how much?? RC boat painting...

[jonmiller]

hey guys. sorry if this is in the wrong thread.
ive just been asked to paint an rc boat. i dont really know how much i should charge though. i paint lexan bodyshells for rc cars etc full time atm and know what i charge for these, but this would be my first 'normal' paint job so im abit stuck. should i charge by the size or per hour etc etc. i will be having it cleared elsewhere and its got a gel coat on it so dont need to worry about the priming side so all thats covered. just need to know what to charge for my time and materials really. hmmm..
any help greatly appreciated.
it is this boat
http://cart.rcmk.com/zen/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_3&products_id=10
what would you guys charge. bearing in mind its a gelcoated fibreglass boat so all that would be needed was to sand n paint.
ummm..help please

:)

[Jmoore12]

It depends on how detailed the paint scheme will be. I would think around 100 bucks for something not overly labor intensive. That is about what custom rc helicopter canopies go for with some pretty wicked designs. Its really about what you feel comfortable asking and if you are confident and do a good job. Try this question in the RC area, there is a boat that was recently painted by a member and he might be able to clue you in on how much he charged.

[Shiva]

how long it take you to paint the car body?
how much time you think its gonna take to pain this other thing?
I ASSUME the rc cars are on the inside? so this would be in a little way, less time.. HOWEVER I wouldnt discount much..
take whatever you THINK its going to take time wise, add 50% 'just because.. you know your time on the cars, and what you want to get 'per hour', yes? this allows a bit for the design detail, and if this is DETAILED.. then double the time.. paint will cost you??? compared to the car.. add that on.. then tell the person. time to paint, at x per hour plus paint.. give you so many $$$$

then if you want to cover yourself (you CANNOT raise the price ONCE QUOTED), you might say I can pain this for $xxx dollars but, if it goes faster than I am thinking I will give you a reduction on the price..

you now think its going to take 1.5 hours.. I say figure 3..
your desired time rate per hour is (for discussion) $40. so you got $120 plus paint.. ($25 for discussion here)
so- $150... thats what you tell HIM..

now you do it in 1.5 hours.. so when he gets it, you say it was faster or whatever.. and I am only going to charge you $110. YOU still made your money, did it faster than you thought, AND made your 'desired amount of income'..
your call..

[jonmiller]

many thanks! for the responses guys.
will have a think and work things out.
will let ya know how it works out.
cheerz,

jon

:)

[Merlinsoars]

Jon
Dont cut yourself short on tim, prep work will eat you up. It may have a gel coat but you need to prime, block and seal over that before you can even begin to do the paint. Many seem to be doing the canopies real cheap but the quality of those leave much to be desired from what i see .
I have several hours already on an old Prather hull (about 40 inches long).

Peace
MTM

[jonmiller]

thanks for the input mate.
have spoke to someone else who painted a sportsbike that had gelcoated fairings. he said he only sanded then painted. he said the bike is still holding up well.
thats the only problem with asking various people, conflicting advice. leaves ya even more confused than when ya started.
arrgghhh! what to do...

[ABD]

for me, I prime anything that doesn't already have primer under it...If it came painted and is in good shape..Just sand bit and paint, no need to prime because it's already there...If it's bare fiberglass, resin, gelcoat or whatever..I'd prime 1st....What's a few coats of primer in the grand scheme of things..Better safe than pissed off later on I always say..LOL..

Lotta ways to skin a beagle, just gotta do what fits you and yer customer right.


Far as charging..All depends on materials and the level of quality you paint on it...Blow thru a few stencils and clear it with a rattle can..Can't charge to much...Get crazy with the Airbrush skills and break out the Auto clear..It's going to cost more....Rule of thumb here was always double the cost of materials for a starting point.

[jonmiller]

its a new/as new yellow gelcoat. ive been told and read a few places that gelcoat can just be degreased, sanded, painted.

as for the costs, i have charged/quoted him the same price i would for an rc of equivalent size. clearing shall be done by a bodyshop which ive told him how much roughly thatll cost. all of which he is happy with.

looks like im between a rock n a hard place...some say prime..some say sand n paint.
if i can not prime then that is much better as i dont really want the hastle, and health risk of using it. for jobs that have to have it i will use the bodyshop. so if i dont need to prime the gelcoat then its better for me and saves him money. but then again, dont want it peeling or owt 6 months/a year down the line.
:confused:

[jonmiller]

i suppose i might have to bite the bullet n see if i can get some epoxy primer in a can. not really pleased about having to do so though. :(

[ABD]

i suppose i might have to bite the bullet n see if i can get some epoxy primer in a can. not really pleased about having to do so though. :(

wish I could say "just do it" without Priming..I've never done it that way though, so no idea on the outcome..I'm sure it'd look good for awhile, no clue about any long term use though.

If you get a primer with a catalyst in it, make sure to wear an organic vapor respirator.

[jonmiller]

ive spoke to several people from various places now and feel confident enough in going forth. wish me luck. :D
he doesnt want it doing for a few weeks but will post pics when done.

[jonmiller]

many thanks for everyones input btw.

jon

:)

[Merlinsoars]

Jon
"I feel your pain". Just curious tho, why are you stressed over shooting the primer?? What materials are you going to use for the color? If your using fastcolor you could get away with a rattle can primer from a big box store or better yet one of the rattle can sealer/primers from SEM.

Peace
MTM

[jonmiller]

many thanks mtm.

i just want to stay away from nasty chemicals as much as possible.

i dont think we can get sem here in uk, or if we can i dont know where from.
i shall be using auto air basecoat sealer and createx, etac and hok(when doing fire)

[Merlinsoars]

No worries,

Send some pics when your done.

Peace
MTM

[jonmiller]

will do mate, thanks.

[ABD]

i shall be using auto air basecoat sealer and createx, etac and hok(when doing fire)

Have you used HOK over AA and all that before???...Sounds like trouble to me, HOK reducer is strong as hell, slap that over waterbase might cause all sorts of fun.:crazy:

[jonmiller]

good point, no i havent.
what if i were to put a coat of hok intercoat over any waterbased paints i used before using the candies?

[ABD]

good point, no i havent.
what if i were to put a coat of hok intercoat over any waterbased paints i used before using the candies?

HOK intercoat is reduced with HOK reducer..And the same reducer you use for your kandy mix....Regardless yer spraying aggressive Uros over waterbase...

Let er waterbase cure up crazy like...Spray yer Intercoat in extremely thin layers, might get away with it...Light layers can mean adhesion probs though...it's a risky move all the way around IMHO.

[jonmiller]

what about if i used the aa basecoat sealer, then hok black over that? are the hok paints aggresive on waterbased or just the hok reducer ? sorry if thats a silly question but i dont really know alot about uros.

thanks

[ABD]

what about if i used the aa basecoat sealer, then hok black over that? are the hok paints aggresive on waterbased or just the hok reducer ? sorry if thats a silly question but i dont really know alot about uros.

thanks


I've never used AA so no clue how strong it is...Uro paints aren't the prob, but you have to reduce paints to spray em..Uro Reducers can wreak havok on waterbase..HOK reducers seem stronger than most.

Pretty sure you can clearcoat over AA with a Uro, so maybe it'll handle the solvents no prob...Best bet I'd think is try to keep the HOK reducer to a minimum...Use a bigger gun or higher Airpressure if you need to, to get it to spray nice....Keep yer layers light..Cross yer fingers and make a few prayers, hahaa!


Nuther thought, You mentioned wanting to stay away from Chems...HOK is nasty stuff!....Plain old dust mask isn't going to help you while spraying that..When I spray HOK, I wear the same mask I spray my clears and Primers with....If yer dabbling in the nasty, why not just go all nasty and keep it in the same paintsystem (Uros)..Prime, base, graphics and clear, all in one funbus, no guessing.

[Strictly Attitude]

hok works great with AA use them together all the time

[ABD]

hok works great with AA use them together all the time

Well hell, there ya go!..LOL


Sorry to complicate things for ya..Best to be informed though than pissed off later...Some waterbase and Uros just don't play well together.

[jonmiller]

result :)

thanks abd. yer right.

i have a 3m respirator and an axial extracter set up but just want to use the nasties as little as poss. thats why ive decided to get my things cleared by a bodyshop rather than try to make some bodge setup to do it myself. so if i can use wb n uro together great.

thanks guys.

[REDTAIL]

it depends if you do this as a hobby or trying to pay the bills and how good you are . if it just a hobby and it's simple i would charge around $100 to $150 !if it time consuming then the price would have to go up

i get $75 for a hard hat with a little real fire and a skull i get $100 and up

RT

[jonmiller]

cheerz dude.

i paint lexan rc bodies atm full time. im wanting to move onto 'normal' painting for 1, to try n progress my airbrushing and 2, to make more money.

he wants black main body with real fire.

[533Clive]

Jon,

I use the two on the same projects, and have never had a drama with them!!!

Clive

[jonmiller]

cheerz dude. am looking forward to this job...i think. :)