I had to do the body work myself because I couldn't afford to have someone else do it. Bartamos, you are right- 95% of the work is everything you do before the paint goes on. Materials alone for a single stage paint job cost me more than $1600.
2 gallons of quality paint (with all mixers) was about $600. Epoxy primer is also expensive. Hi-build primer, fillers (that you load up and sand off that end up on as a pile of dust on the floor and you apply it all over again, over and over), rolls of quality sand paper and flexible hand sanders, special foam discs & compounds to cut & buff, chemicals to clean & prep the metal and cleaners to prep in between primer layers- it all adds up fast. And that doesn't include the paint guns, the compressor, and the filtering system you need to get really clean air.
I will say that I could never have imagined how many hours of sanding and re-priming and refilling and sanding that I was in for- it was a downright painful process, and mostly because of how many times I sanded too deep (hitting metal) and having to re-epoxy to seal yet again. There is no way to learn it without getting a feel for it, and getting a feel for it has taken a LOT of time (and money). And I still don't know even a 1/3 of what I want to know about body working and painting. I would guess that a talented & experienced body guy could have spent 25% of the time that I spent, and had better results than me.
Maybe my next project will go quicker.
Great write up! Every word true without exaggeration!
My 59 has gobbled up over 2000$ in single stage urethane, urethane clear coat, (yes, I'm putting clear over single stage for an even deeper depth of image "DOI"), epoxy primer and high build primer...not to mention filler or other supplies like sand paper etc.
This is why patina is so popular! Hahaha
