So, I had this old pickup truck, a real beater, that I wanted to get repainted. I mean, this thing was seriously showing its age. The paint was faded, chipped, and just plain ugly. I figured, why not give it a fresh look? It was a spur of the moment thing, but I was determined to get it done.
First, I started looking around for body shops. I called a few places, asked about prices, and tried to get a feel for who knew what they were doing. I didn’t want some amateur messing up my truck even more. I asked around, got some opinions, and after some back and forth, I got the prices.
Let me tell you, it wasn’t cheap! The prices were all over the place. Some places wanted an arm and a leg, while others seemed a bit more reasonable. I learned that a basic paint job could run me anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000. I repeat: $1,000 to $3,000. Of course, that was just for the basics. If I wanted anything fancy, like a custom color or some extra clear coat, the price went up from there. And then there’s the bodywork. If there are dents and dings, well that has to be fixed first or it’ll just look bad, which meant more money.
- Basic paint job: $1,000 – $3,000
- Custom color: Add $500 – $1,500, can even more.
- Bodywork: $50 – $100 per panel, maybe higher.
After getting a bunch of quotes, I decided to go with a local shop that had good reviews. They weren’t the cheapest, but they seemed like they knew their stuff. They quoted me around $2,500 for a full repaint, including fixing a few small dents. I also asked them about different colors they have, and I finally picked up the new color I like.
The whole process took about a week. First, they took the truck apart, removed the bumpers, and sanded down the old paint. It looked pretty rough at that point. Then, they fixed those dents I mentioned. After that, they put on a primer, which is like a base coat for the paint.
Next came the actual paint. They sprayed on a few coats of the new color, and then added a clear coat to protect it. It was looking good! Finally, they put everything back together and gave it a good polish.
The Result
When I picked it up, I was pretty happy with how it turned out. It looked like a completely different truck! It wasn’t perfect, but it was a huge improvement. I mean, it’s still an old truck, but now it doesn’t look so beat up. The whole thing cost me around $2,500, which was a bit more than I initially wanted to spend, but I think it was worth it. Now I can drive around without feeling like I’m in a total rust bucket. It was a learning experience, for sure. Next time, I’ll definitely know more about what to expect and how to budget for it.
