I'm purchasing a used 350z and I know I want to repaint it to make it look better on the outside. How much should I expect for cost for a decent paint job?

One shop told me paint jobs start at 5k and I think that's way to high

 

My paint and body shop - whom I trust implicitly for my many vehicles' restoration work - wanted to paint my whole Z when it was in. $5k

While I can't justify a paint job costing more than half of the car's overall value, were I to do it, I wouldn't hesitate with my guy.

But there's places around that will do a good job for $3-4k (here in No. California, prices will vary of course)

 

I just had my daughter's Prelude quoted which is a similar size vehicle by my paint guy (Chicago area) and it was $4200 and that included new molding pieces around the windows and seals. I would get a few quotes from different places and ask about their process because it does vary from place to place, but I don't think $5k too crazy as it's a lot of labor to paint a whole car and have it look good. Now, if you want just a quick coat of paint there are places that will do this for $800 but I wouldn't recommend it....

 

If you are doing a color change and they are going to properly do the jams and all the hard to get to areas then 5k isn't bad. There is a huge amount of work that needs to be done for a color change. Also if you are spending over 4k, would definitely make sure they are giving you new seals and are not just roping the seals off. I have found older seals tend to leak after being roped.

 

I think my paint was more than that, they did all the jams, door shells, hatch, etc. No new seals tho. Seals for this car are an arm and a leg from Nissan now, I want to replace them all because they are old and brittle and don't match my nice paint. It would be well into $1k to replace all of them so it will have to wait lol.

 

I learned to DIY wrap, much cheaper than a paint job and you can always change the color when you get bored. My z has been 5 different colors in the last four years.

 

pics ?

 

1. Current, Matte Mariana Blue.

2. Gloss Arctic White.
3. I also did it in a Gloss Pearl White, didn't look any different in pics.

4. Gloss Intense Blue.


5. I had it in wrapped in Matte Balloon Blue but never took pics of it. Only had it on for a week and didn't like it. Wrapped my Evo X in this color as well.

In the nude

Will probably wrap it Gloss Hornet Pearl Yellow to match my Evo X next.

 

When I first "met" Mistuh Sparco, this was the color that put his car on the "Mic Top Ten List" (surely you know of this list, yes? ) Had no clue it was vinyl. Thought it was painted Monterey Blue (my favorite 370Z color, next to white like mine was). I still love this "version". My car needs paint on certain areas. Maybe I'll finally try my hand at vinyl..... (So I've been saying for 5 years)

 

Just got mine back from a bodyshop after getting hit by a deer. It's 14 years old, had door dings, mismatched paint and the clear was beginning to peel on the roof. Told them to just repaint and fix the entire vehicle. Total out the door cost was $5350.00 to repaint it the same color.

 

I'll admit that blue is gorgeous but shine of paint and vinyl are different enough that you can tell in person whether it's paint or wrap. Bang for buck is definitely in the ballpark of wrap, but if you like the crystal like appearance of paint, wrap falls short there.

 

To get nearly a perfect paint sheen, I will clear bra over the entire car after wrap. That's mostly due to my OCD. Some vinyls are multi-layered for example Arlon uses a base, color, and clear, such as the vinyl on my Evo. It is pretty damn high gloss. Some 3M vinyl has a clear layer but for the most part uses a "single stage" vinyl like the Gloss Intense Blue. Many installers will also use too much heat and warps the vinyl so its somewhat less glossy. I rarely need to apply heat when I wrap, only when there is extreme curvature. When an installer clearly understands how the vinyl behaves, heat is almost never needed. Only the crap installers use a torch, intermediately skilled installers will use very little to no heat at all, its actually easier to wrap without heat.

 

that looks so good!

I need to do my hood. My OEM paint / clear coat is showing its age so it's time to do something about it

 

Dumb question of the day....but what happens if you 2k Clearcoat a vinyl wrap? Will it still adhere vinyl and give that high gloss depth that only clear coat can?

 

Interesting, I would like to see your car up close to see how it looks. Most of the wraps I have seen at car shows are awful, I had to heat my interior but it's extremely contoured so it might not be possible without it.

 

Have no idea honestly