SMC Discussion Areas

Have a Stoner Candy machine I just took to get painted.
Local auto body shop that expressed an interest in doing some of these restorations
Problem is that the do a google search and their eyes light up when they see the totally restored prices on Ebay

So those of you who send items out to get painted.

What is fair price for
1) Stoner Candy
2) Standard size coke machine with minimal body work

Earlier post someone mentioned 700 bucks but with perhaps if we get an idea of going rate, may help ithers to negotiate

Regret you have not received a reply. I'll try.

Bit confused, you say a local body shop eyes light up. Why? Paint is Paint.
Paint job if you farm it out is at a quoted price. Get a signed quote before hand. Take lot's of pictures. Check the ability of the restorer before dropping any coin. Maybe a small adjustment if surprises.
occur. There will never be a "Going Rate". Each machine restoration is diverse and requires specilized talents of several folks to complete.

Without any pictures. Hard to say. $1500 would be a start could be another $500.

Creighton

Guy was a first timer
Called me the next day with an estimate
Machine does have a big dent so needs some body work
Agreed on 1050 which seemed high but just not sure what a professional  paint and body work costs.

I agree that value of machine should not influence cost
Will eventually need my 72 painted and just hoping to get an idea of what others are being charged

I'm with Creighton on this one, the body shop should be providing you a service and should be able to provide you a quote no matter what the end value of the machine is.  

I'm no expert by any means, but there are a lot of factors in a price quote as well, types of paint (single stage, basecoat/clearcoat, etc.) paint manufacturer and quality of the overall job.  Is the body shop going to wet sand between each coat, or just slap on some paint and buff it out when its done?  

Just some things to think about, there's a few other painters/restorers on here that will have a better idea of cost.

here is pic

and this

To fix those correctly is going to be spendy. Need any help just ask here.
I don't have any interest in Stoners. Best of Luck!

Creighton
 

Lets start with the Stoner first. To have it blasted, body work, primed, painted, cleared coated, and buffed should run you around $1,100. For a soda machine in fair condition needing some body work, but not a rust bucket to do everything listed for the Stoner should run around $1,300. Any body shop doing it for less than this you will want to ask lots of questions. This is a normal rate to have a professional job done at a body shop using a good paint booth. Hope this helps you. 

Think of it this way, for every dent they are going to pull its going to be labor unless they just fill them which is scary. Anything on a curve is harder. I was told to count the dents at $50 each for the little ones, $100 for the bigger crunches or oddball placement harder ones and you start to get the idea just for body work.

        I don't believe that dent is as bad as it looks. Easily accessed from the inside, an experienced body man should have it straight in about an hour. But pricing for a paint job also has a lot of variables.

        First, when requesting a quote it is always a good idea to have as much of the machine prepped as possible.
 If it's not going to be sandblasted, then clean and sand all hard to reach areas and small parts, leaving less work for the shop,
         And in choosing a body shop, think like the owner. Shops that do most of their work for insurance companies don't really need your business.
If they throw a number at you and you decline, you're only a drop in the bucket.
        Smaller shops or trade schools will probably give your project more personal attention. Stress the fact that this machine takes up much less space than a car and can be worked on between other jobs.

        Materials used will cost any shop up to $300.00. The rest is labor and that is the big variable. The number of times is it sprayed, color sanded, buffed and re-sprayed increases the results. Paint always has some "orange-peel" on the original application. Each time it is 'cut and buffed' and clearcoted, it looks better and better. I have enclosed a picture of a Pepsi 81 as an example.  
      So the answer to your original question depends on how much gloss would you like to buy for your machine.

Also have to factor in does your painter also do sand blasting, as he may charge for that too, or just part of his labor expense. or maybe he has to farm that out?

Paint is one expense as stated and labor can vary...

For a Vendo 81 Style Coke Machines, I pay on average 1500 for Complete stripping of machine, all body work, including rust repair, new bottom shelf, Prep, Paint, buff, clear if needed, buff, and out the door.

        "I'll paint any car any color for $99.95"                :biggrin:

                                          Earl Scheib

Damn I'm old. I remember him offering to paint any car for $69.95

or somewhere in between! 

I was just talking to a friend of mine who is an excellent paint and body guy.  I was asking him about painting a soda machine and he said he would have to see it first but he commented on how the prices of paint and materials has gone up.  His comment was that he could probably get something cheaper but that is what you would be getting.  He doesn't even like working with the cheaper paint products because generally his customer ends up dissatisfied with the results.  Like anything in life, you get what you pay for and when restoring a soda/candy/cig machine the body and finish are going to be one of the most prominent features.  May as well spend the money to do it right!

My two cents anyway.  And yes, I am old enough to remember Earl Scheib!

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

quality leaves no regrets