whats the going rate of a good paint job, from smooothing it out to buff?
$5,000 to $7000
There are a lot of variables. It really depends on how in-depth you want to get, how much bodywork or rust repair needs to be done, whether you’re taking it back down to bare metal or not, quality of materials, etc.
Mine was pretty involved - strip to bare metal, discover lots of old damage, straighten out metal and do bodywork on almost every panel, multiple stages of priming and sealing and block sanding, painted with PPG Deltron, cut and buffed. It took about a year and a half and cost around $9k. And this wasn’t a shop, it was a semi-pro / hobbyist guy at a very reasonable hourly rate ($35/hr) plus materials cost. The paint materials themselves cost nearly $2k… crazy. I could have gotten cheaper paint (Omni) for about a third of the price, but didn’t want to cut corners on that critical step.
So long story short, expect to pay at least $5k for a good paint job even if your car is straight and rust free.
I used higher end materials and did my own and still spent over $1K for just the sealer, color, clear, reducer and catalysts. (all the stuff I used just on “Shooting Color and Clear” Day. This doesn’t include the countless coats of filler primer that I sanded back off onto the floor.
Depends on where you’re at. If you go to a restoration shop, a show quality paint and body job will cost you $25K +/-. In the Seattle area, there is no way you could get a good, professional job done for under $10K.
the metal work is done just need skinned with some kind of fill and painted. yes I know it needs all blocked out filler , primer etc. around here Cleveland oh. there starting at 10k and thats just a maybe, there more like 12k to 15K If it could be done like post 2 says for 5-7k is more reasonable but haven’t found any body near that price level.
Contact mike Sutton. concourseautobody@yahoo.com or call his shop 330-584-6471 in Beliot OH. Does good work reasonable and he owns a few Cougars. He is a member of the CATS club. Here is a Cougar he paint this spring.
![IMG_0171[1].PNG](https://forum.classiccougarcommunity.com/uploads/db3333/original/2X/0/02d0d104c49b4c246cba28d25adc5e42da243e3f.png)
![IMG_0172[1].PNG](https://forum.classiccougarcommunity.com/uploads/db3333/original/2X/a/a589e279b086bb26deaaaa10c330ed64baf36544.png)
“Junior” in the L.A. area used to work for George Barris. On his own now for years, his paint jobs START at $100,000.
The choice is yours.
Any discount for painting two cars? 
Junior Conway?
Junior Conway? That could be his last name, but I read of this years ago and didn’t put it in my memory bank for me to remember. For a $100,000 paint job I’d have to win the lottery and the chances of that are slim and none and they left the building a long time ago.
But there are people who have $200,000 for a paint job and for them that’s simply no money.
A discount for 2 cars? I don’t know and don’t need to be concerned with that situation.But it would be nice to be nice to be in a position to think about it.
Some one else I will have to meet at one of the CATS events next year. Any idea how long he would need if/when I finally get the next G ready. I could drop it off on the way to Florida some winter ( not this one and at the current rate of restoration not next either 
…) and pick it up on the way back to the Great White North.
This is a car that we will be starting restoration on in the near future. A true blue 69 eliminator. The first picture is of the car and its 2nd owner in 1975.The 2nd is the car present day. The car is ruff,but has a great story that I will share in the future. With project pictures as we progress!
Right around the turn of the last century I paid a bit over $8000 to have the '67 painted. The guy was an independent who painted out of his back yard garage and he did what I thought was a really good job. I wouldn’t be surprised if it would be double that 18-19 years later.
My car is rust free. It has a straight decklid and a Robin fiberglass hood. The hood is perfect. The doors are dinged as perusual. The quarters are wavy. One was replaced in the 80’s with those patch panels that were made for a few years. I want it black and perfect. So a lot of the lines need to be gone over. To trip to bare metal and paint I was told 15K
I would assume for that price you need to deliver it disassembled?
Well the interior is out. The wiring and engine are in place. The car is assembled. It runs and drives and the engine is already detailed
Be adamant about careful masking… I was and still got overspray where I didn’t want it.
found a shop that will do it the way i want without bathing it in bondo then sanding 99 % back off. just where its needed. the car is completely gutted and was media blasted with a light coat of epoxy. then all the metal work was done , now just finishing 1 quarter that needed finished then paint prep and spray, buff. going to keep it around 10k give or take.then reassembly starts.
My car was repainted in the fall of 2017 and the price reflected me doing the disassembly and install of all the exterior pieces. This saved some $$$ and I had the bumpers, trim, and grille so I could start refurbishing them while paint was being done. My trim and bumpers took 6 to 8 weeks to get done. When I put car back together I took my time and also detailed some areas that a typical shop would probably slap together. It is hard to compare prices on paint and body work as so many variances in labor required. Painter told me he had $1800 in materials for a vinyl top car with no color change. My wife asks me occasionally if I know how much I spent. I tell her I have all the invoices and need to add it up then change the subject. So far that has worked for me.