When I had my Porsche painted (Bahia Red) my buddy told me to get ready, as red's were some of the most expensive because of the pigment cost.? who knows for sure, but it was crazy $$

The high cost is why I decided not to repaint my Chevelle even though the lacquer paint is cracked all over the hood and roof. Being retired, I can't justify spending that kind of money. It's just crazy how the cost has gone up.

Back in 2010 when the tsunami hit the east coast of Japan it wiped out one of the few factories in the world that makes red pigment for automotive paint. Most US car manufacturers could not produce cars painted red for a period of time after that natural disaster. My guess is with very few suppliers of red pigment, the price for red paint is adjusted accordingly.

That's true,but that was 10 years ago & you would think that factory would've recovered by now. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-j...72P04B20110326

Thanks for that information everyone. I was looking at buying a '70 GTO in the 90's outside of Pittsburgh and before I did I talked with my buddy who painted cars and he told me that if I got it that I should expect to pay a lot more because it was red (Cardinal red?) and I always wondered why red was more expensive. Honestly, you would think that some paint manufacturers would have came up with something that is good quality for less money nowadays.

It's the pigments they use in the reds Mark. I know, doesn't sound like a good excuse but that's what they tell me.

Very seldom do I paint a red car these days just because of that reason. Once the owner finds out the cost of the color they quickly change their minds.

Most of the time I use BASF product, and their best quality is Diamont, which is an excellent paint. Compared to PPG and their top quality brand, the Diamont usually averages $200-$300 a gallon cheaper depending on the color. So customers generally go for the BASF more than the PPG.

So you can joggle things around and save a few bucks here and there, but the bottom line is that the solvent paints that we still use here, are just really expensive now. I can easily spend well over $3,000 on materials alone for a car these days, and that's not the super high end material either. Price some Sikkens if you want a real shocker.

And people ask why I love to cruise my primer gray 69 and haven't painted it lol In all seriousness I love the looks, but she'll get painted when I'm done building my new garage.

https://live.staticflickr.com/965/41...dc6ab790_k.jpg20180514_223233 by Dave H, on Flickr

It’s just crazy. Always find it amusing when a “friend” says, “You want how much to paint my car? And that’s on top of the restoration cost?”:shocked:

Yes...I do....but please, I beg of you, humor me and go to the local paint shop and YOU price this here materials list out without getting a shop discount and let me know how that works out for ya!:smirk:

Good times!:biggthumpup:

Cheers:beers:
Dave

I've seen more & more rattle can paint jobs lately,and this could be why.
You'd never know it,as many of them are simply beautiful.

This may sound funny coming from a painter but I actually enjoy the cars we have that aren't painted the most.

That's specifically why I left the Z in primer, so my wife could drive it without worry, and likely why I'll never restore the nomad. I enjoyed daily driving that car 30 years ago and I want to get back to doing that, so highly likely I won't be painting that one either.

It's not the cost of the materials, it's just the fact that I don't want to have to worry about it, and just drive them and have fun.