[BelmontMan]

I'm considering giving my MINI a custom paint job, it is currently BRG. I have never had a car painted before so I have two questions;

1) Does anyone out there know how much a new paint job cost? I live near San Francisco so the labor would be high. It would be non-metallic and I would keep the roof and mirrors white. I would also get the door jams, under the hood, etc. painted.

2) Would doing this dramatically lower the resale value of the car? I know it would if I had it painted a gross color nobody liked. But just the fact that it wasn't a factory paint job lower the value?

Thanks-I appreciate any input you can give me.

[teridrag]

It may lower the resale because it would raise the question as to what you might be trying to cover up (damage?), it would lower the resale if it is not a top-of-the-line job with clear coat and all ... i.e. strip first, prime, solid paint, clear coat, etc. You can get a "basic" paint from $600, but a good one could be as high as $2000.
Why do you want to change the color??

[MINIAC]

Regarding your questions:

1. Seeing that a SF body shop wanted over $5K to do an original color bare metal repaint of my BMW 2002 tii in 1990, I shudder to think what it would cost to do a (quality) repaint of a car today ... especially a color change where a lot more labor would be involved in painting the door jams and underhood parts.
   
2. I think it would hurt your resale value because I'm sure you could always find some parts which showed the orginal color, not to mention it might raise the questions pointed out in the previous post.

There are a lot of other ways to spend that money in customizing your MINI and making it unique ... and quicker

[xplode]

what they said.

i had to have four panels re-sprayed because some nit-wit keyed it (bonnet, front quarter, door, rear quarter) and it was $800 total. the result is pretty impressive, colour-matching is perfect, but it's not something i would want to go about doing to my car unless i had to...

just out of interest; what colour are you considering?

[BelmontMan]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I hadn't thought about the one .... "what are you trying to cover up?".... but I guess it would be natural for somebody to wonder if the car had been wrecked or damaged.

I also don't think it would be worth doing unless the quality was top notch, ie. very expensive. I guess I should drive it around to a couple of local body shops for estimates.

[BelmontMan]

Quote:

Originally posted by xplode
what they said.

just out of interest; what colour are you considering?

A am almost afraid to say...I've noticed that some people get rather "excited" when they hear an idea that they don't like in these forums.


I am particularly keen on the light green color they use on new Vespas these days. I like the retro nature of it. The MINI is retro-ish and I prefer standard paint over metallic. I know it would look great with the white roof. Like many people on this site, I love my MINI, and I thought it would be a great way, though I am starting to sense-ludicrously expensive, to customize it. I'm not really into the speed thing these days, so those options don't appeal to me.

[BelmontMan]

Here's an example...

[Gryphon]

The light sea foam green would look stylin', but I bet it would cost a ton. Still, if you have the bucks it would be unique and I think look very retro. If you go for it, make sure to share pictures with us.

[Moogy]

Quote:

Originally posted by BelmontMan
I am particularly keen on the light green color they use on new Vespas these days. I like the retro nature of it. The MINI is retro-ish and I prefer standard paint over metallic. I know it would look great with the white roof.

I'm guessing this is the kind of feel you're going for mmm?

Also, is this not sort of what MINI were pitching at with Silk Green? (albeit metallic)

[jeff90]

That is a horrible colour and certainly not for a mini.

Ok, just a little about paint. A good paint job is VERY expensive. Factory paint is baked on, and is better quality than spray on paint. Baked on paint is harder, resists chipping, and usually lasts much longer. There are places around that do this, but it is expensive. A friend of mine is working on a project car (94 320i stw) and is having his paint baked on by a professional (because racing is very, very hard on paint) in Indiana at a cost of about 10k for the whole car.

Personally, no matter what, if it is resprayed outside of the factory, it will never look as good, or last as long. However, if this is something that you really want, go for it.

-Andrew

[COOPERation]

It would be different..for sure.

[BelmontMan]

[quote]Originally posted by Moogy
[b]I'm guessing this is the kind of feel you're going for mmm?



Yes, Moogy, you nailed it!

[jimskater]

Quote:

Originally posted by Moogy
I'm guessing this is the kind of feel you're going for mmm?

Moogy,

What the heck is that car? It's beyond retro & well into funky.

Jim

[Jimbo_Mini]

I would advise against it. In order to do a thorough job you would also have to paint under the bonnet.

Would you really yank the engine in order to do a 1st class job?

There's nothing more amateurish to see a car repainted a new color with under-hood areas still the old color.

-Jim

[Moogy]

Quote:

Originally posted by jimskater
Moogy,

What the heck is that car? It's beyond retro & well into funky.

Jim

That would be your Nissan Figaro, 1991 vintage.

Crazy name, crazy guys...

[xplode]

fwiw, i think it sounds like it would look pretty cool - still a bit of a drastic undertaking though to do it right. if you don't want to go all the way, did you consider getting your hands on a silk green/white?

[jimskater]

Quote:

Originally posted by Moogy
That would be your Nissan Figaro, 1991 vintage.

Crazy name, crazy guys...

Funny, I just saw some pics of Goggomobil's. One of the cars Sir Issigonis was responding to with his original Mini design, from what I've read.

Almost the exact same color & somewhat similar styling.

http://www.goggomobil.com/Galerie/Coupe/coupe.html

http://www.goggomobil.com/Galerie/Li...limousine.html

Looks like history does repeat itself.

Quote:

Originally posted by CurtP
I paint cars (not for a living though) and although many think the above is true, most of the time it is not. The two biggest factors that contribute to a paint job is the quality of the paint and how much time/effort is put into preparing the surface before painting. Almost all quality paint is catalyst cured these days, and that includes factory paint. Baking it just speeds the process -- it doesn't necessarily mean the paint will be harder or resist chipping better. By speeding up the process, it means that the manufacturer (or body shop) can move more vehicles in the same amount of time and since it dries faster, it means that there's less chance of debris getting on the paint while its curing. Baking the paint can result in a better paint job, but it isn't absolutely necessary.

I have found that the waterbourne paint OEM is using these days is not very durable and scratches quite easily. Read the various posts on this message board and one will see that it can be easily damaged by bird droppings.

Unfortunately, people don't want to spend money on a quality paint job which is why places like Maaco and Earl Scheib exist. Plus many body shops cut corners when prepping and painting cars when they're an insurance repair (because many insurance companies insist on paying as little as possible for paint and body work).

If you're looking for a good paint shop in the US, look for a I-CAR "Gold Class" shop. I wouldn't have my car repaired at a facility that wasn't at least I-CAR certified, and if I was going to pay someone to do custom paint work out of my own pocket, it would only be at an I-CAR "Gold Class" shop. Expect to pay for it though. More information can be found on I-CAR's website:

http://www.i-car.com

Curt, when I wrote the message, I couldn't think of the type of paint. It was a powder coat that was baked on, and apparently it is rather difficult to get off if you ever want to start over. Anyway, the point of my message is that in almost all cases, a repaint is never going to be of the same quality as the original coat.

-Andrew

[ncdave]

BelmontMan - I personally like your colour choice which is why I went for silk green. Done right, your idea would probably look great but I join in the advice already out there to chose your paint shop with great care. You need to make sure that you see the work of the guy who's actually going to spray your car however, as it comes down not only to the prep work generally performed by the shop (which is critical) but the skill of the painter handling the spray gun.

I've experienced some horror stories in the past which led me to spray my last couple of restorations myself.

Good luck!

P.S. - I kind of feel like Jean Alesi here with my 200th post.