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Cost of wet sanding entire car and buffing

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Old 04-30-2011, 09:35 PM
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Default Cost of wet sanding entire car and buffing

What is the going rate for a wetsand/buff? I want to bring my car back to it's original shine and get rid of all the scratches and imperfections. I'm pretty sure there is plenty of clear coat left on the car
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Old 04-30-2011, 10:43 PM
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its really hard to say cause people charge different rates i do body work on the side i usually charge at least 350-400 but i hate buffing so i at least try to make it worth my while when im doing it.. an all over buff at a body shop would just depend on the current rate which is usually around $45-50 hr.. hope this helps out man it should get you in the ball park of what to expect
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Old 05-01-2011, 03:08 AM
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That helps a lot man thank you!
Old 05-01-2011, 07:31 PM
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It is a royal pain in the ***, so I would expect at least 500 bucks. I would make sure it is somebody that knows what he is doing. I dont think factory paint has much clear on there so you cant remove much material.
Old 05-01-2011, 08:35 PM
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I see you have a black car. Not to hate on the body shops, or the above poster, but do not allow a body shop to perform this on your car. Take it to a professional detailer who better knows what they are doing. Most every body shop out there will pretty much just scufff the car up, hit it very quick with an extremely aggressive compound and wool pad, and then use a wax to cover up the swirls and buffer marks left by the buffer. It happens all the time.

Better yet....an expereinced detailer will not have to wetsand the entire car. They will compound/polish the car, and the sreas of deep scratches they wil just "spot sand."

And for $350-$400 at a rate of $50/hr, a body shop can NOT perform this task the correct way in 7-8 hours. Body shops are high voume, they make money by getting cars in and out quickly. The car will look great upon pick-up....and after th wax and "fillers" wash off, it will look aweful. Do it right the first time.....go to www.autopia.org and find a knowledgable detailer instead of a local body shop.
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Old 05-02-2011, 04:53 PM
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I know a buff job alone at most of the body shops around here are between $100 - $150 depending where you go. I would probably look for a good detail shop as well, and see what they could do for it.
Old 05-02-2011, 05:04 PM
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I got a detail from "gofast" (one of the best) out in Antioch, CA and he charged me $500 for a stage 2 paint correction (black Z28) which made my car look new again, left the car there for 2 days. He said he got about 90-95% of the imperfections out of the paint. A wet sand/detail would start in the 4 digit range. I doubt you need wetsanding, probably just a very good detail.
Old 05-02-2011, 06:16 PM
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Any body shop that uses terms as lose as "buff job" should already throw up huge red flags. I love when people call me up and say "hey man i need a bufff job".....I already know I'll have to start from the ground up and completely educate them on what all I'm about to do lol.
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Old 05-03-2011, 10:15 PM
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It takes roughly 40hrs to do a proper color sand and buffing... For someone who is truly a professional at it you will be looking at $1000 and up.

These are a good friend of mines cars and he does custom paint and body and it was around 2k a piece to color sand a buff them...
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I made the mistake of letting a guy that was a "detailer" sand and buff my car and it was a nightmare!! I ended up taking it to Duncan Speed that did all the fab, body and paint work on the cars above to get it fixed...
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Old 05-04-2011, 02:14 AM
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I usually price about 3 or 4 hrs per panel to sand the texture out of the clear and polish it using 3 different pads and materials to a mirror like shine.
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Old 05-04-2011, 12:12 PM
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check out Adam's detailing kitClick it maybe a very good option, it removed tons of my scratch's and all my swirl marks, only things it didnt take out was scratchs that were into the paint
Old 05-04-2011, 07:01 PM
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[QUOTE=kyles2000z;14858114]And for $350-$400 at a rate of $50/hr, a body shop can NOT perform this task the correct way in 7-8 hours. Body shops are high voume, they make money by getting cars in and out quickly. The car will look great upon pick-up....and after th wax and "fillers" wash off, it will look aweful. Do it right the first time.....go to www.autopia.org and find a knowledgable detailer instead of a local body shop.[/QUOTE/]

First off i said "I" if I were to buff a car 350-400 is what i would charge not the body shop... and i said the body shop usually charges $50 hr i did not say it was a specified number of hours just trying to get him in the ball park of what to expect... not tryin to be an *** just statin the facts everyones entitled to an opinion though
Old 05-04-2011, 07:06 PM
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didn't see the "on the side" part lol...
Old 05-05-2011, 03:34 PM
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Originally Posted by kyles2000z
didn't see the "on the side" part lol...
no problem i was just tryin to clear it up cause i didnt want anyone going into a shop somewhere and thinkin it was gonna run them in the range of 350-400 and be way off mark by no means if i do it for 350-400 is it going to be show car finish with that price its a good dd makeover with a light sand and buff.. i dont even attempt show car im not that patient lol
Old 05-05-2011, 07:39 PM
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Originally Posted by LSwonMatt
no problem i was just tryin to clear it up cause i didnt want anyone going into a shop somewhere and thinkin it was gonna run them in the range of 350-400 and be way off mark by no means if i do it for 350-400 is it going to be show car finish with that price its a good dd makeover with a light sand and buff.. i dont even attempt show car im not that patient lol
I know what you mean about patience on a show car finish....I have been around my buddy when he has color sanded and buffed cars like the ones I posted above and it is CRAZY the time that gets spent on them.... Like 8hrs on the same door....

but for a daily driven car like you said there is no reason to spend that kind of time on the paint...

Matt
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Old 05-05-2011, 08:50 PM
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DA with 3000 trizac paper and that will speed up the process...safely!
Old 05-06-2011, 07:24 AM
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i think my shop would charge around $1000, turns out looking brand new though, not all scratches and imperfections will be able to come out, some may go away but if you look down the side you may still be able to see it, also you dont want to go to crazy with factory clearcoat, its not that heavy at all so it can burn real easily and then it just looks horrible...get a bunch of estimates and go with the middle guy, dont cheap out because you dont want burnt panels
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Old 05-06-2011, 07:49 AM
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Unless the perso is retarded and underqualifed to use a high speed buffer, nothing should get burnt. A true pro will tape up any edges that may be a concern. But it's true.....don't go with the cheapest price. Unless it's someone like me who does detailing on the side as a hobby/passion....the price usually always relfects the work.



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