Machspeed Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Hi Matthew, I'm also in Atlanta, and have done similar work on my truck to what you're doing. I took it to Jake and Donnie at Bulldawg Collision in Gainesville and they did rust repair and paint. They also worked with Line-X of Lanier across the street from them) to bedline from firewall to tailgate. The interior was original paint before it was bedlined, but they also did a freshly painted rear bumper in Line-X (no curing period) and a fiberglass top. When they did the paint and bodywork, they took off the fenders, doors, tailgate, hood, glass, rubber and all trim prior to masking and painting the whole car. At this point there is a small patch of the original color behind the drivers kick panel. Other than that it would not be possible to find out what color it was before. They did lots of rust repair on the original panels and that was extremely high quality metalwork. Their price was also extremely reasonable. I will echo what others have already said: how long will it take? Bulldawg was not particularly fast. I'm embarrassed to tell you how long they took, but it was about an order of magnitude longer than they said they would. They did it for the quoted price but had no sense of urgency whatsoever. The lengthy time in the shop is most likely due to the fact that Autobody shops make their money in collision. That is where the real money is and typically a quick fix. When a collision job comes in, the resto work is pushed to the back and the collision work taken on. Moreover, many shops today won't even touch a resto. Keep us posted on what you end up doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machspeed Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Matthew - You saw Big Blue. My paint/body man, John, eyeballed it when I first got it and gave me a guesstimate of $6K. The rust is showing through above the rear wheel wells and there's obviously Bondo in the cab corners. Otherwise it is pretty solid. And I'll second the "order of magnitude" statement of time to complete. For some reason those guys have no sense of time nor urgency. Maybe they are all artists? We engineers have a hard time dealing with that. Gary, if he fixed the rear wheel wells, cab corners, and fully painted your truck for $6k, you got a heck of a deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Matthew - You saw Big Blue. My paint/body man, John, eyeballed it when I first got it and gave me a guesstimate of $6K. The rust is showing through above the rear wheel wells and there's obviously Bondo in the cab corners. Otherwise it is pretty solid. And I'll second the "order of magnitude" statement of time to complete. For some reason those guys have no sense of time nor urgency. Maybe they are all artists? We engineers have a hard time dealing with that. Gary, if he fixed the rear wheel wells, cab corners, and fully painted your truck for $6k, you got a heck of a deal! I haven't taken him up on it. Just wanted a ball park. He said as dry as it is here to just drive it and enjoy it. And that's what I plan to do. Some day I'll have the paint and body work done. Some day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 The lengthy time in the shop is most likely due to the fact that Autobody shops make their money in collision. That is where the real money is and typically a quick fix. When a collision job comes in, the resto work is pushed to the back and the collision work taken on. Moreover, many shops today won't even touch a resto. Keep us posted on what you end up doing? My 86 is another case of 'will be done in X, but took YYYY....'. John is exactly right about the collision work. Some of the delay on mine was due to collision jobs that came in but it was also due to it being a small, independent shop and in order to provide some job security the shop had a gentlemen's agreement with a couple local guys that did restorations where their jobs took priority even if something was already in progress. Good to know this stuff about a shop upfront to set expectations so neither party gets frustrated. Around here I got quotes all over the place. Several shops wouldn't even consider it due to the size and time investment. Are you having the pinstripes applied as tape or painted on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Gary, if he fixed the rear wheel wells, cab corners, and fully painted your truck for $6k, you got a heck of a deal! According to the local shops here, it's $6000 to paint a car, and that is assuming that it needs little to no body repair work. That's Canadian mind you, so our pricing varies wildly from the US, but overall the general consensus these days is that $5000 gets you a backyard shop type of job (for a truck) and $6000-$8000 is a "good deal". Of course the quality of work varies wildly too. I spent around $8000 on mine, and that was with me doing a bunch of my own disassembly and assembly work. The shop that did mine only uses the water based base/clear paint, which I'm told is very expensive. Most of the bigger shops here do not use the single stage paints anymore. I must say though, this shop did a lovely job, and went the extra mile on a lot of it. Some pieces, like my steps for example, were painted inside and out, which goes a long way in preventing rust from reoccurring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Are you having the pinstripes applied as tape or painted on? Probably tape, given that the widest stripe isn't really what I think of as a 'pinstripe': I believe I measured it once at 3/4" wide, that doesn't seem like something that would be painted by hand. I was hoping to get this done for closer to $5K, but it looks like I need to be prepared for more. I'll have to think how to break the news to the wife... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66gtk Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Are you having the pinstripes applied as tape or painted on? Probably tape, given that the widest stripe isn't really what I think of as a 'pinstripe': I believe I measured it once at 3/4" wide, that doesn't seem like something that would be painted by hand. I was hoping to get this done for closer to $5K, but it looks like I need to be prepared for more. I'll have to think how to break the news to the wife... $5k won't get you much around here. It certainly wouldn't get any body work that I wouldn't be ashamed of. I bought my truck in non operational condition. The interior was original but crispy from the sun and the whole truck was in original unmolested condition except for one thing.... It had been recently repainted, and done properly. Add that the truck was drier than a popcorn fart with no rust or accident damage and it was a no brainier for me at the asking price. Paint and body work are very expensive. You get what you pay for and a very busy shop who can't get you in for months or even a year is a good thing! That means they are likely good at what they do (assuming their work looks good to you and references are good). Beware of over promising shops with low prices. Worse case with these outfits is they will use your first payment to make payroll one last time and close the shop after they dismantle your truck. And don't even think of having body work and paint done by separate shops. You want your shop to be able to stand fully behind their work and make things right start to finish and beyond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 Are you having the pinstripes applied as tape or painted on? Probably tape, given that the widest stripe isn't really what I think of as a 'pinstripe': I believe I measured it once at 3/4" wide, that doesn't seem like something that would be painted by hand. I was hoping to get this done for closer to $5K, but it looks like I need to be prepared for more. I'll have to think how to break the news to the wife... I don't believe I've seen your truck with hubcaps Matthew. I really like the look! The pinstripe kicking up at the rear of the window is a nice touch too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 I don't believe I've seen your truck with hubcaps Matthew. I really like the look! The pinstripe kicking up at the rear of the window is a nice touch too. Matthew, let me save you [and your wife] some money and stress... leave it like it is! It can only be original once and your truck has such nice patina and it has a great story to go with it. Drive it "as is" and be proud that you have the only one like it. Anybody can have a truck painted, but how many have one so original as is yours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share Posted October 29, 2020 Matthew, let me save you [and your wife] some money and stress... leave it like it is! It can only be original once and your truck has such nice patina and it has a great story to go with it. In my heart of hearts, I am in complete agreement with you. I have no problem myself with the appearance, and as you say, it's only original once. But...there's the matter of rust. Consider the progression over the years: 2002: 2010: 2020: It's mostly surface rust at this point aside from the lower rear bed corners, but it won't remain that way indefinitely. My goal is to keep the truck running until 2050 at least (my grandfather drove it until he was 80, and if I do the same that will be 2050...but if Dominic then wants to carry on until HE is 80, that will be 2085 and the truck will be 105...), and I don't think that will be possible without a protective repaint. Plus, there's the matter of that sweet eBay tailgate you helped me score a while back...it's been sitting in the basement here ever since, I'd really like to get it on someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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