Thread: Two tone paint on a Model A roadster

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I am considering having my 1930 Model A painted in a two tone. The hood, rumble seat, and the small area around the top would be painted in a Sonic blue like on Mustangs and the lower part of the body & steel fenders would be done in a light to medium Mazda silver. My current plans are to paint the frame the Sonic blue also and the 32 dash would be painted blue.

My question is how much more should it cost to have a two tone paint job as compared to a single color? I am also thinking about having the whole interior sections which are not visible covered with spray on Lizard Skin. I would appreciate your input and advice. I am about 6 months or so away from painting the body, but maybe two months away from having the custom frame painted. My current plans are to use PPG. Thanks in advance!

I guess a lot depends on the style of your Model A. What theme did you follow building it?

Post some pictures of what it looks like now, and we will have a better shot at giving you some help on this.


Don

I would say the only person who knows the answer to this will be the painters that you offer the job to. The cost of having it done will vary wildly, depending on who you pick, and what you will settle for.

I am on the low side for pro custom painters, who may charge up to 10K-$15K. I don't do simple schemes, but have found that at $30 an hour, a rod usually soaks up $7500-$10K in hours and quality materials. (The paint and prep materials will run $1500-$3000, depending on condition and colors.)

However, I'm sure there's some nice guy who would do it all for a "thou" or two....like your local Earl Scheibe, or someone who paints in his back yard........Then there is that "crackhead" with a couple cases of Krylon.

It's "apples and oranges", as they say. You'll just have to look at some local cars, and ask who does what kind of job, for how many $$$.

Hi hotrodpaint,
My 1930 Model A is a Brookville roadster so it will not require any where as much body work as an original with rust issues, dents, and etc. I know painting is like anything else...you get what you pay for. I do not want a 20ft paint job nor do I need a "picture perfect" show quality paint job. I was mainly curious as to how much of a price increase I would be looking at if I had a two tone paint scheme done as opposed to a single color. I would like to have my roadster "skim coated" prior to painting so the paint job will appear flat. I am aware that most of the high dollar painters even Boyd Codington skim coats his high end custom built cars.

My roadster will have wide rear Hoosier Pro street radials under custom fabricated rear steel fenders & running boards. The Hagan hood will have the dual scoops on the side with that area removed & replaced by stainless steel grills. I have no door handles, but my exposed door hinges will be highly polished. The windshield will be either a delux windshield with upper & lower stanchions being SS or possibly a Duvall. I am not sure of the Duvall would be too much of a change from the rest of the Model A's scheme. What is YOUR OPINION? The top will be a topster II.

Sorry there are no pics because I am just in the middle of completing the frame and suspension waiting on the narrowed Dutchman housing. I am also trying to decide whether to powder coat the frame when it is complete or to have it detailed and sprayed the same PPG color as the hood & rumble seat. So many decisions and this is my FIRST build. All thoughts or recommendations are greatly appreciated. I spend lots of time using search doing my research from so many guys who really know what is happening.

Thanks,
StylingZ

My point of all the rambling is that there is no "set amount" for paint services. That is why I told you a paint job can vary fro $1K to $15K. If the job can vary that much, how can a person tell you how much more for a 2-tone?

There are so many things to consider, that the obvious answer to your question is......."It all depends"! You will just have to get some estimates from people who can do the job.

I can tell you that skim coating is a good idea, since all of the new bodies will have some imperfections. I have been in the custom paint biz for 35 years, and I can tell you with certainty, the only question is "how many?". What they do not show you in those TV programs is the same guy that spead that glaze all over the car spent the next two days block sanding it flat.....and that's a fact!!! Expect it to affect the price.

Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT

My point of all the rambling is that there is no "set amount" for paint services.
I can tell you that skim coating is a good idea, since all of the new bodies will have some imperfections. I have been in the custom paint biz for 35 years, and I can tell you with certainty, the only question is "how many?". What they do not show you in those TV programs is the same guy that spead that glaze all over the car spent the next two days block sanding it flat.....and that's a fact!!! Expect it to affect the price.

HOTROD PAINT & StylingZ,
I will be eventually posting the body prep pictures of my Brookville bodied 30-31. Be rest assured, there are LOTS of fairly significant imperfections - the worst that I have found so far is that the tops of the rear quarters, just adjacent to the raised detail next to the trunk are incorrectly formed - being very low. The door skins are low on both the hinge and latch side and the trunk lid looks like it was formed with a ball pein hammer, including the lap over the inner panel. Then to top it off, the primer is a very soft red oxide acrylic and needs to be entirely rmoved (per email from Brookville ). And I would guess they put it on to hide their screwups.

This all means that the entire body as supplied by Brookville needs at least a skim coat of filler.

StylingZ,
This is just more of my trials on this car - wish I could be more upbeat, but this is the way it is - hope yours is better.

Added 9/15 - I have the Brookville raised rear deck former ($150 mistake to buy, but...) and they leaded it into place. That's fine, but to hide their assembly errors, they spot puttied the grooves left from grinding !!!!
Also, the top of the quarters are worse than suspected tho the sides are surprisingly straight

As I read your post you seem to be asking how much would the price difference be if you want to do a 2-tone paint scheme... Since most of the cost of a good paintjob is in the prep work that should be the same if you paint it a single color or two-tone, their will be some additional labor to mask and base the second color and the clearing process should be about the same. I think it would be reasonable to expect the two tone to cost somewhere between 10-20% more than a single color. As has been said before, cost will depend greatly on who is painting it.

Here is something you might want to consider... Many paint shops prefer to spray "their" brand of paint and will charge more if you insist on a certain brand. In some cases like some of the House of Color paints you have no option but to spray their color as they are impossible to mix, but since you are looking at factory colors the paint formulas are readily available. In my shop if you insist on PPG I am going to have to charge more since that is not a brand I spry often and therefor don't keep their products in stock or buy them in bulk.

Dave Brisco

While you are planning, try to look up the stock paint scheme that was on the Model A Cabriolet. It lools like a lot of work to mask out the various outlines but the final effect is outstanding. Perhaps that is more demanding than the two tone scheme you outline but it might be worth considering.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder