Painted my Car, sort of.....

[midnightdriver]

Here is my car stock color

These are the color concepts I created in photo shop with the help of a friend, let me know what you think and tell me what you like best. Just thinking about repainting since the paint is getting tired(in person you can really tell). Enjoy!

Thanks for looking.

 

[Sonic04GT]

Sonic Blue

 

[Maxpowers]

Are you going to be painting the door jams and the engine bay?

If not, I would say to keep the color as close to stock as possible. It drives me nuts when the car has several different hidden colors.

Option 3 if you are paint everything.
Option 2 if you aren't.

 

[RedDaemon]

it would be better if we could see bigger pictures.

 

[RedDaemon]

fixt:

 

[Night Shifter]

i like 2 and 3...like said above, dont skimp out on the engine bay or door jams....it would look way better without the black on the door, it just too much for me

 

[nancygrl]

I like option 1, that's if you paint everything. Option 2 is nice too. My .02

 

[midnightdriver]

Thanks guys and RedDaemon for making the pictures bigger.

I have not really thought too much in depth about how the whole paint process would go yet, just was bored yesterday and played around with photo shop. I have some questions that thanks to your comments, came about.

How would I paint the engine bay, would the engine have to be pulled? I assume so but I don't know much about the painting process.

I would definitely be painting the door jams, the whole trunk area etc, regardless of what color because I don't like multi color cars either. Just the engine bay seems like a major deal if I have to pull the engine to paint it.

I have definitely considered removing the black off of the doors in all three colors because I can see how it could be a little much. Or change the black to a gloss instead of being flat black.

Anyone have a ball park paint job price, I was thinking about $3500ish for a good job but that could be way wrong. My definition of good is as much quality as showroom floor, something that is DD able, nothing I would cause sleeplessness if i got a rock chip in the bumper.

Thanks

 

[XxMustang281xX]

last one.

 

[Maxpowers]

To make the engine bay look good, you will have to pull the motor. You may be able to tape a lot of it off and spray around it, but it will never look 100%. To paint the jams, you will need to open the door and tape off the opening and the door plastics. A good shop will actually take off your door interior.

I'm thinking it will cost $3,000 for a decent paint job, only if there is no body work that needs done. Expect to pay more if you want them to fix dents and body imperfections.

 

[screamin gt]

From reputable (GOOD quality) places around here, with them doing the prep, no jambs at all, SINGLE color base coat clear coat... All guestimates I've gotten are around $3000.

I just post my V2 install thread where I sprayed the engine bay with the motor in the car. You cant tell unless you take a mirror and start looking around and under stuff. But I did go around and hit some areas with POR15 black with a brush. and this is with the motor torn down and wires re routed. took a lot of time.

now if you can do the prep work, I got a quote for $850 to spray the entire car and all jambs (besides engine bay) but I also have to supply the paint. And it has to get to them with bumpers removed and everything epoxy primed and scuffed down. Needless to say that the route I've chosen. (1 gal) primer plus HOK black sparkle (3 quarts) and (1 gal) Clear cost me about $500 all together.

 

[pupapup]

Maaco!

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but the truth is that each Maaco is independently owned and operated. The one here (on the opposite side of the country in Greenville SC) did a great complete repaint job on my '02 GT, door jams, inside trunk, under hood, removed spoiler, etc. for $1,800. It's not 100% perfect, but I'm really happy with it, and like you said, I don't panic about a chip or small scratch. I suggest checking your local franchise on the BBB or Angie's List to see what others have to say about them.

 

[pupapup]

Maaco Continued

Here are before and after shots. I didn't like the lighter green, so I had it painted Atlantis Green Metallic, a very very dark green.

 

[Maxpowers]

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but the truth is that each Maaco is independently owned and operated. The one here (on the opposite side of the country in Greenville SC) did a great complete repaint job on my '02 GT, door jams, inside trunk, under hood, removed spoiler, etc. for $1,800. It's not 100% perfect, but I'm really happy with it, and like you said, I don't panic about a chip or small scratch. I suggest checking your local franchise on the BBB or Angie's List to see what others have to say about them.

Garbage. Never take a car to them unless you don't care what your car looks like. I've seen many cars come from there with black rubber moldings painted, glass painted, and over spray in various locations. The amount of "orange peel" I saw on at least one car was laughable. Taking your car to them is something you do in high school and college when you are broke.

 

[screamin gt]

I'm not a macco fan either. I used them for a couple cars just to get them done and it really depends on how much you spend there. They will offer up cheap deals but you get what you pay for. They can do good work, but for what you would have to pay I'd rather go else where. I had them paint my 87 GT (when I was in high school, lol) and it cost me about $450. It looked nice for a couple months and then I started noticing the spider cracked bumpers and spider cracks in all the mounting points of my hood and trunk. That shouldn't happen even with cheap paint. I also had them do a truck recently and although the paint seemed ok this time, the prep was horrible and they didn't even scuff a lot of areas I could tell cuz I knew what was there previously. and some other spots that there was surface rust, it all came back in months.

 

[midnightdriver]

Thanks guys, and I am still undecided on the color if I decide to paint the car. I am leaning towards getting the bumpers fixed, getting the roof repainted and having the whole car wet sanded smooth. Then once that is all done, have 3 to 4 coats of clear sprayed on to seal and protect everything. That way I don't have to worry about the engine bay and it will come out having a nice deep color to the car.

 

[dsc1990]

have you thought about getting rims first?

 

[midnightdriver]

have you thought about getting rims first?

Why would I get rims first?

That would be very dumb seeing if I bought rims then painted the car I might not like the way the rims would look with that color combo. Plus whats wrong with the stock rims?

At 17lbs each they are lighter than almost anything available on the after market.