BaseCoat prices

R

RodMan

Made a delivery to a mobile painter today. He repaired a quater panel on a late model red honda civic. He normally mixes his standox tint system for spot repairs but he didn't have enough tint to make up the 8 oz. before reducing he needed for this shoot. I was shocked when he showed me the invoice from a PPG jobber for this solid red DBC color: $102.00 with tax!! For only 8 oz.!! Another customer I mentioned this to said that he has paid more than that for similar colors for even less material. I've been out of the collision game for a while. I just paint a few times a year, but I can't believe how expensive basecoat got. Barry, I know you have talked about doing a basecoat line again if the circumstances were right. I'd say the market is ready when you are!!!
 
A gallon of pure white sikkens toner is over $400.00. Compare that to the same toner in wanda is around $180. Basecoat prices from the majors are getting outright ridiculous.

I honestly think, from some of the stories I'm hearing like this one, that some of these paint stores are just absolutely ripping people. I mean $102 for 8oz. seems like a rip to me. Even in sikkens pure red tint would be around $200 for a quart, retail.
 
I don't think so, because the shops have a flat rate system for materials in the paint shop for insurance work. Around here it is $26 an hour. If refinish time is 4 hours, then your material would be 26x4= $104. You could very well have more than that in that job....Making money on materials with collision work is a hard thing to do with "high end" materials, imo.
 
jeremyb;14660 said:
A gallon of pure white sikkens toner is over $400.00. Compare that to the same toner in wanda is around $180. Basecoat prices from the majors are getting outright ridiculous.

I honestly think, from some of the stories I'm hearing like this one, that some of these paint stores are just absolutely ripping people. I mean $102 for 8oz. seems like a rip to me. Even in sikkens pure red tint would be around $200 for a quart, retail.
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$102 for 8 oz... to put it in perspective $204/pint $408/quart $1632/gallon OH MY GOD!!!!
 
jeremyb;14660 said:
A gallon of pure white sikkens toner is over $400.00. Compare that to the same toner in wanda is around $180. Basecoat prices from the majors are getting outright ridiculous.

I honestly think, from some of the stories I'm hearing like this one, that some of these paint stores are just absolutely ripping people. I mean $102 for 8oz. seems like a rip to me. Even in sikkens pure red tint would be around $200 for a quart, retail.
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Guys, just to be fair, it is not the paint stores ripping people, they are just selling it for suggested price and keep this in mind.
The majority of these stores are working on 10-20% less profit selling paint today then they were 3-5 years ago.

I hear it everyday, the paint company says we are having a 7% price increase and when the jobber gets the cost list, his profit has been cut also.

Some buddy must pay for the big contract, the largest dealer in town just got.
There is no free lunch!
 
I was talking to the manager at work the other day about materials. He told me that they only charge $20/hr for materials to fleet accounts. That is why they have gone to Nason Clear for those jobs. Unfortunately they have not figured in the additional time waiting on the stuff to cure enough to handle. Most of the shops in the area were higher than that over 10 years ago when I was an adjuster.

I would never do another collision job if I could avoid it.
 
Stopped by the local dupont jobber today with a gallon of red chromabase I used a few years ago on a 54' vette. Customer wants a 50' ford truck a red and I liked this red. I can't remember what I paid per gallon but it is 575.00 per gallon now. Probably lower 400's when I bought it. Even Centari enamel was 440.00 per gallon plus activator. I hate to say it but Kirker single stage urethane is a little over a 100 bucks a gallon. Never used the stuff but this truck is just a driver for a buddy's dad. Wouldn't be hard to put way more than it's worth. I hate cheap products but two gallons of base + Clear on this old truck is just to much. These budget jobs stink. Haven't done one in several years.
 
I was at my SPI supplier yesterday and seen they had a few gallons of SPI silver base and some other colors, I might just have to go buy them while I still can.
 
[QUOTE='68 Coronet R/T;14686]Do you think it has anything to do with the fact that insurance companies are paying for most of these paint jobs?[/QUOTE]

not at all many shops are loosing money on materials, if it was based on insurance pay, materials would be a fraction of what they are, insurance companies have a way of paying as little as possible.

Shops seem to be getting squeezed from all directions.
 
My thought was that since the customer's insurance company was paying the bill the paint prices would be higher. Kinda like Doctors and Dentists that have two price brackets: self-pay and "oh you have insurance!" LOL
 
I don't think I've ever received a break at the Dr. or pharmacy just because I have no insurance, unless you count the pitying looks they give me while taking all my money...
 
I never did either until I asked one day. I had cut the extensor tendon on my left thumb and the surgeon's bill was over $3000 (not counting the hospital, etc.) so I asked if they gave a break to people who had no insurance. The receptionist went and asked and he knocked $1500 off the bill. After that I called the hospital and asked them the same question. They also cut the bill by nearly 50% so now I ask every time. :)

Doesn't work with the jobber though. LOL
 
I just paid $100.00 for a qt of white DuPont Chromabase.
Just white with no pearls, flakes or anything special.
I won't be buying their paint anymore.
I have been useing Metalux and Genstar at half the price and
actually like them better.
For prepackaged colors, Kirker can't be beat.
I can get any color urethane with activator for under $100 a gallon.
I've used it on my boat, the trailer, and my car,
it's held up just fine.
 
Sikkens is having a 8.7% price increase Jan 1st, only one that has not announced one yet in last two months is BASF (I think)
 
Barryk;14744 said:
Sikkens is having a 8.7% price increase Jan 1st, only one that has not announced one yet in last two months is BASF (I think)
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Yep...found that out the other day. Better stock up on my rally black!!! LOL

Once these other companies start getting known and eating into their "profit" you think the prices will come down? I just painted a front lip on a 2008 civic, habenero red. 3 coats in wanda over spi gray epoxy. Painted off the car with standard variant, great match. Just one of many instances. Haven't had anyone convice me since I started using it that I should keep paying double the price for that same kind of match and coverage. I feel bad for the shops that got reeled in on a contract...they don't have a choice but to pay that 8.7%
 
Have to agree with Jeremy in here, been using Wanda basecoat for a couple of weeks now. Even though I use smaller quantities being that I only do mobile work, I've already tried 15 or more different paint codes, most codes match up pretty good with the standard formula, their color software seems pretty easy to use as well with plenty of variants for the more difficult colors. It's about 40% 'cheaper' than Spies and it offers about 90% maybe? of the performance.

I'm sure it must have it's matching limitations being that it uses less toners and pearls than Spies, but for what I do I don't think I will find myself going back to much more expensive brands.
 
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