Truck paint job

Stan in Oly, WA · Jul 4, 2014

My old work truck looks terrible. On the hood and the top of the cab, the paint has flaked off so that it looks like silver camo. When I checked on the cost of a paint job recently, and also a few years ago, I was told that the cost of the paint itself is now fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars. I'm sure that people still want their old vehicles painted when the value of the vehicle doesn't justify spending thousands of dollars on it. What happened to the paint that didn't cost thousands of dollars? Why am I not able to find someone who can do the kind of paint job that was the standard twenty or more years ago? That would be more than good enough for a work truck. Suggestions? Advice? Information?

Thanks, Stan

P.S. Have a happy 4th. Be safe. As we used to say (before it was considered politically incorrect to joke about anything): Don't drink and drive, but if you must, be extra careful.

dr sportster · Jul 4, 2014

Stan ,Here is a link to a place that sells paint. The cost of materials for a car is probably around 500 dollars. That includes masking ,sanding, filler , paint,primer. There is another company that sells a paint line called Hot Rod Flatz. These are flat non-glossy base coats that require no clear top coating. The surface of the vehicle can make a difference in price too. Also if you want to buff out clearcoat then you need a buffer and compounds ,more expense. Now with the old truck [ cars too] guys will go with a flat surface then letter on some name of an old speed shop or such business that doesn't really exist. If you put some talc in the lettering enamal it will make the letters look faded. Then you take a scotchpad and rub the letters to look aged. But non of that looks like new paint ,just cool looking old paint. Better call MAACO .
Auto Body Toolmart

SDE · Jul 4, 2014

For a good job, hire a professional. If you do not need a professional looking job done, then do it yourself. I painted the hood of my car for about $100 in materials with an old paint gun. Today, a better gun is less than $50 and you can buy the paint by the qt. Rattle cans are cheap also. Some people can get really good looking work finished with them also.
SDE

Dalex · Jul 4, 2014

If you can do it yourself, just use Rustolium ! I use it on my tractors , The gloss is good for 2 years , and the color never wears away , but reds do fade ...

ray hofstetter · Jul 4, 2014

Stan, I think the cost in a paint job is PREP. That's what takes the time, painting goes quick. I started by painting a 9N and graduated to cars and trucks - even tried my hand at metallic and clear-coat quite a few years ago. If you've got the time, shoot it yourself......

Stephen Newell · Jul 4, 2014

I used to work for a guy that had an old truck that the only thing I thought unusual about it was the yellow color. After I worked for him for a while he told me he painted the truck himself with a brush using some paint a guy gave him for painting the center stripe on a highway. You would have never known it looking at it. There wasn't any brush marks in it anywhere.

While I would never paint a vehicle with a brush, painting a truck wouldn't be that technically difficult. It's a lot of work but anyone should be able to do it themselves. All you need is an electric sander, air compressor, air hose and a sprayer and it doesn't have to be top of the line sprayer either. I use a cheap harbor freight sprayer I pay about 20 bucks for and I paint cars with them.

Donald Lehman · Jul 4, 2014

It's called the "Evironmental Protection Agency". It's your goobermint working for YOU. Don't you feel all warm and fuzzy now?

ss55 · Jul 4, 2014

Are there any Earl Schibe (spelling?) paint shops in your area? "I'll paint any car any color for $___". This past week I hear a radio commercial to repaint cars, I think it was an Earl Schibe ad and the price was $495.

I would be concerned that the old paint will continue to peel off, taking the new paint with it.

Chuck (CA) · Jul 4, 2014

About 30 years ago I took my truck to one of those places..No prep. Just painted over the old paint, and if you didn't wash it before, oh well.

MSM · Jul 4, 2014

The majority of the money will be in the prep work. If it is flaking the whole truck will have to be stripped down to bare metal,primed then painted if you want it to last. Ford and Dodge had an adhesion problem their primer.

David G · Jul 4, 2014

The paint itself does not cost that much, someone is BS'ing you. You must prepare the surface correctly or new paint will not stick.

Inno · Jul 4, 2014

Yes, paint is more expensive now but that's not the whole story. When you bring it to a shop they have plenty of overhead and they have to play by rules that you wouldn't have to if you were to do it at home.
A good body shop isn't buying $50 paint guns, their compressor and spray booth probably cost them tens of thousands, not to mention the bills for heating, cooling, electricity. They pay employees, insurance, environmental fees etc etc etc. And they also have to keep themselves trained on all the new paints and techniques. I'm sure I've missed a few things even at that. So that's why a "simple" paint job can cost upwards of $1500. Yes, you can do it at home and get a reasonable job but a shop will make it look that much better. It all depends on where your priorities lie.

Having said all that, I did body work and painted my own truck a few years ago. I learned a lot. Would I do it again? Not without a better spray area. I'm still finding things with green overspray on them.

souNdguy · Jul 4, 2014

just curious.. is it a dodge?

my factory dodge paint job on a 98 1500 was gone like that in about 13 years..

js305 · Jul 4, 2014

My parents had a '65 Dodge Custom 880 (big car) they drove for almost 20 years without going over 100,000 miles. After about ten years the paint got to looking kinda bad, so I took it an Earl Sheibs (spelling??) and asked them how much for a "real" paint job. As I remember the quote for the cheap job was $99, chrome and hubcaps painted as well if you didn't take them off. The good job was $249. When they finally sold the car in 1985 or so it still looked pretty good. Sat outside all the time too.

I have had some body work done from time to time at Maaco and they are OK with me. Price was much less than regular shops too.

benny nelson · Jul 4, 2014

Just take it to MAACO for a work truck it will look decent! cheap too! for the price they charge who cares if you have to redo it every couple years

MeAnthony · Jul 4, 2014

A local kid does some bodywork, says he uses implement paint from the farm supply store. According to him the only difference it that you can't quite get the same shine out of it when it's done. He drives a late '70s Camaro that he did in orange, looked pretty decent. I don't know anything about bodywork, only passing along what he said.
All my vehicles are 15 years old or so, highly doubtful that I'd spend $1500 on a paintjob.

Y'all have a good weekend!

Anthony

Dr. Walt · Jul 5, 2014

Earl Scheib - "We'll paint any car for $29.95" .

Yeh, BTDT - and the first time you wash it the paint comes OFF in big sheets. Just ask me how I know, - that happened on my first car, 1954 Chevy 4 door sedan.

Doc

PJH · Jul 5, 2014

There's a thread on the Ford Truck Enthusiast's website about a young guy who painted his old truck with Rustoleum, and used a roller to apply it. He masked the chrome and rubber, and used a brush to do the trim, like you'd do in your living room, then rolled the big areas. It sounds like a disaster, but the finished job looked surprisingly good. I'm using a makeshift computer, and I can't provide a link to the thread, but a search would find it.

A neighbor, when I was a kid, painted his '49 Chevy pickup with a brush, and it looked as slick as a hound's tooth. Maroon with black running boards. He was a patient and careful painter.

A carpenter on one of our bridge jobs painted his '60 Chevy pickup with a brush, sandwich in hand, during his lunch breaks, over a period of a week or so. He obviously didn't maintain his "wet line". It didn't look so hot, but it was all one color. I liked it because it perfectly matched the character of the owner.

And that's precisely why I drive a rusty truck.

Dick L · Jul 5, 2014

Rustoleum makes an automotive grade of paint. I have been buying Rustoleum paint with the tractor name on the can. It is not the same paint in the regular cans on the shelf. I painted an old trailer with the regular red cans. It faded within a year bad. I painted my Farmall C with the tractor IH red and even though it faded some over three years it is better than the farm store IH red. I am not sure where you can buy it without buying in on line.
Check Here

dr sportster · Jul 5, 2014

There was an article in Hot Rod magazine 'Paint your car for under 100 dollars" . They rolled on Rustoleum and wet sanded between coats . Slowly built up enough white paint to sand out smooth . The car actually looked great when they got done and it was about 78 bucks they spent.

Geo-TH,In · Jul 5, 2014

Dick, I sparyed my IH C with rustoleum IH red from mentard. My metal was pitted, old paint looked like AC orange. The rustoleum finish turned out dull, so a year later after the paint curred goo, I sanded the rustoleum down, it fill in the rust pits, then went to Rural King and got their IH red paint, a can of thinner, a can of hardner, cost around $50 for everything. Sprayed it on with a little mineral spirits mixed in. The finish is very slick, shinney IH Red. For me the cheap paints is good enough. Did the same with my Jubilee. It takes a touch of mineral spirits to make a smooth, slick finish. It also depends on temp to get the proper flow.
George

Stan in Oly, WA · Jul 5, 2014

That was my first car, too.

jeffcat · Jul 5, 2014

For the back wheels on my Husqvarna tractor. Got a pair of the big 12 inch rims with 23x10.5x12 tires. Took off the tires and sand blasted the rims. Washed with prepsall and sprayed with primer. Sprayed with machenery gray. Last shot on a clear coat. All with rustoleum. Looks like they were dipped in a puddle of paint. Beauty!

Dick L · Jul 5, 2014

I didn't paint the whole trailer or tractor with rattle cans. On the Farmall I took the steering post and light bar apart and then rattle caned them so they didn't rust. I need to cut out some rust on a fender and weld it back in and will rattle can that or the same reason. I only seem to get one or two little things done a year to it.

Geo-TH,In · Jul 5, 2014

Dick, I don't use rattel cans, I bought a gallon of rustoleum IH red implement paint, used mineral spirits as thinner and sprayed it.

Same with the Rural King paint, gallon, thinner and hardner.

I removed battery, starter, alternator, cleaned tractor, removed tires, cleaned all the tractor and gave the old girl a coat of new lipstick.

Painted rims with aluminum paint.

Same with Jubilee. It got even more work. Stripped tractor, wheels, fenders, hood, all tin. A week doing body work on tin, lots of welding and bondo work on tin, another week cleaning. Tractor got a painted ford red, body panels ford gray. Then put it all back together.

George

ss55 · Jul 5, 2014

I don't disagree that those places do a really poor paint job, but I think that is what the original poster is looking for. $1500 to $2000 is too much for him. I would drive the vehicle as-is, like most other people do.

I'm too young to remember the $29.95 paint jobs, but I remember when the price increased from $39.95 to $49.95 in the 1970's.

I've had good luck getting auto paint to old up by waxing them yearly or twice yearly. Does something else work better?

T in NE · Jul 6, 2014

Yeah, they used a teflon-based primer.

Mike (WA) · Jul 7, 2014

Have known of several guys building hot rods that take them to MAACO to paint. As they said, MAACO is not much for prep work, but they're good paint squirters. Owners did all the prep work and masking, and furnished the good quality paint, and MAACO applied it. The MAACO guys took a little extra pains on the job, too, because its just human nature that when something nice comes in for a change, you want it to go out nice, too.

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