Referral Request Paint in WA (1 Viewer)

[Pitter Patter]

Hi Everyone, I’ve been on a wait list for paint and they can get me in this fall. Issue is the price has ballooned since I started talking with them two years ago. Their current rate is $150hr + materials. Everything around here is expensive, it’s not uncommon to pay $1,000 a square foot for a house in this area so I get it but… knowing a shop like this could get 300 hours into a paint job makes me have heart palpitations, this is an FJ40, not a Ferrari 250GTO.

I’m doing my due diligence and trying to talk with other shops.

Does anyone have a place in western Washington State that they’ve used/recommend?

 

[SteveH]

You might talk to your paint guy and do some negotiating - you do some tear down and prep (if you are able to do this). You'll get a better paint job and control costs. But, I spent 40+ hours on tear down, welding, sanding, glass removal, etc. and ~50 hours on reassembly.

I got casual quotes of $10K+ from 2 shops (even with this 'I do the teardown' offer) and went with another shop who did a fine job for $7K. But, many shops will blow you off, since it's not insurance work.

 

[msapers]

Hi Everyone, I’ve been on a wait list for paint and they can get me in this fall. Issue is the price has ballooned since I started talking with them two years ago. Their current rate is $150hr + materials. Everything around here is expensive, it’s not uncommon to pay $1,000 a square foot for a house in this area so I get it but… knowing a shop like this could get 300 hours into a paint job makes me have heart palpitations, this is an FJ40, not a Ferrari 250GTO.

I’m doing my due diligence and trying to talk with other shops.

Does anyone have a place in western Washington State that they’ve used/recommend?

I'm in a similar boat here in Los Angeles.. As you say everything is stupid expensive. I decided to paint it myself. Ultimately you're right, it's not a Ferrari and it doesn't need that level of paintwork (even if you were going for a full restoration, the paint wasn't that amazing from the factory). I've never painted a car before but I'll be painting my 40 in a few months. The way I figure it, I have to learn sometime and I'm almost 50. I'm going with Dune Beige in a single stage because that seems like a pretty easy thing to spray. I'm planning to grab a door or fender from the junk yard and practice a little so that I get a feel for the gun (that i don't own yet.) I used to be active in the hot rod world and one thing that worries me with a shop is that I've seen cars go in and spend months or longer in the shop with little to no progress being made while the owner is getting billed.

 

[Pitter Patter]

You might talk to your paint guy and do some negotiating - you do some tear down and prep (if you are able to do this). You'll get a better paint job and control costs. But, I spent 40+ hours on tear down, welding, sanding, glass removal, etc. and ~50 hours on reassembly.

I got casual quotes of $10K+ from 2 shops (even with this 'I do the teardown' offer) and went with another shop who did a fine job for $7K. But, many shops will blow you off, since it's not insurance work.

I can absolutely do the tear down. It’s all test fit assembled now. This place won’t allow me to do the prep. It’s all or nothing with them because they want to control the process. I don’t fault them for that. I’d do the same thing if I were them, they should want to do their own prep and primer. As for negotiating. Not gonna happen. They are booked way way out and are turning work away so there’s no way they will drop their price for me. Thanks for the reply!

Here are some pics

 

[Pitter Patter]

I'm in a similar boat here in Los Angeles.. As you say everything is stupid expensive. I decided to paint it myself. Ultimately you're right, it's not a Ferrari and it doesn't need that level of paintwork (even if you were going for a full restoration, the paint wasn't that amazing from the factory). I've never painted a car before but I'll be painting my 40 in a few months. The way I figure it, I have to learn sometime and I'm almost 50. I'm going with Dune Beige in a single stage because that seems like a pretty easy thing to spray. I'm planning to grab a door or fender from the junk yard and practice a little so that I get a feel for the gun (that i don't own yet.) I used to be active in the hot rod world and one thing that worries me with a shop is that I've seen cars go in and spend months or longer in the shop with little to no progress being made while the owner is getting billed.

I’m open to painting myself as well but the space/setup is the biggest challenge. What are you using for a booth?

 

[pb4ugo]

Paint guns are cheap at harbor freight. My local paint shop was very helpful. Most shops want you to succeed. The paint you buy has instruction sheets and a lot of paint manufacturers have a prescribed systems. Sealer, primer, color.
I used ppg omni single stage. I watch a bunch of videos from known painters to learn their techniques. Though not perfect I'm happy with my results. I haven't painted the whole vehicle yet, but did the frt end parts. I did have some guidance from friends that have painted cars b4. It's mostly in the prep. One fender I did twice.

 

[SteveH]

@Pitter Patter

Call more shops. Ask a hot-rod shop about who does stuff like this. Talk to the counter guy at a NAPA. Ask the Toyota dealer who they have do touch-up body work. Ask a high-end shop who they send their low-end work to (not really low end in quality, but the Cadillac dealer's body shop doesn't want to do old Firebirds).

I talked to a Mustang restorer for years (have known him for 30 years), but he put me off indefinitely and I got tired of the 'damn Toyotas' talk . I talked to 2 other 'we restore old cars' shops and got very iffy vibes - 'oh, our shop will be closing and we'll move everything and your truck to my house out east' - yeah, right! Lots of grumpy, old, tired paint guys who want the payment, but can't or won't put in the work. Mom-and-Pop joints can be deadly slow because there are 1-3 guys and they overcommit and then have to fix Aunt Sally's Buick, interrupting your job.

I probably got lucky with this shop. To clarify, I did not do filler work and priming - just welding and disassembly. My $6K estimate went to 7K, but the whole job took 5 mo. (1 month for paint matching, of all things) and the lead guy got injured and then had a week of jury duty.

 

[Pitter Patter]

@Pitter Patter

Call more shops. Ask a hot-rod shop about who does stuff like this. Talk to the counter guy at a NAPA. Ask the Toyota dealer who they have do touch-up body work. Ask a high-end shop who they send their low-end work to (not really low end in quality, but the Cadillac dealer's body shop doesn't want to do old Firebirds).

I talked to a Mustang restorer for years (have known him for 30 years), but he put me off indefinitely and I got tired of the 'damn Toyotas' talk . I talked to 2 other 'we restore old cars' shops and got very iffy vibes - 'oh, our shop will be closing and we'll move everything and your truck to my house out east' - yeah, right! Lots of grumpy, old, tired paint guys who want the payment, but can't or won't put in the work. Mom-and-Pop joints can be deadly slow because there are 1-3 guys and they overcommit and then have to fix Aunt Sally's Buick, interrupting your job.

I probably got lucky with this shop. To clarify, I did not do filler work and priming - just welding and disassembly. My $6K estimate went to 7K, but the whole job took 5 mo. (1 month for paint matching, of all things) and the lead guy got injured and then had a week of jury duty.

I’d hop on that price too! I am calling more shops but even the F*RD dealership here charges $150hr shop labor rate. Expanding my search radius to Eastern WA and down to Portland as well.

Seriously contemplating doing it myself. Taught myself to weld/fabricate, and be a mechanic, maybe it’s time for paint. Was just hoping to get back to building the engine while it was out being painted

 

[msapers]

I’m open to painting myself as well but the space/setup is the biggest challenge. What are you using for a booth?

Probably my garage covered in plastic sheeting. Although there are places that rent paint booths here in L.A. They cost about $300 for 2 full days and you can rent all the necessary equipment. Not sure exactly where you are in WA but here's a place up there: Paint Booth - Pacific Auto Machine - https://pacificautomachine.com/paint-booth/

 

[Slow1]

You may want to look into shops in Yakima, Tricites or Spokane, Maybe even northern Idaho. Things are a few cents cheaper over here on the dry side.

 

[Wasatch Jay]

My opinion only, but $150 an hour for paint and body work is BEYOND ridiculous.

I would expand your search area and seek out recommendations from car enthusiasts, and also auto paint supply companies, as was previously suggested.

Alternatively, with a lot of elbow grease you CAN do it yourself. Without a booth, you will likely be fighting dust and bugs, but knowing that - you can spray an extra coat of paint and plan on wet sanding and buffing.

 

[Aloha Jen]

I can absolutely do the tear down. It’s all test fit assembled now. This place won’t allow me to do the prep. It’s all or nothing with them because they want to control the process. I don’t fault them for that. I’d do the same thing if I were them, they should want to do their own prep and primer. As for negotiating. Not gonna happen. They are booked way way out and are turning work away so there’s no way they will drop their price for me. Thanks for the reply!

Here are some picsView attachment 3896709View attachment 3896710

We painted our ‘75 fj40 in our garage. 3 fans from Walmart to exhaust the garage and a bedsheet on the back door to draw in air from. Bought a medium sized compressor from Home Depot, gun and matériels from Amazon and went for it. Turned out great for a fun beach cruiser around my little town here in the north shore of Oahu. I want to say we spent less the $900 dollars on everything, and we have all the tools to paint our other 40 someday soon. Ours is also Dune beige as well! I say go for it.

We even wet sanded (endless wet sanding) in our driveway then cut/buffed it. It’s not going to win any paint competitions, but I got to have a go at a new skill for the first time and have a huge sense of accomplishment with it now.

 

[Pitter Patter]

Probably my garage covered in plastic sheeting. Although there are places that rent paint booths here in L.A. They cost about $300 for 2 full days and you can rent all the necessary equipment. Not sure exactly where you are in WA but here's a place up there: Paint Booth - Pacific Auto Machine - https://pacificautomachine.com/paint-booth/

Legit down the street from my house. They did the engine machining for me. Great guys. Not their first 2F

 

[Pitter Patter]

We painted our ‘75 fj40 in our garage. 3 fans from Walmart to exhaust the garage and a bedsheet on the back door to draw in air from. Bought a medium sized compressor from Home Depot, gun and matériels from Amazon and went for it. Turned out great for a fun beach cruiser around my little town here in the north shore of Oahu. I want to say we spent less the $900 dollars on everything, and we have all the tools to paint our other 40 someday soon. Ours is also Dune beige as well! I say go for it.
View attachment 3896979
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We even wet sanded (endless wet sanding) in our driveway then cut/buffed it. It’s not going to win any paint competitions, but I got to have a go at a new skill for the first time and have a huge sense of accomplishment with it now.
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Did I just get called out by Jen?!?! Yup, now I’m on the hook to do it myself.

Thanks for the recommendation and your 40 looks amazing! Great job. How many hours would you say to took?

 

[charliemeyer007]

Yea +1 spray it yourself, it is a Land Cruiser not a Ferrari. Some 2x4 and clear plastic, a box fan or two with furnace filters primed with Endust its paint booth. Don't skimp on PPE. Get some cheap paint, and practice spraying on scrap stuff to get a feel for your gun.

 

[igotta40]

My suggestion is to have a look at MAACO if they are local. I have used them twice, once with my 40 with very good results and the second time was unbelievable. Our VW bus looked like it was made of glass. They will do my ‘65 Triumph next.

 

[sofj45]

When I spray single stage I add high gloss clear into my final pass at a 1:1 ratio with paint. When we just did my wife’s 55 it came out ok for what it is painted outside under a Costco carport.

 

[Aloha Jen]

Did I just get called out by Jen?!?! Yup, now I’m on the hook to do it myself.

Thanks for the recommendation and your 40 looks amazing! Great job. How many hours would you say to took?

So easy a girl can do it! Just kidding, Its a lot of work and I only helped with it…only about 10% of the metal work/rust repair and bodywork, and about 20% of the prep and final paint. So not much, but it was a good learning experience. You need to prepare yourself for a lot of work, especially in the body work and prep stage, but it’s doable. Hard to say how much time we had into it, as we work pretty slow and are watching YouTube tutorials during the process on everything since we are amateurs, but we probably had 40-50 hours in to it spread out over a few weekends. I think it’s worth trying yourself, $150 an hour for a shop to do is insane, plus it’s way more fun to suffer a little and put your own paint signature on it!

And, reassembling after paint is the funnest part, so satisfying seeing it all come together.

Just remember wipe down everything before final paint color(obsessively) as it saves you work in the end, turn off gas or disconnect power from water heater if doing it in your garage while painting…it gets pretty fumey in your homemade paint booth and you don’t want any sparks to cause any dangerous situations.

 

[Andrew S]

If you still want a shop recommendation, try Hickman's Body Shop in Tonasket, WA. With that said, there's not a thing wrong with painting it yourself.