Looking for a fair-priced body shop that does good work.

[Geoff]

Looking for a shop that can do some small
metal work, some media blasting and paint
a car in PPG base/clear.
Don't want a shop that will keep my car for
a long period. A few months max.

Will consider all shops in the metroplex, but
prefer north of Dallas area.


Thanks,

Geoff.

[557B210]

Geez Geoff....You want it all; don't you....(Just replied to get you back to the top :) )

[Geoff]

Thanks for the bump.

Yep,
All I ask is that they do me a good job at a fair price within a reasonable
timeline and I'll pay them on time with a check that will
not bounce. No drama, no excuses.

Is this asking too much these days? ;)

[CharlieC]

Is this asking too much these days? ;)

Part of me wants to say, YES! :)

You only want to pay by the hour, all will want you to pay as they go and you should plan on about 30% more than you initially think it should be.

Wherever you go, ask for time-task accounting so you can see where the hours went. Some items will make sense, some won't. I started this but didn't keep it up, but I should have.

It was 1 year ago yesterday that I brought mine to the paint shop for a 6-7 month stay. The metal work is top notch, they brought up things that I didn't know needed to be done, I did things I didn't know I wanted to do and they redid things I thought were fine, but it was the right decision to redo. It all depends how particular you are, how detailed you want them to be and the quality of a job you really want, which might be more than what you've convinced yourself is all you need.

When I finally get to go down the road in my car, the extra 6 months and extra $ I spent, will be a distant memory, but it sure is painful right now. :)

I got a pic today showing the underside is painted with the body getting ready to go back on the frame for the last time.

Charlie

[roger1]

Did you ask that guy over in Bluff Dale?

[Chevynut]

I got a pic today showing the underside is painted with the body getting ready to go back on the frame for the last time.

Charlie

So where is it? :rolleyes::confused0006::)

[CharlieC]

I'm not convinced they didn't Photoshop it so I'm going there tomorrow and bringing a bunch of loose parts and see for myself. :) The original pic looks better than this one I sized down...

http://www.mygaragestore.com/personal/under.jpg

Charlie

[mickym521]

Geoff, I spent a LONG time looking for a body shop to do the body and paint work. I wanted a bodyman that had hands on experience with older body metal-not some kid doing "apprentice work". A complete stranger gave me a tip on a local guy. When I went to his shop there was a 56 Chevy wagon and a 64 Impala SS in his shop. Excellent cars! They were his. Four months later he called me to come and do an inspection to see if I was happy. I drove it home 2 days later( a painted shell with no glass and 1 seat). What I am saying is find a older body man who has experience on these old cars.

[Rick_L]

Of course the biggest problem on these deals is they take the car in and then they don't work on it as promised, because they are either doing jobs that bring in cash this week or they never intended for yours to be anything other than something they'd work on "when they got a chance". Or they do a flurry of work up front and then let it sit.

I don't see any problem with weekly or twice monthly payments. If you can't go by every week and check progress, have them email you photos of progress and something written on time spent or scope of work performed. The better businessmen in the trade will do that. But don't pay them in full in the progress payments, leave a lump sum at the end for incentive for them to finish and incentive that it's done to your satisfaction.

[Geoff]

Guys,

That's some great feedback, thanks.

I realize that everybody has to make a living, but some of the prices
I've heard to refinish cars are kinda unbelievable. To me, it's no
wonder that the rat rod thing got popular, it's one of the only affordable
ways for kids to get into the hobby and express themselves.

I am not cheap and I don't mind paying a professional for their labor, when it's the professional working on it. When I read where somebody said that the local rod shop STARTS their paint jobs at $20k, I just had to laugh.
You can buy a pretty darn decent driver tri-five with nice paint for not much more than that paint job.
I basically know what it takes to paint a car, I worked part time in body shops as a kid and prepped/painted a couple of my own cars.
Things have changed, but the same basic process still happens when prepping/painting.


I have a friend who has a nice little shop and would do a GREAT paint job
for around $10k. I actually saw some $5-6k paint jobs he did on nice
cars that looked very, very good. He would be painting my cars except that he was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor and can't do it anymore.

Looking for a shop that will treat me right, and I will treat them even better.

[Geoff]

I'm not convinced they didn't Photoshop it so I'm going there tomorrow and bringing a bunch of loose parts and see for myself. :) The original pic looks better than this one I sized down...

http://www.mygaragestore.com/personal/under.jpg

Charlie

Charlie,

The bottom of your car is looking great!! (Why am I not surprised?) :)

I'm not looking to go to anywhere near that level with my convertible. I'm trying to make mine a sharp looking driver.

Going with original colors and will paint the bottom in a finish that looks like the original red oxide primer. I'll probably do that part myself, so it won't even need to be a rotisserie paint job. I've got a nice rust-free hood, fenders, etc, so that stuff should just be straightforward body work.

Nick P. put a complete floorpan and rockers in it, so there shouldn't be
much to do on the bottom of the car. No roof to finish, so I think my car should be a pretty simple job. I might need a quarter put on, but I'm gonna get a couple of body gurus to look at that.

Can't wait to see how your car turns out! I bet it's gonna be incredible.

[TWINCAM666]

as soon as I get up and running I will show you guys some of my work. I been in the business since 1981 and have done plenty older stuff.....Still looking for a suitable location though.............

[inferno]

I am doing the work myself on my 57. Taking a ROP class in a local high school. This way I know the kind of work that is done to it, and its my way. Lots of work but very rewarding. Good luck.