Anybody use a body shop before?

E

EPS Sniper

Gawd
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Mar 13, 2000
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I really want a professional paint job for my next case and I was considering having a body shop do some work on it. Do you guys have any recommendations as to how I would go about doing this? Any particular types of places that would be better suited for this type of project or any other way of getting it professionally colored?

I know I'm gonna catch some flak for not doing it myself, but I want something done professionally (I'm a perfectionist) and something that will truly last. I've done a few cases before, so I want to expedite the process a bit.

Also, any suggestions on color?

Thanks guys :D
 
Send it to me. I will paint it depending on what it is :D

Any body shop will likely do it.
Paint is expensive $30-80 per pint depending on what color it is.
You NEED a paint code (from a car) to get the exact color you want...you dont go in there just saying "I want this red"
Prep the parts yourself and save money. Sand down to at least 400 grit and primer it.
Expect to pay $200-300 or more for an entire case. More if you want high quality job.


Go to Maaco if you want a cheap paint job.
 
Damn, I knew it wouldn't be cheap, but 200-300 bucks? I really want to get my case painted a nice, new, glossy color, but I would really also like a professional touch.

How about powdercoating the case? If anybody has seen those custom bike shows on the Discovery Channel, some of the frames they powdercoat look like a real quality paint job. I know for a fact that most places charge about 50-100 for powdercoating (ultra gloss black sounds nice :)), but what would I do with the front of the case?

More suggestions? Thanks so much :)
 
Oh Oh. Better get Macco.


lol, just had to throw that in there! :p





back on the subject...
I say that you could do it. It would be pointless for them to do it for that much money, when you could do it in a day or two and learn for when you want to do it again.

So what if you mess up, you can always start over right?
 
Instead of risking screwing up your case, get a piece of sheet metal from a hardware store and practice on that. Another thing you can try is going to a computer repair shop and ask them if they have any old dead computers that you could buy (inexpensively....like $10 or $15, but no more than that) and practice on that case. Or you could dumpster dive at a computer store for a case or 3 that is being thrown away. After you are happy with your painting skillz, go ahead and paint the case you were thinking about sending to a body shop. A quick search of this site, and maybe google as well, will turn up plenty of good "how to spray paint" instructions.
 
hehe i work for a car dealership and they have a bodyshop, they might even paint my case for free with any bmw or saab style paint, i guess i been lazy though and never taken advantage of it :)
 
Just get on the phone and talk to some people. I was going around town and most were asking $150-$200. A full tower is about the same surface size of a fender for some perspective. The best place I found to look was custome cycle shops. They are used to tricked out paint schemes and the enthusist frame of mind. I got lucky and found a guy that was excited about it as much as I was. He only charged me $50 for it and did some red metal flake for free. It's got a full auto paint job on it all the way around, including clear coat. It's fun to tell folks I gotta wax my case before a LAN party :)

check it out here: http://members.cox.net/wenke/customcase.htm
 
there is a place in cedar park... you should know where that is if you live in austin... that does powder coating i think... the usually do lawn furniture... another thing you could do is have it anodized, that would be fast and it would be helluva hard finish
 
If you really want, I could always do it for the cost of materials + $100....Have a paint booth and everything. But if you factor in shipping an entire case back and forth, that makes it more expensive and not worth it at all :D

Just ask around, i'm sure one of your friends knwos a place or someone who can hook you up,
 
Will do. I'm gonna hit up a few places tomorrow to see what I can find.

Another alternative is having the metal powdercoated and painting the plastic myself, or have Qtip42 do it. There is a place called Motion Dynamics in Cedar Park (close by) that seems to be very, very good (and cheap :p )

So I need to make some calls. Thanks so much guys :)
 
Watch out with powdercoating. If your case is already a tight fit it might be impossible to get back together. Powdercoating makes it thicker. That's not gonna be cheap either.
 
Ya powderocating puts one quite a thick coat on there. Your screws wont be going back into place easily.
 
I would at least try it yourself on some junk caes or extra metal before paying all that money. If you don't like the result you can always try the bady shops later. I was very suprised at how well I could do after a little practice. Get some vinyle dye or plastic model paint and practice pulling apart old dead drives and doing the faces. I bet you will decide that your job would be proffesional enough at $30 versus $300.
 
It's not hard to do yourself, it just time-consuming to make it look really good. Rough sand what you have and wash it. Paint it with a color coat. Wetsand it with about 600grit. Paint again with color and wetsand with 800 Grit. Paint it with clear, wetsand with 1000grit. Paint with clear, and wetsand it with 1500 grit. Paint with clear, and wetsand with 2000 grit. Then use a polishing compound on it, and wax it.
I GUARANTEE the finish will be better than the one on your vehicle, and you'll have spend $30-50 instead of $200-300. You'll also be able to say you did it!
 
NewBlackDak said:
I GUARANTEE the finish will be better than the one on your vehicle, and you'll have spend $30-50 instead of $200-300.
Click to expand...


I liked everything you said up to this point. There's no possible way to best an automotive paint job with spray paint, sorry. You can make it similar but it will always be inferior.
 
Have you seen some of the paint-jobs rolling off factory lines lately?
Orange peel off the shworoom floor.
That's why I said that.
 
ah macco sucks :mad: My friend had his car painted $700 the premiere job it faded a peeled within a year. So don't go to macco
 
Just head down to your local body shop and strike up some interestering conversations with the guys that work there. Keep doing this a few times and week. Get all buddy buddy with them and then ask if they will paint your case. When they sound reluctant to do so, just offer to buy them a 12 pack of beer, whatever kind they'd like. Works everytime. It also helps if you are already friends with someone who works in a body shop. Then you can skip right to the 12 pack of beer part.
 
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