Having my E30 Painted

[charmparticles]

Any Bay area people familiar with Miracle Auto Painting in Alameda California? I was quoted $1000 for a paint job on my 1989 325is. I talked to the owner and he said that their quality of workmanship was top notch and that I would be very pleased. He also said that they match the color perfectly according to the OEM paint code. I am seriously thinking about it... even their Yelp reviews are good. The black paint is really scratched all the way down to the primer so anything could look better, right? What makes one shops paint job better than another's and why can these people charge so little for "quality" work?

[jonspo.e30.M3'd]

it can depend on the prep work. they might not sand the body down first. It will still look good but they might fill dents with bondo instead of pulling them. and they might not do a clear coat over the top. it might just be paint and clear coat in one which will look good but will not last as long as a double layer of clear coat. so make sure they
1. sand the body down and do prep work
2. pull dents, not fill them
3. make sure they do the base color and then at least 1 clear coat even though most good places will do 2 or more

[charmparticles]

All really good advice. I'll keep all that in mind when shopping around. Thanks!

[charmparticles]

So I talked to Miracle auto body & paint yesterday and found out some more info on what they do. He recommended that I take all the trim, grills, tail lights off prior to having it painted. That will ensure a better quality job as they will just tape it up otherwise. They wet sand down the entire body and then apply the first coat followed by a second coat. There is no sanding in between coats + they said the clear coat is actually in the paint. They use PPG or DuPont unless I want factory paint which would run $2000 for the job. It is the sanding in between coats contributes to the paint luster, yes? Would you say that based on the info here it probably wouldn't look that great? I am having it painted black.. I may just see what I can get out of a professional detail instead. Thoughts?

[jonspo.e30.M3'd]

shoot man I told you all I know. The only thing i didnt like was the "clear coat in the paint" that is usually the sign that its a little cheap. you should see how much it would be to throw an additional clear coat over the top of whatever they do. And since its black you are really gonna want that cause black shows scratches blatantly

[ben312]

if its scratched down to primer than it will need paint

[edwierdo]

Originally Posted by charmparticles

Any Bay area people familiar with Miracle Auto Painting in Alameda California? I was quoted $1000 for a paint job on my 1989 325is. I talked to the owner and he said that their quality of workmanship was top notch and that I would be very pleased. He also said that they match the color perfectly according to the OEM paint code. I am seriously thinking about it... even their Yelp reviews are good. The black paint is really scratched all the way down to the primer so anything could look better, right? What makes one shops paint job better than another's and why can these people charge so little for "quality" work?

go to ONE DAY PAINT cheaper and one hell of a good job

[bimmermanic]

Clear coat in the paint refers to a single stage (acrylic) based paint. 2 stage or 3 stage paint refers to a paint that uses a base coat...A pearlescent coat and a clear UV coat. (the 2 stage paint uses only the base and the clear) . Single stage coats are not el cheapos, just cost effective. Most colors like Brilliant rot or White are usually single stage. Just in case this is a little more info