A new paint job for my 65 MGB

[John2231]

Hi, I’m brand new here,

My car is a 1965 MGB, bought it new all those years ago. I consider it a daily driver. It has less than 100,000 miles on it. The body is straight with only minor dings and the engine runs well. It needs a paint job. All of the shops I’ve taken it to either don’t want to work on it or want to do a complete restoration. I want a good paint job but don’t want to pay through the nose for it. I’m almost considering Earl Schibe or One Day. But, I want something that looks good and will last.

Any suggestions?

John2231

[MagicRat]

Welcome to AF. That sounds like a very nice car.

Sometimes all body shops can see is dollar signs whizzing around when they see a decent classic car. Since you are the customer, you call the shots. Do not tolerate any shop that wants to talk you into more work than you really need.

There are many degrees of quality in paint jobs, all the way from a $200 special up to $5000++. The difference between them is amount and skill of labour and quality of materials. IMO any body shop should be willing to discuss with you exactly what you need and tailor a job to suit.

Getting all the body panels straight and ding-free takes time. If you do not expect all dings to be eliminated to save money, let the shop know.

Also, there are many different paint systems. Choose the one that fits your needs and budgets. Do some research. Again, a decent body shop can discuss the issue with you.
Acrylic enamel is at the bottom end for quality and durability. It's okay but fades (especially reds) and scratches easily. Try for a base/clear system. Its much better and is a reasonable cost. Up from there are some very sophisticated and expensive paints these days that look terrific and are very durable, but cost a lot.

Finally, some shops may want to strip the car down to the base sheet metal. This is expensive and not necessary much of the time. If the metal is rust free and the old paint is not flaking or bubbling, a strip is not required for a basic paint job.

The super cheap Earl Schibe paint jobs tend to cut too many corners for a decent classic like yours, especially in sanding/prep and material quality. One of their paint jobs will probably decrease the value of your classic more than if you just left the original paint on it, and it will not last long. In the long run you probably will not be happy with it.

So I would suggest do some more shopping around. Ask for references from other body shops. Try going to a classic car cruise night or car show in your area and ask other old car enthusiasts where they got their paint work done.

Finally, your car is pretty small and should cost less to repaint than many American-sized classic cars.