So...how much does it cost to paint a car?

[jemmons]

I know, that is a loaded question and can vary a ton from shop to shop and area to area but I am hoping for a good ballpark from you guys. My car is down to the metal so it will require priming. Lets say that it will require 4-5 quarter to half dollar dent repairs and all I want is 3-4 coats of acrylic enamel with no clear coating. From what I have read and researched this is a fairly close to factory repaint. Am I better off with something like Macco? They repainted my nephew's car, it was the cheapie job and it looks terrible. Thanks to eveyone, Joe

[Len]

If you brought a stripped vehicle to my shop and I only had to fix a couple of small dents and paint it you would probably pay about $2000 but if the jambs needed to be painted it would cost an additional $500 to $700. I would also advise against acrylic enamel because, while it looks the same initially but it's much softer than a decent urethane and won't hold up as well.

The dents should be repaired then the car should be masked, primer applied, guide coated and block sanded, masked again, cleaned then painted. For best results it will probably need to be polished after the paint has hardened.

[jemmons]

That gives me hope. I priced a job from an over egoed youngster at a car show last year and nearly stroked. I've painted cars before, years ago and am pretty good at the process but I just don't have a safe and correct place to paint. I have a local shop willing to paint my car and that is kinda rare around this area because most shops now days only want the insurance jobs. Thanks again Len, Joe