[TucsonJay]

Thanks "Widetrack". Today I see the cost of good paint and body being really prohibitive to younger family guys. They are opting to go with the cheaper solutions, just to be able to build.

The guys that usually hire me are 50 to 80... have raised their family... have peaked in their career... have some money to make things possible... and they just want it done RIGHT!

Unfortunately, many of them have enough life-experience to understand what is happening in our leadership. The obvious future of the economy is scaring some of them away from finishing their projects. Good thing I intend to semi-retire in a few years!!! {:-)

I will continue to "rock on" as long as the phone keeps ringing.

[69 widetrack]

I'm semi retired now and doing what I love when I love to do it, my customers are I' say between 50 and pushing 80 as well. Your right about the cost of products being prohibitive...it's sad when you realize that to paint a car with high end product...it's at least $1,000. The last big frame off job I did was closer to $2,500.

[gearheadslife]

I'll take a mid grade paint system and correct body work over the high end paint over the "well it'll last 18 months " body work under it

to many get hung up on, well this shop uses this high end paint system. over the total job..

[69 widetrack]

Originally Posted by gearheadslife

I'll take a mid grade paint system and correct body work over the high end paint over the "well it'll last 18 months " body work under it

to many get hung up on, well this shop uses this high end paint system. over the total job..

I think of it this way, a good painter can make mid grade paint look good, a bad painter can't make high end paint look good.

[gearheadslife]

people did hella good jobs with a lot less not all that long ago..
most times the mid grade paint job ,scares the owner into not driving it. and then ,sells because it's never used.. it's become a life sized hotwheels..
owners have got pissed at my dad when he'd try to talk them out of the mid/high paint systems on a driver.. try'n to explain.. they'll be afraid to get a chip in it and chance a wreck..
some don't hear what he said untill it's sat in their garage for a year + and seen one or two shows because they can't enjoy it.. as they are freaking out driving it.. and the next car.. gets what daddo. advises after talking to them on what they want out of the CAR. when done..

[deadbodyman]

Originally Posted by 69 widetrack

I think of it this way, a good painter can make mid grade paint look good, a bad painter can't make high end paint look good.

Man,you said it right there...but a even a really good high end painter cant make SS metallic look as good as a macco painter can...That is, even if he wanted too ...man, they can spray the heck out of that cheap stuff...But some of that good stuff is awful hard to mess up ....I hit the side mirror and stopped dead in my tracks and was spacing out and didnt let off the ttrigger I knew I'd sure enough get a nice run because I do it a lot but that SW SS kadac yellow never ran I couldnt believe it ,same with the spi clear ,it really makes me look a lot better than I really am.

[deadbodyman]

I pulled an 05 monty in the shop to fix a damaged door ,a few hours later I was finished and closed the door when I heard something hit the floor ,when I turned around it was any bodymans nightmare....A hudge chunk of bondo just fell out of the 1/4 about 12"x12"and about 1 1/2" thick...IT JUST FELL OUT...I never even touched the 1/4, someone had used a slide puller (I think just for the holes) because it was still shinny paint underneath ,the holes were all that it was holding onto...
The shape of it looked like the state of Texas ,so I saved it and hung it up...Look to theleft of the booth window,its hanging under the shelf...

A couple years later it happend again on an 80 something Porche but this time it looked like the state of Fla...I saved that one too...I sure hope my United states of bondo collection ends here I'd hate to end up any more...Or whats next ..... Jesus or the virgin Mary

[painted jester]

deadbodyman:

I was working on an old Mopar Engine and trans install a few months ago!! I lowered the engine and bumped the cross member hard and a 3 foot x one foot piece droped out of the quarter LOL It was a good 6 inches thick It must have been 30 LB.'s !!!!! It was so funny the owner was there with his buddy's talking about what good shape it was in, Everyone was laughing but the owner LOL

Jester

[boatbob2]

Hi all,please post photos of the bondo chunks that fall out,we can all use a good laugh...........

[painted jester]

How about the old news articles from the papers stuck in the hole with the mud or the piece of wood and window screen

Whats the wierdest thing we found that was used to fill a hole or brace the mud !

I found an old "Negro Quepy doll) in a 54 ford in the quarter panel bracing the filler!! LOL

Jester

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/atta...1&d=1355249473

[diggers]

Had an old junk ranger used great stuff on the bed sides above the wheels on bothsides where rotted out duraglassed over that then filler.Lasted almost three years lol

[deadbodyman]

I knew an old guy that was a heavy equipment operator that had an old P/U with a rotted out floor...One day when the cement truck had poured a footing for a bridge he decided while he was sitting around that he would get some of that mesh and fix that hole, then he scraped up some cement that fell on the ground and threw that over the mesh ....worked like a champ he said, until a coulpe months later.....He was driving down the highway and a chunk of it fell out and blew his tire when he ran over it....Funny ,yes but it could have killed him...or worse someone else....

[tech69]

Originally Posted by 69 widetrack

I think of it this way, a good painter can make mid grade paint look good, a bad painter can't make high end paint look good.

don't forget the prepper. I was hurting for money one time and did the body and prep on this car, the painter was blown away by it. Should have seen his work he did by himself-lol. Half of what people glamour over is the bodywork/prep and buffing. I've seen cars get high reviews with slightly mottled paint, mismatched parts, but with good prepping. If I want to know about the painter I put a lot of emphasis on masking, how the jambs look, what his eyes can catch, and how he game plans. The foundation is good spraying.

[69 widetrack]

Right, Right and did I mention that you where Right...Prep is the major part on any paint job...With out good prep, there is no reason to paint a vehicle...I won't...I used to send vehicles back to the prep line when I worked flat rate and even when I worked straight time. People do get excited and the laymen will call poor prep work a bad paint job...and in a way I guess their right...it shouldn't have been painted.

Now that I'm in a position to work on the vehicles I want to work on and when I want to work on them...I insist I do all my own prep work...That way I know that it's done to the standards I want...It used to take me months to train a good prep person and a good prepper is way under rated and deserves to get paid in the same range as a good painter...they go hand in hand.

Ray

[mr4speed]

Always said the best paintjobs are all in the blocking and buffing skills, period. You could put a bad paint job on good prep work and possibly salvage it as long as there is enough material to sand into for buffing. But if the prep on the blocking end of it is bad (ripples) then I don't care how good you can paint or buff the end result will still look bad. I am probably my own worst enemy with being critical on the blocking end of it, and wont stop until it is right and ready to spray. Then the work begins all over again when it's time to start wet sanding and buffing, this is where all the hard work really pays off. By the way Ray, I have had a few AMC muscle cars myself. Started off with the 304 powered gremlin X's, then picked up a hurst sc/rambler, then a 69 AMX with the 390 go pak and 4 speed. Unfortunately had to sell the sc/rambler a few years back (thanks to this economy). The AMX was sold back in 97, and the gremlins had a lot of fun with swapping out the bigger 343 and 360's. How long have you been into the AMC's?