Who has re-painted their runner?

[Aelfwine]

I'm not sure why any of you aren't considering vinyl wrapping. My buddy does it as a side job and I've seen what it does and its amazing. For a price much lower than painting, you get a finish that no paint job comes close too. No overspray and minimal disassembly. Its completely resistant to stone chips and light scratches unlike paint. If you do scratch a part of your car up its easily redone and matched with exactly same color. I'm going to get mine wrapped in semi gloss black as soon as I get other things out of the way! You can also do patterns with different colors which I'm considering as well. Just something to think about. Its just looking at quotes you guys are being given, I think you can wrap it for half the price.

 

[2014 Warthog]

I got my hood wrapped recently. Was very expensive. Looks awesome but I shudder to think what the entire car would cost.

Though there was a big tundra in the shop that was being wrapped entirely in flat military green. Looked pretty nice!

 

[Blitzkrieg]

You need to keep in mind that 90% of a paint job is the prep work.

If you are fairly knowledgeable and can disassemble the peripherals on the vehicle (luggage rack, fender skirts, etc... ) and prep the body (clean up door dings, wet sand vehicle, etc..) you can save a huge amount of money.

I have several connections here in Denver that will give you a paint job equal to or superior to the factory paint job for well under the $5K some of you have mentioned if you are willing to do the grunt work.

Maaco is what it is. It's a cheap paint job using cheap paint with minimum prep outside of masking the windows off.

You get what you pay for.

 

[IBallEngineer]

I'm not sure why any of you aren't considering vinyl wrapping. My buddy does it as a side job and I've seen what it does and its amazing. For a price much lower than painting, you get a finish that no paint job comes close too. No overspray and minimal disassembly. Its completely resistant to stone chips and light scratches unlike paint. If you do scratch a part of your car up its easily redone and matched with exactly same color. I'm going to get mine wrapped in semi gloss black as soon as I get other things out of the way! You can also do patterns with different colors which I'm considering as well. Just something to think about. Its just looking at quotes you guys are being given, I think you can wrap it for half the price.

1. It's not that cheap
2. It's NOT completely resistant to stone chips.
3. It doesn't shine like paint.
4. No matter what, it looks like a wrap.

But if that is your thing, more power to you. I'd consider doing a partial wrap.

 

[yellowmk2]

My paint is in pretty bad shape. The hood and roof are cloudy and the clear is straight worn through in some places. Been thinking a lot lately about getting it repainted, who's done it and how much did it cost you? Just want to get an idea for the typical paint job on these things from different shops.

I got a quote from a guy who has done paint on several cars for my family, and he quoted me $2k! And that's if I do the dis-assembly too. I'm sure it would be a really nice paint job, but my runner cost $6k, how can I justify that?

Obviously the other option is Maaco, which I am honestly not too opposed to for what it is. Thoughts??

if your in the Phx area I can probably help you out. I work for an auction and we have several booths and talented painter. They do all of my cars and truck. Not sure what pricing would be but could get it figured out if you could bring it to me

 

[Aelfwine]

1. It's not that cheap

2. It's NOT completely resistant to stone chips.

3. It doesn't shine like paint.

4. No matter what, it looks like a wrap.



But if that is your thing, more power to you. I'd consider doing a partial wrap.

Well, I'm not into shine anyways. But gloss wrap looks exactly like paint to me. It's original purpose was to protect against stone chips where people would wrap their bumper and part of the hood with clear wrap. I guess if you throw a brick at it, it wouldn't hold up

 

[paddlenbike]

I had my 4Runner's hood painted for $100, but the truck was already in the shop to have the rear hatch repainted after I was rear-ended.

A buddy with an anthracite brown 4Runner had his hood, roof and hatch painted for $700. If the rest of the paint on the truck is decent, I would go this route. The hood is removed with four bolts and thus doesn't require a ton of prep and masking time.

The hood and fender look different colors but it's because there are cool white shop light bulbs overhead and a warm white light bulb pointing at the side.

 

[IBallEngineer]

Well, I'm not into shine anyways. But gloss wrap looks exactly like paint to me. It's original purpose was to protect against stone chips where people would wrap their bumper and part of the hood with clear wrap. I guess if you throw a brick at it, it wouldn't hold up

The clear film used for stone chip protection is NOTHING like the vinyl used for wraps. NOTHING. They are totally different composition and mil thickness. And the clear film really doesn't wrap, it requires a fairly flat surface and is cut in corresponding pieces to fit specific cars.

Look I don't actually have anything against wraps. If you think gloss vinyl looks exactly like paint, roll with it. But let's not spread misinformation.

 

[packweco]

if your in the Phx area I can probably help you out. I work for an auction and we have several booths and talented painter. They do all of my cars and truck. Not sure what pricing would be but could get it figured out if you could bring it to me

Thanks very much for the offer. I've sorta come to the conclusion that I can't really justify putting money into paint on my DD $6k car with 160k+ miles. I don't beat on it, but I also don't want to get upset if my paint gets scratched out camping and whatnot. Body work is the one thing that really doesn't do anything functional on a car.

If I ever get a wild hair up my ass again and decide I want to paint it, I'll look you up!! Thanks again.

Thanks to everyone else for all the replies, it's definitely been educational.

 

[yellowmk2]

Thanks very much for the offer. I've sorta come to the conclusion that I can't really justify putting money into paint on my DD $6k car with 160k+ miles. I don't beat on it, but I also don't want to get upset if my paint gets scratched out camping and whatnot. Body work is the one thing that really doesn't do anything functional on a car.

If I ever get a wild hair up my ass again and decide I want to paint it, I'll look you up!! Thanks again.

Thanks to everyone else for all the replies, it's definitely been educational.

yeah, no problem. We really just do paint and body work on Factory owned GM's and Ford's. We are not open to the public, so they are used to doing high quality work for cheap. I think it basically works out to $34 hour including materials so you can just look up Mitchell time and figure out what it would cost you. They just did my hood and it turned out pretty nice. They didn't charge me, but should have been about $80 if they would have.

 

[BrianSD_42]

There is no justification for a 5K paint job on a 5K vehicle. But there is no justification for a Satoshi Grille, or LED/HID light conversions either.

To be fair though the Satoshi mod costs about $50 and is just that a mod.

And the HID upgrade, which I did, costs between $350 to $450 and is a huge upgrade. Its not the same as choosing OEM brake pads over NAPA. Its a freaking HID projector man!!!!!! If you've never had them then fine but trust me it is one of the best $400 mods you can buy.

I'm still voting the OP just paint the hood and roof. I sympathize with your fender flares issues. I've painted mine twice now @ about $500 each time.

 

[packweco]

To be fair though the Satoshi mod costs about $50 and is just that a mod.

And the HID upgrade, which I did, costs between $350 to $450 and is a huge upgrade. Its not the same as choosing OEM brake pads over NAPA. Its a freaking HID projector man!!!!!! If you've never had them then fine but trust me it is one of the best $400 mods you can buy.

I'm still voting the OP just paint the hood and roof. I sympathize with your fender flares issues. I've painted mine twice now @ about $500 each time.

I might end up just doing this. My problem is all the little areas that are starting to cloud. Basically any surface that is less than vertical is getting cloudy. I.E. the corners at the base of each window, tops of fender flares (as you mentioned) and the very top of the front fenders. It would just anger me to go get it painted partially and have it look crappy next year haha.

 

[BrianSD_42]

If you really want to go through with it you can probably do the whole truck for about $2500 (its about $500 extra with the flares).

 

[Kryptoroxx]

I am spraying mine in Monstaliner in the next 3 days. Its bedliner and is a lot tougher than vinyl. I even found a company that would suspend 1a1 anthrocite with no binders so technically it will be stock color. Since the higher the pressure (below 90psi) the smoother the finish I think it will come out fairly well. I estimate 2 gallons for the body and that comes out to a little over 300 in cost plus shipping. You can also roll it yourself if you habe a nonmetallic color.

 

[pattycakes77]

I painted mine a couple years ago, complete color change. I work in a body shop so I have access to lots of nice things and tools to do the job. For insurance purposes I wanted to get an estimate of what it would have cost me to do all the work I did if I had just come in off the street and wanted the job done. I too went with a cheaper, flat single stage urethane paint so the final cost was still cheaper than a base (metallic/pearl) and clear coat paint job. Doing a complete tear down of all panels, removing all glass, removing doors/hatch/hood/fenders, etc the estimate still came in at a little over $10K.

Most people that come in for an estimate for a full vehicle paint job don't realize all the work that goes into it and the cost of supplies. When we do full paint jobs it's usually in the $10K range, more if there is additional body work to be done.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Here is an old pic of mine before new lift

Love the profile pic.

 

[slapdappy]

is there a local trade school or community college with auto tech and body repair programs? maybe let them use your truck in a paint class?

 

[trail_runner]

My 4runner. In the process of doing some upgrades

 

[DanKendall6]

is there a local trade school or community college with auto tech and body repair programs? maybe let them use your truck in a paint class?

I tried looking for one of those places in san diego area. If anyone knows of any places around please tell me

 

[ocreptileguy]

I will share this much. Quality paint and a well done job go a long way. I work at an auto body shop. Our paint jobs are guaranteed for LIFE. We use Standox paint. Pretty much the best of the best. Our paint jobs are better then what comes from the factory and will outlast them as well. From the factory you will have the e-coat, sealer, base, then clear. For most cars out of the factory, total paint thickness typically isn't greater then 3.5 mils. Our first coat of base alone is 2.0mils +. I see way to many hack jobs come in that were poorly prepped and lead to the paint failing quickly.
If I were considering getting my car repainted for a Maaco budget I would get the supplies and do it myself. It's a great experience, your doing your own car so you will be more meticulous, and it's fun.

Our paint jobs are expensive. We painted a suburban black bumper to bumper plus jams and it was a $9000 cash deal. Granted. This suburban left with durable paint that looked like glass it was so smooth.

If you go to get a quote on having your rig painted a good negotiating point would be to see what discount they would give you if you prepped the car yourself then delivered. ie: remove bumpers, front and rear lamps, grill, etc.
If anyone wants tips to DIY I'd be happy to help