Hey guys,I am hoping for advice and help to find a shop to refresh or repaint my 96 NSX-T. I have had it for 22 years and it has accumulated little chips and scratches on most panels. some of which will require paint...When I have looked locally in the Seattle area I am getting paint quotes in the 15-20 K range...which just isn't happening ( instant spousal veto) . Do any of you have any advice? Options? For the right deal I am willing to travel with the car for drop off...but would prefer to stay in Seattle/Tacoma and the NW...Vancouver BC to Portland OR .Thanks ,Brian
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Paint options, seeking a quality refresh....without breaking the bank
- Thread starter RadDoc
- Start date
I just went through this process. Most paint shops will RUN away from the NSX not because it is hard to paint, but because they are afraid of taking it apart. The shops know the car is old and thus they know they will break stuff when they take it apart- especially if they have never handled a NSX before (most have not). They will have to pay for new pieces and they know it will be very expensive. Most of your cost on a full paint refresh is disassembly of the car. So, they usually quote you an outrageous price to chase you away. I'm working with a good shop who explained this to me. For my car, which is getting a full color change, they quoted between $4,000 and $6,000 to prep, primer, sand and paint, depending on how much of the prep I do myself. I am doing all of the disassembly myself, which is saving about $4,000. I'm also doing a lot of the masking and taping myself, further saving cost. Also, I asked for a "factory" level paint job. This means just like Honda did it- wet sand the color and then shoot the clear. If you want a concours/museum piece job (wet sand every stage, multiple color and clear layers), the cost will go up because the labor time goes up. Also, cost depends on market. A paint job in NYC will cost a lot more than in Wyoming.
With all that said, in your case you don't have to go as far as me in taking the car apart- you're really just re-painting the main body panels, not the chassis. Thus, I think a realistic range for a shop to do all of the work is $7,000 to $10,000. If you have a pearl paint, they will need to paint the panels on the car to make sure the pearl is all uniform. If you have a solid color, they can paint the panels off of the car. Another piece of advice is to propose doing the job during the shop's slow season. Here in Denver, most body shops are extremely busy during the spring/summer because of the crazy hail we get in Colorado. My shop said they would be a lot more willing to do the work in December, when things are slow. They actually relaxed a lot and became more enthusiastic when I said December was fine (though not as enthusiastic as when I said I would take the car apart myself lol). Finally, you may want to contact Prime member [MENTION=4046]pbassjo[/MENTION]. Joe has painted more NSXs than probably anyone else in the US. I'm actually giving my shop his contact info for pointers/tips. Joe may be able to steer you better.
Hope this helps.
With all that said, in your case you don't have to go as far as me in taking the car apart- you're really just re-painting the main body panels, not the chassis. Thus, I think a realistic range for a shop to do all of the work is $7,000 to $10,000. If you have a pearl paint, they will need to paint the panels on the car to make sure the pearl is all uniform. If you have a solid color, they can paint the panels off of the car. Another piece of advice is to propose doing the job during the shop's slow season. Here in Denver, most body shops are extremely busy during the spring/summer because of the crazy hail we get in Colorado. My shop said they would be a lot more willing to do the work in December, when things are slow. They actually relaxed a lot and became more enthusiastic when I said December was fine (though not as enthusiastic as when I said I would take the car apart myself lol). Finally, you may want to contact Prime member [MENTION=4046]pbassjo[/MENTION]. Joe has painted more NSXs than probably anyone else in the US. I'm actually giving my shop his contact info for pointers/tips. Joe may be able to steer you better.
Hope this helps.
This is very true - I would definitely think trying to time it in the winter if you're not in a rush to get it done. I went through this on my E30 M3 not long ago and doing the work in the winter was a much better idea - the shop had a lot of excess capacity at that point, so they were looking for something to do, and spent a lot of time on my car that they might not have otherwise had during the spring and early summer season. The paint came out perfectly and I fully believe that's due to the extra care and time they took being it was one of the only things they were working on that winter.
That being said, a lot of body shops will likely miss the deadline you give them, so just stay on their case / check in frequently and if you go with a good shop you like and trust, you should get good results in a reasonable amount of time.
Thanks for the advice.... I am happy to get this done this winter ...and I am not in a rush. Hopefully I can find a shop here ( or near) that is willing to work with me. So far they all just seem to be giving me prices that are so high... that they are probably really sending me a message/letting me know that they don't want to do it!
If anyone has a lead on a good paint shop in Seattle...please chime in!
If anyone has a lead on a good paint shop in Seattle...please chime in!
It appears your car is black and black is black.
It's a single stage paint, easy to match as there is only one color of black and not difficult to lay down.
If your doors are OK, then I would consider removing the fender panels, hood/trunk, bumpers and take them to a paint shop to be painted. It should cost about $200-$500 per panel. Reassemble the car and get it nicely polished.
My guess is your front bumper (and front fenders) are the worst, just take it/those off, get them painted and see if you like the results. The downside is that the paint on the fastening bolt heads will be marred so use a "padded" socket you can minimize this and repaint carefully with a brush.
It should be noted that body panels are very large, fragile and hard to transport. After the panels are painted, you would likely only be able to transport one panel at a time in a small truck.
I don't like black cars, but the benefit of just being able to willy nilly repaint panels is a very nice feature of black.
It's a single stage paint, easy to match as there is only one color of black and not difficult to lay down.
If your doors are OK, then I would consider removing the fender panels, hood/trunk, bumpers and take them to a paint shop to be painted. It should cost about $200-$500 per panel. Reassemble the car and get it nicely polished.
My guess is your front bumper (and front fenders) are the worst, just take it/those off, get them painted and see if you like the results. The downside is that the paint on the fastening bolt heads will be marred so use a "padded" socket you can minimize this and repaint carefully with a brush.
It should be noted that body panels are very large, fragile and hard to transport. After the panels are painted, you would likely only be able to transport one panel at a time in a small truck.
I don't like black cars, but the benefit of just being able to willy nilly repaint panels is a very nice feature of black.
What are your thoughts on a vinyl wrap? My opinions could go either way, from the protective properties of a good wrap, to the wariness of what might be occurring underneath the wrap. I gather many of these cars are not garage queens and y'all actually drive them. Does an $8k multiple-layer paint job hold up the same as "single-layer" vinyl?
Vinyl wraps are a great way to play with different color options for your car without too much expense and the option of going back to stock if/when you get bored. However, vinyl will never look as nice as a quality paint job. For me, I prefer to do paint + a high quality clear bra on the bumper/hood. The NSX is a rare and beautiful car- I think it deserves paint to match that level. JMHO YMMV
I read this last night and slept on it. When you put it that way, paint becomes the obvious proper answer. The pedigree isn't something I'm personally used to in a car of this stature. Unless the whole car is done up in a theme that calls for a wrap. Good point.
Do you have a preferred brand? Perhaps I'm thinking of less-than-high-quality clear bras that yellow or cloud up with lots of sun exposure (not a problem up in Buffalo NY, haha).
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XPEL Ultimate is probably what I will use, but still doing research. I like the "self healing" properties. I've seen it in person on some fairly high end cars and it does not alter the factory clearcoat finish/look at all. Btw, I'm originally from Rochester.
XPEL Ultimate is probably what I will use, but still doing research. I like the "self healing" properties. I've seen it in person on some fairly high end cars and it does not alter the factory clearcoat finish/look at all. Btw, I'm originally from Rochester.
To echo what [MENTION=18194]Honcho[/MENTION] said, the two big ones used out here in Colorado are XPEL Ultimate and Hexis BODYFENCE I've seen both on vehicles from all pedigrees and the depth of paint you still have with them is incredible.
I've used XPEL on both my NSX and S2000 and have been very happy with it. I've got 3M on my IS300 and was not as happy with it, although in all fairness I think it was the fault of the installer, not the film (it's beginning to lift and peel at a few points around the car and I've only had the car since this past summer. The film itself looks fine). Given how easily the paint on the NSX chips, the installation of a clear bra on your car would be money well spent.
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