Dying To Paint My Town Car Below The Belt......Am I a Fool?

[DesertRatt]

My 2007 TV with canvas top is kind of silver blue. Nice original paint in good condition. BUT, I saw a Town Car where the below the belt area was painted a contrasting color and fell in love with that look.

I got two quotes form pro painters, and both were right around $2,000. (In California pollution rules raise the cost of any kind of spray painting). Anyway, I don't want to sink $2k in cosmetics. BUT, I still love the idea.

Ergo, I am researching how to paint it myself using low pressure spray gear (inexpensive). I'd like a charcoal gray.

The obvious questions:
1. Does anyone have one of the two-tone TCs?
2. Has anyone painted using these techniques (low pressure)?

 

[Brian J. Patterson]

My 2007 TV with canvas top is kind of silver blue. Nice original paint in good condition. BUT, I saw a Town Car where the below the belt area was painted a contrasting color and fell in love with that look.

I got two quotes form pro painters, and both were right around $2,000. (In California pollution rules raise the cost of any kind of spray painting). Anyway, I don't want to sink $2k in cosmetics. BUT, I still love the idea.

Ergo, I am researching how to paint it myself using low pressure spray gear (inexpensive). I'd like a charcoal gray.

The obvious questions:
1. Does anyone have one of the two-tone TCs?
2. Has anyone painted using these techniques (low pressure)?

Hi, DesertRatt.

I would be more likely to find a shop in Arizona to paint the car, if you have to have the car painted.

Painting a car and not having it look like a turd when you're done isn't easy, and doesn't always happen the first time you try. "Inexpensive" spray gear tends to give "un-impressive" results. And, it sounds like you don't plan to suddenly start restoring and repainting every car you can lay your hands on.

So my advice is this: Call two or three shops in Arizona that aren't too bad of a drive. You're in California, so driving "long" distances likely doesn't bother you. Price both the "below the beltline" spray and a full repaint.

Decide based on cost and the "bother" whether the $2000 paint job "in town" is better than traveling several hours to a shop in Arizona. Pick either one of the choices, or just enjoy the car as it is.

Painting the lower part of a car has so many things where it can go wrong, and you will be looking at the results until the day you sell the car, for good or ill. Or, if you decide you have to fix your home-paint-job-malfunction, that $2000 spray job will turn into at least a $3000 spray job because the body shop will have to remove your mistakes by hand before they can paint the car.

Good luck.

 

[DesertRatt]

Great comment! I'm only a few hours from the Phoenix area. I never thought of that! I'm going to dig into that and see what they say.

 

[DesertRatt]

New Plan! VINYL WRAP!

Duh! I don't know how I never thought of this.......I see wrapped cars and trucks every day in my area. The product lasts about 5 years, and my estimate is that the material would cost $175. And maybe another $50 for tools. All up, that's 1/10th of the quotes I had for paint. AND, if I really don't like it, peel it off!