Most of us on this site are old enough o remember Earl Sheib’s, “any color of the rainbow for $29.95." I remember my folks getting one of his “special” paint jobs – just before selling the car.

In the 60’s, I had a Corvette painted for $750 and it was flawless.

I recently had my son’s truck painted and it was $1,700 from a friend who got supplies for me at cost and used a booth for no charge while practically giving away his labor – certainly not a show quality job but nice for my son’s pickup and within the realm of affordability.

I am reminded often that the paint itself is only one component and the real expense will always be with the labor required to bring the body as close as possible to perfection and “additional” features that will classify the job as a custom.

There’s another thread going as we speak discussing air supply in preparation for painting in one’s own shop. We’ve discussed several times the need for good, filtered air at a minimum of 10cfm (more is better) and the need to have an absolutely clean environment. Let’s not forget the drying enhancement of a heated booth and by all means – the personal safety aspect of this process.

When painting a car “myself” I need to ask, “What will I be happy with as an end product?” If I’m a perfectionist and want the very best – I have HOTRODPAINT do the job as this is what he does and how he make his living. I cannot get a $10K paint job for $1,000 – even if I do all the work myself – because I am not a professional painter. Paint, like most profession, takes years of practice. We need to remember that a “workman is worthy of his wages”. To expect a person to work for 2 weeks (80 hours) to prep a car and then paint it for less than $6-7K in labor is just wrong. I know people who pay that much to have their Harley's painted and that's a tank and two fenders!

If you do decide to do it yourself, paint is available from places like http://www.paintforcars.com
For $71.00 plus shipping, you get the following:

“This kit includes one gallon of Starfire acrylic enamel paint, one Pint of our Premium quality Wet look hardener and one quart of compatible medium speed acrylic reducer. Mixing ratios on this kit is 8 parts paint, 2 parts reducer and 1 part hardener. Kit also includes disposable dust mask, three mixing sticks and three high quality mixing strainers.”

They have 20 colors and lots of other supplies – but remember, this is not as easy as it looks and not to be undertaken lightly.

Please know - HOTRODPAINT (and others who paint professionally) that I have an enormous respect for what you do and certainly expect to pay for a professional paint job.

Regards All,
Glenn