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Hey guys, i am currently wanting to paint my hardtop to match my original car colour.

I went to a shop and got quoted $350 for painting and $100 on top to remove and assemble the glass. They told me that the glass had to be removed to get best result. He said he can try do it without moving he glass but it would make the seals not straight and look dodgy.

Is this true?

Would appreciate it if anyone can help me and also let me know if have done a spray job for a better price!

Cheers
Tony

Around Sydney inner west?

sounds like an excellent price to me. Sure its better to paint without having to go thru a masking routine. A cheap paint job is ok if you want a a bad result.The basics are having a look at the painter and the work they do and what product they will use- in all likelihood a modern 2 pack paint system which is very robust.

That's a great price.

If you are in Syd, let me know what place.

I paid similar, but without the removal of the glass.

I had quotes up to $2500 for the same work...

yeah that is insanely cheap.
It is always better to remove glass and weatherstrips, but as this means new weatherstrips and a lot more labor, its not 100% necessary if you are on a budget. As long as it masked up it will be fine.

I have a guy doing my hardtop colour-matched in a week or two once his new shop opens up. Quoted $300 and he guaranteed no extra last minute bullshit etc. I have heard very good things about his work too. I doubt he'll be removing the glass but as long as its masked right I'm not fussed.

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booerns wrote:I have a guy doing my hardtop colour-matched in a week or two once his new shop opens up. Quoted $300 and he guaranteed no extra last minute bullshit etc. I have heard very good things about his work too. I doubt he'll be removing the glass but as long as its masked right I'm not fussed.
:

That sounds too cheap - just sayin'

You get what you pay for. Think about how much labour is involved in doing it properly - removal of window, seals, stripping old paint, multiple coats of new paint, reassembly. Then think about how much the labour costs per hour.

The hardtop rear window seal usually breaks into multiple pieces when removed and they are not easy/cheap to source.

There's seems to be a bit of confusion when talking about the window seals on hardtops. There's two parts: one is the seal between the top and the glass, then there's the rubber moulding that goes over the outer edge of the glass.

The rubber moulding is about $130 from Mazda but it's just a standard window mould that can be cut to length from any auto glass shop. The t-piece that joins the two ends probably needs to be OEM but it's cheaper and is probably salvageable from the original anyway.

Lokiel wrote:

That sounds too cheap - just sayin'[/quote]

It does sound too good to be true, until you see pictures of his work. The guy used to do small on the side jobs for cheap at his uncles shop but didn't have a full booth to do whole cars etc, now he's opening up his own shop and he's just trying to get his name out there and start a good reputation. I will post pictures once I get it done


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If it works out OK, I'd be interested in getting this done also if he's interested in doing another.

I'm looking for a hard top but having trouble finding one in 2001 silver so may have to go the painting route.

I'd also be interested in getting one done if he was keen to do a batch at a discounted rate.

emx005 wrote:If it works out OK, I'd be interested in getting this done also if he's interested in doing another.

I'm looking for a hard top but having trouble finding one in 2001 silver so may have to go the painting route.

Suspense wrote:I'd also be interested in getting one done if he was keen to do a batch at a discounted rate.

Well im quite happy to be the test dummy here, will let you all know how it goes and if you like what you see I can pass on details etc

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I too would like to get in on this if at all possible, got my hardtop sitting in the garage wanting to be painted for far too long...
...I was saying boo-erns!

Sounds like there's at least 3-4 this guy could do at once if he's keen. I've got the glass removed on mine already and could sand it back if necessary.