I have a 72' that I bought 11 years ago for my first vehicle. I promised my self that I would have it painted, that was five years ago. After talking to some local body shops about quotes I don't have the $3000 for the cheapest shop to do the job. I was debating about doing the painting myself or taking it to a local Maaco. My question to you guys is how much would materials cost and what type of paint would be best. I am wanting to go with the factory Orange Flame paint but in a base coat/clear coat. The cars body is in good shape considering I have put on a new body shell with good doors and fenders. Any advice on how I should go about getting her painted would be appreciated.

Well Sportster, your question isn't really that long, but the whole answer should would be! 1st question you have to ask yourself is; Can I do this myself? We can't answer that for you. You and you alone can.
Second question; Do you have the tools and resources to do this? Again, only you can answer this. We'd be more than glad to instruct you along the way as much as possible along the way. Have you done body work before? What condition is your car in?

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Triple Black 69 SS 396

Do yourself a favor and have someone knowledgeable about paint to total up the complete material cost and you will see that 3 grand to paint your car is looking like one heck of a bargin, remember this is not a saturday afternoon job, at the least it is going to take, and this is shop hrs, 40-50 to do the job.

Sportster, this is a tough one to get in detail on a forum. If you visit this site >>>http://www.autobodystore.com/cgi-bin/config.pl? <<<< You should find all your answers. Go through the archives or just ask a question. This sight also has some great videos on painting coincidentally called "painting 101".

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1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T

Thanks for the replys. I know I didn't give too much detail about my car so here it is. I've started a frame off and have replaced every thing or rebuilt everything from the ground up. I bought a body shell that needed a new trunk (It had new Quaters put on and floor was in good shape) and had it replaced. I bought two fenders that have a few chips but no rust. I am currently looking for two doors to replace the ones I have now. Once I get the doors the majority of the work from what I can tell is lining up the seems and doing the prep work. A friend of mine said he would help me with the painting. I can't realy afford to spend more than $1500 due to trying to buy a house and I know if I find a house before I start on the car I probably wont have the funds to do it. thanks for the advice

I have the Painting 101 video Martin Sr is reffering to and I think it will answer your questions. After viewing it you may change your mind about the bc/cc. The single stage urethane is much easier to repair if you end up with any flaws.
Hopefully, I will soon have my Elky "Ol Paint" in shiny red paint thanks to the video and advice from the guys at the Autobody website.

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Elcaminos are special!

I'd rather walk around with a Chevrolet hubcap in my hand than drive a Ford


work in progress
Big James Elky(AKA Ol Paint) (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Big%20James4XL-Ol%20Paint1.jpg)
another shot of Ol Paint (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Big%20James4XL-Ol%20Paint2.jpg)

er---- big jim --- shouldn't that title be " no paint " !! do yourself a favor -- strip that primer, and cover the steel w/ epoxy primer !

You're right junkvette! I will be going back to bare metal and removing the old primer. Going to use Sherwin Williams ecthing filler then another 2 part primer, then paint.

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Elcaminos are special!

I'd rather walk around with a Chevrolet hubcap in my hand than drive a Ford


work in progress
Big James Elky(AKA Ol Paint) (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Big%20James4XL-Ol%20Paint1.jpg)
another shot of Ol Paint (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Big%20James4XL-Ol%20Paint2.jpg)