Good SF Bay Area Paint Shop?

[Oiluj]

I live in San Mateo California and am looking for a good paint shop for my 240Z refresh project.

The car is very clean and straight with no visible rust problems. (I've really looked). Does need minor door & fender re-alignment, treatment of surface rust (only) under the battery and has four small (1/4"- 1/2") dings.

Plan to re-paint silver with a contrast stripe. Repaint wheel wells, engine bay and door jams as well.

Car will be delivered to paint shop w/o drivetrain or interior, (but dash will remain in-place). All exterior chrome, lights, etc will be removed, as well as front, rear side and hatch windows. (Door windows will remain in-place).

I'm looking to spend about $4,000 total. Is this reasonable?

Any suggestions for where to take her? Anyplace within a 30 mile radius. Closer is better so I can monitor progress or answer questions, if required.

Thanks, Julio

_________________

1972 Silver 240z

[Oiluj]

Have spoken to several body shops in the SF Bay Area.

Looks like they are all in the $6,000 range for a complete re-paint. (exterior, jams, wheel wells & engine bay).

That's with me providing them a rolling chassis w/ no major rust issues, no interior or drivetrain!

Looks like my engine upgrade to an L28 may have to wait a year...

[Oiluj]

I've now spoken with a total five local body shops and estimates are all in the $5,500 to $7,500 range. I could probably shave as much as $1,500 off the cost if I shipped the car out of the immediate SF Bay Area, but I'd prefer to have it done locally where I can monitor progress.

Today I drove my 240Z to to Williams Auto Body in San Mateo for an estimate and spoke to William. His shop is literally wall-to-wall Z's, mostly 240's to 280's. Z-car parts and Z's in-progress everywhere! From what I saw, he does quality work.

William was very strightforward and explained what he does when he paints a Z. He estimated approximately $6K and 2 months from delivery of the car to him. That includes stripping all the paint, bodywork, minor rust repairs, re-alignment of hood, door & hatch, weld-up of all the bump-strip rivet holes and a complete paint, inside & out.

It's more than I want to spend, but it's clear William is "the guy" to paint my Z.

I'm planning on two-tone paint, silver with a light charcoal rally stripe.

Hope others find this update helpful.

[bigoak]

Do it at the Z shop. Even a $1-2k premium would be worth it as knowledge of some of the challenges particular to these lovely vehicles will pay back in the medium/long-term.

Get some references or some photos of work he's done. I'm sure if his shop is that replete of Z's, some members here will know his work.

Just think how pretty she'll look.

[7277]

just pay the dough...if he's a good shop that specializes in Z's and his reputation is good, then the extra $ spent will be well spent on peace-of-mind...i can't tell you how many guys shaved a few dollars and gambled on a guy without a good history....then found themselves unhappy when it doesn't come out the way they wanted it to. just remember if it doesn't come out as you expect, you'll be looking at your baby's paint finish that way for MANY years to come.

OR just do what i do. do all the bodywork and primer yourself, then have the guy spay it for $1500..THEN take it to a professional detailer to buff out the shine for another $500. voila! new paint on the cheap!

p.s. persoanlly i try not to go too pricey on paint because i find that one day (shortly) after i reassemble the car a stone will kick up on the highway and ding a body panel anyway. just my $0.02

[bob m]

oiluj

I just had my 72z painted at Grace Body Shop in South San Francisco. Their web site is gracebodyshop.com. I am extremely pleased with the body work and paint work they did on my car. I live in San Bruno and you are welcome to stop by and judge for yourself. Contact Rich for an estimate, they are extremely picky with preaping the car but there are no excuses with the finished job. Their prices are fair. PM me if you would like to see my car

Bob M

[dukedog]

Old School Body with Modern Eq.

Down Draft Spray Booth,

Computerized Paint Mixing Etc.

Grace Body Shop

1379 San Mateo Ave

So. San Francisco, CA 94080

650-873-8166

www.gracebodyshop.com

[Ttiger]

You know, I've had good luck with Maaco and Miracle in the past, really! I've taken all the trim off and masked anything I didn't to get painted. They did a decent job and the price was very good. I re-assembled the car and the overall finish looked great. Most people would not believe me when I told them it was a Maaco or Miracle job!.

[WingZr0]

Your one of few people I know to actually say that,

to my surprise none of you cought flak.

I never painted a car so I admittedly know nothing .

[BombFactory]

I'm not sure if you are still in the market for a paint shop, but Mark's Body Shop in San Carlos does excellent work. Rod, the owner, specializes in classic cars and I saw two Z racecars in there a few weeks ago. He was doing the metal work to flare the fenders on one of them. He does a lot of work on 1950's and 1960's Porsche’s and has a 1957 356 Cabriolet in there right now that he did a complete on, so that would be a good idea of the quality of craftsmanship. Rod also specializes in custom pinstriping and airbrushing, so any contrast stripe you want would be no problem with him.

I am very familiar with bodywork and painting cars, and a quality complete job (bare metal strip, paint jambs, engine comp, underside of hood, removing front/rear windshields, etc.) using quality paints (I prefer PPG) is going to run you about $7000 if the car is pretty straight and needs only minor bodywork. However, because you have done a lot of the work in stripping the car of parts, it should be much less than that. PPG Paint materials (primer, sealer, base and clear) alone run about $1200 shop-cost! My advice is to save the money and spend it on the paint. It might not seem that large a difference from a $4500 and $7500 paint job, but in two years when the paint starts peeling from your door jambs or from around the windshield and rear hatch because the glass was not removed, you will be very red in the face. Don't quote me on this, but I believe that PPG materials are guaranteed for life if painted through a certified shop which I believe Mark's is. You might call Rod and see what he thinks a rough estimate would be, as his prices are very fair. There info is posted below. I have had nothing but good experiences with this shop.

Mark's Body Shop

643 Quarry Road, San Carlos, CA, 94070

650-595-0862

[Oiluj]

I'm not sure if you are still in the market for a paint shop, but Mark's Body Shop in San Carlos does excellent work.

I am very familiar with bodywork and painting cars, and a quality complete job (bare metal strip, paint jambs, engine comp, underside of hood, removing front/rear windshields, etc.) using quality paints (I prefer PPG) is going to run you about $7000 if the car is pretty straight and needs only minor bodywork. 650-595-0862

Thanks for the referral, but I already delivered the car to Williams Auto Body in San Mateo. William is very familiar w/ early Z's and from what I saw does good work.

I stripped her down pretty well, no fixed glass, no interior, no chrome. Attached is a pick of the delivery to the body shap a week ago.

[kcoke]

All I got to say is you pay for what u get. I spent 6000 on a body work and paint and absolutly love it. It was a PPG paint job. They did all the jams and even the inside of the fenders. Quality workmanship. Took a couple of months too. I would never take a Z to maaco. My advice is fork up the money and do it. You wont regret it.