SUBARU3 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 OK...2 of my "new gens" are needing paint. Texas cars...no rust issues, but sun damaged clear coat. They are both 1995s, so I guess it's about time. Both cars well under 100K and exceptionally mechanically.....I'm keeping them! I'm wondering about the removal of things like roof moldings, front and rear glass trim, door handles assembles, glued/sealed in taillights, etc. I don't want to create more problem and leaks. Most of the plastic clips need to be replaced if you remove trim. Tailights can leak. Door handle removal is labor intensive. Certainly I will remove all emblems, headlights and essentially anything that can be unbolted or unscrewed relatively easy. ___________________________ What are your thoughts on removal of stuff prior to painting? What is the better name paint to use? Can you still use enamel? I HATE base clear! My70s cars with enamel STILL gloss up!! What are your thoughts on "production" paint shops, MAACO, etc. I have used them in the past and when I take the cars apart, tow them in, specify my paint manufacturer, be really nice, buy the shop pizza, I get a great job. But I'm open to suggestions. How much is reasonable for a good paint job on a Suby? Thanks much!! Todd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 a good paint job will cost roughly $200 per panel or $3,000 minimum. you get what you pay for. a cheap $500 MAACO paint job will look like a cheap $500 paint job. it'll look good from 20 feet away and not last as long. done right it is extremely labor intensive - the prep, application, and prepping between coats is the difference between poor, good, and great. generally the primer?, paint, and clear are bought/used as a set, the new paints are highly technical and work best together as a complete system. there are probably ways to parse that if one knows a lot about it. i'm sure you can google enamel and get comparisons and pros/cons lists - that won't be subaru specific. i've looked into this before and i think the answer is no - but is there a way to re-clearcoat your vehicle rather than completely repaint it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Have a 2002 LEGACY OUTBACK, the hood and roof were significantly crazed and some rust showing through. A co-worker paints on the side. I dropped the headliner So I could pull the roof rack. 80 nuts and bolts later it was off. I could see runt under the primer inside the car. The fellow who did the paint for me said there was rust under the primer on the outside as well. So it looks like Subaru had a paint process problem that allowed some surface rust to form be for the car was painted. Looks nice $400 just in materials! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBARU3 Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 I think the issues are that there are no "middle of the road" options. You have MAACO on one end and $3000 on the other. Quite frankly, I have seen, (and seen many), private paint shops, (that profess to be really good), charge a fortune and then you have a MAACO job anyway! I looked at a car outside a nice paint shop recently, that quoted me $3900 and there was dirt in the paint. It was a 2012 vehicle. One must be very careful when shopping for paint work!! It's not financially wise to put 3K plus into any car that is worth 5K or less in my opinion. But by the same token, you want that nice 5K car to look nice too. Paint seems to be far more difficult to navigate then any mechanical issue!! I'm inclined to use a production shop, remove and prep all I can on the car and be VERY specific with what I want and be NICE to the shop guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 (edited) I paint with PPG Sand with 120-250-320 2 coats Epoxy primer surfacer sanded with 320-400 after each coat 1 coat Epoxy primer reduced with DT870 reducer- no sanding 2-3 coats of base color sanded with 400-600-800 after each coat except the very last one 2-3 FULL WET COATS of Omni 270 clearcoat with overall hardener. Wet sand with 1000-1500-2000 until completely smooth no dimples.....then polish. I use 3m Rubbing compound. I do not like spraying enamel......unless you have a pristine shop and very nice gun and air supply. You can't really sand/polish the finish so what you spray is what you get.....Also it chips easier ussually a couple years it starts chipping off of the edges where it was taped off. Edited October 10, 2014 by Gloyale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBARU3 Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 Thanks guys for the feedback!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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