SpeedCostsMoney

I absolute hate keeping up with my black car. From swirl marks to, well it just being a black car. I was thinking of getting the car painted bright red and to save a little cash keeping the engine bay gloss black. I was thinking of painting the cowl (boss style) and deck gloss black as well. Do you all think that would look good?

TripleBlack14

Black is the only color you can get away with leaving the engine bay black as well. But don't make the mistake of leaving the door jambs black...they need to be painted too.

Not sure about leaving the deck lid black unless you also leave the hood and windshield frame alone for a two-tone effect.

Some will recommend a wrap which is admittedly less expensive, but I'm personally not fond of that technique.

Keep in mind that a full refinish requires a lot of disassembly, and to be done right will cost quite a bit...perhaps $4k or more.

SpeedCostsMoney

Since I have a convertible and going to leave the windshield frame black to match the top and the engine bay black I am hoping to will not cost as much but I want a quality paint so 4k sounds about right. I agree with the door jams they will need to be red.

When I said deck lid I mean the space between the tail lights that people normally paint black or put he plastic piece there.

TripleBlack14

See if you can get a rendering done of what you envision. Leaving just the windshield frame in black might make the car look unfinished....it's a very small and narrow area.

If you do leave the frame black, have you considered having the hood and tops of the fenders done in matte black ala the Mustangs and Mopars of yesteryear?

SpeedCostsMoney

I am not a fan of the matt black look. I got gloss black wheels and that would not match.

Coyote5-0

A paint job for $4k?? Where, Macco?? Usually good paint jobs cost a lot more than that. You're better off selling the car and finding a red one to be honest. Red isn't super easy to upkeep either though. Silver and white are probably the easiest.

Coyote5-0

http://www.washingtonford.com/used/Ford/2011-Ford-Mustang-77473b430a0e0adf24f02a51d1a5308b.htm?searchDepth=1 :1

Get on auto trader

dusman59

For the amount of a paint job you can have it professional detailed many many times. Then just use good wash techniques to keep it looking good. Your color combo rocks.

SpeedCostsMoney

I might get it detailed first and see if they can pull the starches and swirl marks out.

laserred38

A proper detail should get the scratches and swirls out. Then have a good ceramic coating applied - Beed's or CQUK - and that shiny finish will last for years, along with making the clear coat harder and more resistant to swirls.

That said, proper detail techniques are key, whether the car is black or not.

Blown CS

No shiz. One reason I got rid of my black stang for my SGM. Made my life a lot easier, lol.

YepItsGreen

Wouldn't a wrap be cheaper?

Cavero

Couldn't agree more. When I was having the stripes painted on my car there was a guy that brought in a early 2000's BMW he was having repainted to a different factory color. The shop told him he was crazy because these paint job would cost more than just buying a 2ND car in the right color. The number was $8000 to do a factory style paint job (little bit of orange peel being OK), but that included the labor to take the car apart so they could paint in the engine bay, door jams, etc. The guy insisted, so they reluctantly did the job.

Not doing the engine bay would probably save some cash, but I don't think it would be a whole lot

kcoTiger

Yeah, a paint job worth getting is going to cost you a baseline Prius. It's not cheap, not at all.