Full Body Paint Job Prices

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
I know this is going to be controversial to some, because like anything else, you get exactly what you pay for.

There's all kinds of B.S. out there, $99 MAACO paint jobs to $5,000 specialty paint jobs that may look great, but
do they look $5,000 great? Ehhhh....

I'd like to repaint my STi at some point in the future, but I'm just not sure how much to pay. What are reasonable
(out-the-door) prices, from average to perfect qualities?

I'm always tweaking and updating the budget for my STi and this is a line item I have a hard time finding a straight answer to.
 

f350cummins

New member
I have a local body shop that does collision repair, that offered me priced around 1,200 for my old truck. That was a crew cab dually, so nothing small. I went there, as they paint stuff and touch up stuff ALL DAY and blend it with the existing paint. I find more skills at a body shop, than just a paint shop.

Also personal experience, I steer clear of anything chain. They are more likely to hire someone with little to no experience.
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
I should probably add, I'd like to have the whole damn thing repainted, in Java Black Pearl.
Would getting a factory paint like that make it even more expensive?
 

f350cummins

New member
paint is pricy. I was liiking at 350 a gallon on the blue I was going to paint my truck. other colors were cheaper, and yet other colors were more expensive.
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
Damn, how many gallons did you end up using?

I am also considering a satin (semi-flat/semi-matte) black with a couple clear coats.
 

Spamby

Meat Product Toy
Factory paint is pearl and water borne at that.
It is typically more expensive and the pearl is a bitch.
A lot of paint guys hate messing with water colors, pearl and black.
...so says my paint guys.
 

Spamby

Meat Product Toy
Love my blacked out ride.

My whole front end needs a new paint job.
Have thought of these four choices when the time comes:

Vinyl the car. Revinyl every few years. (Actually have a roll of 3m now)

Semigloss paint job. Still iffy on this. Need to get more pros and cons.

Black pearl but in oil based rather than water. Hmmm,

Spray liner the damn thing and never care again. Durable but resale value could be bad. Lol
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
What about Plastidip? I'm doing some tests right now with out of the can stuff right now. I have painted the front of my car to kinda resemble a EVO10 with the big black void, have blacked out the SUBARU on the back for ease of use test, and pained the license plate area. So far so good it has been though one hell of a winter and the pressure washer!!! still looking good. My plan is to paint my 04 with camo green plastidip but I have to debunk some of the stuff I have heard first.
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
I'm not really down with that, but I'd still be interested to hear how yours comes out if you do it.
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
Bumpity bump bump!

As I near the end of my build, I am beginning to reconsider a paint job. I don't plan on doing it this year, as I still have more than enough to accomplish. But I'd like to have a paint job done next spring, so the Batmobile will be in beautiful shape for summer driving.

Anyone have anything else to add about complete paint jobs and such?

Also, I have not decided on a specific paint, but I do believe I will stay with some sort of black, since I really don't want mismatching door sills and such.
 
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Grinder34

Track Monkey
Just as a point of comparion for you, I've had 2x CF trunks and 1x CF wing painted in factory OBP by reputable shops. I think both trunks required some light repair. IIRC I paid ~350-400 for the most expensive paint job.
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
Just as a point of comparion for you, I've had 2x CF trunks and 1x CF wing painted in factory OBP by reputable shops. I think both trunks required some light repair. IIRC I paid ~350-400 for the most expensive paint job.

Oh wow. That's not bad at all. I have a number of dings, dents, scrapes and scratches than need repaired first, before the full paint job. I was hoping to keep the entire endeavor under $2,000 or so. Looks like I might be okay on that.
 

Eagleye

Tinkerer
Depends on what you are trying to accomplish. IMO the pricing structure breaks down like this:
Basic Prep & good materials - $2,000-$3,000
Detailed Prep w/ good repairs & good materials - $4k and up

I would not personally do anything below $2k unless you are assisting in the prep and therefore reducing the labor costs. Good prep and paint materials are going to run around $1,000 for an entire car. My uncle who owns 3 subies just repainted his 944 Turbo with his dad's help (his dad has a body shop) so only paying for the supplies had between $1-1.5k in it. Turned out great though. Given that, I always cringe when someone talks about getting a sub $1.5k paint job.
 
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