I was wondering what would be the average cost of a repaint for a small truck... my Dakota...? I plan on having them use the OEM paint... none of that PPG or DuPont junk. Can I even get the OEM paint?

Also, how many coats do I normally get?

 

Depends on if or what body damge has to be repaired.... do you want it stripped to bare metal or just scuffed and painted over. If it's first repaint and it's not cracked or peeling, then you'll be fine with just painting over, it'll last just as long.

I'm not sure what dodge uses, but it might be a dip paint process which you cant get. I dont know of any shops anywhere that have a dip tank, but it also requires total disassembly of the vehicle. I'm sure there is a shop some where, but your probably looking at shipping it there. Then a month or two for disaasembly paint (which I would think would be a couple hundred gallons) and then reassembly.... then shipping it back.... totall cost, you could likely save 1/2 price or more by just ordering a brand new truck.


I have never had any trouble with PPG or dupont. I like the way PPG lays best. Dupont has easier systems to lay though, some are so easy that any monkey with a spray gun can shoot it and look good.

So it really depends on how much and how detalied you want to get.
It' could be a couple thousand or it could be fifty thousand.

 

Well, here's the thing... my Dad backed into my Dakota last evening in our driveway. It put a nice size dent in the truck bed toward the left rear.

My Dad is willing to do whatever it takes to get it back to factory spec. He is going to probably have the bed replaced from one from a junk yard that doesn't have any dents. Unless they can pop it out. Which I seriously doubt.

However, because the paint has been "aged" repainting just that one panel will make the truck look "funky"... so I am due for a repaint of the entire truck.

Not to mention, I did want to repaint it next year anyways... but I want this bed fixed without being a "cob job"...

 

Ahh that sucks!

Post some pictures of it.
I'll be gone till this evening sometime but I can tell you then what I would do if it was me.

 

ROFLMAO... most manufacturers us dupont paint. some use PPG. very few use BASF. what do you think manufacturers use if dupont and ppg are "junk"? There is no dipping of the final coat of paint. It is put on by robots. My personal fav is dupont imron. It is the most durable, and if you know how to paint with it, ei. thin it properly. you will have a glass like finnish that will last. Though my next paint job will be dupont chroma base with imron clear. My paint booth will be set up and running by the first of the year.. can't wait.

 

A good body shop can fix and repaint the bed with an exact match.

 

^^^^ What he said.

The body shop has books full of "color chips" which can match to any color... even faded. For example, they can pull out the sheet on "1997 Dodge Dakota Red (or whatever they call it), and there will be several different shades of that original color which can be matched to take into account sun fading, etc. If you are just worried about fixing the dent, and making it look oem again, have a body shop just do the dent, and paint the area needed. They do exactly that every day. If it is a good shop (ask around), then you'll never be able to tell the difference.

 

just have the dent done by a PDR guy and call it a day

 

Jeeze Louise. Now I know why after 38 years in the auto paint business, I long for Kavorkian.

 

They use computers to match paint these days - chips are old school.

 

sniff some more paint.. same result.

 

Well, I stopped by a few choice places... I found that the labor was the most expensive to strip the paint in all situations. The paint wasn't that expensive, nor was the actual paint process.

So my lowest cost to repaint the entire truck would be $2,983... so basically $3k to repaint. The highest price I got an estimate for was $3,612... but the price of everything was a little higher.

So I'm going to get the whole truck repainted.

The guy who gave me the middle price, $3,287, knew what he was talking about. He went through the whole process with me, he was very inclined to show me examples of his work. Not to mention he was very upfront with all of the details of what he was going to do... seemed as if he wanted to do me good.

So I will have to wait.

 

Are you paying for this out of pocket? If so and unless the truck was near new I might get a few more estimates.

 

They aren't stripping ALL the paint are they? Down to bare metal is not necessary. It's preferred (and way more expensive), but it's not necessary.

 

I think you are putting too much into this. Part of what body shops do is blend paint, that's what makes them good. They shouldn't have to sand down the whole bed, or any more then the main part of it, and they can match the faded paint exactly and/or blend hte new paint in to the old paint so nobody could even notice. If you are paying $3000+ for something like that, you are getting swindled. Even 15-20 year old paint should be able to be matched by any body shop that knows what they are doing.
If your dad has so much money coming out that he's willing to repaint your whole vehicle because of a dent in it, then tell him to send some of it my way.

Unless you are super **** about your paint, or its a show vehicle, any dent can be pulled out as best as possible then filled with body filler and painted over. It's not a reneck hack job, it's really just fine and in reality, it's what they'll end up doing whether they just repair part of the vehicle or repaint the whole thing, no matter what they say.