cyberslick18

Hey, a few months ago I bought a black c5 from the forum, with black powdercoated wagon wheels. I love the triple black look, as almost all my self bought cars have been that way.

However, I recently saw pretty much my exact car, but in torch red (i believe), and it was dead sexy.

I'm also sick of every, single, tiny flaw in my car being transparent from 200 feet away, unless I just finished cleaning it.

Have any of you ever had your corvette (or know someone who has) completely repainted a different color?

Money isn't really an issue until it goes over say $7,000.

How much did it cost you?

Should I have it done at a dealership or a reputable paint shop?

Was it worth it?

Thanks!

Gunmetal351

i also have a triple black c5 with black rims...and every now and then ill see a vette with color in traffic and envy it...however the grass is always greener on the other side...i would like to be able to put my top down with out burning my hand on the top though...but im not gonna change a thing...black on black looks pretty sick

MSG C5

I've often considered buying a used Torch Red or Mag Red C5 Verte and have it painted a custom "Cherry" or "Mod" red similar to some C3s I've seen. I love the color and it really pops, however if I ever do it, I want to take the car apart completely and paint the entire chassis, etc.

Shirl

You could do a custom metal flake over the black base. That would look pretty cool. I did something like that to my black 96' Camaro. I couldn't stand the way it showed everyyyything.. and it was difficult to clean for car shows. I also had marbleized graphics painted on the sides of the car. The paint is subtle but gives it more pizazz and hides some imperfections whether it be dirt or swirls. Stripes could also be an option.. either painted or decal. Just work with the base coat you already have. btw, use a reputable paint shop for this type of work!

You could also.. do the top half of your car in torch red since you like that color. Someone on here did theirs two-tone gray/black and it looks awesome.

~Josh

This guy just repainted his black Zo6 a custom (Audi) blue color...

Might pm him and check out his thoughts...

Here's the thread showing pictures: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-z...ng-c5-z06.html

Patman

I know exactly how you feel! When I looked for a C5 I had three basic criteria, it had to be a coupe, it had to be automatic and it had to be ANY COLOR BUT BLACK! So, in the end, 2 out of 3 ain't bad! But I've always figured that eventually I will repaint it, as I really don't enjoy how easily the dust shows up on this color, plus every little flaw. And truth be told, even if I could somehow magically keep the paint dust free and flawless, the color just doesn't look as good to me on a bright sunny day compared to a nice bright metallic color. I've always had bright metallic uniquely colored cars (such as my candy apple red Mustang GT or my Blue Green Chameleon Firebird Formula)

If I could afford to repaint my car right now I'd pick a Jaguar color called Emerald Fire. It's a metallic green color that just looks electric when the sun hits it! I've always loved green cars (I had a 95 Trans Am in Forest Green and my wife's Civic is dark green also) and green is so rare on the C5 as well (plus I don't think Fairway Green or Dark Bowling Green look as nice as this Jaguar green that I want)

Blown 346

About the cost. I have had estimates for my Vette for 12 grand. Thats also at a one of the best bodyshops around me and painting the car black again.

dougbfresh

Luckily, the C5 can be completely disassembled less the rockers so repaints are much easier. All the panels can be removed for easy spraying.

03whitecoupe

$12k I think I'd sell my car and take the extra $12k for the paint job and get a Z06 or C6. That's some crazy $$ for a respray.

ilwill77

Just repainted mine a different custom color a few months back and love it. Pics don't do the new color justice but when the sun is shining it's all worth it. I put in a LOT of hours doing the disassembly, body work, reassembly, wet sanding, buffing, etc, etc. but I won't come across another one like it.

Patman

The only way I could understand spending that much for a repaint would be to do a real unique color like candy apple red or something you just don't see everyday. But to spend $12k for black, which is super common on the C5 (I'm never the only black C5 at any Corvette gathering!), just doesn't make sense to me.

Tech

I'm that guy. How can I help?

If you're looking for a price, I'd say you're going to be close to $6-7k for a quality color change. In my instance, I've known the body shop owner for years... and he let me do some of the work to save some cash. We haven't figured out what the retail cost would be... but we're right around $2,000 in materials... at his cost.

$12k is almost unbelievable.

cyberslick18

That's what I was ball parking to pay. I don't know if I'll do it for a while, as there is plenty of more fun 6,000 shells could get me, and I'm still playing with the idea of selling it and looking for a Z.

molten vett

I had my color changed to House of Kolor kandy apple red W/ghost flames about a year ago. Ran me about 7grand but they did interior paint work and also paint under the hood.

Chevy Guy

Wow, 7k aint that bad for all that work.

itzza427

I'd stay away from a dealer!!! Their overhead=$$$,,and you have to figure they are not going to get the top paint guys,,,they are probably going to get their own shops!! Id check local cruise ins and car shows and ask around!! They will know who to look at!!

TheWildcat

my 97 was black after 3 mos shes yellow....just get someone who pays attention to the details... It will be 5-7k.....Thanks John

versatile

You "SHOULD" be about 5-6000.00 for a color change. Face it, that is about 80 hrs labour. Plenty of time for a good shop to do it right.

3GenVettes

I've had a complete repaint done on my C3, but not on a C5. The car was stripped to bare glass all imperfections corrected, seems and gap trued, primed, painted in Candy Apple Red over a gold base and cleared. The cost was about 6K. The first thing people see about a car is the paint. If it is in your budget a quality paint job is worth every cent. The car constantly draws compliments.

If your cars condition is good and its mileage is reasonable, the money spent on the paint is probably about the same or less than you would spend trading cars.

Jade Euphoria

Hey Patman, wanna trade? When I was looking for a vette, I wanted a black coupe with black interior, but ended up with a green car. It's dark enough to not bother me much, but I still want my black vette!! I was seriously considering painting it black, but I keep getting slack from people telling me I'll lower the value, it's not corvette ettiquite, (sp?) etc. So now I don't know if I should just wait and trade it in later for a black one, or paint it. I thought green was undesirable, but I've only seen ONE other green one, and it was a convertible. So would that make it even more "wrong" to paint it if the green is harder to find?