how much money to paint my datsun

[Lucas07]

hey does anyone know about how much it costs to paint a datsun 280Z. I have a 1977. I was thinking like black with white racing stripes. Anyone know about how much that will cost??

[Virto]

Depends on the level of quality you want out of it.

Some cut-rate shops can probably do it for around $300, but you probably have to mask everything yourself, and they probably won't paint anything but the surface without opening the doors or hatch. And that price is probably just a cover coat with no prep work or clearcoat.

Your best bet is to ask around at local paintshops and collision centers. I'd figure on budgeting at least a grand if you want a paint job that's worth doing.

[bobc]

Lucas,

I agree with Kelly; it depends on what you want and a lot of that is determined by what prep you do versus have the shop do. Painting the car is usually the least amount of work. The prep is the most labor expensive part. I just had my Z done for a little more than $4K and I thought I got a great deal. The shop took everything off the car and even took the glass out so I would have no paint build up around the gaskets. If you want a low cost job, Maaco, Earl Schieb and others can certainly paint it and you might be surprised how well they will do it. However, they won't spend a lot of time on prep, so expect overspray, some paint build up against gaskets, etc. You can make these low cost paint jobs look a lot better by doing most of the prep yourself. Either way, my best advice is to make sure you and the shop you chose have a clear understanding of what you want and your agreement is in writing! Good luck.

Bob

[montoya_fan01]

also depends on where you are located.

I know people who lived in the San Francisco Bay area that paid $8K for a complete 1st class paint job on a rolling 240Z shell a couple of years ago. I also know people who have recently paid $299 for a "tape & spray" job on a rust bucket daily driver Z.

you get what you pay for (if you are lucky).

[Ricklandia]

hey does anyone know about how much it costs to paint a datsun 280Z. I have a 1977. I was thinking like black with white racing stripes. Anyone know about how much that will cost??

I know this'll draw a few sneers, but take a peek at this:

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1

It's a long thread, but covers quite a bit. I've tried it myself (http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20410) and it has a lot of potential for those on a very slim budget. I'm trying to decide now on which of my cars needs the first "full out" attempt, my daily driver or my Z.

[280z1975]

hey does anyone know about how much it costs to paint a datsun 280Z. I have a 1977. I was thinking like black with white racing stripes. Anyone know about how much that will cost??

I am painting my Z this weekend, also in Black, but no stripes at the moment (later I will do a hood accent and side stripes, small ones).

The cost at a local body shop for JUST the parts to paint the car was going to be $600 (paint, primer, reducer, paper, sandpaper, etc). Then I was throwing 200 to the painter.

Now I am going to paint the car in my garage with the painter from the body shop. I went to the paint store and the cost of the material went down just slightly, about $500 total.

The quote from Maaco was $570 to paint my car, but I was VERY WORRIED about going there as it's a crap shoot as to the quality of the job they will be doing. Some are good and some are $^!#.

So it's all about what you want.

BTW, these prices were with NO body work, which i am doing myself.

You can see how far the car is stripped down.

Also, if you just walk in a body shop or call they are going to quote you $3,000 to 4,000. That is just thier normal way of weeding out people who are looking for a deal. Tell them you are serious and go in person with the car and tell them exactly what you want and what your price range is, if they can match it they will. Remeber, body shops make thier money from insurance not from guys like you, so the process will be SLOW usually.

My suggestion, is unless you are restoring the car, just paint it the same color you have it and then work from there on accent colors. It will make things a LOT easier in the end.

Hope this helps.

[Ron Carter]

It depends on what you want done I spent a bit more than 6 grand for paint and rust repair and body work....

A three color paint job with stripes.

[Ed]

I spent 6K on mine. She was taken to the painters naked and still on the rotisserie. They striped her down to bare metal, did minor body work, painted, color sanded and buffed. Total of 140 hours labor.

[theianmonster]

its costing me $150 to paint my car myself. my step dad already had all the air guns and such, so all i had to do was buy paint.

MY CAR IS GOING TO BE PRIMERED NEXT WEEK!

[Ron Carter]

Ian are you spraying single stage paint? I paid more in materials than $150.00.

[280z1975]

Ian are you spraying single stage paint? I paid more in materials than $150.00.

I wonder what he is using. The epoxy primer alone is going cost me $150 in cost! I guess if you went with a cheap primer and single stage paint it will end up paying only $300ish in paint material (maybe call up your local auto paint shop and see if they have any gallons of paint that they mixed and weren't picked up that they will be willing to sell cheap. You might find a color you like).

People also need to remeber there are 'other costs' that can add up when painting that just isn't the paint. Time being a big one, but other than that there is also masking tape, sandpapper, tack cloths, plastic sheeting, equipment rental (if you can't borrow), etc....

Be sure to post pics once the cars done.

[Roujin]

Last time i got a can of paint made for me it cost $100 for 10L but it was concentrated so with some thinner i turned it into 1000L its a lot more than you need for one car