I'm thinking about repainting my '95 L. How much would a decent paint job cost, say, one that's comparable to the factory one (please don't turn this into a "factory paint sucks!!" thread). TIA.

 

Im getting my 2001 2.5RS painted WRB but its silver now and it's costin me $2500 cash and the Prodrive P1 wheels (gold) I ordered are shipped. It's going to probally cost you more than that though. Some places wanted 3500-4000 for a color change; one guy even had the ba**s to tell me 7000 to change the color. If you are painting it the same color then it will be cheaper because they dont have to do the door jams and sh*t.

 

$2.5k is not bad... Are there different "stages" of paint jobs, e.g. standard, premium, etc.? What should I ask for when I go to a paint shop?

 

hmm.... ? well I would go with like the middle one. The standard paint might fade in the sun and the best one (premium) will probally be wicked expensive ...... The shop that I went to didn't offer packages like that. Good Luck

 

$7000 isn't unheard of for a paint job, but that typically includes special effects such as fades, flakes or "pearls" and pinstriping or graphics -- in other words, a "pimp my ride" paintjob. The guy who wanted $7k either didn't want your business in the first place, or your '95 has some serious surface damage that needs repairing before repaint.

The paint itself that is used is actually not important -- what really matters in an aftermarket paintjob is surface preperation and paint adhesion. All the things that people complain about with bad paint jobs (Maaco, etc.) such as scratching, peeling and bubbling have NOTHING to do with the paint, but everything to do with how that paint adheres to the primer and the primer to the metal.

A while back (7+ years?) a lot of the chemicals auto painters used to use to strip the paint off a car were outlawed, so getting a car down to bare metal is really rare; this is only done in the case of a total restoration.

An aftermarket paint job will NEVER be as good as factory; factory paint is built up from bare metal, and kiln-dried in a giant oven that bakes the paint like enamel. You can't do that once the car is assembled, obviously; the plastic and wiring would never survive it. Your only hope is to find a place that 1) does really, really good surface prep (such as sandblasting vs. sanding) and 2) uses LOTS of clearcoat. I wouldn't pay less than $2500-$3000 for a total repaint, and I think a $3500 job would be more of a hedge against having that paint last 5+ years.

 

Thanks meilers, that was quite insightful.