How much would it cost to change the color of my truck?

You have a few options, all of which have been mentioned above, that each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Please note that the price ranges reflect the North East and will vary across the country.

Paint: Paint is going to be the most expensive option unless you go with Maaco. Depending on who you go with, the cost can range from $4000 (low end) to $10,000+. This is all dependent on the shop doing the work, the paint used, the color as well as the PREP (which I consider the most important factor). If you are willing to put in the time to tape off, sand and clean the truck yourself, a Maaco paint job wont be half bad. But you are putting in time and you need to see if that is worth it to you or if you would rather pay someone to take care of it.

Some of the major cons of repainting a vehicle is that the coats will never be as even (and potentially thick) as the factory paint job and the repaint may depreciate the value of your vehicle. This applies more to high end vehicles, but you are going to have a hard time finding someone who can paint as well as the factory spray robots. This in turn, also depreciates the value of the vehicle based on the fact that the paint is no longer factory, and has been changed.

Non-permanent Color Changes: These technologies have exploded in popularity over the past few years and provide a great "bang-for-your-buck" alternative to paint, that is removable. This means that you retain the factory paint and dont have to worry about depreciation due to a repaint. The most common technologies are vinyl wrapping and spray coatings. On the lower end of the price range are the spray coatings, which range from $750-$2000. These gained popularity when Dip Your Car revolutionized the rubberized coatings industry by painting a car with Plasti-Dip. Since then, newer coatings have emerged that are latex based and can actually be wet sanded and buffed (Raail, Halo EFX, etc). Like regular automotive paint, these coatings are sprayed on and require the same amount of skill, technique, and prep work, in order for it to look good. If you want a quick and cheap color change, this is the option for you, however I have never been a fan of these coatings due to the lack of skilled installers (the edges are usually choppy and there is over spray in many areas).

Then there is vinyl, which ranges from $2000-$6000 (for a single, non chrome color change)and provides a uniform color change that is cheaper than most repaints. Due to the manufacturing process of cast vinyl, the color is very uniform with little to no defects. This translates to even coloring in all types of light, no spray bands or overspray. Like all of the other options mentioned in this post, its all about the prep work. Cheap shops can wrap a car in a day for around $2000, however the vehicle may not be properly cleaned, the vinyl could be a knock off brand (3M, Oracal and Avery are the major brands), parts may not be removed for wrapping, and there could be visible seams. The high end vinyl wrapping shops will fully decontaminate the paint and remove most body panels to produce the best finish possible. This mitigates the risk of dirt/debris getting trapped under the vinyl, as well as reduces the number of visible seams, for a clean and fluid finish.

DIY: This is by far the cheapest option and can yield great results if you take your time. Many people have had great luck repainting their vehicles with a cheap spray kit, or even roll on paint. A quick Google search will give you a number of instructional blogs and videos that one can follow if they are so bold.

Sorry for the lengthy post, I hope this helps!

 

Chris thanks for the explanation. I think I found the color I want to go with. I decided I wil give vinyl wrapping a try. I want to go with Gloss Fiery Orange from 3M. I will also wrap my camaro in it once I get the laundry list of stuff done to it but thats down the road. I didnt know 3M had such a extensive list of colors. I just thought it was matte orange. Thanks for those that suggested it.!

 

Agreed, thats a charger for that money wasted.

Coot

 

Im glad you found an option you want to stick with! Feel free to message me if you need any assistance, as I am a vinyl installer.

 

I was just going to post a few issues I can think of already. My truck's side mirror as a mark on it when I drove to close to a chain link fence. Like its into the plastic. I guess I should sand that down? Also the typical rock chips behind my fender. Sand those down? Wet Sand? Thanks for any advice.

 

Anything larger than a rock chip (assuming the rock chips are the size of a ball point pen tip) will usually show through the vinyl. If you dont plan on fixing it now, a temporary solution is to wet sand it down, fill it and then wet sand until the defect is level with the surrounding surface. This way when you wrap the part/panel, there are no high or low spots which is what causes the defects to be visible.