Quality paint job

[SRQYukon]

What can I expect to pay for a quality paint job on my '03 Yukon XL? The body condition is excellent with only a couple of dings and a few scratches to repair. No peeling or paint removal will be needed. About 1/2 of mine was repainted about 6 years ago, but the driver side, rear gate and roof are starting to show their age. Time to make it all fresh. Going back the factory Dark Spiral Gray color. This is my forever ride so I don't want a Maaco quickie.

 

[Sasquatch]

About 10-12 years ago i had my 87 suburban repainted with one tiny rust hole and a few dings to be fixed and it cost me $4400 and from your sig i see you had an older burban so you know how simple those trucks are to disassemble compared to newer vehicles. If i had to guess i`d say at least $5000 for a good paint job but it will cost less if they don`t have to paint the door jambs.

 

[mountie]

Just the paint material will be costly, but demand the best undercoat / paint product ($1,500 + ?)...... The overspray protection is important, along with the guy holding on the the spray gun!!

If (as you say) are keeping it, the investment is more than worth it.

 

[08grey]

any where between 3-6k

 

[SRQYukon]

Well, I was thinking between $4000-5000. I don't see why the jambs would need painting, but mine has painted door handles that will need to be removed. No much else to remove except rear bumper. All of the exterior trim has been removed (side moldings, badges, etc).
Any suggestions on how to evaluate a good shop? Last time I took the recommendation from locals that a particular shop was the "best in town". Their work was fair, at best. The hood was dry-sprayed and never had the shine it should have. They didn't remove any molding or door handles. Within a year it looked pretty bad. I should have taken it back, but I was so busy at work I couldn't afford to do without my truck, again. And they had already taken an extra week getting it finished.

 

[mountie]

Any suggestions on how to evaluate a good shop

Sunset Cadillac of Sarasota / Bradenton, has their paint/body shop down the street, south from the Bradenton dealership.

We had a little rear work done on our new Infiniti. Nice work, good reputation. Infiniti of Sarasota suggested them. Paint finish was perfect.

They have "old school" body & paint guys working there. Prices are similar to other shops.
They understand, their customers expect quality.

 

[Big Mama]

Gauge quality by the cars you see there and look on line for reviews like Mountie’s and check BBB for complaints.

 

[drakon543]

definitely do your digging on this. ive used 2 body shops in my area so far. one was to repaint my drivers door where it was keyed. they sanded the keyed mark but didn't fade that out at all. door was proper color but you could see a circle in the paint pretty easily where they sanded it. the other shop replaced the passenger fender on the same car. did not get to color right and did not try to blend it with the rest of the car. they also just tossed the washer fluid jug into the back seat and never put it on. my wife forced me to leave the first shop alone. the second shop gave me the well cant you just put that back in.

 

[mountie]

drakon543...... It appeared the painters were not "old school" technicians.....

( Which was why the Cadillac shop only hires the old guys )

That's what they told me, why my paint job was so well done.

 

[09Tahoe4Now]

Paint job prices are regional pretty much. Price ranges mentioned are fair for a non-custom color paint job that’s straight forward. Honestly, paint materials should be under $800-$1,000 depending on paint brand used. The rest is labor for the most part. To properly prep and repair a vehicle for paint takes time and skill.

Always ask about the prep process..taping off, sanding, repair of dents(PDR vs other methods that may require use of bondo), brands of paint and clears used, how many coats, WARRANTY?, view work they currently have in progress, pictures of past similar jobs completed and if possible if those customers would be willing to let you view their vehicles.

The issue with jobs like this is that they are time consuming. Shops can knock out a few insurance fender benders and make just as much money with less effort. So, the shops charge more for the time tied up in these type of projects and that’s why the prices vary—along with the quality of work. Definitely check for warranty on the work performed i.e., issues with clear, paint premature fade..

Good luck

 

[SRQYukon]

drakon543...... It appeared the painters were not "old school" technicians.....

( Which was why the Cadillac shop only hires the old guys )

That's what they told me, why my paint job was so well done.

Thanks for the recommendation. I check them out again. I had not considered them because of a bad experience with collision repair on my wife's caddy. The car was never right after that. But that was 20 years ago. I'm sure they have none of the same staff. Probably not even the same ownership.

 

[latvius]

If you want it done right do it yourself. You could paint it for around $1500 including paint gun and compressor. I painted my 95 Bronco and while it is not show quality it is better than what they do from the factory.

 

[91RS]

If you want it to look good, plan on spending $5,000-$10,000. It’s all in the prep work and the prep work is time consuming. All moldings, emblems, mirrors, door handles, trim, wheel liners, etc. need to be removed. A lot of time will have to be spent taping off stuff that can’t be removed. Then after it’s painted it will need to be wet sanded and buffed. That’s all the stuff you don’t get in a $2,000 paint job.

 

[fireboat]

One possibility is going somewhere like Maaco.
Before I get flamed, places like that skimp on prep work. But their painters are usually decent as they crank out paint jobs one after another. Pay for whatever premium paint they offer.
The key is for you to do all of the sanding, filling, taping and trim removal. The biggest part of a paint job is the prep.

 

[latvius]

One possibility is going somewhere like Maaco.
Before I get flamed, places like that skimp on prep work. But their painters are usually decent as they crank out paint jobs one after another. Pay for whatever premium paint they offer.
The key is for you to do all of the sanding, filling, taping and trim removal. The biggest part of a paint job is the prep.

I did this a LONG time ago it was good for the dollars spent but doing it yourself gets much better paint product quality and the knowledge of how to do and how to fix it if you need to in the future.

 

[91RS]

A paint job is not for the faint of heart and definitely isn't something I'd recommend someone jump right into on a vehicle they care about. On another note, there's absolutely nothing wrong with paying someone to do something that you don't have the skills to do yourself. There's no need to make someone feel bad for not knowing or not wanting to do something.

 

[latvius]

A paint job is not for the faint of heart and definitely isn't something I'd recommend someone jump right into on a vehicle they care about. On another note, there's absolutely nothing wrong with paying someone to do something that you don't have the skills to do yourself. There's no need to make someone feel bad for not knowing or not wanting to do something.

I think you are reading things that were not there, nobody is trying to make anyone "feel" bad about anything. It is a time and money decision as most things in life are. If he doesn't want to spend 5-10K on a paint job i offered a suggestion to paint it himself for a fraction of that price. It takes no special skills to paint a vehicle, it takes time and desire with the reward of knowledge and accomplishment.

 

[91RS]

It absolutely takes special skills to paint a vehicle. If it took no special skills there wouldn't be so many vehicles running around out there that look like they were painted with a roller in the Home Depot parking lot.

 

[SRQYukon]

I have painted many vehicles in the past. And the base-coat/clearcoat systems are much easier than what I used to do. I have the skills to do it myself, but not the time or place. It would take one person two weeks to do it right. And here in Florida, painting in a small garage or carport is not an option except maybe one or two months out of the year. The temperature an humidity will kill you and mar the paint job. Even then there's dust, overspray and bug control to deal with. I really appreciate every one of the suggestions and advice provided. Don't think I can go the Maaco route, even though I know there guys can spray. They just don't use quality paints, in my experience. I will look for a good shop that will do the prep and spray and then I can do the color sanding and buffing myself.

 

[mountie]

If you don't own a clean 1,500 squ ft shop behind your home.........

1/2 cash, 1/2 credit card. Rent a car for 2 weeks.

Better deal than a new Yukon or Tahoe for $75,000. Look at the money you save, and you have a beautiful SUV again!!