There's a big difference between what we can do ourselves and what pros can do. Unless you're a former painter or have learned how to do it as well as the pros, the job won't be the same. Besides all the prep work, wet sanding between coats, repairs, (if necessary) decal application, (skills involved here) clearcoat, etc., there's the paint and hardener, which is a lot better than a spray can. If you want your bodywork to be fuelproof, it has to have hardener in it. Have you looked into the hourly labor rate for body shops these days? It isn't pretty.desertrefugee wrote:
I dunno. I'm gonna have to throw a BS flag on the play here. We're not talking about show bikes. Whole nuther kettle of fish. Ain't no way on God's green earth there'd be a need to splash that kind of cash on a daily rider bike job. No doubt you'd get a nice job (you'd better). But, I suspect the folks responding to this poll paying $600'ish are getting pretty nice work.
The jury is still out on my job (and its price), but I expect to pay in the neighborhood of $200. A friend, but he says he'll make a little coin. Like I said, the end result will soon be known...
(Like I'd admit here if it's a dud!)
All that being said, $600 is probably a pipe dream if you want a bodyshop to do it for you. If a friend is willing to do it for cost of materials plus a little more for his time, that's great. And while I'm not expecting show quality work, I'm looking for a nice paint job when it's done - one that will hold up over time.