripped all original paint from them. We would not do it without removing the drivetrain. Even then, I was sure that in ten years the paint might not stick.
I bought my 80 after a roll. It was and still is green. Green is not my favorite color. But I make the best of it because I know all too well what happens when you try to change color. I go with the basic color that I am offered, and go from there. It is the only way.

 

[Imagery]

I just finished doing mine myself and it took me about 6 months to complete. I replaced all weather seal rubbers, belt mouldings, door felts, windshield, back hatch and rear side glass rubber as well. I did do some minor door ding repairs ect but went back with nearly the same factory Moon Glow Pearl except I replaced the medium metallic in the paint code to a coarse metallic. I did all the jams up to the pinch welds or undernearh where the weather stripping goes. I repainted the black around the door and back side windows. I completely dyna matted the interior and inside pannels, recovered the headlinner, recovered the leather seats and door pannels with Katz custom kit, replaced wood trim kit with grey carbon fiber and other things as well. I asked a "friend" who owns an upscale collision repair shop what it would cost to have just the paint and minor body repair work done and he said about 7K if they take everything apart and reassemble, or about 5K if I do the dissassemble and reassembly. So I decided to do it myself and I invested about 5K and I ended up with new HVLP spray guns, compressor, DA sanders and other tools, and I had to build two different spray booths with ventalation/filtration. Here is a group of pictures showing the job through the various stages. Yes I would do it again if I had to and it would then only cost me around 2K with materials and paint. If I did it for someone else, I would probably charge around 10K but that won't happen any time soon.

http://homepage.mac.com/marklow/PhotoAlbum5.html

 

[along]

nice job, i've painted cars too, it's a heck of a lot of work. If you think people charge too much for it you don't when your done. I plastic covered my entire garage, walls, ceiling, everything and made a booth that way. It worked but was super cramped.

 

[Moxwell]

I repainted my 92, it was originally silver with maroon and I changed it to a solid toyota grey, was very happy with it, paid 700.00 at Maaco, even redid some torn body mouldings, it was going to be an extra 50.00 per door to repaint the inner doors, but I skipped that. They did a good job and it did not break the bank, besides at that price I was not afraid to scratch it up on the trails. I am sure there are alot of opinions and experiences about Maaco, but overall I was happy with it.

 

[40acres&acruiser]

I repainted my 92, it was originally silver with maroon and I changed it to a solid toyota grey, was very happy with it, paid 700.00 at Maaco, even redid some torn body mouldings, it was going to be an extra 50.00 per door to repaint the inner doors, but I skipped that. They did a good job and it did not break the bank, besides at that price I was not afraid to scratch it up on the trails. I am sure there are alot of opinions and experiences about Maaco, but overall I was happy with it.

Just as an FYI for those of us who are broke, and looking for a paint job, does anyone else have opinions about Maaco, or other discount paint shops? I know that it won't be the best, but will it be the worst? What about life span? It would seem that you could get 4 or 5 paint jobs for the price of 1 good one. And like some of the others have mentioned, who wants to drop 8K on a paint job only to put rash on it after the first trip? Sorry for the minor Hijack, but it seems relavant to the topic.

 

[TX80Fan]

Alot of this has to do with the crew at the paint shop and their talent and integrity. Sure, MAACO typically uses cheap single-stage synthetic enamel / urethane paints etc. BUT, you can supply them with the paint OR request a certain paint and ask that they mask the vehicle off tightly and/or remove items of concern to you before painting. Go down and check everything before the car goes into the booth. At least production paint & body shops like MAACO usually have down-draft drive-thru paint booths w/ovens. Their crews are usually geared for production (i.e. 20-40 cars per week) so they see alot of different vehicles. This is not to say that a smaller high-end shop that charges more is not the way to go...you were just asking about alternatives...my .02

My family has owned multiple paint & body shops years ago and I'd never pay $5k to $7k for a straight paint job knowing that I could get pretty darn close to that type of quality for $1.5k to $3K

 

[tech_dog]

A long time ago, I had a car painted by Maaco. It looked good at first, but within a couple of years the paint was rough and oxidized.