Re: Painting Cars

[Arnoil@xxxxxxx]

Let me add one more thing to the very thorough posts on this subject.  The majority of the body and paint shops make their money doing insurance work, and have no interest in just repainting a car.  I have had bodyshops either give me a ridiculous estimate or flat say that they are not interested.  Also, some shops will not work on cars older than 10 years old, and I have had two shops tell me that they refuse to work on Alfas.  So, don't be surprised if it happens to you a few times, and I'm sure you will eventually find a place that will be enthusiastic about the work.  I actually had one Alfa painted by a British car restoration shop for a very fair price, and even 7 years later the car won its class at the AROC National concours.  Then again, National AROC Prez John J. went to the same place and ended up with non-matching doors...

Just for fun, I signed up for an auto body and paint class at the local VoTech, and found out that really good body and paint work is extremely labor intensive and does take a lot of skill and experience.  Plus, good materials are not cheap.  By the time you add up all the primers, surfacers, sealers, top coats, and consumables it takes to do the job right, you can be pushing a thousand bucks (of course commercial shops get it cheaper, and of course you can use cheap materials too).

Good Luck!

Arno Leskinen
President, Arizona Chapter AROC
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