Wallet friendly painter recommendation

[Plastic Fantastic]

Looking for a wallet-friendly or budget Auto painting shop , my Fiero roughly needs one half of it painted very minor body work. Looking in the metro Atlanta area if anyone has any recommendations. Thanks.

[Fierofool]

There are two autobody and paint shops closely associated with the club.  Tha Driver in the Commerce area.  You can find his contact information by logging in, searching for his username then clicking on it.

John Champagne is in Douglasville.  He has not registered so his information will need to be given out with his permission.    Let us know if you want to contact him and I'll get that information.

There may be others that other members might recommend. 

Club meeting is this Saturday.  Come join us.  Maybe someone will have other recommendations.

[TopNotch]

"Wallet friendly" can mean a lot of things. Tha Driver is the absolute best you'll find anywhere, but probably not in the wallet friendly category.
I had both my Fieros painted at the Maaco in Snellville. I'll have one of them at the next meeting, so you can judge for yourself if they are acceptable if you come.

[Tha Driver]

"Wallet friendly" can mean a lot of things. Tha Driver is the absolute best you'll find anywhere, but probably not in the wallet friendly category.
I had both my Fieros painted at the Maaco in Snellville. I'll have one of them at the next meeting, so you can judge for yourself if they are acceptable if you come.

Thanks for that, Pat. But yeah, you can't spend the time I take to do it right & use the materials I use (for instance DP epoxy primer for best adhesion) & still be "wallet friendly". But I don't think you'll find anywhere else that does what I do for anything close to what I charge ($35 per hour), & I don't mark up any materials, like all other shops do.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Custom Fiberglass Parts

[GTRS Fiero]

Tha Driver, how much does it cost to have you repaint a Fiero (not red or silver, just a simple paint color).

For comparison, how much would it cost to have Maaco attempt the job?

[TopNotch]

Maaco -- $1200 - 1600 for a fairly decent job. Prep needed is the one of the main variables.

[GTRS Fiero]

A place here quoted me $19K for painting my Fiero.  Another place $6,500 over the phone, then refused when I showed up.

[Fierofool]

I paid a MAACO shop $1500 for a base/clear repaint.  Original color.  I had to have them repaint the roof because it had lots of white spots from a foreign material embedded in the paint.  The paint was supposed to be warranted for 5 years.  Spots started coming off the nose, hood and roof after 3 years.  They claimed it was stone chips.  They wouldn't honor their warranty.

The vehicle was totally stripped of all ground effects and rocker panels, the mirrors, quarter window trim panels, rear fascia, fuel filler door, and spoiler before delivery to them.  Don and I also reinstalled these pieces after the paint job. 

On the other hand, Don's car was painted at the same shop before mine and his paint job has held up nicely, other than for the damage done by sitting under an oak tree for several years.  My 86 was also painted at a different MAACO and other than physical damage to the paint it is holding up well.  Don's and my cars were one shot paint jobs without clearcoat.  I think each of those paint jobs cost less than my paint job. 

The quality of a MAACO depends largely upon the painter employed at the time you get the paint job.  One person may get a great paint finish and a month later, a different painter is there and you get a lousy job.  They are a production shop so they do things as quickly and cheaply as possible. 

[TopNotch]

It also depends on the shop owner. If the owner cares enough to email you about the progress, the job will probably be Ok.

[GTRS Fiero]

I think Maaco painted my brother's TA for about $600.  Fixing the door for by brother's MX-6 cost more.

[Tha Driver]

Tha Driver, how much does it cost to have you repaint a Fiero (not red or silver, just a simple paint color).

For comparison, how much would it cost to have Maaco attempt the job?

Every car is different. Does it still have the factory paint, or has it been painted before? If it's been repainted, all of that needs to come off, = more money.
I can tell you already know red & a lot of the pearls cost a lot more than other colors.
Quality of the paint varies greatly. On hi-end cars I like to use Sikkens. The last car I painted with that cost $1,800 just for a gallon of paint, a gallon of clear, & the two gallons of reducer & catalyst to go with them. I mostly use cheaper paints for street cars (& my own), such as Dupont Nason. In comparison, the Nason clear is around $150 for a gallon of clear & a quart of catalyst - the Sikkens is around $450. The Nason holds up very well.
I use PPG epoxy primer for the best adhesion. It's expensive, but nothing sticks as well as that to the car, & paint (& even bondo) sticks better to it than anything else. If work (repairs or mods) need blocking, I go over that with a 2K hi-build primer. After blocking I seal it with another coat of epoxy.
I like to completely disassemble the car, except for the roof panels, unless it's getting stripes/graphics that need to line up on the panels.
Most folks do a lot of the disassembly/reassembly themselves to save money.
Having said all that, I can estimate around $4,500 on average to paint a Fiero using the less expensive paint, if there is no damage or other problems or modifications to deal with.
If you wanted to do more prep here at the shop to save money, I'm happy to lend a few tools & offer instructions on how to properly sand & prep the car. 
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Custom Fiberglass Parts

[GTRS Fiero]

$4,500 isn't bad.  Certainly less than the quotes I was given here.

If you had been the person who had repainted the Fiero, is it more work to remove your painting, or did you mean for places that paint over the top of existing paint, that removing multiple layers of paint is more work?

Suppose only certain parts of the vehicle need to be repainted?  Basically, bumpers, hood (with headlight doors), A-pillars, and roof?  Maybe the front fenders.  Is that less work than painting the entire Fiero?

[Raydar]

Ideally, all the "repaint" coats need to be sanded off. Down into the original paint. Then primed and painted.

I'm not sure that was done with mine, and I can tell where the layers were, underneath. (It's not readily apparent if you aren't looking for it, but I can tell.)
I sanded it down to the original paint, and even to the plastic, in some places. I was depending upon my painter to prep and prime it correctly. I don't think that really happened, but the paint has held up well - flaws notwithstanding - for 14 years.

When i had my car painted, I removed the rockers, lower quarters, wheel wells, headlight doors and mirrors. The dew wipes were shot. I told them not to worry about them, as they were being replaced anyway.
I dumped all the pieces (mirrors, lower quarters, rear window frames and engine grills) into the passenger side floorboard and said "Paint these body-color too. I'll reinstall them." 
My paint job was $1800 in 2005.

Before...


After...
(This was before I replaced the wheels, and started modding suspension pieces.)

[GTRS Fiero]

I do not understand.  Your Fiero was an '88, which should have had black wherls.  I see grey wheels, in the pics.

[Raydar]

Aircraft stripper and Plasti-Kote. The color was "argent". Essentially dark gray.
The rims were polished, too. I spent quite a few days doing it.

Here...