New Paint Job

With looking at that last thread I have been wondering about a new paint job. Prevost in Fort Worth says to use DFW Truck and Trailer but he wants $23K for a single color paint job.
What is a good price? Maybe I may just have to make a trip up to OR

James,

Talk to the Birdland Coach guys here in Houston and see if they have a recommendation. I also know there is a place in Austin that paints coaches, but I don't have a report on their work.

JDUB

James: We just had our coach painted and are terrifically happy with the workmanship and quality. We picked out new graphics and new colors and gave the information to Coach Specialties located in Alameda, CA. They have a hughe ex Navy paint facility. The owners have been doing bus repairs and painting for years and are bus repair experts. Our coach is 5 seperate colors counting the gold striping plus they painted the roof white.. They will paint your bus in a range of 12 to 15 thousand dollars and do an expert job. If you can plan a trip to the San Francisco Bay area , you won't be disapointed.
Call Don @:
Coach Specialties, 2301 Monarch St. Alameda, CA 94501
510-749-1398 510-749-1492
Dbusguy2@ aol.com
Use our name if you want.
Harry & Shirley Hoppe

James

I had my 92 XL painted last fall by Freightliner of Houston. I chose them after a friend had his older Newell painted by them and it looked outstanding. They did a great job and were somewhat reasonable. I really liked being able to go by and check on things on a daily basis if I wanted. Give Wally Melia a call at 713.580.8595. Wally is the Manager of the Body Shop for Freightliner in Houston. If you want more info, give me a call at 713.831.6496.

Loc

Just an update,

I called Mike at http://willyscustomconcepts.tripod.com/ nice guy and said he that a single color would start at $8500 and that I could drop the coach off early or leave it there for a while afterwards.

I then went over to Birdland here in Houston for a part and found out that they also have a 50 foot paint booth there on site. That was my first time going there and I was please with the people and place. They said the paint job would run about the same.

Harry,

Do they sand the old paint off complelely down to the bare metal?

Do they use Imron paint?

I know nothing about painting a coach, but I was told that that is the best method; start with bare metal, sanding and filling, then primer coat, then top coats, covered by clear coats.

Those prices seem very reasonable.

Tuga,

You're correct about the right way to paint a bus (or other aluminum skinned machine). Stripping and light sanding or etching is the best way. Additionally, if the painter uses dry media as opposed to chemically stripping, you should be doubly sure to get references and make sure his customers haven't experienced damage to the stainless or glass. Chemical stripping is the safest which is what Willy's (Mike Wilson) uses in Oregon but media stripping is okay also if done by an expert. Also, Imron is no longer the best paint system. A full polymer, base coat/clear coat system is what most quality painters will currently use.

After years of using professional painters (mostly on aircraft), it's been my experience (1) you almost always get what you pay for (2) most painters will negotiate on price. Incidentally, Willy's paintjobs are really a work of art. If one wants a single color, without blending of colors or creative graphics, I think there are lots of other options out there. Sounds like Harry found a good source also. Bling is more than LEDs :)

BrianE
94Liberty XL

[SIZE="4"]Brian, I see that your bus was painted by Willy's. I love that color. JIM :D :D[/SIZE]

Tuga: BrianE is right on target with his description of a modern day paint system. Coach Specialties masked off all the stainless steel areas and sanded and on the aluminum sides and roof filled imperfections, primed with a compatible primer, color coated, and several coats of clear coat. When finished every detail was covered including the interior door edges and jambs, repaint of the wiper arms and painted the roof white. Bare SS and aluminum gets too hot to touch in the sun. The white roof really made a difference.
They are a first class operation and used 5 main colors plus the black wipers and white roof. We handed a 8x10 picture of the graphics we wanted and we selected the colors, they took that and did a great job.

Ditto here Harry, to the last detail. We are both very fortunate guys to have found such good painters.

BrianE
"Bling is an attitude.":)