Paint jobs

[eman1200]

high level question, but ROUGHLY what does a paint job cost, say for a mid 70's Archer? Can you take advantage of a paint job to include any other repairs or maintenance checks at the same time? anything else to consider if a paint job is needed? Thanks y'all.

 

[Clip4]

high level question, but ROUGHLY what does a paint job cost, say for a mid 70's Archer? Can you take advantage of a paint job to include any other repairs or maintenance checks at the same time? anything else to consider if a paint job is needed? Thanks y'all.

$12-15k. It is variable with the number of colors and scheme.

 

[acluffpoa]

Some of the cost will depend on the scheme you want. I had my 172 painted last year and it cost me $11,500 with full chemical stripping, a base number of body work hours with white base and three additional colors. I took the opportunity to replace wingtips, wheel pants and most plastic parts which added a bunch to the total.

Completed paint job

 

[N747JB]

Like many things in aviation, it depends.
For a good strip and paint, you are looking from $10-15K, you can probably get a decent job for $8-10K, a lot depends on the area of the country you are in and how good you want it to look. A lot of cheap paint jobs look cheap, some expensive paint jobs look cheap. It's a good time to do any other body type repairs or mods. I wouldn't schedule an annual during painting, but I would do one right before, so the paint will stay scratch free a little longer.

high level question, but ROUGHLY what does a paint job cost, say for a mid 70's Archer? Can you take advantage of a paint job to include any other repairs or maintenance checks at the same time? anything else to consider if a paint job is needed? Thanks y'all.

 

[JasonM]

high level question, but ROUGHLY what does a paint job cost, say for a mid 70's Archer? Can you take advantage of a paint job to include any other repairs or maintenance checks at the same time? anything else to consider if a paint job is needed? Thanks y'all.

You buying an airplane?

 

[acluffpoa]

Make sure you replace all glass you need to replace before painting. You will really dork your new paint job up replacing glass afterwards.

 

[eman1200]

You buying an airplane?

well......I dunno. bottom line is, and this probably warrants it's own thread, but I know NOTHING about owning a plane. I do, however, have a potential opportunity and I know for sure this plane needs a paint job. so, although clearly not the most important thing to be concerned about, it's definitely in need.

 

[N747JB]

well......I dunno. bottom line is, and this probably warrants it's own thread, but I know NOTHING about owning a plane. I do, however, have a potential opportunity and I know for sure this plane needs a paint job. so, although clearly not the most important thing to be concerned about, it's definitely in need.

If all it needs is paint, you can account for that, but if you add glass, which it will probably need, you can add another few $$. If the interior is as old as the paint, it probably needs that too, $5K minimum. How's the avionics? are they what you want, or will you want to upgrade that a little as well?? You can spend as much as you want in the panel, from a simple audio panel to a glass cockpit, so plan accordingly. I am not trying to discourage you from buying, just don't buy one that needs too many things done or you will be way upside down, real quick!!

 

[eman1200]

If all it needs is paint, you can account for that, but if you add glass, which it will probably need, you can add another few $$. If the interior is as old as the paint, it probably needs that too, $5K minimum. How's the avionics? are they what you want, or will you want to upgrade that a little as well?? You can spend as much as you want in the panel, from a simple audio panel to a glass cockpit, so plan accordingly. I am not trying to discourage you from buying, just don't buy one that needs too many things done or you will be way upside down, real quick!!

no no, this feedback is greatly appreciated. I am not uber-thrilled with the panel, although I've seen worse. interior is very acceptable, on initial view the glass seemed ok, but like someone said above, this is the time to replace it if needed. I just had no idea on what a paint job goes for.

 

[oldShar]

An extra $40k ought to get you started

 

[eman1200]

An extra $40k ought to get you started

see, you're probably not even joking, and I'm wondering if it's worth saving a heck of a lot more money and getting a later model mooney than trying to 'get a good deal' on an older archer. I dunno.

 

[N747JB]

see, you're probably not even joking, and I'm wondering if it's worth saving a heck of a lot more money and getting a later model mooney than trying to 'get a good deal' on an older archer. I dunno.

Good deals are relative, if you mean buying an airplane cheap, lots of those around. Buying the airplane you want, like you want it, that's a good deal. If you want a Mooney and buy an Archer, how long until you are ready to trade up? It costs a lot of money to buy and sell an airplane, fees, taxes, the first annual etc. Buy the second airplane first.

 

[JasonM]

well......I dunno. bottom line is, and this probably warrants it's own thread, but I know NOTHING about owning a plane. I do, however, have a potential opportunity and I know for sure this plane needs a paint job. so, although clearly not the most important thing to be concerned about, it's definitely in need.

Well....... As a fairly new owner myself, I will advise that you "plan for the worst" but cross your fingers for the best. I was quickly schooled on the costs of ownership before I even picked up the airplane. Plan on some buffer $$$ in the event things don't go as planned. I would go for something as new/nice as you can afford.

 

[frfly172]

Just for a good paint job would be about 15k ,for a great paint job with some body work 19-22 grand in the northeast. It's not recommended to do say an annual at the same time as the paint job. Good luck

 

[N747JB]

I wonder if painting a mid 70's 4 cylinder 4 place basic airplane makes any economic sense? I know flying doesn't make economic sense, but for a lot of these old birds the paint job is 20-25% of the value of the plane.
I can tell you from buying planes over the years the discount for needing paint is nowhere near the cost of getting it painted right.
I priced a 182 paint job for a buddy at the shop that painted Charlene and it was north of $15K, I think it was $17-18K with tu-tone etc. Not much less for a 172, so unless it has all the other things going for it, engine times, avionics and interior, it makes a tough sell financially. Unless you just want to have it the way you want it.

 

[Fearless Tower]

It's not recommended to do say an annual at the same time as the paint job. Good luck

IF the IA and paint shop are on the same field, you can do them together. You just want to do the inspection prior to sending it over to the paint shop.

 

[Flyhound]

There is HUGE cost variability for aircraft painting. I had a great job done on an older Grumman traveler I owned by a farmer with a grass strip. He gave up on farming and used some of his field help to strip and prepare aircraft for repainting. Then he modified his barn to create several paint booths. That was a long time ago, so the cost wouldn't mean much today, but he was less than half the cost of his competitors and did a fantastic job.

Last year a partnership I was in shopped long and hard for a shop to strip and repaint a 182 we owned. It had some corrosion problems. The cost estimates ranged from $11,900 to $18,000. We had the lowest bidder do the work and are very happy with the results.

 

[evapilotaz]

Why is it so expensive to paint an airplane anyway in comparison to paint a car or truck. Is it the prep work, type of paint or is it because everything in aviation is way over price?

 

[TUPilot]

Our Cherokee was painted about 5 years ago by the previous owner for $9k and change. It looks good in general, but I definitely have found some issues that I don't think would be present had they gone with a better known (and more expensive) shop. They chose not to replace several plastic/fiberglass parts, and one wing-tip certainly shows it! I just have my fingers crossed that the prep work was done properly; I can live with some minor flaws and cracks on fiberglass parts, but I don't want non-cosmetic issues.

 

[kyleb]

Why is it so expensive to paint an airplane anyway in comparison to paint a car or truck. Is it the prep work, type of paint or is it because everything in aviation is way over price?

Many reasons. Some include:

-Airplanes are stripped down to bare metal. That's a lot of work.

-Light singles probably have 3x the surface area of the typical automobile.

-There is a lot of disassembly involved in an airplane repaint.

-There will probably be fiberglass (or plastic) repairs. Those take time, and time is money.

-There is a lot more paperwork and professional assistance involved, usually including rebalancing control surfaces and signing off the aircraft as airworthy following the repaint and reassembly.

 

[docmirror]

We've got a guy here in N TX that will strip and paint a 4 seater for about $7k. He does very nice work, but requires that the owner/op remove and install all the flight controls(liability). This includes some basic metal repairs that you typically find. If you want to do a lot of fairing work, that costs more. Sometimes it's best to have any fairings you're going to replace ready when the job starts.

If you can't or won't swap the flight controls yourself, he will have an a&p come do it. His work is very good, but he's kind of slow. PM me if you want his contact info.

 

[KSMooniac]

see, you're probably not even joking, and I'm wondering if it's worth saving a heck of a lot more money and getting a later model mooney than trying to 'get a good deal' on an older archer. I dunno.

If you ultimately want a Mooney, then there isn't really a good enough deal on any Archer to make sense IMO. Dunno if you want to buy/now fly now with something cheaper, vs. waiting a long time to buy a Mooney, but the days of getting your money back from used airplanes (especially older, un-upgraded ones) are long gone. Upgrades and big maintenance (like a paint job) will be lucky to return 50 cents on the dollar, so if you buy an Archer, paint it, and then sell it you're likely looking at losing $5k right off the bat. If you plan to keep it for a long time, then you get the enjoyment of the upgrade.

Not sure what kind of Mooney you want, but the 60's-70's models can be had for pretty modest money these days. (although I don't know what Archers sell for these days)

As mentioned already, the transaction costs of selling and buying a plane are pretty significant, especially since the fleet just gets older and older so you have to be more patient, look at more, travel, etc. to potentially find a good one. Then you get to discover the previous owner's deferred maintenance items. Much better to buy what you ultimately want first, and if needed, get a savvy instructor to teach you to fly it competently.

 

[LoneAspen]

Some of the cost will depend on the scheme you want. I had my 172 painted last year and it cost me $11,500 with full chemical stripping, a base number of body work hours with white base and three additional colors. I took the opportunity to replace wingtips, wheel pants and most plastic parts which added a bunch to the total.

Completed paint job

Wow - that is nice!

 

[fiveoboy01]

You should see his panel... It's just as nice lol

 

[Arrow115]

We've got a guy here in N TX that will strip and paint a 4 seater for about $7k. He does very nice work, but requires that the owner/op remove and install all the flight controls(liability). This includes some basic metal repairs that you typically find. If you want to do a lot of fairing work, that costs more. Sometimes it's best to have any fairings you're going to replace ready when the job starts.

If you can't or won't swap the flight controls yourself, he will have an a&p come do it. His work is very good, but he's kind of slow. PM me if you want his contact info.

Where is he based?