So after putting it off for a long-@ss time, I am finally getting my front and rear bumpers re-sprayed (along with at least a section of the hood where some paint is gouged out.)

Now I just went to Auto Value with my buddy who will be doing the work, and I just about choked when I got the total for all of the materials needed (paint, activator, primer, clearcoat, etc.): $789...We cut dow the price by not buying clearcoat from them and cutting down on the amount of paint, which took it to $645. Does this price sound reasonable??? I know paint is expensive, but damn!

We are using PPG Deltron paint. I am about to go pick up the paint and pay for it, so if anyone has some advice or comments in the next few hours, let's hear it!

Should I go with cheaper paint? I recall a body shop saying something about $200-$300 a bumper. Do they get their supplies way cheaper, or what?

 

Take the bumpers off, prep (clean and sand maybe bondo them) them yourself, and then take them in to be sprayed. That'll cut the cost down and you wont get any over spray. and definitly get clearcoat...

~Alex

 

Why do you think it would be cheaper to have a shop do them? Are materials cheaper for shops?

 

I said nothing about a shop. Take yo damn bumpers off your self! Then prep the bumpers your self.

~Alex

 

it will probably be cheaper to have a shop do it.
they already have all the materials that you're spending $$ on.
our materials is one flat charge at the shop (like 20-30), which includes the paper, the tape, and other shop materials (tack cloth usage, etc..)
get some estimates, you may come out cheaper.

 

That is about right for Deltron. Personally I would just use the OMNI line. Its good paint and will work fine. A quart of omni base is only $20 (all you will need) and a gallon of reducer is only $25 or so. You can get Omni clear for $100 a gallon (including hardener) but I am pretty sure you can get it in quarts as well.

A quart of omni 182 primer is only about $30 for everything.

stick with the system though...dont buy DBC (Deltron) base and a different clear. use all one system whether it be Omni or Deltron.

Now the only problem is that a lot of places will not guarantee the match on Omni even when they use the matching gun. I used it on my brothers Jeep (white which is the hardest to match) and it came out real close.

Trust me Omni is good stuff...not top of the line like Deltron but isn't bottom of the barrel either...I mean its still PPG.

 

I wonder how much it would be for Omni - the only problem is that I believe the Deltron paint is already mixed and waiting for pick-up.

What problems would be caused by using another kind of clear coat? This project is already WELL outside of my predicted price range.

 

BTW here are two directories of vehicles I have painted with Omni paint (primer, sealer, base, and clear...all Omni).

My old 92SE that I painted just before PA picked it up.


and an International Scout I painted for my neighbor. That thing was a basket case when I got it (rear quarters caved in as well as the end caps, front fender and door creased...rust behind the doors that had to be cut out...basket case.)


So as you can see you can get great results with Omni...beautiful shine.

 

then you should have asked before telling them to mix it...doh.

They make base and clear to go together (chemical makeup) so that it adheres correctly. I know a lot of people use different clears all the time but the pros usually say to stay in the same system so you can assure they will go together correctly.

and I posted what the omni will run in my post...those prices are close. I say no more than $250-$300 for all you need in Omni.

btw that does seem a little high for the Deltron too. How many quarts of color and clear did you buy. My guess is you bought way too much. You only need a quart of color (it mixes 1:1 so with reducer you wind up with 2 sprayable quarts which is plenty for bumpers and touch up on the hood or whatever). Is your friend going to blend the paint in on the hood or paint the whole thing?

 

I got a quote from a body shop (who mixes their own paint & is PPG brand, although not sure what line) to paint my entire max and the paint and materials cost was approx $650......

The mateirals I would have to pay for because that is the straight shop cost, but the labor is where I will be getting the break.

 

with the DBC you don't need activator..you just mix it w/ the reducer and it should flow out correctly. you can add the activator to "supercharge" the drying under heat lamps.

to paint a bumper you should only need a pint of base and 2 pints of clear with flex and reducer added. some primer/sealer if needed.

this shouldn't cost more than $300 bucks and i'm talking NYC prices too.

 

I was talking to yet another friend who knows bodywork and the like...He didn't have a high opinion of the omni line, but I suppose that is just one guy's opinion. PA's car does look nice. I doubt I could get the parts store to mix up another batch of paint at a cheap price, tho.

Then again, the shop where the painting will be done is 75 miles away and there is another Auto Value down there...

$800 for paint = no buying swaybars at this point...

 

Yeah you hear some hate the stuff and others love it. Omni is a good line though. I stayed away from it because I had a guy that said he didnt like it. I heard from others that said it was good so I finally decided to try it and have been using it since. For the money you just cant beat it.

I look at it like this. Think of Omni being Nissan and Deltron being Infiniti. There is nothing wrong with Nissan but its not the high end car of the two.

I have seen Omni jobs last a long time without problems.

Yes if you can afford it use the Deltron stuff but for a daily driver I see no reason not to use Omni.

 

and its all in the preparation of your care BEFORE you spray.... you can make up for some not so "high end" paint by making sure you take great care when prepping the car for the paint.

 

mike is the omni guy and i'm the deltron guy.

 

well with ANY body work prep is important.

what is more important is the skill of the painter.

you can hand a rookie the best spray gun in the world with the best paint but if he doesn't paint it correctly it'll all look like crap.

vice versa you can hand a good painter with a so so gun and so so paint...he can make the job look really good or at least decent.

 

no you dont understand...its not that I am an omni guy its just that I think omni is a good product and the best bang for the buck. If I had my choice and the money to invest hundreds upon hundreds on a paint job then I would choose Deltron in a heartbeat.

I look at it like this. For a daily driver thats going to get nicked, door dinged etc I will use omni because its a good paint that will last a long time.

For my Chevelle I will use Deltron because only the best will go on it. I have different priorities for different cars

 

Well, I just went and picked up the paint...a bit cheaper than I thought...All Deltron for $550. Still have yet to buy clearcoat. Shopline is a newer brand the store carries which I supposedly very good, and much cheaper, yet way better than Omni. If anyone has some decent clearcoat sitting around they want to hawk off to me, I'm looking...

Painting will take place sometime in the next month...Remember, I'm not only doing this for me, but also for you guys...you all deserve to see a proper, rust-free, nicely painted 3rd Gen at Maxus...

BTW, what holds the door trim on? If I can, I'd like to get rid of it...

 

so a noname clear (shopline) is WAY better than Omni which is PPG. Oh well everyone has their opinion...there is not a lick of difference between the non high end stuff to worry a lot about. Pretty much every product out there can give you a good paint job.

at that price tell me exactly what you got (amount of paint, reducers, amount of primer etc. etc.). I still say you got way too much material for that kind of money excluding clear.

Transtar is supposed to be a really good clear and is relatively inexpensive.

 

I thought you said stick with an entire line primer to clear coat? Or is transtar compatable with Deltron?

~Alex

 

gotcha...i just use deltron on everything.

 

Reciept info:

DIT 01DT860 1 Gal Cool Reducer $46.50
DIT 04DBC 3 QT Mixed Paint (White) 242.04
DIT 04KDBC 1 QT Mixed Paint (Gray) 80.68
DIT 04K36 2 QT Surfacer Primer 101.96
DIT 09K201 1 PT Primer Surface Catalyst 41.18

 

it is better to stick with the same line and not sticking with the same line voids any warranty. He has already said he isn't going to use Deltron clear so I was trowing out a clear I have heard some good things about. If you go to transtar's site they say its compatible with all base coats.

A lot of people use different clears with good results but it is still better to stick with a system because the chemical make up of the sealer, base and clear help them bond together for better performance.


also the clear I have heard good things about from Transtar is the Euro clear (7021) and the low V.O.C 3.5 clear (6771).

 

personally i stick with the same brand.

So it's DBC mid and recently for me concept 2020 for the clear (the numbers might be a little off..it could've been 2002) but they are all PPG products.

 

I am not rolling in money like you .

 

I actually might end up using Deltron Clearcoat...we'll see

 

concept is DCU2002 and DCU2021.

 

Post edited above...check out my list of stuff...

 

DIT 04DBC 3 QT Mixed Paint (White) 242.04

3 quarts?!?!?! are you using a roller to paint that bumper?

 

that's it....2021...too much paint fumes

 

yup there is your problem. You have WAY too much material. I can paint a whole car with 2 quarts of base (its a gallon sprayable since you mix it 1:1).

You should have gotten 1 qt of paint (white...instead of 3) and one quart or reducer (instead of a gallon).

you should have gotten a pint of gray (instead of quart).

You should have only gotten one quart of primer (instead of 2).

The only thing you didnt get too much of is the primer catalyst at 1 pt.

If your friend knows about painting I am not sure why he made you get so much material. That is a lot of money to waste. Oh well you can put the paint and reducer up to save it for later.


EDIT...I hope you bought some mixing cups so he mixes everything correctly. They sell them for PPG and are not but a buck or two each.

 

there's enough paint to do the entire car.
you sure you want him to paint your bumpers and hood?

for the other cans of mid...don't open them if you don't have to. exposure to air will make them go bad.

try to see if you can return the reducer since that's pretty generic...and pick up a smaller can.
maybe even returning some of the surfacer.

hopefully that can reduce the dent in your wallet.

also didn't notice any flex in the shopping list...are you painting the bumpers with them on the car?
i usually use it just so i don't have to freak out when i'm installing the bumper.

 

flex additive is your friend

with that much paint, you might as well see if he'll paint the entire car

---

as for the door moldings, if i'm not mistaken they are an adhesive molding,,,,,

 

moldings are adhesive, try to buy an eraser wheel to get the goo off.
3 quarts is way too much for 2 bumpers, but that's already been discussed so i wont beat a dead horse.
as far as brands go, i've used u-tech,kirker, ppg dbu, ppg dbc, spies, glasurit, in cost order, and i see minimal differances between them. i stick to dbu for most of my work, but i have intermixed products (doing the graphics on the 4th gen) with no problems. the 4th gen was painted with all glasurit, down to the clear, and it came out great, but not worth the extra cash. as far as base/clear options, i like the way transtar lays down, but takes too long to dry out of a booth, i've used mipa, limco(low end brand glasurit) and u-pol. the u-pol and mipa i used with fast hardeners, tough to tell how well they lay down normally, for a full paintjob they dried too quick. the limco gets tacky quickly, but still takes a while to dry, so it doesnt leave alot of dust in the paint and shines nicely.
like mike said, itll void warranty to intermix, but i dont believe in warranties anyway, theyre like insurance, if they can theyll screw you over anyway.

oddly enough i've never added flex to any of my bumpers for 2 reasons. the primer/base you put under it isnt flexible, therefore, if your bumper moves, itll cause that to crack off first and itll flake off anyway.
and most higher end clears have some flexibility in them anyway, so it's a waste to add more. i would suggest an adhesion promoter though, before the primer, so the primer sticks on better, and it doent hurt before paint either(but i havent used it much there) 11 bumpers and 3-4 years later, still no problems.........

 

my friend who paints adds the flex to all the layers.
it works for him.

 

the flex would just go in the primer/surfacer and clear. sorta like a flex sandwich.

 

yeah i heard that before and i thought about doing it...but didn't want to take the risk when i got frustrated and man handled the bumper cover or something and have the paint crack.

 

I never bother with it because urethane clear is flexible enough to allow you to install them and flex agent evaporates anyway. I think you would have to completely twist something in half before you make urethane crack.

I painted my kit and bumpers on my last car without any flex. Installed them on the car a couple of days later. Took them off the car and have moved them around repeatedly and have not had any cracking or any other problems.

I think the flex agent came into play with enamels or lacquers (don't know...just guessing). Urethane is very flexible and I have even heard pros say there is no need to use it.

BUT if it makes you feel safer then it sure doesn't hurt anything to use it. Sure enough if you usually use it and decide not to then that would be the one time it cracks on you.

 

LOL...if it cracks w/o flex i'm going to make you repaint it.