My very first car

[Quan]

Okay so i opted to just keep my 93 Prelude instead of selling and buying a newer car. Here's some questions i have:

1. The body has some rust damage, namely in the area above the wheels, how much aproximately would it cost me to get rid of the rust via a garage?

2. The paint is a hideos flat white (think of your house and the white paint inide, it's EXACTLY matte like that), how much would a paint job cost? Would the ugliness just be from lack of waxing (haven't been waxed for god knows how long) that makes it look so flat? If i get a paint job i'd like to maybe do it in black.

Those are my 2 main concerns in regard to the car, any suggestions/reccomendations are greatly apreciated.

[MP3_SKY]

Above the wheels, I assume it's the fender area....to do a good job that last longer, bodyshops will usually re-do the whole fender (or at leat a big part of it) and that will cost nearly 1k or more.....for a cheaper job, you may sand it, and re-paint and the rust will re-appear after 1 or 2 years.

Paint job for the whole car? price vary.....some cheap shops will do for 1500$, some will do for 4000$.....price = quality.....depends you expectation and how long you will keep the car for.

[Quan]

Above the wheels, I assume it's the fender area....to do a good job that last longer, bodyshops will usually re-do the whole fender (or at leat a big part of it) and that will cost nearly 1k or more.....for a cheaper job, you may sand it, and re-paint and the rust will re-appear after 1 or 2 years.

Paint job for the whole car? price vary.....some cheap shops will do for 1500$, some will do for 4000$.....price = quality.....depends you expectation and how long you will keep the car for.

Wow that's damn expensive. i didn't realize it was so expensive. I'm prorably just gonna get it sanded down. The paint job would be worth more then the car itself. How much si the sanding and repainting usually gonna cost?

[MP3_SKY]

Wow that's damn expensive. i didn't realize it was so expensive. I'm prorably just gonna get it sanded down. The paint job would be worth more then the car itself. How much si the sanding and repainting usually gonna cost?


Fews bucks from CT for the sand paper and the touch up paint...

I wouldnt do this myself if I never did it before, it will be worse if the job is not nicely done, bubble on the new paint...different colour, etc...

[MkmBandit]

w0Ot congrats on your first whip man good job! I was going to offer some answers to your questions but it seems some other people already have that covered.

[feet_]

paint it yourself.
for $50 and a roller.

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1

look at the link. pics of muscle cars that have been painted.

[careener]

Maaco?

http://www.maaco.ca/images/RegionReport.jpg

http://www.maaco.ca/images/Invoice.jpg

[dodo]

Okay so i opted to just keep my 93 Prelude instead of selling and buying a newer car. Here's some questions i have:

1. The body has some rust damage, namely in the area above the wheels, how much aproximately would it cost me to get rid of the rust via a garage?

2. The paint is a hideos flat white (think of your house and the white paint inide, it's EXACTLY matte like that), how much would a paint job cost? Would the ugliness just be from lack of waxing (haven't been waxed for god knows how long) that makes it look so flat? If i get a paint job i'd like to maybe do it in black.

Those are my 2 main concerns in regard to the car, any suggestions/reccomendations are greatly apreciated.
if rust start to build up then I'll be worry about something else, e.g. brake lines. I won't really care about the appearance for >10 yrs old car.

[rfdrfd]

Yup, rust to a car is like Cancer to humans.

It ain't cheap to treat Cancer either

[pfdude]

Maaco?

Is Maaco a reputable company?

[ah802]

Wow that's damn expensive. i didn't realize it was so expensive. I'm prorably just gonna get it sanded down. The paint job would be worth more then the car itself. How much si the sanding and repainting usually gonna cost?When you see rust, that's the tip of the ice burg.. Japanese cars are notoreous for this (they throw dirt into the metal mix as filler). Anyway, sound like you have an issue.... and a nice first car. I will tell you that changing a cars colour is not cheap, and mostly not worth it... BUT: ask for a quart of same colour... and do the door ledges, trunk underside with a brush yourself... save a bundle.

Possible cheap action: (with a bit of humour)

-first but not least is do-it-yurself or DIY (definately under 1 grand)
-find a DIY garage and enlist their help (under 1 grand)
-find a DIY garage and get one of the unemployed 'experts' to do it.
-find local college with body shop courses, offer your car for classes.
-I poised instructions on foam, body filler fast fix in forum 1/2 year ago.
-as noted, roller paint jobs can look OK if done right..
-buy your own spray set-up, easier than you think... windless morning.
-believe it or not, I've seen a VW bug painted with spray bombs...
-go creative... camouflage, leopard pattern, grass, art deco... rust
-buy drugs, booze or anything that allows you to forget. (under a grand)
-dump car, buy a scooter (could be under a grand).
-frequent a most frequent accident location... (nice one if rental included)
-find another one, same year etc... good body, blown engine (under 1 grand)
-photoshop all images of your car :)

Over a Grand options: (with a bit of dry humour)

-Call me and I'll DI for you. leave keys handy.
-Drop it off at your closest Maaco
-just about everything else.

Send pictures... (before/after)

[Quan]

Hahaha thnx for all the help!

Now my question is (because im a car noob), does the flat look come from lack of waxing? It looks very flat. I wouldn't mind keeping it white.

I will definately have the break lines checked out. I have yet to make my decision on what ir eally want to do, after adding up all the things needed to be done to the car it's looking kinda pricey.

Yeah i noticed all the older Civics, Preludes, etc all start rusting from the same corner which is somewhat dissapointing.

I'd never attempt to paint it myself lol.

I will check around at shops that will do the sanding and retouching up and see how much they want to charge.

Or i can take the easy way out, dish out 4 gran for my uncle's basicly brand new 2000 intrepid, which is flawless because he bought it brand new, drove it for 3 years then marked it.

[ah802]

Yup, the buff white paint goes that way over time (acid rain, sun, birds and no protection) cleaner enviroments the paint lasts longer... under cover, garaged or waxed regular and the paint lasts longer. It's possible to rebuff a shine, if you have the thickness of a good paint and a power buffing machine.

I used to own a white sports job many moons ago... treated to a wax job every two weeks... washed 2x week. It was still shiny when I sold it 8 years later... the white had sort of mellow-yellowed from the wax, but still shiny and no surface rust!

[Supershyguy]

Is Maaco a reputable company?


lol no, well not for good paint jobs anyways