Custom paint finishes can be mild, wild or extreme in design. Whether it’s for street or show, the paint design should be planned and should suit the concept and style of the vehicle. For example, if the car has an outrageous engine and interior it would be suitable to include extreme graphics in the design. If the look is clean and conservative, stick to mild effects. The idea is to have a paint job that reflects the personality of you and your car.

And remember, whether you have a really cool streeter or killer show car the final outcome is only limited by your imagination.

Planning
Before making final decisions consideration must be given to the intentions for your car, your budget, the sort of colours you like, who is painting the car and the time frame.

Check out the excellent House Of Kolor Project Planner here.

There is a lot of difference between the paintwork on a daily driver compared to a purpose built showcar. From a judging perspective, the extent and quality of paintwork throughout the undercar is what separates show from street, but the expectation of a cool street car is to have a high quality paint finish on at least all the visible bodywork.

Special Effect Overlays
A great way to create a unique paint job without blowing the budget is a special effect overlay. Perfect for street cars because this process enables you to use an existing paint finish as the base for an exciting new paint scheme. This saves the time and expense of painting the engine bay, boot and doorjambs etc.

Clever design work and creative use of colour can add a special effect to a few sections or transform your whole car – especially if a new body kit and wheels are added.

A special effect overlay should only be used over new or good condition paint and bodywork.

Expect pricing to range between $4000 to $6000 dollars complete.

Bare Metal Resprays
If you’re looking to change the colour of your car or you are aiming for a showcar quality paintjob, a bare metal respray is the only way to go.

Design and colour options are literally endless for a bare metal respray, but it is important to realise at the outset of your project that a painters skill plays an enormous role in the outcome. You should also remember that high quality custom resprays will always be expensive due to quality materials and intensive labour.

For street cars expect pricing to range from $6000 to $12000 depending on type of products used and extent of bodywork preparation and detail required. If you are building a full on show car with extreme paint and graphics it won’t be hard to spend in excess of $15000.