I'm going to paint my car myself, have questions. opinions appreciated
 

I have a 72 Lemans sport that I have had for 17 yrs. According to the PHS it was ordered with the endura frt. clip option. I dropped a YS 400 in it and packed away the original 350 a few years ago in case someone wants to restore it back to the way it came from the factory. That's the back story.

I contacted a restoration shop near me about painting my car. I let him know I was hoping for a paint job for around 10K which is a huge amount of money for me. I let him know that I was not expecting a #1 concours national show quailty paint job, as I just wanted to drive the car and attend local shows, cruise ins etc.. The guy advised that he was very short on help and that he had a 2 yr waiting list. I had told him the car was basically rust free except for one place around a vinyl top trim pin that was about the size of a quarter and that I thought the car had mostly original paint. (I will attach some pics). He said that based on my description, he might be able to fit me in for a quick repaint and to send him some pics and that he could see the car in a couple weeks.

After receiving my pics he emailed back and said that it was not an easy repaint and that his price would be in the high 20k range. So upper 20 something thousand. Man was I bummed, I have owned a few classic rust buckets in my time and kept this car because I can turn a wrench, but don't know much about paint and body, I do know rust repair is EXPENSIVE so I figured I was way ahead of the game with a mostly rust free car.

Having said that, I went out to the car and looked it completely over again. I'm 57 yrs old and the one constant in my life has been my love for cars. I go out of my way to read about peoples projects, watch restoration videos, talk to car guys, go to shows, watch auctions etc.. I can't get enough. After crawling all over my car again I still believe this is a rock solid car body wise.

I have decided that I will paint my car, I have about 40 hours of watching paint and body videos under my belt so far. I take notes as if I am back in school. Every morning before my wife gets up I watch at least 2-3 hours on you tube. I have plenty of time and nothing better to do so why not? Also I might add that I can, frame, drywall, trim, do electrical, plumbing, concrete work etc all self trained. I have flipped houses for 30 yrs handling most all of the work myself. My houses usually sell with in a few weeks of hitting the market. I am a perfectionist. I only mention this to give you guys an idea of what i am capable of as it relates to figuring stuff out.

Sorry for the long post, but I respect this communities opinion, having read your responses daily for years and want to paint( no pun intended) an accurate pic of me and my project so I can hopefully get some honest opinions.

Finally some of my questions:

1. Did Pontiac paint my 72 in lacquer. (I read GM used lacquer during those years). If so, will I need to strip the body down to bare metal even where the paint is good and the body is solid if I use single stage or base coat clear coat?

2. The car is a one owner female purchased when she was 41 yrs old and I always thought it had mostly original paint because I can see no over spray anywhere, but the nader pins are painted orange like the body. Did the factory paint nader pins? I'm thinking they didn't.

3. What are your opinions about replacing the vinyl top or changing to a hardtop on this model yr.?

4. I don't hate the sundance orange, but have always dreamed of changing it to lucerne blue and keeping the white interior. I realize that will require painting all the jams. What are your opinions on this?

Lastly, I will be painting this in my 24 x 24 detached garage using all the right equipment. The main weak link will be me and my ability.

Painting a car has been an item on my bucket list forever. The 20k plus estimate for a repaint has given me all the motivation needed to dive and being a member of this community has empowered me to just do it.

Thanks for reading my long ass post.


Thank you for your ideas, opinions, and comments about this endeavor.

I'm trying to upload the pics. thanks

hopefully this worked.Attachment 578258

here are a few more

I'm sure I'm not the only other one contemplating the same thing. Watching... :popcorn:

I've read our community likes pics so here is some more

markpj23,

my thoughts exactly.

I'm going to say right out, YOU CAN DO IT!!!
I'm not a painter by any means. I've been a machinist, but can tackle many projects and figure things out. You have more skills than me.
I've painted four cars now in the last 15 years. It's a lot of work, but worth it. One was single stage and three were base coat, clear coat. My last was tri coat. Two were painted in my garage and two at work in a small paint booth.
Base, clear is more work, but can be fixed of blunders. The good thing is it may only cost you less than three grand for all materials. Most of mine were under two. My last was closer to three because it was tri coat (white, orange, clear), Lamborghini pearl orange, $400 quart for paint. The others I was buying a gallon of metallic from TCP Global for $120.
I think you can epoxy seal your current paint to seal it and you'll be good. I'm picky (like you), so my work shows it. I can be proud to say I painted it and saved also. You can TOO!

Wow your thought process is very common to me. definitely paint it yourself in your garage.

I would peel the vinyl top and hardtop it. (did that once and was so glad I did)

the professional shop cost is nuts. and when you do call "just to see", shops I called almost sound arrogant stating "2 to 3 year waiting list" and are only interested in "builds" ie; 100 grand jobs. beware when they say "might work you in for a quick repaint" meaning they will earl shibe it for big bucks.

If you paint it, and its not up to your standards, sand it and try again and still be money way ahead. but being handy as you say, you will learn so much along the way and likely get it right. I painted 1 car in my garage myself and it came out very nice. base coat/clear, I learned so much I am very confidant and can't wait to paint my current car.

you do not have to go to bare metal. in fact, I wouldn't. depending on where you live, you may feel rushed to constantly get the bare metal covered to avoid rust from forming.

what color? metallic does require more expertise and paint conditions.

sorry for the long post! just really enjoy diy folks that avoid the crazy cost shops that produce cars to be flower pots instead of drivers. take your time and enjoy the process.

Made the same decision myself ... do it. Lots of work, but it will probably get done WAY sooner than the shop will do it.

When taking advice, stay focused on the quality of paint work you want, don't get sucked into thinking you are going to get a show quality paint job the first time you paint. Lots of great advice out there, but if you want a driver paint job then much of it might not be the right advice for you.

Paint it a solid color, metallic has a whole slew of additional considerations, skills, and expenses involved.

Bit the bullet and take it down to bare metal, you will be surprised what you find.

I probably ended up spending about $3500-4000 to paint mine in BC/CC metallic, including a new $500 gun, $1500-2000 paint and abrasives, I'll add $600 of the $1600 for a new compressor I needed anyway. You could probably knock off $1000 in paint if you go with a solid color.

Still not done yet, have to paint the front clip in the spring, and reshoot some clear. Don't be depressed if something has to be reshot ... it happens. During the process of painting you'll end up settling on a "cost benefit analysis" of how much cost/work = what quality of paint you want.

Would you be happy with the paint that was on it 17 years ago? If so ... shoot for that level of finish. Bear in mind some of the best information sources are also geared toward the most perfect paint, and the most demanding painters .... that might not always sync with what you are looking for ... so temper the information and advice down to what YOU want for YOUR car.

that's a very cool original looking color. I remember those cars. (i'm 60) I would lose the top and the side molding. very cool car!

One more thing. I think I would repaint the car in the original color. Your jambs look good enough to leave alone. It's more work than you can imagine to do while trying to paint the car. The other option is scuff and paint them first. But, with doors on, you'll have a tough time getting everything covered. Otherwise (as a perfectionist, as we are), everything has to be pulled apart (doors, hood, trunk bumpers, etc.) to get good coverage of color change. This is where guys get burnt out, loose interest, stall and sell cheap to the next guy to finish. That's how I got my 72 Sport convertible with endura front (originally sundance orange). I would recommend pulling the bumpers and valance at a minimum though. Your car looks good. I would make your top decision before you start. I think the other painter was setting you up for a rip off by the way.

You might consider getting a couple more quotes.

If you are going to paint it yourself, go read “the perfect paint job” at spi’s website.

https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/perfectpaintjob

They have a very good forum too


With all the cost and labor involved you’ll want to strip it all the way down to bare metal.

You’ll have a couple thousand dollars in equipment (air compressor, welder, spray gun, filters, fresh air supply). Plus a couple thousand in paint, fillers, sandpaper, welding gas, buffers, polish etc. when all said and done you’ll have about 10k in but you’ll have a lot of tools you can re sell

It is a huge job and you’ll have many many hours in it. Something that would take a pro a weekend will take a couple months. But, it is a lot of fun and if you take your time you can get very good results.

Door strikers hinges and latches were all painted at the factory

Paint it blue if you want. It’s your car.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

But yes, like others have said ... DO IT.

I have this belief that you don't really OWN a car unless you A: Bought it new or B: painted it yourself.

When you paint it yourself ... you freakin own it, the good parts, the bad parts and you've had it stripped naked, you've caressed every inch a dozen times, you know every flaw, and every perfect curve.

Here is a good site, helped me a lot painting my cars.

http://autobodystore.com/forum/index.php

WOW,

tjs72lemans, JUDGE3, Dataway, fairway hit.

Thank you, thank you ,thank you a million times. This is what I needed to hear!
I knew i could not be the only one.

thx
mike S

a few more

last pics

good stuff. can't resist a bit more input.

that car is super clean looking. I would not go to bare metal.

As suggested, I would remove the bumper/valance that's it. (other than the obvious trim/interior/door handles etc that need removed for a nice job)

biggest key, the more you remove the more you will think you have to go deeper and deeper and spend more money and time. I wanted to go deep into mine because it was a bucket list thing and my car needed it. your car looks like earlier ones i have had that need a restification not a restore.

mercy, your post excited me as though i'm starting my own car again.

good for you!