Question...

"Bandit" (2bandit) 11/05/2013 at 19:22 • Filed to: emma

0

13

What is the proper etiquette when bringing a car to a body/paint shop? I want to know what I need to do when I bring Emma in. I am missing quite a few bolts, I probably can't remember where some go, and I'm sure others are rusted beyond usefulness, should I bring those in? My car's entire doghouse is off, is there anything I need to do with that? The car doesn't drive so I assume they will just push it places. My shaker scoop has a chip taken out of it and I won't get it fixed until after I get the car dropped off. Since I foresee my car being in the shop several weeks, could I bring it in a few days after the car us dropped off? Oh, and there may a slight chance that my shaker might not fit under my hood perfectly because of a carb spacer, is that my problem to figure out or theirs (a fix would most likely include modifying the air cleaner)? Is there anything else I should know? I'm totally new to this entire process.

George McNally > Bandit 11/05/2013 at 19:50

0

Back in about 1985, I had my Ford Fairmont painted at Earl Shiebs. Before I took the car in, I took all the moldings, grill, bumpers etc off and sanded the car down so all the paint was ready for primer.

I actually got a pretty decent result for what I paid.

Casper > Bandit 11/05/2013 at 20:00

2

Pushing it around isn't an issue (or shouldn't be). I generally just vet shops ahead of time. Ask them anything and everything I might want to know, then go from there. Ask them how they would prefer it. Some shops are really regimented, but that makes for quick turn around, others are more freewheeling, but that means timelines are a bit loose. I can't tell you how all shops are, but I can tell you how the guys I work with are.

Rolling chassis isn't an issue at the shops I work with, they are use to it since most people take them elsewhere to finish drivetrains and such. Cars in various states of dismantle are acceptable, but if you are missing hardware they are just going to charge me for it... which I prefer, since it's new hardware vs old crappy hardware. There isn't a big issue with dropping parts off later (to do all my body work it was about 4 months, so I was dropping all kinds of stuff off during that time).

As for the unknowns like the carb spacer, the guy I work with would go either way. He would probably mess with it for free up to a point, then call me and ask what I wanted to do while giving me a report of what he tried. Then probably suggest to modify the hood (he likes to do cool body stuff rather than just make things fit).

Bandit > Casper 11/05/2013 at 20:02

0

Thanks for the info.

theBKA > Bandit 11/05/2013 at 20:05

0

Short answer: clean it up as best you can. Painters want to paint not do a ton of prep work. Do as much cleaning up and removing of stuff you don't want painted as possible. Also if you know how to properly prep and mask do as much of that as you can too. The best thing you can do is call your shop and ask them what would be best to do. It shows you care about their time too which can score you some good guy points.

theBKA > Bandit 11/05/2013 at 20:05

0

Short answer: clean it up as best you can. Painters want to paint not do a ton of prep work. Do as much cleaning up and removing of stuff you don't want painted as possible. Also if you know how to properly prep and mask do as much of that as you can too. The best thing you can do is call your shop and ask them what would be best to do. It shows you care about their time too which can score you some good guy points.

Casper > Bandit 11/05/2013 at 20:07

0

What all are you looking to have done?

Bandit > Casper 11/05/2013 at 20:11

0

Have any dents worked out, have them fix one small rust hole in a location that can't be seen and correct the POs patch on my doors, new paint (going from a crappy purple paint job the last owner did in her back yard to black - the previous owner did sand the body to the metal though so there isn't much sanding to be done), have them put on and align the body panels, put on the factory decals.

Bandit > theBKA 11/05/2013 at 20:14

0

The shop owner (owns a collision shop and is a friend of a friend) likes what I am doing and told me the price would be the same for me if I brought the car in disassembled or not. There is some body work to be done so that needs to be tackled too.

Casper > Bandit 11/05/2013 at 20:16

0

Ah, yeah then I would ask them their preferences and opt for some new hardware if you have the budget. It will be nice to have everything looking good at the same time rather than some old rusty hardware in nice painted hinges and such.

Bandit > Casper 11/05/2013 at 20:23

0

Yeah, let's see how far a high schooler budget can go.

Casper > Bandit 11/05/2013 at 20:24

0

Just be up front with them about the budgets. Restoration costs a lot more than you would think in many cases. Help them run down what they can and can't do for your budget before you get 80% done and come up short.

Bandit > Casper 11/05/2013 at 20:35

0

Yeah, the guy quoted me $3,000 for everything (after pointing out a '79 Trans Am he had in the shop that he did all the work on for $6,500). He told me the paint job would be show quality. I can just barely swing 3 - 3.5k, $6,500 would be impossible. I need to have at least some money for college.

A3R0 > Bandit 11/05/2013 at 21:21

0

What color are you painting it? I'm going to assume your painting it black and gold. Is it a real black and gold?