Re-Paint vs Value

[Junster]

After lots of reading here looks like almost all have VX's with the original paint. I'd like a IMHO on what you think painting to change the color esp. to a non stock color does if anything to the overall value.

[rsteinmetz70112]

OK I'll start. In my opinion any change of color will devalue any car unless the job is done very well and all concealed and semi-concealed areas are painted.

It's a little like most cosmetic home improvements. For every custom change that some future buyer might like a larger number of future buyers will hate.

[VXjunky]

i could change out the interiors of the ironman series all day long from the OEM red on black....to gray on black....seems like it should have been such an obvious factory option

[Ebenezr]

There are so few of these available that a paint color change would not stop me from buying a VX if I knew I wanted one. The design and style will not change and it is whats underneath that counts. You could paint it grey with pink polka dots and I would still buy it cause color can be changed again.

[Riff Raff]

OK I'll start. In my opinion any change of color will devalue any car unless the job is done very well and all concealed and semi-concealed areas are painted.

It's a little like most cosmetic home improvements. For every custom change that some future buyer might like a larger number of future buyers will hate.

x2. Agreed. Besides, re-painting any vehicle other than its native color renders the owner 7 years of bad luck. Bad "car"-ma.

:bgwb:

[circmand]

Only if it is a high quality custom job and not enough to cover the cost of the paint job. There are not so few VXes outt here that anyone who wants one cant find one if they want it.

[WormGod]

Having painted for many years, it's a double edged sword. When you think about it, you paint the car the way "YOU" want it. Whether it's a single color all-over or a custom multi job, it's still YOU. When you try to sell it, you are trying to sell a piece of YOU. Your taste. In a manner of speaking anyways, heh.

And there are ways to do it wrong. 99.9% do. Unless it's the SAME factory paint code (simply just a repaint of the original color), you have jams, interior, undercarriage, and the engine bay to consider. Say you have a white vehicle and you paint it black, and these areas are NOT painted.... OH YEAH, it sticks out and NOBODY wants that. I have done TRUE all-overs before, and people pay a healthy price tag for them. Complete strip down. Best and only way to go IMHO, but time consuming and pricey. The more that you have to mask off, the worse the outcome if you ask me.

Your car though. If you plan on keeping it, I say go to town. But, there is always a buyer for everything, so don't be discouraged either. Just might take some time to find a buyer when you go to let her go. Just some food for thought.

FWIW, I was speaking with a shop a couple years back (eesh, was it that long now) that only does restorations and customs. Having a resto/custom background, we got into detail about what I wanted to get a very near price. Essentially, I wanted full strip down. We are talking a dime away from rotisserie. Paint the ENTIRE thing, Chevy Orange. Problem is, this kind of work is hard to estimate. Without mentioning what price we came up with, let;s just say, it exceeded even the price tag on the window when I bought it. I half expected that but it was nice to know in case I ever hit the lottery or Bill Gates decided to adopt me, heh.

[circmand]

Did a total restore on it. Before I found a guy doing it as a hobby I got a $10,000 paint job estimate for a body that had no dents just scratches and wear marks that was going to be stripped and painted. Of course he volunteered to take it off my hands and sell me a friggen MG for $10,000 he had for sale.

[nfpgasmask]

I'm going to post a reply here because I have plans for both my VX and Trooper.

For my VX, I plan on getting a full repaint. I will be going with the original factory black paint code. So, for the "experts" on this forum, what do you guys suggest when I start looking for a shop to do this work?

I have a load of dents and dings and deep scratches that will need to be repaired before the paint goes on. I have very bad thoughts about a shop removing all my claddings and glass, and I am thinking that since I will be going with the same color, would it be a "bad idea" to just have them mask the windows and cladding??? Or will it look like crap?

As for my Trooper, I think a complete repaint would be very easy. I can strip the interior down to nothing but the dash in about 30 minutes. The exterior can also be stripped very quickly. So I think I will eventually just get a cheap spray job on the Trooper as well.

As for changing the color, I would say that all depends on if you plan to keep the vehicle "forever". I spray painted my Trooper, and dumped a bunch of money into it for the motor swap. If I tried to sell it right now I might get $3000 for it if I am lucky and I have way more than that in it. But I don't care, because I plan on keeping it "forever".

Bart

[Bob Barker]

I would have paid extra for a truck already covered in Rhino-Liner! But that's just me, and there's probably only a few others who like that look. So if you repaint other than factory color like it's already been said you will have to wait longer to find a person to buy what you wanted your truck to be.

[rsteinmetz70112]

I wouldn't shy away from a truck that had a good paint job, but it would have to be pretty good and I wouldn't pay a premium.

Like others have said you are unlikely to get your money back on such an expense.

[WormGod]

Bart, the more you can do for the shop, the better. If you are capable of stripping it down at home and flatbedding it in, it would save you a bit of time and money. I always hated the strip down and rebuild process, that's why we had a few shop helpers/apprentices to do it all. I liked just walking into a spray booth and having a car ready to zap. Lot's a people tend to do this anyways if that have they ability. Just start taking crap off and even feel free to scuff down the paint and fix dents and stuff on your own before you take it in. It's actually pretty fun work and makes for a great project. It will keep cost down, no doubt.

Hard to say what shops to look form. Never dealers and never chains. Go online and check forums for local, recommended shops. I painted before the real "internet" age so we were only ever truly found by word of mouth or the Yellow Pages, heh.

[nfpgasmask]

Thanks, Gary, but what do you think about painting without removing the cladding and glass? Bad idea?

Bart

[MSHardeman]

Bart, I would say that it is a bad idea to just mask the VX and paint it that way only because the masking will create edges that can then chip off. I've never repainted a car myself, and I'm sure a good paint and body shop could do a good job just masking everything off and not creating edges, but if you're going to go through the trouble of repairing and repainting the VX in the first place (and you're going to keep it "forever") then you might as well go all the way and do it right.

[nfpgasmask]

I hear ya, Mark, I'm just worried about removing the cladding and buggering it up. I know there is double stick tape under it all and what not.

Bart

[circmand]

Thanks, Gary, but what do you think about painting without removing the cladding and glass? Bad idea?

Bart

Only if keeping original color. The problem with this method is you leave the original color showing everywhere you cant paint this way. These areas are not highly visible so they do not get damage or fade. So if you stick with OEM color or close the difference is not noticable but if you paint a Proton orange you get a orange vehicle with yellow patches everywhere. This is with good masking and such. With poor masking you get painted molding and other eyesore mistakes. They have methods to adhere the paintnowadays so I wouldnt worry about chipping.

[nfpgasmask]

Yeah, I'm sticking with factory black so I know "visually" it would probably be ok, but I am more concerned with lines and such.

Bart

[WormGod]

The cladding actually isn't too difficult to remove. Other than the star screws, you only have pretty basic rivets, which you can easily replace with new ones after you drill the originals out. I have had mine off completely before JUST to do a FULL post winter detailing. You'd be surprised at the salt and other gunk that gets in there. The surface under the cladding isn't exactly pleasant and appears as though it would be a sanding/scuffing pain with all of it's contours and ridges.

If you don't take the cladding off, at least pull it away from the body so you can get some overspray to get down in there. That little edge where the cladding meets the body will be a haven for a rough paint edge if you don't.

Windows are a iffy deal. Getting glass out is easy, but back in, a whole different story. At least take a look at the trim and see what you can take off without removing the glass if it's too much. I never actually looked at our windshield design too much so don't know how much of that assembly may be separate, if at all.

[nfpgasmask]

Rivets? Metal rivets or plastic rivets?

Maybe I try removing one piece of the cladding and see wht happens. I've had the front and rear bumpers off, I'm more concerned with the side pieces.

I bet our windows are not too bad. A good glass shop should be able to remove/replace them. But doing that will drive my price up considerably. :rolleyes:

Bart

[Luna X]

For doing complete paint jobs, I too believe in removing everything including windshields, side glass, etc....

For most competant glass removers, they cannot guarantee that the windshield will come out in one piece.... but that's easy to solve if you have glass coverage.

Also, by taking off all claddings, you won't have to worry bout making a mess of them when it's time for wet sanding/buffing