We have an older F-150 truck that looks abysmal and could really use a paint job (white paint). If I were to take this vehicle to a body shop, what should I expect on an estimate?

Thanks in advance.

Painting the whole thing? Or just like hood, roof, etc.

Its all very dependent on what you want to spend and what you're ok with. If you just dont want the neighbors to laugh/complain, you can go to Maaco and call it good. If its a 1960 Ford Truck and you want to win a car show, then you'll need to spend more money or go to a good place.

Painting itself really isnt hard. The tough part is all in the prep work.

Improper prep can make the difference between a good paint job and a great paint job.

Year of the truck?

2001 F-150. Its not a show piece or anything even close to that. The clear coat has come off and it looks god awful.

I rolled and tipped my 1998 when the clear coat failed.

It looks like it rolled and tipped the car but since I already had all of the sand paper, tape, blocks, filler and glaze, it only cost me an hour every night for a week and about $100 in supplies.

All over the truck or just the horizontal surfaces?

The entire truck needs painted.

Has the clear coat come off or is it just oxidized? If it is just heavily faded, a polish or at worst, wet sanding will fix it.

If the clear coat has failed, how much of the truck has it failed on?

Truck runs like a million bucks, and painting should be a lot cheaper than a new truck. I have no idea what to expect, hence this thread.

Dip that **** brah

LSCSN said:

---

pardon my ignorance....what is this dip?

---

Tool dip. Peelable paint. It's temporary, but it can look good.


Dip is usually a matte color, but they have new types that are metallic or a weird gloss. A full dip can be 500-800 bucks, and is still only temporary. They can last a couple years at best.





I would talk to a real body shop about doing a "paint correction" job. It might be cheaper than you think. They will basically use the factory paint and touch up the bad places, then blend it in to the good places.

Don't go to Maaco or Earl Scheib.

the dip looks interesting. does anyone in BCS do that? I am way too lazy to try this.

I mean you can spend $599 for a "good" Maaco paint job, or you can spend $4000+ dollars at a reputable body shop.

Most of the cost is in the materials and prep work (removing things like lights. door handles, grilles, plastic unpainted trim, covering wheel wells, masking glass, etc.

This truck is probably worth 3000 bucks. If you dont mind dumping some money into it, you'll have a nice looking "no payment" vehicle. maybe find some good independent places in Bryan that would charge 1500/2K for a decent respray?

A co worker recently bought a city of Galveston work truck(it was the IT departments, so hardly any miles). The paint was ok with a few small rough spots. He only paid $1k for the truck so he decided to get it repainted. He went the Macco route and it looked good. I think he spent $1k on the paint job maybe a little less so he didn't get the cheapest paint job they offer. To me that's the route I'd go in your situation. It'll improve the look of the truck, but not sink a bunch of money in it. After all the truck is 18 years old.

White paint on a glorified work truck?

Find the best rated Maaco near you and get the single stage cheap paint job and call it a day.

Anything else seems like way overdoing it IMO...

1agswitchin4lanes said:

---

I mean you can spend $599 for a "good" Maaco paint job, or you can spend $4000+ dollars at a reputable body shop.

Most of the cost is in the materials and prep work (removing things like lights. door handles, grilles, plastic unpainted trim, covering wheel wells, masking glass, etc.

This truck is probably worth 3000 bucks. If you dont mind dumping some money into it, you'll have a nice looking "no payment" vehicle. maybe find some good independent places in Bryan that would charge 1500/2K for a decent respray?

---

I've always wondered, does pulling trim and other stuff that shouldn't be painted have much of an impact on the price you'll pay for a paint job?

The Fife said:

---

1agswitchin4lanes said:

---

I mean you can spend $599 for a "good" Maaco paint job, or you can spend $4000+ dollars at a reputable body shop.

Most of the cost is in the materials and prep work (removing things like lights. door handles, grilles, plastic unpainted trim, covering wheel wells, masking glass, etc.

This truck is probably worth 3000 bucks. If you dont mind dumping some money into it, you'll have a nice looking "no payment" vehicle. maybe find some good independent places in Bryan that would charge 1500/2K for a decent respray?

---

I've always wondered, does pulling trim and other stuff that shouldn't be painted have much of an impact on the price you'll pay for a paint job?

---

They tend to charge shop rate to do that. So yeah it adds up

The Fife said:

---

1agswitchin4lanes said:

---

I mean you can spend $599 for a "good" Maaco paint job, or you can spend $4000+ dollars at a reputable body shop.

Most of the cost is in the materials and prep work (removing things like lights. door handles, grilles, plastic unpainted trim, covering wheel wells, masking glass, etc.

This truck is probably worth 3000 bucks. If you dont mind dumping some money into it, you'll have a nice looking "no payment" vehicle. maybe find some good independent places in Bryan that would charge 1500/2K for a decent respray?

---

I've always wondered, does pulling trim and other stuff that shouldn't be painted have much of an impact on the price you'll pay for a paint job?

---

Yup.

Back when I first graduated from A&M and was lolpoor, I bought an ex DPS Crown Victoria (what a surprise!)

I had it painted at Maaco...TWICE.

The first time after they painted, the paint chipped off a month later when I was using my sprayer to wash the car.

I took it back and spoke to the guy and he said he'd make it right. We started chatting and I asked to see the shop, out of curiosity. When I got back there to the work area, the people doing the prep work were basically using a scotch brite pad that you would use to scour your pots and pans with, and scuffing the paint down enough for the Maaco paint to bite. They spray a primer, and then a clear coat which has the color in it, so there was no additional painting after that, vs a Base coat, clear coat, wet sand/buff. I was a little surprised, but the second paint job looked pretty good. Good enough to drive it to work and be presentable anyway.

That being said, every Maaco is different, as there are some franchises where I've seen amazing work come out of their shop. It all depends on the people. I've also seen folks do a lot of the removal at home, lights, trim, masking, removing weatherstripping etc, and then putting the car on a trailer and carrying it up there to let them prep the surface and spray.

On a truck that old, I'd just go the Maaco route. But find a good Maaco. As others have said, they can vary a lot in quality. I've seen some pretty decent paint jobs come out of the Maaco on Old Spanish Trail, if you're in Houston. I'm talking about the fancy glittery/multishade paint jobs. But I don't know if they put that much attention into the basic paint job.

Thoed candy paint drippin' off the slab?

I had my 1992 Chevy Z71 painted at a Maaco back in 2000. Think I spent $700. The truck was splotchy, with the paint flaking off in various sections, exposing the grey underneath.

I was completely satisfied with the results from Maaco. I even bought new Z71 stickers to put on the bed. Transformed the look of the truck and still looked great after 4 years when I sold it.

I wouldn't hesitate to go that route again