I am in the process of stripping the 66 vert to bare metal as it has had 3 repaints already. I am painting everything myself EXCEPT the exterior (meaning I am doing the underside interior floors, trunk, engine bay wheel wells etc). I have read that some shops will not paint over other's prep and body work. I am not sure if I am doing the actual body work yet, but I at least want to spray 2 coats of epoxy primer on everything at the minimum. Would the shop strip it back to bare metal? I am not looking for show quality, just a nice driver. Body is in really good shape.
Depends on the shop. Many won't as if it doesn't look perfect they don't want to take responsibility for painting it. FWIW, check out some of the paint jobs coming out of the booth at your local Sheib or Maaco.
Well, I suspect they will question your applications, if nothing else but to offer you a disclaimer should their finish fail in some way. That being stated. I did all of the body work with replacing panels, spraying primers etc. The shop I used thought my work was sufficient to pass their tests and sprayed my finish coat. That was 13 years ago. This past summer, I went back to show off my 13 year old paint job and the guys were very appreciative. They had painted my car in parts and I did the body re-assembly over the winter of 2003-2004.
I guess it depends on the shop and their perception of your level of performance.
A paint and body shop in Shreveport painted my truck and we had got it to the sprayed primer phase. They scuffed it up and shot another coat of primer sealer, let it cure up and then shot the PPG single stage. It was agreed up front that I was not looking for a perfect job but I needed good coverage. They shot 6 coats.
Around here, most won't. The ones that do won't guarantee any of their work, and if any problems arise- they'll be your problem, not theirs. That's even if it was an issue with their materials, application, etc- they'll blame the base and leave you with the bill. Finding any paint shops that want to do the old stuff is getting harder as most just want the cherry pick the insurance jobs that pay well and move on. They don't want to deal with all the time it takes on the older cars for a complete and thorough repaint.
As suggested in an earlier post, check out Maaco. They are franchises whose bread and butter work is collision repair for modern cars. Some of the guys love working on the older cars. My local Maaco guys always have a couple of classics in the shop and love working on them. They have painted two project cars for me over the years and their paint work will meet or exceed the driver quality expectation of any reasonable hobbyist. They really care about doing a good job even if it means going the extra mile on a particular car. When you factor in the cost, it is a great value.
The key is thoroughly prep the car before bringing it in for paint.
Attend some local car shows and talk to the owners about their paint.
Sorry for the thread jack… Jeff, where in the bay area did you get yours painted? I am researching paint shops for my own Mustang as I've reached the point in my life I want it to look pretty! That and I might be acquiring another one soon, . But, I don't want to spend an outrageous amount on it either, so I was thinking of Maaco or a small local shop. But if I can find a place other VMF'ers trust all the better!
This post reminds me I haven't seen you in years!!! I had my car painted at a small 3 man shop in Santa Clara about a dozen years ago. It was fair chunk of change but I got a better paint job than I paid for so I am pleased, kind of the reverse from the horror stories one often hears. If I was to describe the quality, I would say its a very high end driver in my book. Though Steve swore off total repaints after doing mine, he may have forgotten, you never know!! PM me if you want to talk about it more.
The Maaco shop I used for a couple of projects I mentioned above is the one on Stockton Avenue in San Jose.
Happystang here on VMF is local San Jose and is currently using the same guy Craig (cmayna) and Justin (gt_scode) used for their cars.
Most painters at MAACO will be fine. Its the paint quality and prep that sucks. If they will spray your paint and you deliver it in paint ready fashion, it should be fine.
Go and talk to prospective shops, I had several shops come by prior to any bids to inspect my work. These were local shops and the owners were very happy to give advice and help me along until I was ready to hand it over.
Ive been told that it is not normal for shops to do this, so its best to ask first before assuming they will.
I had my Mach 1 painted in June by a local shade-tree painter. It's a decent car but not show. I know you should strip but didn't want to do that for this car. My painter said he'd paint it but not guarantee it if a problem occurred due to what he was painting over. It cost me less than half doing it that way. The convincing point was if there was a problem he was willing to fix that specific area as he was keeping the left over paint (for pay of course).
I have heard that MAACO can do a decent job. Supposedly, you talk to the manager and ask who his best painter is and if it is ok for him to paint after hours. Next you ask the painter if he's interested. If so, slip him a couple hundred dollars as an enticement to do the job. Of course discuss in advance whether he will paint over your prep. A friend got a very decent driver quality paint job on his '67 Mustang.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Vintage Mustang Forums
4M posts
89.2K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to vintage Ford Mustang owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about restoration, modifications, NOS parts, troubleshooting, VIN codes, and more!