Painting the Camaro Bumble Bee

[selahpark]

Hi everyone! I ordered my Camaro this weekend and I'm planning to paint the car when I get it with the original bumblebee color and stripes. Essentially similar to the one that's on this older page which I love how it turned out: http://www.michiganclassics.com/TransformersCamaro/ I've talked to a couple of really nice people here about the colors and other information. I know some people here have painted the car themselves already, either some other colors or possibly BB? I don't know if anyone here has attempted that.

Well the real reason I made this topic was because I wanted to get some insight from the rest of you about painting the car. I've talked to a few painters already and I'm trying to get an idea of how much I'll be paying and what type of quality I can get. I even got in touch with West Coast Customs (the pimp my ride guys?) and they quoted me about 12k which I think is overkill. More, or less though, I figure I'll be paying about 4-5k for the paint job, including materials. I've talked to someone in my area and this is roughly what they quoted me. I'm wondering then for those that have painted there's or have some experience with it, what type of drawbacks you encountered painting the car and perhaps any recommended painters that will do a professional job at a not to ridiculous price. I live in the LA area in California.

I'm really looking to do more of a show room paint job and not just a factory paint job. So any comments or feedback would be appreciated.

[wullger]

If they quoted you 4-5k for the paint job it's going to look like crap.

[selahpark]

Originally Posted by wullger

If they quoted you 4-5k for the paint job it's going to look like crap.

Okay. Could you kindly get into more details to explain why?

[Indpowr]

4-6k will get you a semi decent paint job depending on the shop. In CA it would cost more like 7-8k.

A very good paint job will be 12-15k which is what you should want in a car, no overspray, no drips, fish eyes, etc.

[bolteon593]

12k is about right esp considering the paint that goes on there for the actual bumblebee color (valspar sunrise yellow or something close to that)

[jpsuperman81]

I have to agree 4 to 5 k is the cost of an average paint job today. CA is more expensive and the paint for bumble bee itself is very expensive. I would estimate the paint alone is around 4 or 5k. Definitely lookin at 10k + job to do it right. Not worth it in my opinion unless you got more money than sense or are just a diehard transformers fan. I have the luxury in todays economy to live comfortably and pay for my camaro in full but I'm not about to throw down another 10k for special paint. i will love my rally yellow and love my bank account for not shrinking more than it already will be. Just my .02

[cliffy]

I would have to say with this economy the OP should be able to find a quality job in the 5-6k region from a middle tier custom painter. Sounds like what he wants is a pretty basic job with stripes not a Billy B paintjob. An outfit with an idle paint gun and a less than full shop will be quite accommodating. There is no reason a 5k paint joint should look like crap, at most its a 60-80 hour job, there is a lot of guys that will prep, wetsand, and spray for $50/hr in this economy. When guys were paying 10k for 3 pieces of Harley tin not too long ago, I just shook my head. Hopefully reality will set back in. A big factor in what the OP wants is the cost of the paint


12-15k paint jobs are of course out there and way up, anything is possible depending how much you want to pay, but they are nothing I'd want to be running around in putting a lot of miles city driving with.

[The_Blur]

Saleen painted Bumblebee for the Transformers movie. Before we go any further into this discussion, I should quote fbodfather.

Originally Posted by fbodfather

We have no immediate plans to offer a Bumblebee Package --

There will be three cars specially painted (not at the plant) to fulfill the Transformers Contest.

Ladies and Gentlemen -- the cost of the Bumblebee paint alone approaches what some of you would be willing to pay....that does not include any prep or the painting itself -- or cleanup --

If you're willing to invest in this sort of treatment, then be sure to only enter into shows that will recognize that sort of investment in your whip. The closest color is called Valspar Sunrise, although Hasbro has branded the the actual Bumblebee color, making it unlikely to be released ever.

[Mr_Draco]

Originally Posted by cliffy

I would have to say with this economy the OP should be able to find a quality job in the 5-6k region from a middle tier custom painter. Sounds like what he wants is a pretty basic job with stripes not a Billy B paintjob. An outfit with an idle paint gun and a less than full shop will be quite accommodating. There is no reason a 5k paint joint should look like crap, at most its a 60-80 hour job, there is a lot of guys that will prep, wetsand, and spray for $50/hr in this economy. When guys were paying 10k for 3 pieces of Harley tin not too long ago, I just shook my head. Hopefully reality will set back in. A big factor in what the OP wants is the cost of the paint


12-15k paint jobs are of course out there and way up, anything is possible depending how much you want to pay, but they are nothing I'd want to be running around in putting a lot of miles city driving with.

I actually sat down and added up the cost and made the list here on the forums somewhere as I was wanting to do it as well. Using my local paint shops charge of $20 an hour labor, the total cost for the paint job came out to $14,000

[cliffy]

Originally Posted by Mr_Draco

I actually sat down and added up the cost and made the list here on the forums somewhere as I was wanting to do it as well. Using my local paint shops charge of $20 an hour labor, the total cost for the paint job came out to $14,000

Of course this level of paint using House of Kolor Paint (Valspar's formal name for it) and the number of manhours needed to create it are well beyond the scope and pocketbook of the average guy trying to emulate the look of the BumbleBee. Plus paint jobs like this are for show cars that will never see chipseal or a rainy day

I would be happy with a paintjob that emulated the look, was durable and half the cost, I.E. stock Rally Yellow or perhaps even Velocity is good enough for me and my road car

[selahpark]

Originally Posted by cliffy

I would have to say with this economy the OP should be able to find a quality job in the 5-6k region from a middle tier custom painter. Sounds like what he wants is a pretty basic job with stripes not a Billy B paintjob. An outfit with an idle paint gun and a less than full shop will be quite accommodating. There is no reason a 5k paint joint should look like crap, at most its a 60-80 hour job, there is a lot of guys that will prep, wetsand, and spray for $50/hr in this economy. When guys were paying 10k for 3 pieces of Harley tin not too long ago, I just shook my head. Hopefully reality will set back in. A big factor in what the OP wants is the cost of the paint


12-15k paint jobs are of course out there and way up, anything is possible depending how much you want to pay, but they are nothing I'd want to be running around in putting a lot of miles city driving with.

Thanks for your replies everyone. Cliffy, I'm not so concerned about the paint costs. I'm willing to invest in the best paint, clear base, etc. The local painter I talked to gave me a small laundry list of the stuff he'd need. I gave him the paint code for sunrise yellow (as someone else mentioned previously). I guess I'm more concerned with the cost of the labor. As you said, I don't think I'd get such a bad job at 5-6k. But I guess if I really want a show room job, I'll need to fork out more cash.

[rockyz1980]

sounds cool. keep us updated.

[Supermans]

Originally Posted by selahpark

Hi everyone! I ordered my Camaro this weekend and I'm planning to paint the car when I get it with the original bumblebee color and stripes. Essentially similar to the one that's on this older page which I love how it turned out: http://www.michiganclassics.com/TransformersCamaro/ I've talked to a couple of really nice people here about the colors and other information. I know some people here have painted the car themselves already, either some other colors or possibly BB? I don't know if anyone here has attempted that.

Well the real reason I made this topic was because I wanted to get some insight from the rest of you about painting the car. I've talked to a few painters already and I'm trying to get an idea of how much I'll be paying and what type of quality I can get. I even got in touch with West Coast Customs (the pimp my ride guys?) and they quoted me about 12k which I think is overkill. More, or less though, I figure I'll be paying about 4-5k for the paint job, including materials. I've talked to someone in my area and this is roughly what they quoted me. I'm wondering then for those that have painted there's or have some experience with it, what type of drawbacks you encountered painting the car and perhaps any recommended painters that will do a professional job at a not to ridiculous price. I live in the LA area in California.

I'm really looking to do more of a show room paint job and not just a factory paint job. So any comments or feedback would be appreciated.

I hope you ordered your Camaro in white, since that is the base color needed before sunrise yellow is applied over it..

[selahpark]

Originally Posted by Supermans

I hope you ordered your Camaro in white, since that is the base color needed before sunrise yellow is applied over it..

You sure about that? I've heard different from black, white and even yellow. Yellow actually helps save some money on coloring.