Kazuma

I'm looking to have my car repainted the same color. Nissan's paint job just doesn't seem to be holding up to my specifications. It nicks too easily and it's pretty scratchy. How much should I be looking to spend on a new paint job that can take the hits of a daily driver.

Of course, i am always open to better suggestions as far as how to restore the original one, but i am not knowledgable about it. My OCD can't stand the small scrathces on black cars and the white nicks i get all over the place.

I'm also open to suggestions of a better color, although i am in love with black, this was my first black car and i had no idea how easily you can see EVERYTHING.

Thanks,
Kaz

Jay'Z

iTrader: (118)

At least 3k for the same paint.... There ya go... Now go drop it off..

Sudou

What might be cheaper is to have the painters sand and put on a new layer of clearcoat, thus not touching the paint underneath. It's less time consuming and thus cost less, but I've never had this done.

SuperBlack350z

iTrader: (59)

atleast 3.5k with good paint and clear and redoing all door jams. You are basically payign for labor and i think it's a great deal. My previous car, i paid 4.5k.

G352NV

iTrader: (13)

5k make sure they use a good NAME brand! If its cheap there a reason why. The paint alone will cost them about 1k if they use the right stuff.

jolt3500

When I got my car repainted they used Dupont. It looked great!!! But have fun not being able to wash the car for 30-60 days, and no wax for 60-90 days! I have about a month left!! I just can't take it anymore. I have been washing with water!

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

huh?

you can wash a freshly painted car without issue...even your body shop washed it before you got it back....

the wax issue varies from paint to paint, and from job to job. Can range from a week or to, up to 3-4 months, depending on the type of materials used, how the car dried, etc etc.

As to the original poster, like anything else there is a range. This is not something where you can solicit advise on a national forun, as painting costs are regional by nature and can vary widely.

Do you want a factory level job (nothing impressive on a Z, lots of orange peel), do you want a show winning type job? Do you want to hit every crevace with new paint or just the spots you see? All this can make the job go from $2k, using garbage paint, and you'll get the car back in a couple of days, to upwards of $10k (car will be gone for weeks on end).

I'm just finishing up the paint work on my own car - a complete respray in the factory color, no jams, but every molding was removed, to ensure it was done correctly. I'm currently at 112 hours of work...yes, 112. 30 hours of that is in some custom work I did to the hood, so paint work alone, we're in the 80 hour mark. Why? Simple - I wanted 0 orange peel. That means ALOT of prep work, and ALOT of post painting sanding. I've currently logged about 15 hours just in wetsanding time AFTER painting the car. The results speak for themselves, but at the same time, it might not be what everyone wants/needs/is willing to pay for. Many people out there would never notice the amount of extra time I spent. I did it though because I know, and I want it to be correct. Factory paint left alot to be desired based on other cars I've had, and I figured if I am going through the time and expense of such a job, I wanted it done the right way, the first time.

So, get some local quotes, talk to the bodyshops about what materials they will use, what kind of equipment they have, etc. From there, only you can decide what a fair price is, as it's all based on your own preferences and limits. Even saying "we use DuPont, or we use PPG" tells you absolutely nothing. There are ranges of paint within each brand, and each serves a certain type of customer, a certain type of job, and requires a certain amount of pre and post paint work. A good body shop IMHO will tell you exactly the system they use if asked.

RedBullRR

iTrader: (7)

I paid 4,600 for my paint job after my car was broken into. And this was from a friend. Fixed all dings, and painted with better quality paint. Even when the car is dirty she looks wet from the gloss he used.