How hard to prep a ECSB for paint? Cost to paint?

[s3gulit]

Been curious as this has been bugging me.

Want to paint my ECSB. Truck was a former GSA (gov't) vehicle and they apparently did a cheap re-spray. Pulled one corner of the trim badge behind the rear door and wasn't even close to the same color, then noticed all of the terrible over-spray.

Was just curious as to what prep work would be involved? Never bothered with large paint jobs before on vehicles. Painted many ag machines, but not sure if auto needs to be prepped better or not.

Was thinking since there's no dents on the truck, i would sand the clear off and take a few layers of the pewter color off?

Truck would be getting re-sprayed in midnight blue, black, or possibly sunburnt orange metallic (have to do some PS chops still).

Would have the local body shop spray the color/clear on the exterior and inner doors., but i'd like to help with final prep to save costs. Seems like alot of shows do the same and don't always take it down to bare metal but maybe they are skipping corners as well?

I'm hoping i could have the truck resprayed for $3500ish...sound out of line? Most bodyshops make a killing on the prep work involved, so if i could eliminate 3/4 of the prep id be off to a good start.

Dont have any real plans for the floors, probably just paint them black regardless of exterior color as i don't reallly want to rip the entire interior out.

Thoughts or opinions?

Dave

 

[Whitetail Addict]

Well prep work depends on how well the current coat is adhering to what is underneath it.

Lets just say it is adhering well. To do it right you will have to pull the glass and the weatherstripping. You can get special tape that works in behind the rubber and pulls it away. The windshield and back glass have to be cut out and urethane'd back in.
Pull the hood, doors, tailgate, bumpers, bed, handles, mirrors, emblems etc. You will have to wash the truck down in prepsol to remove any contaminants (wax, silicone, etc), after a good wash with soap and water of course.
You will have to feather out any chips or scratches, bare metal will have to be sealed. The remaining areas of clear will have to be scuffed, and then cleaned with prepsol before paint.

I know I've probably forgotten some steps, but that will give you an idea.

 

[Josh2002cc]

I would think $3500.00 would get you a decent paint job, I know it would here in Nebraska where I am from. The people who need to worry about cutting corners are those who want a good paint job for $500.00.