The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Painting differences between shops

I took my '59 Apache to 5 places today to get painting estimates. The body is in good shape, a little rust underneath the steps but good shape. Here are a couple of pics :


Truck1

Truck2

Truck3

Truck4

All 5 places quoted me about $10,000 and 3-5 month turnaround (for interior and exterior).

There are a couple of places that I have called that quoted $4000 and 4 weeks.

What can I expect will be the difference between the two so far as quality goes?



Thanks!!!

The lowball estimates are going to involve slapping some Bondo over the rust, primer, and paint. In 3-5 years the truck will look pretty much like it does now. The higher estimates will involve replacing the rusty metal and doing a lot more detailed prep work before painting. I seriously doubt that the low priced shop will remove the fenders or do much of anything else necessary to give you a quality job. Buyer beware!
Jerry

And free overspray on the glass and weather stripping is just a bonus.

Cheaps not good and goods not cheap.

Is 10K about what you guys see where you live? And the turnaround time is really jacked!!!

An alternative is to do it yourself, take 3-5 years, and still spend $5-6K. Just buying the equipment to do a decent job will put the average hobbyist in the poorhouse!

"Labor- - - -$50.00 an hour
If you watch- - - -$75.00 an hour
If you help- - - -$200.00 per hour!"

Jerry

It doesn't surprise me. Up here in the pacific northwest you would find similar estimates. Agree 4 Gs seems really cheap these days for paintwork and you probably will get a not so nice job. My advice is to try and find a hobbyist- retired guy that supplements his retired income, somebody that can personally take on your project and care about doing some nice prep work and disassembly. Those people are around, you just have to find them. Car clubs, forums, friend of a friend. Seek and thou shall find.

OK, this may be a dumb question, but does rust get worse just on its own? In other words, if the truck sits on the driveway, under a carport, doesn't get driven, does the rust eat away at it where it has already started forming, or do you have to have the metal contact ADDITIONAL rain/dirt/gravel, etc?

I live in central west Texas....the air here is very dry. I'm just trying to figure out if I can justify HAVING to get this done to the One Who Controls The Checkbook

rust never sleeps

Even in your dry environment, I'd try to have dry air reach the metal (as apposed to being covered with a carpet). Is your carport paved with blacktop or cement? Is there a vapor barrier under the pavement?

The short answer is rust never sleeps.It may be less active in Texas than where I am in the Northeast.
PS I saw that truck on another site and it still looks good.

Wow,Look at the time on our answers, yet miles apart.

Would make a great album title

I wouldn't trust any estimate given over the phone... or the shop that gave them.

You should also ask each what they plan on doing. How many hours and the shop rate. Expectations should be clear on both sides. Is it OK to use rust converter on some areas? If so which. You would not be a happy camper if you were expecting new metal and they used rust converter. Not saying it doesn't work, just saying the cost is way different. Twer it me, I would look for one in better shape if I was going to farm the whole thing out. Maybe put some feelers out and do serious online looking. Once thing you can count on is there is more work where you can't see.

Dennis

Dennis,

This is a family truck, so "look for one in better shape" wouldn't work here.....my grandmother bought this truck brand new in '59, then sold it to my Dad in '66. He gave it to me 4 years ago.

Awesome Apache Old Blue, and the family history is having your cake and eating it too

10 grand seems legit, but I'd ask them to give you phone numbers of other folks they have restored vehicles for. There is nobody better than a past customer to tell you how they were treated, and how the work has "stood the test of time".

If they can't give you the information, move on.

Hope that helps.

John

may just me but from them pics I wouldn't touch it. awesome looing truck. but then I am in Missouri and would have loved to start with something half that nice

I had the same thoughts. Drive that beauty until it really needs paint. But then, I'm partial to the ones that are driven and not trailered.

Oh, I didn't know the history. I can see then that this IS the truck. I would consider myself lucky then. I would still make sure your and the restorer's expectations jived. Other than that, have at it and enjoy.

Dennis

Yeah Dennis, my grandmother bought this truck brand new in Comanche, TX in 1959, I believe she paid $1500 for it. She used it as a light-duty farm truck, mostly delivering chickens and chicken eggs all around the De Leon, TX area. My grandfather used it to haul sheep and goats. They sold it to my Dad in 1966....he used it as a daily driver for a long time. I remember him picking me up from elementary school in it (1967-1972). He quit driving it around 2000, and gave it to me 4 years ago.......I still have the original owners manual!!!

Is that the original factory paint job? If so clean it up and keep a good amount of wax on and under cover. Any rust areas do like others said use phosphoric conversion and then touch up paint.

Truckrolet,

No, not the original paint.....close to the original color though, Tartan Turquoise. My dad had it repainted a long time ago.

i agree i would drive it just the way it is

In my opinion, it would be a shame to get rid of the character that beauty has right now by repainting it!

Interesting responses.....the pics actually make the truck look better than it is, they don't show much of the flaws. I'm also worried about the rust build-up underneath.....

Every paint job has flaws, even new ones. With an older paint job you can use the truck and not be concerned about every rock chip or sticky fingered kid. I've done enough shiny new paint, it's tiring and doesn't make it any more fun.

Is it bubbling a lot? I'm curious why you're so concerned about rust underneath and what other flaws it has?

If you clean it up nicely to get the staining off and a good shine on it you might be amazed how awesome it will look.

It's got some bubbling, especially under the step into the cab. The steps on the step-side have some bad rust. It also has some bubbling on the passenger door. The front of the hood is peeling really bad also......