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Two year wait!

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Palmer

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I've been meaning to get my 3 painted for some time. I painted it in the driveway about 15 years ago, and quickly realized that I shouldn't quit my day job. So I've spent the last few months removing body panels, stripping off old paint and putting on a light coat of primer. Finally got it ready, and then visited a local body shop. The guy told me that they couldn't get to it for TWO YEARS! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif Then I went to another body shop and was told to come back in November and they might be able to tell me when they could get to my car. So now I'm looking at a long time without my 3. If I had known, I could have continued to drive it with the crummy paint job.

I this sort of wait typical, or should I try some other body shops?
 
The problem is that bodyshops in general dont make a dime off of restorations.They kill space and morale, take forever and pissoff customers(who only see the final$$)
If you came to our shop with a basket tr3,regertfully , it would be luke warm also. There is too much to be done of shear grunt work to discribe.First of all whatever primer you may have used is NOT what the painter will find acceptable, so it will have to be stripped off and done over.
If I were in you #10's I would sand the parts and edge them in color with the same brand of paint as the primer(per their specs) that you have used . Next I would re-assemble the car(minus the trim)and finish sand and prep it for paint.At this point take it to a shop that USES this brand of paint and get a price on the sealing, color, and clearcoating. This can be done without overspraying the jambs if they take care(as a real pro will) expect to pay 1000 to 1500 for a quality job that needs little or no polishing .
Try to have the car ready by april 15th(the slowest time in a bodyshop of the whole year)they will give you a much warmer reception.
MD(mad dog)
 
Where is PA are you?

Bruce
 
Palmer, I will just chime in again. First; the last place in the world to take a car for restoration is a "Body Shop". However, good Restoration shops may require 12 months or more to deliver your car. Second; if you are farming out the paint do not do a bit of the work,if you do and the job does not meet your expectations ,guess who is going to get the blame.-Just my 2 cents worth.---Keoke
 
The other option is to carefully go through all the prep work yourself. Take all the time in the world to get everything perfectly even and anything that doesn't need paint totally masked-off...

...then you take it to Maaco.

Sound crazy? Well not really.

There are a lot of hobbyists who swear by this method, because the guys at Maaco shoot cars all day long, so they have pretty steady hands. Maaco fails in two areas: prep and prep /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I've seen some pretty amazing cars done this way. Not national concours level, but definitely could win local shows...and 1000 times better than a 3 would have looked like new.

Not to mention -- they're pretty cheap: $300 or $400 for the spray, if not less if you catch them during a sale.

Then you bring the car home, wet sand, polish (and eventually after the paint has sealed) wax. Reassemble, and you're good to go.
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gifSammy has a point. A friend of mine had 2 of his race cars painted at a Maaco in Michigan. They did a pretty good job. Of course he did all the prep. On the otherhand, a company I worked for awhile back had several of it's vehicles painted by the Maaco in Boulder, Co.(I'm only mentioning the local because...) Let's just say, I could have done a better job drunk, in the dark, during a sandstorm, with a brush. They did 100% of the work. Very, bad. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonod.gif I guess it depends upon your location. Ask for a tour of the premesis and check out their work. In your situation, I'd go Maaco! Good luck! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
A friend here had his race Spit painted by a local Maaco, and they didn't do the door jambs, or the cowl area. To top it off, the muffler was painted flat black to cover up the overspray.
Caveat Emptor!
Jeff
 
If you want your beloved LBC painted, then go to a pro that specializes in this type of work. I am not talking about a concours resto shop but someone that will take the time and trouble to do it right. You will, however, have to dig deep. There was a guy in New Orleans that "specialized" in Triumphs and MG's and would charge 4K for a fender-off paint job. (woops, I meant to say wing-off) Gorgeous work. "Was" in N.O. pre-Katrina. Some club members took advantage of a paint class given at the local junior college at night and did some of the most beautiful paint jobs I have seen. See if something like that is available in your area.

Bill
 
HI SammyB, sometimes that works great, but as you see it isn't guranteed and it depends upon the shop as well as the individuals know how too.---Keoke
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gifI guess $4k is fine if you have the $$$. I'm just spoiled, I have a paintbooth in my garage. Though it's not a nice as a body shop, it get's the job done... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

100_0681.sized.jpg
 
Thanks for all the replies! I'm just outside of Hershey.

I knew when I sprayed the primer that it would have to come off again. I put on a very light coat just to keep away rust. I also considered getting the same primer that the body shop uses, but the body isn't in perfect shape and will probably require a skim coat of filler, at least in some areas. I just didn't think that it was worth the money and time to put on good primer, and after the last paint job, I don't trust myself to do prep work.
 
In my area the Career Technical Center will do any work on a 10 year old or newer car, provided that you bring or pay for the parts necessary, for free.

They do OK work and I have referred people there, but I would never bring any of my (or a family member) vehicles there. I know how to fix it right, and I have no assurance that they will go the extra mile that I would.

I referred a friend 2 years ago with a 1994 Ford Taurus that was rusted to heck. The doors had severe rot and every panel except the hood and the roof had rust through holes(oddly enough hood and roof were in great shape). The sad thing is that the car only had 60,000 miles. He bought some Dupont paint to the factory color, along with the primer and clearcoat, and paid for the bondo used on the car. It came out looking pretty good and he was only out $300, and the entire car was painted with quality stuff. It hasn't faded or anything and the rust has yet to come back(I helped him clean and rustproof the bottom of the car).

Good Luck,
GT6
 
I can attest to doing your own prep and the variance in shops. I have had several old driver cars, including my son's 3 old VW 's and one of my old MG's painted by Maaco (and before that even an Earl Scheib $99 special). All but one came out just fine and one even won in a car show in the daily driver category. The last experience, though was a pretty poor job and it included lots of dirt in the final product. I'd recommend a couple things-- really check your own work carefully, check with the shop to see what primer to use for the paint you want, check several finished products from the shop.
 
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