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I am finally able to start doing my car up a little bit!
One of the first things I need to do is repaint it. What do you think I should expect to pay for a custom paint job in Brisbane?

Good luck on your project.

Firstly it depends how thorough you want the paint job to be - i.e inside engine bay, doors, boot etc - or just the outer surfaces of the car. If they have to pull all the car apart to paint every little part of it, it will cost you a lot more than if they just spray the outer panels.

Type of paint and colour can also vary the price dramatically. Dark colours are dearer than light colours, and then if you want to get into funky pearls and chameleon paints, you'll be spending $10k for a decent paint job.

The amount of prep work will depend on the condition of the paint at the moment, so it's very difficult to answer your question. You're best to take your car to a few painters and ask them to give you an idea of cost.

Have you decided on a budget for this? I would expect that a basic, reasonable quality full paint job of the outer panels only, would easily be at least $2500.

Where in Brisbane are you? Some of the guys here could probably suggest painters in your general area... Impact Panel Works at Moorooka are an MX5 club sponsor, and seem to do good work, so might be worth starting there.

I agree you need to know what you are asking for. If the car is repainted in the same colour it is an easier proposition. Original paints are baked enamels. So bottom line is go to a painter who has the right equipment and has a good reputation. Your insurance co probably has some good contacts. It will not be cheap. A different colour is a big job.

I don't need the engine bay done, just the outside. It is white at the moment, and I want to keep it that way although I would like it to have a pink pearl covering. I went to a place a few months back and they said it would be around 3grand. Would that be reasonable?

Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Just make sure they remove all the trim pieces, not just mask them up and spray around them.

If you can do some of the preperation yourself, like removing certainl things and doing some sanding, you can save a lot of money too.

If you want a professional to do it all for you though, I would expect that it will cost you around $5K for a good job, or around $3K for a so-so job.
Many show cars have cost over $10K to paint.