Cost to paint two car fenders

B

Bailey28

Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
179
Location
Gainesville FL
Scored two fenders in perfect shape from the LKQ u pull it yard for my Dodge Charger. Issue is they need to be painted to match the rest of the car.

Option 1, buy all the supplies needed to paint the fenders. Respirator, paint, 2k clear, sanding, primer, tack cloth, my labor is free. No guarantee it is going to come out right.

Option 2, take the fenders to a body shop and have them paint them, I will install them on the car.

Option 3, bolt the fenders on and drive the car to the body shop and have them painted.

I have never been to a body shop for any kind of repair and am not familiar with how much it would cost to have done.
Youtubers make it look easy to paint and I love DIY, but could this be 'one of those things' where it might be better left to the pros?
 
No paint matches perfectly. Unless its pure white (not pearl) then it might be close. A body shop will blend into the hood and door to get a transition so your eye does not follow it.

Have you ever painted before? The biggest thing is having somewhere to paint. You don't want to paint in an attached garage, and you will need to cover everything or it will be covered in overspray. Also fully expect it to be full of dust, etc - because your not in an updraft paint booth.

I learned to paint decades ago while working at a GM dealer with a body shop. I have successfully painted some body repair on some old cars I didn't care a lot about. Obviously anything close to color match will look better than a bent up fender.

So it depends on how much you wish to spend and how good you wish it to be. I would go ask a couple body shops in your area how much they would charge. A lot of them are way backed up and are not interested in small jobs either way.
 
Option 3.

a. Pay extra for color matching / let down panel where the painter will spray out different variants rather than just look them up in the book and eyeball them.

b. Have the adjacent panels blended; hood, doors, possibly bumper if you want it to be perfect. This will be the most costly but you will get professional results.


 
I think before you make a move you may want to ask yourself a few questions such as....

How meticulous do you want the paint color to match? (Perfect, good enough or as long as it's close) for example.
Same with finish quality.
Then ask yourself, "how long do I want this paint to last"?

There will be cost involved either way, but a LOT more labor one way.
If you lean towards wanting it absolutely perfect and want it to last the longest time, letting a professional do it is probably advised.
I use urethanes for nearly indestructable finishes. Those finishes can outlast the car.

If you don't mind the work, don't need it 100% perfect, then you can certainly do it yourself at home with no paint booth.
For me, Duplicolor and Spraymax 2k does the job.
My older Caravans look deceptively new with rattle can paint and 2k clearcoat. The larger the area (like roof), the more difficult with rattle cans.
If I want pro level quality I buy pro grade paints, reducers and thinners from the auto body supply house.

Regardless of what anyone tells you, you can get a finish so close to professional that it will be difficult to differentiate, with spray cans.
But generally, they're not as durable. With care you can get 4-5 years out of a rattle can job.
Paint Society has a video on this on his youtube channel. He is awesome.
It just depends on your spraying skills and body repair skills. That said, it's not as easy as it sounds because spray cans don't have the consistency and pressure to move volumes of paint in a great pattern like a good spray gun will.

Maybe you know all this already?
If you decide to do it yourself, just consider it a learning curve experience, take your time and have fun with it.
Few things are more satisfying than painting automotive panels yourself and having them come out super glossy and like new.
Oh, and at least protect your lungs and skin. painting involves some nasty chemicals.
 
Last edited:
Bailey28 said:
Scored two fenders in perfect shape from the LKQ u pull it yard for my Dodge Charger. Issue is they need to be painted to match the rest of the car.
Click to expand...
I would have waited until I could have scored two the right color to avoid even needing paint.
Also, there are online retailers that will ship you a fender already painted the right color.
 
Bailey28 said:
Option 2, take the fenders to a body shop and have them paint them, I will install them on the car.

Option 3, bolt the fenders on and drive the car to the body shop and have them painted.
Click to expand...
Call around to local body shops and report back which of these two options they prefer. My guess is that they will all or almost all say Option 3, because they don't want to deviate from their norm. Also report back pricing. I'm also guessing that a lot won't give you pricing on the phone and will want to to install the fenders and want to to bring them the car for a quote. They want to make it as difficult as possible for you to shop around.
 
If you have never painted a car before I suggest taking it to a shop. What color are you dealing with. Certain colors can be very difficult to work with
 
Eastwood or Spraymax will make a spray can of 2k clear coat. You basically insert a rupture button on the bottom of the can and press firmly, this ruptures a bladder that allows the 2k hardner to activate the clearcoat in the other chamber of the can. You then shake it and spray immediately. When the job is done the leftover clear coat is discarded as once it is activated it will harden in the can. I beleive once it is activated it will be usable for no more than 4 hours. I have used it upwards of 2 hrs max.

As for the base color, you can get a spray can from any brand as long as it is the right paint code. The color WILL NOT match your car. It will be 2-3 shades off always. Silver and white are the worst!
 
The rest of the car is in fairly good shape. The reason for replacing the fenders is that they both have dents in them. The rear bumper needs a repaint as well. The paint doesn't need to be perfect, in fact out of the two silver colors Dodge offered that year I bought fenders that I thought were the same as the ones on my car, however they wound up being a shade different from each other lol. I have the light silver color car and the fenders are more of a grey color, both metallic.

I watched the 'paint society' video along with many others, picking up tips from each video, and watched a guy on youtube spray guitar bodies in his garage. I have a garage to paint in and don't mind the learning curve. I have done several auto paint projects before only not presentable body work. The sanding and getting dust, dirt and specs out seems to be the most important. That 2k clear glossy look coming out of an aerosol can looks magical.

I have a jig I can rest the fenders on already.

zzyzzx it sounds like getting quotes from a body shop is a pain.
 
Put the fenders on yourself, then start working the phone for a price to get painted by a shop. That will avoid any damage you may do installing them after they are painted. I've painted cars with spray cans and cleat coat. Never comes out right....Shop around, shop around, shop around ,getting quotes. You may get a shop that is slow and needs some work. Once the shop paints it. Don't touch it for 60 days. The paint has to cure. That even applies if you do it yourself. No wax or ceramic coatings. Painting is a messy job and you need good ventilation. The overspray is insane. I'm dealing with that right now, because I just finished some work on a Camry hood. Not worth the aggravation. Let the shop make their own mess. You can't spray outdoors either due to weather conditions and bugs. Take it to a shop.
 
Paint fade over time so any body part swap with the same color code and same year would still look different, and painter has to "blend in" manually when spraying. It takes skill and experience to do it right.

If you don't care too much about obviously different fade you might just buy the same one and swap it on, but it will not be the same if you don't paint it on the car with a skilled painter blending it in.
 
Self painting takes skills. I did a real B/S job on that Camry because it will be my daughter's 1st car. 06' Camry. I spray painted 1/2 of the trunk, 1/2 of the hood, both bumpers, and touched up with brush bottles the rest of the car. The car looks horrible. But, better than rust. My daughter does not care, she just wants to drive. Mechanically, it's tip top. That's all that matters. She's not a materialistic kid. We didn't raise her that way. She's grateful for what's she's getting. She will be laughed at in Senior year of High School. It's nicknamed the " Measle Mobile " And she still doesn't care.. So, just put the fenders on, THEN start working the phones for a body shop. You can always drive the car to the shop to tweek the quote by them looking at it. Do the job the right way and be done with it. A painter can match the color closer and you will be happier in the end.
 
I’m not a pro but enjoy painting in the garage. I’d spray them off the car and install afterward based on what you’re saying. Sure they won’t be perfect… but what do the dents look like that are on the original fenders? Might be able to have a PDR tech straighten those out.
 
The color of the primer can make a world of difference, most auto paint suppliers will have rattle cans of different shades, get the closest shade to the color you are painting. I blend my own using Nason poly primer in white and black, first primer coat is always epoxy grey than the poly for finish sanding. Some colors like red, yellow and white use white primer it really cuts down on the number of coats needed to cover. Silver will use a shade of grey.

axalta-primer-shades.webp
 
Option 3 anything other than white. All paint has some fade . without the adjacent panels it will look like hell. Can't blend adjacent panels. Any color will have to adjust the color "admixing". Even cheap single stage paint job on a used panel is 3 trips in the booth.
 
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