Painting the HT
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Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Conway, AR
Painting the HT
I'll have a Mugen CF HT in my hands within the next few days and I was just wondering how much it would cost to paint it. Also, do you all bring the whole car in for paint or just the HT?
I was also wanting to leave the middle and the sides of the HT carbon, while only painting the 2 strips above the windows blue, hopefully this will cut back on costs and look even better!
I was also wanting to leave the middle and the sides of the HT carbon, while only painting the 2 strips above the windows blue, hopefully this will cut back on costs and look even better!
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Statesville, NC
IMO no more than a few hundred dollars for what you want painted is my guess. The most I would pay is $350. Any more than that, they can stick it. There'll be minimum prep, even less time to tape off and not much paint at all.
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Joined: Sep 2008
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From: Sacramento
I just had my CF Seibon top painted. I was thinking of doing the same paint scheme you have stated. In the end, I decided to go with the common paint scheme that paints 90% of the top but leaves the sides behind the windows unpainted.
There is prep work involved. You have to scuff the gel coat for adhesion. If you paint just that strip area without clearing the entire top you are going to have a ledge of paint. To avoid this the entire top has to be cleared, which provides added protection to the gel coat. Plus, the clear coat on the unpainted CF looks great. Makes the CF look deeper.
Also have you looked at the top and figured out what line the paint is going to follow?
By just painting the two strips you are making more work for the painter. There are some tricks.
Also remember the painter is going to have to remove the glass, trim, and buff and smooth the clear coat, plus scuff the gel coat. It's more work than you would think.
Anyway, I priced this out and got three prices, 300, 450, and 650.
Finally, all my painter needed was the paint code. The final result was excellent. The angles of the top make it difficult to spot a color mismatch.
There is prep work involved. You have to scuff the gel coat for adhesion. If you paint just that strip area without clearing the entire top you are going to have a ledge of paint. To avoid this the entire top has to be cleared, which provides added protection to the gel coat. Plus, the clear coat on the unpainted CF looks great. Makes the CF look deeper.
Also have you looked at the top and figured out what line the paint is going to follow?
By just painting the two strips you are making more work for the painter. There are some tricks.
Also remember the painter is going to have to remove the glass, trim, and buff and smooth the clear coat, plus scuff the gel coat. It's more work than you would think.
Anyway, I priced this out and got three prices, 300, 450, and 650.
Finally, all my painter needed was the paint code. The final result was excellent. The angles of the top make it difficult to spot a color mismatch.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 904
Likes: 0
From: Conway, AR
Originally Posted by Sdracing,May 12 2009, 04:23 PM
I just had my CF Seibon top painted. I was thinking of doing the same paint scheme you have stated. In the end, I decided to go with the common paint scheme that paints 90% of the top but leaves the sides behind the windows unpainted.
There is prep work involved. You have to scuff the gel coat for adhesion. If you paint just that strip area without clearing the entire top you are going to have a ledge of paint. To avoid this the entire top has to be cleared, which provides added protection to the gel coat. Plus, the clear coat on the unpainted CF looks great. Makes the CF look deeper.
Also have you looked at the top and figured out what line the paint is going to follow?
By just painting the two strips you are making more work for the painter. There are some tricks.
Also remember the painter is going to have to remove the glass, trim, and buff and smooth the clear coat, plus scuff the gel coat. It's more work than you would think.
Anyway, I priced this out and got three prices, 300, 450, and 650.
Finally, all my painter needed was the paint code. The final result was excellent. The angles of the top make it difficult to spot a color mismatch.
There is prep work involved. You have to scuff the gel coat for adhesion. If you paint just that strip area without clearing the entire top you are going to have a ledge of paint. To avoid this the entire top has to be cleared, which provides added protection to the gel coat. Plus, the clear coat on the unpainted CF looks great. Makes the CF look deeper.
Also have you looked at the top and figured out what line the paint is going to follow?
By just painting the two strips you are making more work for the painter. There are some tricks.
Also remember the painter is going to have to remove the glass, trim, and buff and smooth the clear coat, plus scuff the gel coat. It's more work than you would think.
Anyway, I priced this out and got three prices, 300, 450, and 650.
Finally, all my painter needed was the paint code. The final result was excellent. The angles of the top make it difficult to spot a color mismatch.
I've yet to see the top before my very eyes, but I assume it won't be to hard to pick a line for the painter to follow. No?
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,227
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From: Tallahassee, FL
yeah it's not hard, but I would leave the glass off b/c it's less prep work for them. Or just get them to put it all together after they paint it. I've seen the paint scheme you're talking about, it looks very good.
; good thing you got a Mugen though.
