complete exterior repaint

does anyone have an experience on repainting the entire exterior of a taco? type of paint to use? 2002 tacoma has peeling paint and some small surface rust. Having the best looking truck on street is not my concern, just want to stop the small rust before it has a chance to spread.

 

Every shop will have a paint they like best. If it’s a good shop you probably can’t get a complete paint job for less than 5-7k. My paint guy average full paint job is about 10k.

 

Well like the materials, it varies based on where you reside. This would likely reflect the cost to do a "Color Change", otherwise, that's extremely high IMO if we are talking about refinishing a vehicle in it's original color. I would put the average, with light to no body/metal work at around $3k. If you want a mirror finish that requires a lot of wet/color sanding and polishing then that price would definitely climb.

AS to your question though and as a previous member commented, painters have their favorites and can be very "brand loyal" when it comes to the products and equipment that they prefer. My experience is dated, however, I occasionally get the chance to pick up a gun and do something that I loved very much a long time ago and had you asked me this question then, I would have said Lacquer!! That's because of the acrylics, its the most forgiving for the novice/beginner and was relatively cheap at the time. The good news is urethane, which is what is typically applied to auto's nowadays, can be fairly easy to lay down as well with a little practice and knowledge about how to prep it.

If you have the time and desire to actually learn how, then something you may actually want to consider is a local community college. They may offer classes which would provide access to most of the tool that you would need, as well as a compressor, possibly (Mig) welders, and a booth to refinish your truck. More importantly is that you will have access to an instructor that can help you, the one at my local CC was awesome and had years of experience. All you would have to provide would be the materials and labor, but an ideal place to learn and put out a quality paint job on your own. If other students don't have a vehicle to work on then you may have free labor to help with that as well. When I switched professions years ago I took this route to repaint a number of cars and considered the course registration to be a small cost compared to the benefit of having access to facilities that had all of the necessary equipment and booth that could also support the curing process for acrylic enamel (bake).

Probably didn't answer your question, but maybe gave you something to think about.

 

You’ll get price quotes that vary by quite a bit. Make sure you see some examples of their work in person.

 

Nice looking truck. Was it a color change though? I ask that because doing a color change correctly takes a lot more time and effort - which equals more money.

 

Just get a few estimates and tell them u r paying out of pocket.

If you want someone to warranty the work they will want to do a lot of prep and fix all issues first. So hopefully your rust is just surface?

 

Strip down as much as you can yourself,Sand it yourself , and take it to MAACO as I did for $1100.

 

You have a before?

 

I would get it Line-X'ed.


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/linex-tacoma.531769/

 

Just checked with Paint Manufacturers,says dont wax till after 2-3 months! I will wash with auto premium was as Mothers or Meguires,then Clay Bar/Detail , then tack Rag wipe dust,then Wax with Mothers Gold Carnuba Cleaner Wax. Then again in 3 months after that !Paint has to breathe for 3 months and heal !

 

Tack rag as in something used after sanding? I'd skip that for auto paint clear, too scratchy. Usually the recommendation is to use an isopropyl alcohol spray (15-25% alcohol with the rest distilled water) or use a paint prep spray from a detailing brand before wax/sealant/coating. Or something like Prep-all which you can find at the auto parts stores.