The following article has been provided to RPM Magazine. The views expressed in this article may not be the views of RPM Magazine, its staff or affiliates.
Painting a car is a challenging decision that consumes time and money. But for car owners who wish to spruce up the appearance of their vehicles, the result can be immensely satisfying. Besides making your car look brand new, the New York Times highlights that the paint job on your car is crucial to its resale value. A new layer of paint can significantly increase the durability and longevity of your car’s exterior. However, making an informed choice requires looking at some decision points crucial to a paint job.
Here are a few things you need to consider before painting your car:
Costs involved in painting
Like any other modification, painting a car can involve a lot of money. Whether you’re simply covering up surface scratches or doing a major touch-up to spruce up your car’s appearance, it’s essential to know how much money the paint job may cost you. Sound Dollar lists factors that affect painting costs, such as your goals, the size and condition of your car, and the paint color you are planning to use. A paint job can cost as little as $300 for a simple retouch, while specialty jobs can cost as much as $20,000. Of course, this all depends on the amount of paint needed, the color of the paint you would like to use, the size of your car, and where you will have the work done. For instance, painting a small car like a Fiat 500 with a hue close to your car’s original color would be considerably less expensive than painting a massive Ford F-150 with a new color.
Legality of changing your car’s color
Certain legal formalities are involved before painting your car into a different color than the original one indicated in your car registration. For instance, the Province of Ontario requires that a car owner changes information on a vehicle color at a ServiceOntario location. The color information should be changed on a vehicle permit within six days after completing the paint job, and proper identification and the original vehicle permit should be presented. Additionally, some states may prohibit using certain hues for security reasons. This is why you must thoroughly check all requirements attached to paint modifications before pushing through with your car’s paint job.
Quality of the paint job
It’s important to seek the services of a professional for any car modification. A paint job can make or break your car’s appearance, and the difference between an excellent paint job and a lousy one is pronounced. A trained professional in automotive painting knows which paint products in the market provide the most value depending on the type of car you own. Further, an expert will most likely have pinned down a reliable paint system for different kinds of vehicles, ensuring that the paint job will remain in top condition for a long time. Being mindful of the quality of your car’s paint job is extremely important because we here at RPM Magazine emphasize that some modifications can negatively affect your car insurance premiums. A bad paint job can be troublesome for insurers, especially when it looks like it will require repeated repairs every so often.
Preparation before painting
Once you’ve decided to push through with your car’s paint job, finding a shop that will spend a reasonable amount of time on prep work is critical. Don’t be afraid to ask different workshops about their preparation system, which includes covering the bumper, the taillights, the turn signals, and the rubber trim. A lower-end paint shop would place masking tape and paper over certain parts of the vehicle, while a higher-end shop would spend time removing these parts to ensure they won’t get painted over. A benchmark would be to check their preparation duration—a good paint shop will spend about 10 hours in preparation for every 1 hour of actual painting work.
The decision to repaint your car is serious because of the four considerations mentioned above. Before committing to the job, it’s important to understand the costs involved, the legality behind changing your car’s color, and the choices available to you, so you make the best decision for your vehicle.
