Hi Al,
I wanted to check in from way far down the other end of the scale on
painting. I'm doing it myself. Now I certainly wouldn't recommend it to
everyone, but the actual painting materials costs are under $600. The
includes fillers, primers, seam sealers, sandpaper, tape, and the very best
base/coat clear coat paint available. Your paint shop probably has a similar
material cost with the $6,900 balance divided into labor, overhead, and
profit.
The labor involved is absolutely huge. I've learned a lot and had some
skilled help along the way. Much of the preparation work is just plain old
block sanding. I have to believe that the preparation done is as good as a
high end body shop. For the most part I've been painting panels off the car.
The car, now in winter storage, is loosely assembled with more panel
adjustment required and some touch up needed.
Original TR6 paint is acrylic enamel. It is a single stage paint that has a
moderate shine and scratches rather easily. Acrylic enamel is the least
expensive choice for repainting. It can be toughened up a bit with the
addition of a hardener. Next step up in paint is a single stage urethane.
Urethane has a great shine and is hard resisting scratches and chipping.
It's a mid priced automotive paint that requires a hardener. Urethane is
perfect for most TR6's and can be sprayed by many weekend warriors. Beyond
urethane is the base coat / clear coat system. This two stage paint requires
a hardener, usually two coats of color and two or three coats of clear on
top. It has a great deep shine, resists scratching and chipping, and can be
blended for repairs. The high end paint shops use this expensive paint.
On the down side, it has taken two years! Time that could have been spent
driving the TR6. Applying today's high end two part paints without proper
ventilation and a correct respirator can be extremely unhealthy. I learned
that the hard way on this project. My painting story is on a web page at
http://users.clinic.net/~rpatton/paint.htm
Tom wrote earlier about doing some of the preparation work yourself to save
money and having a pro spray the car. Pretty good advice I'd say, especially
from a health standpoint. Doing some of the work may save enough so you can
afford that high end paint job.
Sorry to ramble,
Rick Patton
75 Delft blue TR6
>Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 13:41:56 -0500
>From: "Paula J. Graffam" <pjgraffam@juno.com>
>Subject: Restoration paint job
>
>Hi listers,
>I just returned from a custom paint garage with a quote of $7500 for a
>complete restoration paint job with all the bells and whistles - lifetime
>guarantee, etc. Has anyone ever put that kind of money into their TR6
>for a primo paint job? Estimate wait time is anywhere from 6mos. to a
>year!
>
>Al Graffam 74 TR6 CF16017
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