Cost of a single-color paint job?

CudaChris67 said
apologies to the op as we are way off course, but I suspect you have a feeling for what you are in for.

Ink- bummer about your buddy getting bamboozled. Sounds like in that case the body shop owner that refused is doing him a favor. But if he is OK with that level of work (nothing wrong with that) I am sure a maaco or equivalent will happily finish it up. If he is looking for something beautiful like your car, he is going to have to pay someone to almost start over.

This gets into why I prefer to do the work myself. I have been burned by just about every type of car professional, from the jiffy lube, dealership, local mechanic etc.

So for matters of importance I learn to do it myself, or do incredible amounts of research/ seek referrals for anything I have to outsource.

As mentioned here and in other threads, doing it myself may not be the most cost effective; a significant investment in time and tools is needed for each auto discipline. But I do this for myself, it is my hobby- my version of football or golf or whatever else people do with their spare time.

After how got the car home and took the drill/sander to it he realized why my guy would not help him....and how right he was in refusing to do so. When I first got hooked up with my friend/body guy I asked him if there was anything I could do do help out with the price, I mentioned stripping the car down to bare metal. He told me that it will take him an hour or two to do it. And if saving the 50-60 bucks that this would is that big of a deal maybe I should look elsewhere. He prefers the car to have paint on it when he first starts on it, he uses it as a gauge of sorts to help figure out what he is up against. For me, if I am going to get a car painted I want it look as good as it should. And if that means paying someone for there services so be it. If it came down to me doing the body/paint in an attempt to save the funds it simply would not get done, the car would be one of those ones that has a restored drive train and a rough body....noting wrong with admitting that something is beyond your skill set....would you cut your wife open to remove a cancerous tumor to avoid paying what ever it took to have a skilled surgeon do it? Goofy analogy yes....but you get the point....