Car Painting Tips

Remember that old refrain about being "Young enough to repaint, but old enough to sell"? If your vehicle falls into the former category—or even the latter—applying a fresh coat of paint can truly transform that faded finish into a good-as-new look. The decision isn't so much IF you should paint, but HOW. Should go the custom route or just take your vehicle to one of those production paint shops?

Do It Yourself?
Before you start comparison-shopping for a paint-and-body job, though, see if you can avoid a repaint entirely. A number of car-finish products on the market can remove oxidation (that chalky appearance) and even light scratches or surface contaminants. For a few bucks, it's worth a try.

Applying a fresh coat of paint can truly transform that faded finish into a good-as-new look.
In other cases, you may be able to get by with a do-it-yourself spot repair. All you need is some sandpaper and some spray cans of primer, color and clear coat from your local auto parts store, and a couple hours of your time. We don't recommend this approach on a late-model luxury car, but it might suffice for an older car with a low resale value.

Spot Repair
If it's a situation of minor collision damage—the type that's often not covered by insurance because the repair cost doesn't exceed the deductible—some of the national car-painting chains will quote a price for a patch job starting as low as $150. However, if the vehicle needs some minor body repair, figure on an average of $300 to $400. You'll probably find that these figures for spot jobs are about the same as the minimum for a total repaint of a car, so how do you decide between the two? If it's a late-model car with a high-quality, two-stage clear-coated paint, it's better to pay extra for a patch that matches that color exactly. As Chris Bement, CEO of Earl Scheib, points out, "If the rest of the car looks good, don't repaint. If it's perfect, why mess with it—"

Custom or Quick?
What if a total repaint is needed, though? How do you decide whether to get a custom or production paint job? Again, the value and age of the car are important factors. It obviously doesn't make sense to spend thousands of dollars repainting an old beater, nor should you apply production paint to a luxury vehicle. It's not so much the quality of the paint used as the fact that custom painters remove every emblem and piece of trim, while production shops usually just mask off those areas. (That's why production shops take much less time, which is another point to consider.) With masking around trim items, the final finish may not be as good, with possible overspray or ridges at the edges of the paint (which may tend to lift or peel over time). Custom painters also clear-coat, color-sand and buff the paint for a much smoother surface. Some production paint shops now offer a two-stage, clear-coat system, but for an upcharge.