[Verdoro 68]

I'm looking at installing an '05 hood on my '04 GTO and found a really good deal on the hood. The prices I've received from body shops for paint and installation, however, are astronomical. I've received two estimates around $1200 and one for $750. This includes blending the hood into the fenders.

My car is Pulse Red, which is a solid color. If I were to take the hood to a body shop, gave them the paint code (79u) , and have them just paint the hood, what are the odds the color would match the rest of my car? Pontiac offers the hood pre-painted in Torrid Red, Metallic Black and Quicksilver so I get the impression the color formulas are pretty consistent. Any suggestions?

[GPragtop]

Colors are not always consistant. It varies from paint manufacturer to paint manufacturer.

[johnap68]

Personally if GM offers it already painted, that is your best chance at a out of the box match. Colors today can be tough to match, thats why the blending is required. I would spend the extra money for the GM painted one. Hopefully it will match, but if it does not, at least you have all the GM corrision protection and will only need a scuffing and light painting and blending of the fenders. I worked at a Chevy dealership for 8 years and we blended the vehicles that needed repair right off the transport. The sun will also make differences in the color even in a year or so. So while I feel the GM painted hood offers the best chance at a match, please leave yourself open to not being happy with the color and needing some painting. Good luck.
I just noticed your reference to pulse red and torrid red. You might want to check with the dealer or a paint jobber to see if it's just a name change or different color. I have no clue if they are different colors. I'm not current with the new car colors.

[Verdoro 68]

Pulse Red is a different color. It was only offered on the last 800 '04s produced and is a little darker than Torrid Red.

[johnap68]

If you find a body shop that is willing to work with you, I would ask them to paint just the hood for starters. You can then install it and see if you like the match. If not,like I said they must be willing to work with you, then you can ask them to blend only the fenders. You might not end up saving much money doing it that way because of the extra labor and materials to tape off the rest of the car. The prices quoted you might seem high to you, but you have to consider all that is involved in a estimate. The body shop pays the technicans labor, sand paper, plastic cover, paper, tape, undercoat(sealer) basecoat(red is one of the most expensive) clear coat,more sand paper, buffing materials, washing(detailing prior to delivery) and then they hope your happy with the work and blend. Keep in mind that a name brand clearcoat costs about 200.00 per sprayable gallon, red basecoat is around 50.00 per quart and sealer being a little cheaper. Granted, they won't use all of everything so they charge you a cost of materials per job. If your supplying the hood I think the 1200.00 is high. 750.00 is more reasonable, but it also depends upon the region of the country your in. Go to a few more shops and get estimates. Go to a few local car shows and ask for shops to go to. Perhaps now you see why so many people do it them self or search out a friend to do it. If I was doing this at home I would probably charge around 500.00 to paint the hood and blend the fenders. The hood also gets painted on the inside(underside) which a lot of people don't think about. But then I don't have the business costs to deal with which is a whole different can of worms.
I was just researching dash recovering for for my 68 GTO in the business forum. I found some prices and recomendations and at the time thought some were a bit high, but after listening to myself here I realize they are worth it, because they are the pros and you get what you pay for. Hope you come out ok and are happy with who you deal with. Good luck.
I just saw your in CA. Our flat rate here in Mishawaka In (by Chicago) is around 35-40 dollars per hour. I'm willing to bet your's is double that.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

I can give you a "frame" to figure out who is trying to gouge you. And who wants to do honest reputable business.

Paint interior underside 1.2 paint + .8 clear
R & R hood 1.5
Paint exterior topside 3.5 paint + 1.5 clear
Blend Rt. fender 1.5 paint + clear
Blend Lt. fender 1.5 paint + clear
Cover/blanket for overspray .5

That gives you, at $40 hour : (If your area has a higher rate - modify the formula as necessary)

Non-paint labor 1.5 = $60
Paint labor 10.5 = $420
Materials = 10.5 x $25 = $262.50
Total = $742.50 + $10 hazardous waste disposal

***On a Solid (non-metallic) Red, a highly reputable Pontiac dealer body shop should be familiar enough with that color to know which supplier has a sufficient match right out of the can that doesn't require blending for a satisfactory match. Check around with the actual paint technicians, not the estimate writer for that information. The writer can request a paint technician to come out and advise. The blending alone is costing you $195. But well worth it if necessary.***

Also make certain that their work will match the consistency of the existing hood - as in no nibs or trash in clear, no uneven textures or orange peel. Some will try to charge extra for wet sanding and buffing - go elsewhere. That is a "necessary evil" for painters working on high end late model cars if they don't have the ability mastered to get that result straight out of the booth. Not your responsibility to pay for their lack of expertise.

Another thing is make certain they know you want your existing hood back in your posession in it's same current condition - undamaged. Otherwise the body technician will keep it and claim it was disposed of already - or possibly damage the finish. If they balk at any of your requirements or concerns, hit the road. They aren't oriented with high end quality operations.

[Verdoro 68]

Thanks for the info and tips. The hourly shop rate at the two shops that wanted $1100+ was $75/hr. The shops say they want to remove the headlights, inner fender wells, etc. to do a proper job, which of course adds quite a bit to the price.

There's a body shop supply shop near my house. Maybe I'll stop in there and see if they have any opinions on if the color of my car will be hard to match. Now that I think about it, I wonder if I can buy the paint directly from GM? Maybe the guys at the supply shop will also have some recommendations for reputable painters in the area. The two shops I got estimates at so far were recommended by the dealer. One even told me that they minimum they charge for insurance work was $1600, regardless of damage so I guess they are used to overcharging.

Right now I think my best option is to have the hood painted, color sanded and buffed by a shop and install it myself. From what I heard, the odds are favorable that the paint will match.

[janderson]

Another option, though not cheap, would be to pay the painter some "tint-time", which would be an additional charge above the cost of the hood refinish time. Ask them if you could drop off the car for a day and have the painter do some spray-out cards or panels (some call test panels) and have them work up the best match possible and then you could see the results before they paint the vehicle. The tint time would more than offset the cost of adjacent panel blend and R & I times for the headlights, front bumper, fender mldg's, splash shields, etc. Also, they will have the paint formula for your application and if you needed it in the future, they could mix it for you. One last thing, don't know what paint systems this painter will be using, have had some clear coats actually darken a blend panel, so still wound up with a panel to panel mis-match.

[RamAirThree]

I would not recommend a pre colored hood. There will be risks.There is accumalated damages to contend with such as the marks from the hinges. Remember that hood will need to be adjusted for excellent lines. Scratches to the finish is also a reality. Another factor is imperfections from manufacturer, you will have to live with them or waste the money as a shop would have to repair and repaint again anyway. Another factor again is that its fiberglass the paint will have the possibility of being a shade or two off, leaving you unhappy, with a non painted hood this could always be corrected at no extra cost as it will be the responsibilty of the shop to get the best possible match, as some one posted there will be left over material. One more thing also to consider is that a non painted hood can be cleaned up such as tapering the edges on the underside. With a painted hood what you get is what you get. As you can see there are many advantages to a non painted hood where as a painted hood only offers you the advantage of do it yourself at your own risk.

Also leaving a painted part of the car for a color match is an excellent idea, but that does not cost extra as it is part of the job and what a real shop does anyway to tint the paint. You will just be giving them a head start and more time to get it right. Remember color match is the responsibility of the shop unless in contract it states what you get is what you get, should that be in the contract do not sign it just go somewhere else because obviously they have no pride in thier work.

BTW: A shop will work with you somewhat within reason because a good painter will not need no 10.5 hours to get that hood in color. He will not have much room to work with you but a couple of bucks can easily be shaven off the price of $750. As for the two quotes of $1200, I do not care where you are from, I hope you put a hammer to those guys heads because dudes like that is what gives a bad name to other shops. Ofcourse I should add in defense of the body shops that this all only holds true if the fiberglass hood is reasonably clean of manufacturer defects. I have seen hoods that were in need of 20 hrs body labor out of the box. These are the hoods that will then run you as much as a grand in installation.

Cheers,
~Lou

[RamAirThree]

Thanks for the info and tips. The hourly shop rate at the two shops that wanted $1100+ was $75/hr. The shops say they want to remove the headlights, inner fender wells, etc. to do a proper job, which of course adds quite a bit to the price.

This is a flat out lie and not a requirement of the job at hand, also $75 an hour is ridiculous. Especially when they would be lucky if they seen $40 an hour from an insurance company. A good shop should be in the price range of $55 to $60 an hour.

[Verdoro 68]

The hood is metal. GM offers it pre-painted in the most common colors, but not in the color of my car. I agree that $75/hour is ridiculous.

I talked to the dealer with the parts yesterday and let him know I was shopping the job around. I asked him about blending again and why he thought it was necessary on my car. He backtracked a little and said he got his reds mixed up and that my car would not require it. He revised the quote to $550 for painting and installation. Sounds a little more reasonable.

[RamAirThree]

Originally Posted by Verdoro 68

The hood is metal. GM offers it pre-painted in the most common colors, but not in the color of my car. I agree that $75/hour is ridiculous.

I talked to the dealer with the parts yesterday and let him know I was shopping the job around. I asked him about blending again and why he thought it was necessary on my car. He backtracked a little and said he got his reds mixed up and that my car would not require it. He revised the quote to $550 for painting and installation. Sounds a little more reasonable.

Oh ok metal is safer for sure. $550 for installation and paint is more reasonable indeed. Wow I remember when a price like that included the part too....lol, yeah thats alot better I am roughly guessing the shop will spend around $225-$250 total for Dupont/PPG if used aswell as other marerial and figure around $300 maybe $325 total for SPIES Hecker if used and other material.

~Lou

[Verdoro 68]

I'm not sure what brand of paint they are using, but I'll ask. I bet it's PPG. They do a lot of customizing and paint work on GM cars so I trust they can match the color pretty well.

Believe it or not, I'm actually getting a steal on the hood too. My local dealer wanted $888 for the 2005 GTO hood, while this other dealer wants $495 for the hood, spoiler and recessed grilles. I already have the grilles and don't want to spoiler so I'll sell those to offset the cost of the hood swap.

[RamAirThree]

Originally Posted by Verdoro 68

I'm not sure what brand of paint they are using, but I'll ask. I bet it's PPG. They do a lot of customizing and paint work on GM cars so I trust they can match the color pretty well.

Believe it or not, I'm actually getting a steal on the hood too. My local dealer wanted $888 for the 2005 GTO hood, while this other dealer wants $495 for the hood, spoiler and recessed grilles. I already have the grilles and don't want to spoiler so I'll sell those to offset the cost of the hood swap.

Thats an awesome deal, got to love it when a plan comes together. Oh and I agree PPG is your most common paint used by shops with dupont right behind it. I myself prefer PPG, can't stand working with SPIES Hecker.....lol

All the best,
~Lou