New paint job..opinions?

[Hybridlude97]

Well my car is going in to get painted and Im stuck with what I want to do. Its silver right now and I wanted to change the color but I dont know if its worth it. Changing colors involves alot of work but if its done right, it should be no problem. So the question is, Leave it silver or change color?

[SolaraBlue]

what will it cost without changing the color?
what will it cost with changing the color?
silver is a bit boring to me so depending on the price i say change it.

[hskrsolara]

do the "red knight" paint conversion with a black top and original silver bottom. http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/s ... 3_full.jpg

[woa_its_j3ff]

<- sorry what was that? couldnt stop staring at your racing harness ..
-- anyways --
Personally ive always wanted to see a solara with a two-tone. would be interesting.

[MCOjerry]

From what I have learned, re-painting a completely different color is not cheap due to having to paint the engine bay, dor sills and all those other not always visible places.

Personally, I don't think silver is boring, but I'm biased

Silver shows much less dirt than other colors, requiring less frequent washing. JMO

[Hybridlude97]

Well, the cost is going to be fairly close so that isnt making a difference. I wanted to do the two-tone with a burnt orange on the bottom and black top. My biggest thing thats holding me back is like what MCOjerry wrote. It is alot harder to change colors due to all the hidden areas. I could get away probably with just getting the door sills painted but then again I dont want it to look cheap when I pop my hood.

[steve-o]

From what I have learned, re-painting a completely different color is not cheap due to having to paint the engine bay, dor sills and all those other not always visible places.

Personally, I don't think silver is boring, but I'm biased

Silver shows much less dirt than other colors, requiring less frequent washing. JMO

Most forgiving color I ever owned..Not by choice..Manuals ar tough to find..I had a choice of Silver or Lunar Mist..

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

if funds permit i'm doing this to my solara. (minus the cf stuff)
http://cl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166892

[steve-o]

if funds permit i'm doing this to my solara. (minus the cf stuff)
http://cl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166892

NICE!!

[PhreakdOut]

Check with the painter about color options. He may have some recommendations for you to make your ride look awesome but minimize the work. For example: Keeping some scheme that has silver in it (like applying a blue lower half fading into a silver upper half. This way, the engine compartment will look correct in silver.

Repainting / changing colors can really be awesome. But the effect is blown away if you open the hood or door jams and the original color is there. Don't be afraid to strip the car down as much as possible for the painter. Hood liners, trunk liners, door panels, all the crap in the engine compartment that bolts to the fender wells. It's better to do a lot of this prep yourself and then have the car flat bed towed in to the painter than to have them do it. (Save big $$s) Bag the engine to protect from over spray in the bay. Remove the muffler so the tip is not sprayed. Put on a set of $25 stock steel wheels from a junk yard so you favorite rims are safe.

Explore options by paint companies like House of Kolor. This is a huge investment and the cost difference between a nice paint job and an awesome paint job is not very much if you do the research and as much prep work as possible.

Best of luck and keep us posted on what you plan to do.

[Hybridlude97]

Check with the painter about color options. He may have some recommendations for you to make your ride look awesome but minimize the work. For example: Keeping some scheme that has silver in it (like applying a blue lower half fading into a silver upper half. This way, the engine compartment will look correct in silver.

Repainting / changing colors can really be awesome. But the effect is blown away if you open the hood or door jams and the original color is there. Don't be afraid to strip the car down as much as possible for the painter. Hood liners, trunk liners, door panels, all the crap in the engine compartment that bolts to the fender wells. It's better to do a lot of this prep yourself and then have the car flat bed towed in to the painter than to have them do it. (Save big $$s) Bag the engine to protect from over spray in the bay. Remove the muffler so the tip is not sprayed. Put on a set of $25 stock steel wheels from a junk yard so you favorite rims are safe.

Explore options by paint companies like House of Kolor. This is a huge investment and the cost difference between a nice paint job and an awesome paint job is not very much if you do the research and as much prep work as possible.

Best of luck and keep us posted on what you plan to do.

Thanks for the great advice. I had planned on pulling alot of parts before bringing it to them. I think I may go with a silver lower half, with some pearl added into the clear and a black top to keep it looking good.

[SolaraBlue]

whats a paint job cost (ball park)? im thinking of having it done (front/rear bumper need it so i might do the whole thing) but if its not too much more i might change colors....

[---CAMRAZY---]

Well, the cost is going to be fairly close so that isnt making a difference. I wanted to do the two-tone with a burnt orange on the bottom and black top. My biggest thing thats holding me back is like what MCOjerry wrote. It is alot harder to change colors due to all the hidden areas. I could get away probably with just getting the door sills painted but then again I dont want it to look cheap when I pop my hood.

Out of experience, make sure the body shop you take it to does excellent work. My camry got painted at Btune in socal and the job came out horrid (at least to me it is not to my standards), the color used to be red... and now it is gunmetal... Make sure the door jams get done, the rubber seals, trimmimg, panels, bumpers, etc., are all removed and painted off the car if you are going with a color change...
Before


After



And this is Alex's camry... just to show you the color change you described.



Good Luck with your paint job.



Milt

[PhreakdOut]

^^ Cripes those Camrys are slick. I'm not diggin' Alex's front end but the paint is sharp. Milt, yours will always be a favorite. I had no idea is was previously red. How did the engine bay turn out? Did you pull most everything and is it the same color and clear coat as the exterior?

Very nice.

[---CAMRAZY---]

Thanks Brian, the engine bay came out okay, pulled most off the sides and firewall, but it is getting repainted before the engine goes in.