Exterior Visual Mods (Spoilers, Body Kits, etc)

paisan · April 2007

Discuss Exterior Mods here!

j4nier · March 2005

I want to get a new paint job, something different and cool. Does anyone know of a website that I can go to so I can "virtually paint my car" to see how it would look with my different ideas? Any info would help. Thanks.

Mr_Shiftright · March 2005

No, I couldn't find such a site either. I think the closest thing would be for you to google sites that cater to custom motorcycle paintwork. They seem to have lots of samples, images and maybe it'll give you some ideas.

You might also want to research costs. High quality custom paintwork is VERY labor-intensive and can cost serious bucks.

Where I live in California, a really show quality job is at least $6,000-8,000.

MrShiftright
Co-Host

isellhondas · April 2005

Is totally NUTS and I'm talking about a regular and not a custom job.

A couple of years ago, I took a small pickup to a quality body shop in our town for an estimate. It needed ZERO body work and I wanted it repainted the same color.

3200.00 !!!! I almost fell over!

Or I could have had one of the chain places wreck it with a 259.95 special I guess.

Mr_Shiftright · April 2005

It's very labor intensive to do correctly, is one problem, and another is the quality of the paint you use.

I have spent more for just the paint sitting in the can than Miracle charges for the entire paint job.

Even at $3,000 you might not get a really great job. It's all in the prep. If it isn't prepped right, it's not going to look good for long. You don't always need to go to bare metal but you have to do it right...and that includes taking out all the glass, rubber, trim, etc.

isellhondas · April 2005

Don't even want to take on a paint job. Just too many hours and too much work for a job that's done right.

Nothing will ruin a car like a cheapie paint job will.

tcwgrl · April 2005

I recently bought a 86 ford f250.It is in serious need of a paint job,But I cannot decide on a color that would look good.
Any ideas or place to go on the web to see diferent paint jobs,would be so helpful.

Mr_Shiftright · April 2005

You mean custom paint jobs with graphics, etc., or just colors?

Unless you're planning on spending a lot of money, you really need to paint the truck the same color or very close because of the engine bay, door jams and interior color. A black truck with an orange engine bay is going to look pretty bad. And to paint the engine bay and interior of the truck, yes, you have to take everything out.

badtoy · May 2005

I just had mine done at Earl Scheib in El Monte, and they did a great job. No runs, drips, orange peel or dry spots, and the gloss looks absolutely wet. I was stunned. I went in there for a $300 paint job and came out with something that looks like at least $1-2 grand. Very happy -- just do your homework!

kyleknicks · May 2005

oh darn... right now i need a Earl Scheib paint job if yours came out good... im going to maaco tomorrow to see how much my paint job is going to cost me... i'm a lil frightened...

Mr_Shiftright · May 2005

The problem with the cheap paint jobs is that the paint itself is really crappy. It won't look good after a while, but for a quickie way to make an inexpensive car look good again for a little while---well, for $300, what's to complain about? But you should expect the paint to dull and start falling off in a year or two. The reason for this is that in reality, just the paint for a good paint job should cost more than $300...so there is some severe cost-cutting going on here.

Don't do this to a car where you expect some resale value...but I've done a Miracle job on an old pickup and was quite satisfied for the price...I just didn't want it to look like a homeless person was living in it.

But you have to understand that once this type of paint is on, the car is essentially "ruined" in terms of potential restoration or resale. So choose your car carefully. On a $1K-$3K book value car, sure, why not?

alsalah · May 2005

i need a paint job as well. i went down to a couple of shops, gonna cost me 15000.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2005

No way!

hondafreak2 · May 2005

I want to sell my Honda civic sedan 1994 this month. The car needs a paint job due to some areas peeling and basecoat fading. I've checked out the $200 option at Earl Schieb. For those of you who have gone to them for the pro 1 option (2 coats of paint) does it look polished? Or is it a dull matte color? I am not concerned about the paint a year down the road, I just want it to be presentable for re-sale.

Could anyone comment on the quality of these kinds of cheapie jobs? Will they do the window dressing I need?

Thanks

Mr_Shiftright · May 2005

Best thing for you to do is go to the Earl of Scheib and watch a white car roll out of there and see if you like it. They paint a lot of cars every day so there's bound to be a white one around. It should be shiny, sure.

Of course, if your paint is peeling that's risky since they will have to do good prep work to make sure your old paint doesn't keep lifting under the new paint. Read your warranty before you buy.

hmk123 · June 2005

Last week on the highway a piece of wood flew into the rear door of my Cool Vanilla Magnum. There was a dent and a scratch down to the metal. I took it to a body shop around the corner and picked it up today. He said he was going to repaint the whole door. The dent is gone. However, the paint beneath the door handle looks wavery, not as smooth as the rest of the car. When I pointed that out he said that is normal and I need to bring it back next week in order for them to buff it. That would make it as smooth as the rest of the car. But the paint needs to harden first. Does that sound right or did I end up with a bad paint job? He charged about $475. The paint itself seems to match well.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2005

I'm not sure what you mean by "wavery"....if you mean the paint has shiny and dull spots, or has some "orange peel" to it, that could very well come out in a buff. If, however, the surface of the metal is wavey, or if there are "curtains" (drips), that's not so good and probably won't come out.

All in all, a real pro shop shouldn't have to 'buff' the paint out...it should look good from the get-go...but let's give them the benefit of the doubt and see how they deliver.Some "gun men" (the sprayers) aren't as good as others. A real pro shouldn't have to touch up his work. I don't know what part of the country you are in, but here in California that's a very cheap price to paint a door.

But I wouldn't worry about it. You can always make him do it over again if you aren't completely satisfied. You've given him a chance to make good, and one chance is enough, so hang tough if you don't like how it turns out. Your car's value is tied to how it looks.

hmk123 · June 2005

Thanks for the great reply! So I think I made the mistake of going to a little shop where the guy has just started his business. I am in California as well (San Jose). I had also gotten an estimate from a more professional shop ($811). My mistake in trying to save a few bucks. I took the car to a totally different body shop which also looked very professional. He said they should have taken out the window molding, taken off the side strip (you see some paint drops there), etc. Since the damage was close to the front door, their shop would have also repainted part of the front door in order for it to blend in. Now he says it is worse. To redo it the right way now they would have to again redo the whole door and then also do part of the back panel around the door. Total will easily be $1500. By the way, with wavery I meant the Orange Peel. He also showed me a very small paint crack under the door handle. Plus I found two small drips (curtains). Wonder if I should bite the bullet and totally redo it. Never thought a flying piece on the highway would cost me that such. Maybe I should ask the original guy for at least some of my money back...

hmk123 · June 2005

Me again...

So a few weeks ago a piece of wood flew into the right rear door of my Cool Vanilla Magnum RT. Not knowing much about Body Shops, I went the cheap route which then I of course regretted. The color match was not great; they taped the side moldings instead of replacing them. And there was quite some Orange Peal. They said they get that out with a buff after a few days. Well in the mean time I learned more about body shops and decided to bite the bullet and get it redone at a "real" shop. Got it back today and it does look a lot better. However, on the doors, especially starting below the handle, there is still Orange Peal. When you look at it closely from the side you can for sure notice it. He told me they buff that out after three week. He said the color is still "working" and they will have to wait. But once it is dry and hardened they will sand it and buff it and it will look a lot smoother. Is this correct or should it have come out with no Orange Peal at all? At least this body shop claims to guarantee their work. I am just not sure what I should have expected.

Thanks for the input,
Hans

Mr_Shiftright · June 2005

There's no excuse for orange peel. They may be able to improve it but all they are doing is correcting a mistake. It's not normal. I got my dented fender back in 5 days and it's perfect.

frisconick · July 2005

Don't go cheap, a good paint job is expensive!

kyleknicks · July 2005

okay... so i have a 99 mustang that needed a new paint job because i had crashed it and replaced the bumpers, spoiler, fender, etc.... they were all diff colors... so i found a Earl Scheib in the Bronx... overall, I have to say the paint itself looked great.. it was extremely glossy and had metalic chips in the paint.. i'm very happy with the paint... now, the prep was just okay... they removed some of the trim pieces.. so some of the areas looked good... but there are sections such as the grill, side scoops that was suppose to be black.. they never taped that off and just painted over the black... it's an eazy fix for me to buy some black paint and spray those pieces, but i wish they had taped those sections off.. would've been alot less work... email me and i'll show you pics of my paint job.. oh yea, the paint job was 299 plus tax.. Pro3, with 6 year warranty, i believe it was the june special... hope this info helped anyone looking for a new paint job.. email address.. just click on my info and you'll find my email address there

frisconick · July 2005

Earl Scheib ain't the best.

kyle4 · July 2005

Hey, It seems you know about paint jobs, I have an 88 cavy and it is burgandy, I want to paint it black. I have already taken the interior out because the floor needs some patch ups. I was wondering how much of the cost I would take off if I were to completly prep the car myself, the whole nine yards, headlights, fenders off..(can the bay be painted with the engine in..I do not care about how the engine looks or performs as I will be replacing it anyway)etc

thanks

Mr_Shiftright · July 2005

Well different shops might react differently to your offer to prep the car. For one thing, that would probably void any kind of warranty they might offer, so you'd have to get a cheap quote to compensate for that risk.

Painting the engine compartment would be tough with the engine in, mighty tough.

On some cars you can take the entire front end off but I don't think on yours.

Mr_Shiftright · July 2005

With regards to cheap paint jobs---sometimes they can look pretty good because the person spraying the paint might be quite talented, even though he works for a lower-end body shop.

The problems mostly occur over time, and the issue is with the quality of the paint and its durability, which is usually not so great. So chipping, fading, etc. are more likely. You have to be realistic about what you get for $299, because in reality if you bought just the paint itself to paint a whole car, and if that paint was of superior quality, it would cost more than $299 just for the cans of paint! And then primers and additives and clear coat would be in addition to that.

frisconick · July 2005

Don't prep it yourself. If anything goes wrong, it's your faultry prep they will say.

renegades · July 2005

Hey guys, Im needing some more information on the customization of this Toyota Supra:

http://fast-autos.net/abflug/supra5.jpg

I need:
* Bodykit name
* Price
* Specs
* Year / Model Year of this Supra

And could you do the same for this Celica:

http://www.nopinationals.com/2002/carshow/toyota/Celica%20Blue%203.jpg

Thanks!

Mr_Shiftright · July 2005

Hi,

I've changed the title of your topic to "Supra Body Kits" and also added categories so that your question might show up in various searches on the Supra. Hopefully these changes will help you find an answer here.

MrShiftright
Co-Host

tremere · August 2005

If I change the color of my car from say blue to black, is there any paperwork involved? Title change?

ashy · August 2005

the best thing in my opinion is to bu your own paint go to a body shop or paint shop and tell them to dp it for you, here's a website for cheap paints www.hokpaint.com, theres all sorts of paints there, i even got my car paint from there to paint my celica and the results are brilliant.

Mr_Shiftright · August 2005

Hi,

I'm going to move your post to our regular Paint and Body Repair Forum in the Maintenance & Repair Board. This board is strictly for custom stuff.

MrShiftright
Co-Host

malo_oic · November 2005

No need for a body kit with the 2007 Toyota Supra concept

ford11 · November 2005

how did you mannage that sure the colors ok but what about quality :confuse: this sign is the coolest one i think :lemon:

ford11 · November 2005

vehix.com if not i dont know :confuse:

ford11 · November 2005

i have a 1968 ford mustang coupe it is black and has keystone classics the intirior is white and black it was originaly gold (the body) i have no engine

stingraystudio · January 2006

j4nier....go to hothues.com, (dupont) and it's a virtual paint site and gives you several cars as models to try out different paint colors and graphics too..fun to play with also !!

But i have a question for you. what would it be worth to you if you could buy a pre-designed "custom" paint scheme for your car and apply it yourself in a few hours? ...this is a nascar style "racewrap" that can be removed or easily replaced if damaged and does not effect the paint under the "wrap" design.??? I have pictures of this if you want to see them, email me and i will send you a few to look at.

This is something I am working on now, as an artist it is an exciting challenge to see what can be done. I am not trying to solicit business, but I know that guys like you are looking for a way to "customize" your car with unique paint schemes and it's something I am interested in as an artist. Just an idea, let me know what you all think of it, ok?

hotpants4u · January 2006

HI! I just bought an 01 audi tt, and it's black- I'm ok with it but I'd rather it not be. I would like to do a paint job where it looks one color from one way/ and another color another way- red and orange.

I would like to know if anyone can recommend what to look for when selecting someone to do it and how much it might cost me. Thankies! :shades:

bigfur · January 2006

I would personally advise you to keep black, unless you have EXTREMELY deep pockets. To do it right would require you to remove every body panel on the car, remove the engine so you can paint the engine bay and remove most of the interior and trunk pieces to paint over the black. Reason for this is so when you open the door on your nice new paint job, the inside of the doors aren't black. Also the color changing paint is around (or used to be around) 800 dollars a quart. Just a few things to think about before you decide to do it.

amorton · January 2006

how mutch dose a paint job coast for just one soled coler?

stever · February 2006

Join the Eagle One team in a live chat event tonight to find out how nanotechnology is changing the future in car appearance products.

There's also going to be a special offer available only to those attending the chat. The chat starts at 9PM ET/6PM PT. Here's the link:

Eagle One Team Chat

Steve, Host

bigfur · April 2006

If done PROPERLY...painting the door jambs, under hood, inside the truck, etc etc etc...your talking upwards of 5 grand.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2006

and if you use the highest grade materials, that $5K is MINIMUM....good paint and undercoat is quite expensive.

lemmer · May 2006

I just saw an ad for a Porsche 944 with a new top notch paint job that cost $1600. He thinks it is collector quality. I wonder if it is even decent driver quality.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2006

Well a good "gun man" (a skillful person with a spray gun) can make even cheap paint look pretty good, but really you still only get a tape job with cheap paint for $1,600. Nobody is going to remove all the glass, trim, upholstery, etc. and strip the car to bare metal for THAT price. What you get is a rough sand, some bondo for the dents, and a good masking job and run of the mill quality paint and primer.

Let's see that $1,600 paint job in a year or two.

I've spent half that much just to BUY the paint, primers, solvents, papers, fillers, etc. for a paint job.

bigfur · May 2006

$1600 is about what a good PREP job would cost, not including painting. almost better buying the car in the color you like and putting a new engine in it.

foxmarketing · May 2006

Go to the BASF Automotive Refinish's site CarizzmaColors.com and you can check out the Gallery of tons of cars, trucks, Chopper, and all other things. Also, their is an online chip book where you can click on the paint color and print it out on photo paper. Pretty cool stuff and RM/Carizzma is the offical paint of Overhaulin' on TLC. Top quality stuff and their is also a body shop locator or if you are a painter their is a distributor locator. Just trying to help!

steinberger · June 2006

This probably a little too late but it is called the Abflug S900 kit. It is a huge kit that is very expensive.

It will cost you atleast 10k-17k to get one if you can find it and the pay another grand to have it shipped over seas.

winterhound · June 2006

I normally get white cars because I don't have a garage for them. They get the full sun each day and I live close to the ocean so there's alot of salt in the always moist air.

This time I've decided to get artic blue silver. It's a metalic paint and I'm concerned about durability and properly taking care of it (I'll drive the car until it rusts away.

The dealer (whom I actually trust) has suggested a $750 clear coat that he'll do for $500. He believes this coat will significantly affect my paints durablilty.

ANY COMMENTS???

stever · June 2006

Is the dealer going to clear coat it with paint or just wax? Hard to believe that they'd be able to paint on a layer of clear coat for $750 after taping everything.

Try asking in the Paint and Body Maintenance & Repair discussion too.

Steve, Host

bigfur · June 2006

No no no...thats for the "clear coat protectant". No one would reclear a brand new car its stupid. Better off just washing it twice a week and waxing it regularly. Least thats what worked on my black truck when i was in florida.

Exterior Visual Mods (Spoilers, Body Kits, etc)

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