Date:         Sun, 15 Apr 2001 11:25:08 -0700
Reply-To:     radish150 <radish150@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         radish150 <radish150@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      paint
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854";
              x-mac-creator="4D4F5353"

> Date:    Sun, 15 Apr 2001 12:03:07 -0400
> From:    Kitzmann
> Subject: Has anybody gotten their van painted?
>
> I want to paint my van but don't have the space or time right now to do it
> myself.  How much does it cost to get something the size of a Vanagon
> painted?  I can do most of the prep work but not the spraying, so any info
> would help me fiqure out if this is something I'm just going to have to
> wait on or can do sometime soon.
>
> Oh, almost forgot, just painting it white, like the original paint scheme,
> nothing fancy.
>
> Thanks,
> Dave K.
>

Dave, having a van painted is very hard to have done cheaply if you want any quality at all. You can actually get a bottom end paint job from Macco for about 160$, but boy it will not be dressed to impress when they are done. I've seen some of these jobs and they have lots of dirt in the paint, very careless masking, and of course zero prep work (at this price), which is really what it's all about. Personally I'd stay away from these people, they are used to dealing with people who don't give a crap and their quality consciousness is low. The only way to get a halfway decent job out of them is to do the prep yourself and then buff it out when your done. For the money this will cost you could pay someone who actually cares.

If you want a nice paint job, you should be able to get a decent "base/clear" job done for 1300 or so with no body work. This will allow for them to do some buffing or color sanding (or whatever) to make it look right, most paint jobs are not perfect till you do some work on them.  If you combine your prep (hopefully with their guidance) and you buy the paint (300-500 for base/clear) and have someone good do the painting, you might find someone to just "shoot it" for 300-600. Sometimes it helps to tell them you'll help mask it on paint day.

Base/clear paint is top of the line these days and can't be beat for shine and durability, but it's expensive. Another cheaper option (save a couple hundred maybe) is going with good single stage Urethane (spelling?) paint. This works well in a solid color, but not a metallic. I painted a 928 Porsche with this stuff and it was very nice looking. It's cheaper and less work to shoot, so this might be your best bet depending on wallet.

IMO, don't waste money on enamel, not durable enough.

Mark...