Wondering if you should keep that older car when all it really needs is a fresh new paint job. Then you may be familiar with getting a few estimates from some body shops for paint jobs. If you haven’t gotten any estimates, then you probably wouldn’t know the answer to how much does it cost to paint a car?
A paint job for a car can vary anywhere from a couple hundred dollars (for very inexpensive paint job that may peel) to $3000 and up for great paint job that will last for years to come. This variation depends on the size of the vehicle and how much work the body shop has to do. Although these prices are pretty close for a normal range on most vehicles. If custom work is needed there will be an additional expense. Custom paint jobs on one of your hot rods can easily run $8-$10,000.
Most people do not know how to paint a car. So asking for an estimate would be compared to getting an estimate on having your roof repaired. You have to trust the person that is giving you the price, since you really do not know what all is involved in completing the task. The number of steps taken to properly prepare a car for a paint job by professionals is probably too long to list, although basic steps of the prep and priming are a must before painting any car.
Obviously you need to take off all of the trim, chrome, and components you can before getting ready to paint a car. Then the car must be sanded. The car must be cleaned completely and dry before ever applying the primer. It is imperative that you cover all parts of the car that you do not want painted for instance tires, mirrors, glass, in any trim that wasn’t easily removed. After this, the car is ready to apply primer. Normally, a dark gray color, you must let it dry and lightly sand before the next coat. When doing this it will give me the primered look paint jobs on car and can turn out really well if done correctly.
Now look at your estimates and learn the details of what you’re being charged for, material charges, labor charges, and how much time is being applied to the labor to do it. If you take a car to a professional shop you will probably get it back in a couple weeks. However, if you decide to do the paint job yourself it could take months. It’s a good idea to look at all the estimates you have gotten and compare the cost of having a car painted to what it would cost for you to do it yourself. That will give you the answer of how much does it cost to paint a car. If you put your time into the equation, you will more than likely find out it will be much less expensive to have your car painted by professional.
