Paint Prices???

[Anonymous]

It’s been decades since I painted. Back then I was
paying less than $20 a gallon for acrylic lacquer.

How much is it selling for today?

Topic

[Anonymous]

Hi Shadow
well its a few bucks more today. On the average (PPG) a gallon will net you $200.
And thats a less expensive color. I have paid as much as 480 and still needed the reducers and a gallon of clear to boot. If we were doing a House of Color paint job lets say Candy for instance we would be sure to have a 1500 dollar bill before we could even walk in to the booth. There are sub brands that are far les like Omni and such . NaPa has some that I have heard are some what resonable.
Nothing like the good old lacguer days. Dont think we will ever see them again .

[Anonymous]

Thanks Steve,

I was using Ditzler and RM mostly.

The prices are crazy!!!

I don’t know why, unless it’s the EPA. icon_sad.gif

Maybe something about the VOCs when you paint???

I’ve heard of the HVLP sprayers but never used one. I still have
my old spraygun. I think it’s the Sharpe 75. (it’s been a while!).

I do miss painting though. The memory of my lungs clogged and
the garage filled with fumes.

Hey, are you hiring? Do you think I’d last more than one day??? icon_biggrin.gif icon_biggrin.gif

[Anonymous]

I stopped Painting a few years ago I have used HVLP but not enough to do custom paint with . I have mostly Sata jet guns but did own a sharpe mdl 75 . Great gun held a super patern and cleand up nice. I remember RM that was some nice paint . The RM reps gave us some new uro paints to do some of our hot rods one year and it worked well . would have gone with them but be were pretty tied in with PPG .
I guess mostly we could put the blame on epa but lots of it falls in the hands of the manufactures . the price of the raw mat- went threw the roof and everyone else seemed to follow.
I mainly stay with the sheet metal work today I finf it most interesting and most anyone can lay down a nice paint job but it takes a bit more time to make a nice clean panel to work off of . we have a few shops that dont feel the need to do the tin work and that suites me just fine.
icon_biggrin.gif

[Anonymous]

Quote:

I find it most interesting and most anyone can lay down a nice paint job but it takes a bit more time to make a nice clean panel to work off of

YES!!! I like that sentence!

Even though I didn’t do the custom metal-bending like you, I still
took the time, a LOT of time, to prep the body (including into
the wee hours of the morning).

After I painted, it was time for wet-sanding and rub-out. YUK!!!
But the finished product was fabulous! (I’m tooting my own horn.) icon_biggrin.gif

For some reason all of the cars that I painted were hit by other cars!
Not only my cars, but cars that I did for other people too.

I painted a Capri for a guy and a lady turned in front of him and
the car was totaled. icon_sad.gif

I think, sub-consciously, that’s probably why I stopped painting.

Or maybe it’s because I ran out of money!!! Yeah, that’s the reason! icon_biggrin.gif

[Anonymous]

Ahhh the wet sand and buff . Hey go to a car show and no one ever says hey look at the wet sand and buff job on that hot rod w00t.gif But they do admire the glass like finish thumbsup.gif

[Anonymous]

I use regular enamel (Rustoleum) and I find it’s pretty good. But then again I have a 10 year old Escort. If I had a nicer car I might get paint at a local boating store (Polyeurethane).

[Anonymous]

If the last time you bought paint was lacquer at 20 bucks a gallon, you are in for a huge shock. Also don’t want to be clogging your lungs with todays catalyzed urethanes. lacquer thinner and other paint components probably aren’t too good for you, but the isocyanates (look familar to cyanide?) could possibly deadly if they are not respected, or do nervous system damage or cause an allergic reaction or ashma. They affect some more then others, but you need at the very least a charcoal respirator with new filters and good ventilation, but an air supplied respirator is what is often recommended to error on the safe side. Iso’s love moisture and also are absorbed through skin and eyes, so you can’t forget protection there either, and even when you are mising it you should wear protection and a respirator, Many have not followed this myself included, and are still here, but there are cases where the outcome is different. Just so you are aware of what you are dealing with, don’t want to scare or discourage anyone, but you have to be aware with what you are dealing with in todays paint.
I hear you on being hit by other cars, A cavalier I fit a bodykit on and changed color, kid had it back just over a month and totalled it, made me sick knowing the work involved and how the kid was saving to fix up his car, and back in tech school I painted my moms car and a few months later she fell asleep coming home and ditched it totalling the car, More important then the car though is she could walk after many months of rehabilitation. She still hobbles a little to this day though. Shortly after I fixed and painted a really rusty car of mine, the engine blew. I already had so much time and some money into the paint job, so ohh well, I pulled out the engine and rebuilt it. Most cars I see leave and don’t see again and don’t know what ever became of them. Maybe thats good.

[montefrazer]

Quote:

I use regular enamel (Rustoleum) and I find it’s pretty good. But then again I have a 10 year old Escort. If I had a nicer car I might get paint at a local boating store (Polyeurethane).

So I’m not the only one using Rustoleum. thumbsup.gif I put Leather Brown on a 77 Caprice I will be using as a daily driver soon. It was bark brown so the color is close enough not to have to do door jams and such. Total cost was about $65 for materials. Used my old DeVilbess spray gun.
I also have had freshly painted cars totaled. I painted my parents 70 Nova a long time ago and it got totaled. I painted a 71 Monte Carlo for me and it got totaled before I even got to wet sand and buff it crybaby2.gif . Hope I have better luck with this Caprice. w00t.gif

[Anonymous]

For maybe just a little bit more money you could buy a gallon of single stage automotive urethane in a cheaper line that also has an activator. Also more chemical resistant and pretty good gloss, at least 5 years it should last, maybe more (well red is a color known to fade rather quickly with a single stage) I used white omni single stage urethane (90 bucks for paint and activator) on one of my cars and the paint has held up well and just as glossy as when it was sprayed 4 years ago other then some rust that is coming back. Other colors like red (expensive pigment) will probably be more. A single stage enamel with an activator (use an activator even though its not required) you could probably pick up somewhat close to the price of the rustoleum. All depends on what your doing I guess, if your not going to really fix anything and its a beater, then tractor paint or rustoleum, but I never use it on a car.
For cheaper paint jobs I’ll use a cheaper line of single stage if a solid color
For something worth a lot that is going to be held on to for a long time and going to be fixed right, a good line of base clear from ppg, dupont, basf ect.

Quote:

most anyone can lay down a nice paint job

Depends on the day, you can paint for many years and some days feel like a rookie again. But I do agree, body and sheetmetal work is very time consuming, and if its not good, the paint job wont be good no matter how well you spray.[/quote]

[GTO Man]

Good information to know.

[montefrazer]

I agree, use good paint on a good car. This is just a daily beater. It’s going to be run through the salty winter and pick up the parking lot dings and road rash of a daily beater. If it looks good for 2-3 years, all is good. thumbsup.gif If not, it still will look beter than it was before the I painted it and that’s all I’m looking for. sunny.gif

[Author]

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