$15,000 for racing and rocker stripes in St Louis?!?!?

[scottmoyer]

As was mentioned, I just had my entire car repainted. The dealership estimate was $7100 for a full sand, repaint, custom stripes and new clear. To do the paint correctly, the windshield, back window and side 1/4 windows were removed. The bumpers were taken off and the grills separated from the bumper cover. The lower rocker panels were removed, along with the side mirrors and door handles. The headlights, tail lights, marker lights, etc were all removed.

The shop laid down a band of black over the sanded car, taped off to paint the red band, then taped off the red band to paint the remaining black band, then taped off the red and black to spray the gray. All three colors have the same mil thickness prior to the clear coat. Once sanded, you can't feel bands at all. I assumed they would've painted the entire car gray, the sprayed the red and black before clearing it all, but the body shop said that you'd feel the difference in the color bands thickness.

The body shop labor rate is $45/hr, but being my work was warranty, the $7100 was using $128/hr labor rate.

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[foqus]

Crikey that looks nice. Don't have that kind of cash, though. The shop is supposed to get back with me with an estimate without sanding down to make the stripes flush with the original paint...I'll report back.

I did just order the exact same Fl license plate style, though!

Thanks!

 

[HoosierDaddy]

The body shop labor rate is $45/hr, but being my work was warranty, the $7100 was using $128/hr labor rate.

And for anyone wondering why the insurance company would pay well more than double, its mostly because insurance companies are allowed to base premiums on x% profit for them. So the more they pay out, the more they can raise premiums and the more dollars profit.

You didn't think you got the Omaha Steaks with every windshield replacement because the insurance company wants you to get enough protein?

Since everyone is required to have insurance, the insurance companies basically only have to worry about premiums getting so bad the government insurance regulators get fired or voted out of office or too many people go outlaw.

 

[scottmoyer]

There was no insurance involved in my repaint. The insurance hourly labor rate is $45. Ford Warranty program rates were $128. Ford paid the dealership to repaint my car.

It took about 3 hours to lay out the stripes, which I did with a local decal company. The body shop was only involved with it to the extent that the painter wanted to know exactly what we were laying out and what paint he was putting down.

I was almost ok with having the stripes made out of thin vinyl and clear coated over, but the painter said you'd feel the edges and he wanted it smooth. This dealership body shop is now touting this as a custom paint job that they successfully accomplished.

 

[ScottsGT]

There was no insurance involved in my repaint. The insurance hourly labor rate is $45. Ford Warranty program rates were $128. Ford paid the dealership to repaint my car.

It took about 3 hours to lay out the stripes, which I did with a local decal company. The body shop was only involved with it to the extent that the painter wanted to know exactly what we were laying out and what paint he was putting down.

I was almost ok with having the stripes made out of thin vinyl and clear coated over, but the painter said you'd feel the edges and he wanted it smooth. This dealership body shop is now touting this as a custom paint job that they successfully accomplished.

:eyebulge: So much wrong with this! Paint would never stick to the top of the vinyl and it would look like a GM from the '80's in no time flat.

 

[ctandc72]

:eyebulge: So much wrong with this! Paint would never stick to the top of the vinyl and it would look like a GM from the '80's in no time flat.

What? People have been clear coating over stripes and decals for YEARS.
The clear coat bond in a base coat / clear coat system is CHEMICAL. As long as the manufacturer of the clear (and the vinyl) states it's compatible with the stripes, it'll go on just fine. And it won't fade or deteriorate any faster than any other application of clear.

Some decals / stripes need to be out in the heat / sun before clear coat application to so they can out gas and not cause any issues with the clear - again talking to the stripe manufacturer / clear coat maker will take care of this if needed.

The "rub" is that vinyl is much thicker than even several coats of base coat and several coats of clear on top of that. It would be damn near impossible to get it level.

 

[ScottsGT]

Honestly, I had no idea this practice has been in place. I was a paint and body man and left the industry back in 1990. I just cannot imagine a vinyl area that large holding paint since it expands/contracts with temperatures at different rates than paint.
I guess vinyl has come a long way since then too.
I use to clear over very thin or small decals/vinyl all the time. Ex: Harley Davidson gas tank logos. But the idea of something as wide as a stripe blows my mind that it would hold up.

4 years ago when I painted my '66 GT Fastback, I laid down white base, taped up the stripes and then shot the red over the rest of the car. Unmasked and shot 3 coats of clear. Next day wet sanded the car down with 600/800 blocking everything, and followed up the next morning by shooting 3 more coats of clear.
Followed that up with a sand and buff. They look like they are sitting under a sheet of glass on a table top.

 

[ctandc72]

Honestly, I had no idea this practice has been in place. I was a paint and body man and left the industry back in 1990. I just cannot imagine a vinyl area that large holding paint since it expands/contracts with temperatures at different rates than paint.
I guess vinyl has come a long way since then too.
I use to clear over very thin or small decals/vinyl all the time. Ex: Harley Davidson gas tank logos. But the idea of something as wide as a stripe blows my mind that it would hold up.

4 years ago when I painted my '66 GT Fastback, I laid down white base, taped up the stripes and then shot the red over the rest of the car. Unmasked and shot 3 coats of clear. Next day wet sanded the car down with 600/800 blocking everything, and followed up the next morning by shooting 3 more coats of clear.
Followed that up with a sand and buff. They look like they are sitting under a sheet of glass on a table top.

I grew up around it - most of the guys I knew COULD do it - but didn't prefer to do it because of possible reactions with the top coats and also because it didn't look as good as it could of. That's still the case.

6 coats of clear??? Wow.

Last BC / CC job I did, I used 3 coats of clear (think it was SPI, the guy I was helping out bought it) and i couldn't imagine laying on 3 more. Those 3 were more than enough for a cut and buff. Truck came out looking good. Of course it was white - I told him how much more work he'd be in for as far as prep work if he went black or another dark color, so since it was his pick up - he opted for white...

I love how easy BC / CC is to work with. Most people think it's a dark art, but if you can read and follow instructions (Tech sheets / flash time etc etc) the APPLICATION and making it look good after is the EASY part in my opinion.

It's the prep work that grinds me down. I feel lucky to still have fingerprints after the sanding I've done on previous projects.

 

[ScottsGT]

It was SPI I used. Had a nice long conversation with Barry about the process and how he wanted me to do it. Followed his instructions to a "T" and it turned out great.

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