I've had my '95 Talon for 13 years. It has been in two serious rear end collisions, had the roof and mirrors pooly painted, and has a junkyard front bumper. The repairs in the rear are failing (rust coming through bondo and cracking paint). The non-original clear and base on the roof and mirrors are chipping. The front bumper is a junkyard piece and has cracking non-original paint. I had removed all of the emblems and bump strips, intending to get a paint job. That was until I saw how much all of this was going to cost. I have gotten three estimates and the two trust worthy guys with lifetime warranties are $3800+. That is just to knock the rust out, fix a couple dings, sand everything down, and paint the exterior with a simple base and clear. Here is what the end result of that would look like:



$3,800 is a lot of money and way more than the car's street value. I really do love the car and intend to keep the car another 13 years. I have the money, but I have also been thinking about different rims, tires, brakes, etc. Spending this much on paint would probably push back any other mod purchases 2 years.

Part of me just says, fuck that...I'll just go Mad Max on it. I can take a few days off of work, do a decent repair on the rear, sand the bad paint off, and paint the whole thing satin black. That might be from a rattle can or maybe I'll borrow a spray gun. I think if I stick with satin, it will hide any imperfections in my sanding. It might look like this:



Another part just tells me to drive it and just enjoy the paint that is still on there (from 30 feet away, you can hardly tell). I have been going round and round on this for days, but can't settle on anything. This is a tough enough decision, that I really would like some input on.

Poll question: Should I repair and paint my car?

Poll result (19 votes) Full repair and all new paint - $3800 (4 votes) Vote DIY repair and Mad Max rattle can it black satin - $300 (8 votes) Vote Do nothing and let nature take it's course - $0 (4 votes) Vote Suggest something else? (3 votes) Vote (0 votes) Vote (0 votes) Vote

I would go nautical and do the whole roller with boat paint when you have time.

In all honesty, im in the same boat. About 3yrs ago, someone cracked my front bumper and kicked in a corner of the back bumper while it was parked at the mall. Since then, both door handles have broken off, the headliner has begun to sag, and no matter how well I have dryed her off after a tender loving hand car wash, she has begun to rust in a small corner of the door.

Im starting to get frustrated myself. If that is your only ride, and you want to keep her as you stated, then regardless of the street value, I would put the money into it. Now, thats given that you wouldnt be putting yourself in a financial bind.

To kind of put things into perspective, you can get a 99-02 3 series BMW for a couple more grand than what your paint job will cost. So... it all really depends what is more valuable to you.

-cms

I am a big fan of flat black.

However, I would have a professional do it. Rattle can will look like shit no matter how well you prep it yourself. Probably much cheaper than a complete revamp stock color & clear to boot.

Originally posted by DarkOne
I am a big fan of flat black. However, I would have a professional do it. Rattle can will look like shit no matter how well you prep it yourself. Probably much cheaper than a complete revamp stock color & clear to boot.

I agree.

Summit sells Hot Rod Flat Black paint kits that actually come with a flat clear for like 90 bucks I think. Saw it in the catalog.

I like flat black but a 2g looks like shit in flat black IMO.

Paint it. Its a unique color and its been with you for so long. 3800 is dirt cheap. 13 years, the car has earned it.

Originally posted by DarkOne
I am a big fan of flat black. However, I would have a professional do it. Rattle can will look like shit no matter how well you prep it yourself. Probably much cheaper than a complete revamp stock color & clear to boot.

I'd have to agree with this as well. I think the flat-black would be sweet to get done...but I wouldn't do a rattle can job on it. Like Terry said 13 years of abuse...and you plan to keep it another 13...you might as well put the money into to make it look good and less risk of dealing with rust in the future.

So I'm saying flat black, but professionally done.

Black it out, gloss or flat. Flat=badass, even with a rattle can.

Suggest you do it yourself. Save money for performance.

Next time my car needs paint, Im going to simply replace all panels with carbon fiber (minus quarter panels and roof)j. Awesome thing about a 2g is that the price of this is comparable to paint!

Do the repairs that you're capable of doing yourself and bust out all the prep work. I saw that bumper you modified, you're capable of pulling it off. Once you've done the prep work the paint will be cheaper.

What you were quoted is pretty good IMO. Who cares what the street value of the car is, you plan on keeping it until the wheels fall off, isn't it worth more than the quoted price to you?

I always liked the look of your car, Flat black would look sick but im not sure how it would look rattlecanned.

I say don't paint it. Save the money and grow it.

If you're destined to spend money on the car, start with the mods you want the most, and see if you have enough left to do the flat black.

As you hinted at in your post, even the most saavy 2GNT'er won't shell out what you've put into it should you ever decide to sell. So the investment is really for your own warm fuzzies inside, which at the end of the day- is all that matters.

Just to follow up, I decided to get the car professionally repaired and painted. I did the disassembly and assembly labor, getting the total down to $3,296. I took everything apart possible so that they could get into all of the nooks and crannies. While the car was apart, I took care of some other rust, undercoated the wheel wells and rear, put in new fender liners, and adjusted the panel/bumper/spoiler gaps to be perfect. It took a couple months, but here are the results:






Corbin
'95 ESI-T

Now with more power and fewer leaks



Humble servant of the Wiki

Gorgeous! Makes me happy to see another 2G back in force.

On a side note, is that an AFCO radiator you have tucked into front core support?

Originally posted by CODE4
Gorgeous! Makes me happy to see another 2G back in force. On a side note, is that an AFCO radiator you have tucked into front core support?

It is actually. The Scirocco type 80107N. It was the largest thing I could find to fit in that space. I had to fit a Colt A/C condensor behind the passenger side scoop. My manifold/downpipe design forced me to move a lot of components around.

Corbin
'95 ESI-T

Now with more power and fewer leaks



Humble servant of the Wiki

Looks great man! Glad you decided to fix her up!

Originally posted by Corbin

Originally posted by CODE4 Gorgeous! Makes me happy to see another 2G back in force. On a side note, is that an AFCO radiator you have tucked into front core support?

It is actually. The Scirocco type 80107N. It was the largest thing I could find to fit in that space.

Pretty nice setup - I have read some threads about using that radiator to open up room for manifold/turbo combinations. I assume you are using only the one pusher fan - works well in all seasons? And what did you do for the hood latch assembly?

Originally posted by CODE4
Pretty nice setup - I have read some threads about using that radiator to open up room for manifold/turbo combinations. I assume you are using only the one pusher fan - works well in all seasons? And what did you do for the hood latch assembly?

There are threads about using this radiator? I wish I had seen them. It took me a couple weeks of scouring the internet for radiator dimensions to find one that would fit. I ended up using a Derale 16925. That is the highest flow fan that would fit. It pulls 23.4 amps at full load, so I put a Spal PWM controller on it. I have a Zirgo 8" puller on the other side as a second stage. That rarely turns on. I've been able to manage through 100F heat in stop and go traffic. It is working hard though. I use a trunk latch and hook to keep the hood closed. The latch is connected to the normal cable pull. I made a manual safety hook to connect to the original place. You can see this in the current ROTM thread.

Corbin
'95 ESI-T

Now with more power and fewer leaks



Humble servant of the Wiki

Looks awesome man! :thumbsup

Fucking GORGEOUS Corbin!

awesome. i just got mine done, same G56 too :) I know how you feel

Looking good man! Looks like straight showroom quality.

I think if you plan to keep it for a long time, spend the money on a paint job if you can afford it without being in a crunch. Your interior is awesome, you might as well have the outside match.

Originally posted by Red90Sev
I think if you plan to keep it for a long time, spend the money on a paint job if you can afford it without being in a crunch. Your interior is awesome, you might as well have the outside match.

Did you even read the whole thread? He did have it painted. Dumbass.

roflllll

Originally posted by RoninEclipse2G

Originally posted by Red90Sev I think if you plan to keep it for a long time, spend the money on a paint job if you can afford it without being in a crunch. Your interior is awesome, you might as well have the outside match.

Did you even read the whole thread? He did have it painted. Dumbass.

Lol, came home a little tipsy last night (rare for me lol), guess I read the original thread and decided to just share my thoughts right away! No need to be crabby, did you run out of paper for your Halo outfit or something...? J/k, but really, my mistake. :thumbsup

Gotta say Corbin, I've stayed out of this because......well, because I hate green cars, lol. But she does look pretty smooth....and clean!