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Mustang Re-Paint
i recent purchased a body kit for my teal blue 95 mustang with boss sticker decals.
before i started calling places i figure i would ask my question here.
i want to paint it silver, get rid of the stickers, and replace them with black airbrush.
the whole car too, not just exterior, like door cracks, engine compartment, trunk, the whole deal.
i figured 8-9 thousand.
but i was wondering what difference there is as far paint, money, and overall quality as i go down in price.
hope i get some good detailed answers. if you answer you can count on being rated.
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Want to answer more questions in the Technology category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Cars?
I did work in a body shop for a short while when I was younger, and it was a VERY educational experience.
First word of advice is this: The work you are talking about is custom work. Don't expect to go to a mainstream paint and body place and be happy with the result.
My answer is crippled by not knowing what your area is like. If you are in a big city on the west coast, shops that can do the work you want are pretty common. If you are in the sticks, you will have to journey to get it done.
Next question I can't really answer without more info on your mustang paint and body dreams: Is this going to be driven after you get it painted, or will it spend the rest of the days it has on this Earth being pushed on and off of trailers at car shows?
If you are building a trailer queen, then you probably want to spend the money. Don't skimp if you expect trophies.
Unless you have some reason to jeep things fairly stock, then it might be time to get some other things done. Things you will NOT be able to do as patchwork one the paint goes on:
Shave the Mustang's door handles.
French anything you want on your mustang, but do it before you paint.
Hide the antenna. (This will require power conversion of the antenna if it isn't already.)
Have custom license plate mounts made/installed.
If you are converting to any kind of high-end lighting (high output headlights that work, as in focused beam with precision aligned lenses.) you will want to get that done pre-paint.
If you have any suspension work you want done, get it done pre-paint. There are many hammers involved in suspension fitting... one will find your paint.
Any, and I mean ANY engine or transmission work on your Mustang needs to be done before you paint. There is no excuse to have anything less than perfection in the drive train if you are going to spend the better part of $10,000 on paint.
Well, there is one excuse: You plan on doing the car show circuit and winching the thing on and off the trailer. ;-)
Now, if you aren't going to show the car, I am going to try to talk you out of spending so much on paint.
Eight layers of hand rubbed lacquer has no place on a daily driver. This is just my opinion, but I have reasons:
1) The nicer the paint, the worse any flaw in it stands out.
2) You don't just dab some touch-up paint on a paint job like you are talking about. Everything is a professional job from here on out or you will look ridiculous.
3) Your insurance isn't going to pay for what they call minor paint damage.
4) One shopping cart, and your car looks like crap.
So what do you do? Find a good shop, get the color you like in a reasonable quality brand, and then pay for the best clear coat money can buy.
Look for a lowrider shop, if there is one in your city. Your car will come out looking better than you dreamed it could, for less money than you though possible. This has been my experience, anyway.
My theory on a street car is this: You will be painting it again, so budget for the resprays you will be doing on your 95 Mustang.
In other words, if you can get a very respectable paint job for $2,000 then you can have the thing painted 4 times in the life of the car, should you so desire. For $4,000, you can do it twice.
If you really want to spend the better part of $10k on a one-shot paint job, then the car really should be on a trailer if you want to be happy with the longevity of the paint job.
As far as the difference as you go down in price... well, this can really only be answered by the shop that will be doing the work. Example: For $1,000 you probably aren't going to have the car taken down to bare metal for primer and paint. For $10,000 you will.
Quality of paint isn't really something that is going to be terribly changed considering your budget. The money isn't in the paint, really, when you start talking about a $10k paint job. Most all of the money will be in the prep work. Preparing the car for a bare metal spray is a tremendous amount of work. This is where your money is going.
Here is the BEST advice I can give you on this whole thing: Go to a paint shop in the barrio. Ask to see a demo book of their recent work, or better yet, look at the current projects just finished and ask how much they were. If you see the most beautiful paint in the world, and they say it was a $3,000 job, then that is what you should state your budget as. :-)
Remember: Owning this car is supposed to be enjoyable, right? If you aren't building a trailer queen, then the stress of worrying about your paint every time you park will ruin your ownership experience completely. Ponder this before you go crazy with the paint job on your Mustang.
DN.
P.S. If you have any stereo work that needs to be done, get it done pre-paint. People hammering custom panels into place have been known to miss. :-(
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