How much should a basic repaint cost?

[Damn True]

I am looking to do a color change on my '68. When my grandparents bought the car it was pink with a black bumble bee stripe (one of 5 they were told) but my grandfather put a cheapo Earl Schieb pait job on it about ten years ago.

The only rust is a few tiny pinholes at the base of the rear glass, and the body is 98% ding free as well so there will be very little metalwork required.

I don't want to get into painting the underbody.

I don't want a glitzy show level paint job. I plan to drive this thing a lot, durable and low maintainence is key.

What do ya'all think I should expect to pay for this kind of thing?

[kmcanally]

Since there is already two paint jobs on the car it should be stripped to bare metal before another paint job. And since you are changing colors the jams, trunk and underhood will also need to be stripped and redone. And since you have identified a small area of rust that is showing there will likely be more rust under the paint that will show after it is stripped. Bsed on all of this I would guestimate something in the $5k range for a decent bc/cc job. You can save a ton by doing most of the disassembly/reassembly yourself.

[Damn True]

So you think $5k if I pay to have the assembly/dissasembly done right?

The difference being hours of labor right?

What percentage do you reckon I could save if I do the lions share of that myself? How many hours are we talking about for a shop to pull the trim, glass etc?

[MuscleRodz]

That question is as wide and deep as the Grand Canyon. You could do another Earl Sheibs on it for $1k or do it right and could cost $10k. If it has multiple paint jobs, the best is to get it to bare metal to see what foundation you have to build on. If you got rust in the rear window, my bet is you got it in the front windshield and possibly trunk and quarters and you just don't know it yet. To have a decent job done depending on where you are at I would say between $4k and $6k and that is with minimal repairs. At sheet metal repairs and the sky is the limit.

Mike