jetdriven Posted August 8, 2017 Report Share Posted August 8, 2017 (edited) 22 minutes ago, mike_elliott said: I was unaware that Mooney hired Scheme designers to do this plane in 2009, Byron. I thought that was an in house concept It may have been. Its in my file of designs from scheme designers that i mulled over before deciding what to do. Edited August 8, 2017 by jetdriven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elliott Posted August 8, 2017 Report Share Posted August 8, 2017 2 minutes ago, jetdriven said: It may have been. Its in my file of designs from scheme designers that i mulled over before deciding what to do. It kind of looks like scheme designers took picture of the plane at the Mooney booth at OSH vs it being one of their original scheme designs they were commissioned to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted August 8, 2017 Report Share Posted August 8, 2017 So... for those of you who went through this process, how much correction of imperfections do shops like Hawk's do? I have hail damage that I am sure with the new lightweight fillers they can address some of them. But what about other imperfections? Like a small dent or small cracks that have stop holes drilled. They patch those or is that all expected to be done before you bring the plane in for the paint job? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetdriven Posted August 8, 2017 Report Share Posted August 8, 2017 All of these paint shops will fix the dents on a per hour basis. If they have a senior plane before they have a script yet this can get quite expensive one they charge you 75 or 85 bucks an hour for bodywork. Hot worked on mime for two or three days but there was no upcharge for bodywork. They found about 15 small dents and I mean stuff that I didn't even know about. They also made a few rivet lines disappear as well. So I would shop around and be sure to ask questions to all the paint shops because you may get an extra 3 or $4kof bodywork which is going to make or $16,000 paint job turn into 20 really quick. I was pretty nervous about this myself and Joe kept saying don't worry we'll take care of it. And in the end he really did. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bennett Posted August 8, 2017 Report Share Posted August 8, 2017 As I recall ArtCraft had an included number of hours for "body work" in their price quote. In my case there was no excess charge so I have no idea how many hours they might have expended in smoothing, etc. To be fair, the airplane had been painted only a few years before I decided I wanted to have her painted in the way I wanted, and there were no visible dings or dents that I could see before I brought her to ArtCraft. From my visits to Santa Maria during the painting process I did see areas of fill and smoothing, but in all honesty I don't know if it was ArtCraft or the previous painter who did the body work. What I do know is that the airplane leaving ArtCraft was fantastic with no runs, holidays, or smears in the complex multicolor paintwork. And the airbrushing work was amazing. I've had other aircraft painted, and in each case there was some bodywork. My DOVA was brand new when I had the European dull white paint completely removed before being repainted. There was a good deal of fairing and smoothing done at that time, so I guess most airplanes will have some bodywork as part of a repaint. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Pressley Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 Manual paints all Bell Helicopters south of the border. not only control surfaces off for paint. his shop looks like the entire airplane is hanging on wires. and that is the paint booth for large planes. the other is smaller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65eTurbo Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 On 8/7/2017 at 9:58 AM, flyboy0681 said: This may sound really strange, but a hangar neighbor had his Commander 114 repainted two years ago by a shop in the Dominican Republic. He said it cost something like $4,500 and included the normal strip down and prep. While I can't say how well it will hold up over the long run, the results look excellent. Heard of him back in the day. Would love to talk directly to someone who has had it done. I recall some "nuances" that had to be addressed in country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulee Posted July 31, 2019 Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 I realize this string is about 2 years old but I contacted Hawk this week for estimate on my J and the price was $14,500. A substantial jump from the $10,500 82Mike shared on August of 2017. I've not received the written quote yet but was told this was a white base with stripes (two colors) and 8 hours of any repairs or prep included. I assume if you were to do a two color fuselage with accent stripes (more Mooney'esque) the price may head into the high teens. To be honest, when I visualized a white airplane with two stripes all I could see is an early model Cirrus...euuuuuu!! I referenced the $10,500 price on MooneySpace (no names mentioned) and that seemed like a pretty big jump, he said they moved from Tampa to a new 22,000 square foot shop, they do interiors, maintenance, etc. He didn't elaborate any further so I guess that means his new overhead is being passed on in the form of a ~40% increase for a paint job. I really like @82Mike paint job as well as @jetdriven and was ready to pull the trigger with Hawk but now I find myself back to square one. If anyone has any other recommended paint shops I would appreciate the recommendations. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Heene Posted July 31, 2019 Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 Just.......... great after looking at that Beautiful paint job I drooled all over my computer. I really like it. Great job YOU HAVE TO POST SOME MORE PICS ON THIS SITE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtVandelay Posted August 1, 2019 Report Share Posted August 1, 2019 $14500 is probably about average based on other quotes I’ve heard. I assume one of the 2 other colors can be more than just a simple stripe? The problem is a cheap paint job will be just that, I know, PO of my J did. I’ve got runs, over spray, didn’t remove control surfaces leaving some places unpainted and now I regularly have to touch up spots. If you find a place let me know. My local guy is known to do excellent work, but aren’t cheap or quick, but they seem to be constantly busy, they also repaint outboard marine engines. Tom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviatoreb Posted August 1, 2019 Report Share Posted August 1, 2019 Hawk has come to be known as a quality paint shop. There price used to be also bottom. But it is still good considering it is quality. If this is what the market bears and they are still hugely busy - then good for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulee Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 I appreciate everyone's input and maybe this more about managing expectations and that's on me. I just find it hard to believe a $10,500 paint job at the caliber posted in this thread has increased 40% for a white airplane with two stripes. Maybe I'm being unreasonable but if you have a great product and the demand allows raising your price I am totally fine with that but I am not fine with raising your price and lowering your product. But that is just me 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82Mike Posted August 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Ok, i have wanted to stay out of this discussion as it is not my place to say what Joe should or should not be charging? I will say this his work is second to none. My paint job is simply tremendous, the plane looks brand new? Joe simply charged too little 2 years ago. That being said, I also had some other business arrangements with him that also effected the cost. Still, I would have paid 14k if that was the price? He has took on a much larger shop and he is trying to become bigger. I know also that the cost of paint and the disposal of the chemicals has increased significantly over the past several years? Anyways, his work is tremendous and the price should have been say 12k two years ago? I would not be concerned over 2.5 amu, but that is just me? You will be able to find a shade tree paint job for less than 14k, but if you try say Mena it will be over 20k. Call Joe up and ask him versus posting here would be my suggestion? Maybe he has a very good reason and it will suffice you? If not, look elsewhere? All I can tell you is mine is tremendous? Thanks! Mike 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LANCECASPER Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIm20c Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 29 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said: The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten. This is especially true if it stares you in the face every time you pull her out of the hangar. However, I will say the price increase has completely removed his shop as an option for me. We have some really high quality shops in the Midwest and his price is now too close to deal with travel logistics. I did ask twice for a long body quote, once on the phone and once on his website. Never ended up with a quote but I understand the best way is to visit the shop and talk in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxrpilot Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 I always say my one rule is never pay retail. But that applies to parts, gadgets, avionics, etc. I'm always looking for a discount, something second hand, or just a good deal. Consequently my Mooney carries various bits and pieces from @Alan Fox and @Avionics Source, ebay, Barnstormers, etc. But when it comes to service, I can't think of anything more short sighted than counting dollars. Whether it's a steady hand on a paint gun, or a torque wrench, or a sharp pair of eyes that know where to look and then check twice to make sure its done right. When in comes to the human factor, I look for the right person, shop, craftsman, and never ask the price. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetdriven Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 (edited) I personally flew to Mena, AR, to Tejas out in San Marcos, Murmer in houston, and then Hawk in Tampa. I probably spent half my paint budget on avgas. Murmer, Tejas (then, not now) and Aerosmith probably did the best work. Joe was a third to half as much as these shops and 90% as good. the two shops in mena I wouldn’t let them pay me to paint my lawn mower. Edited August 2, 2019 by jetdriven 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxrpilot Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Just now, jetdriven said: I personally flew to Mena, AR, to Texas out in San Marcos, Murmer in houston, and then Hawk in Tampa. I probably spent half my paint budget on avgas. Murmer, Tejas (then, not now) and Aerosmith probably did the best work. Joe was a third to half as much as these shops and 90% as good. the two shops in mena I wouldn’t let them pay me to paint my lawn mower. For Tejas and Aerosmith, those days are long gone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetdriven Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Just now, gsxrpilot said: For Tejas and Aerosmith, those days are long gone. N33YZ was painted at Tejas. Chris Nath was the manager then. Stunning paint job. and a couple years after that my hangar mate next to me had his 182 painted there. Looked stunning, but two years later it has little blisters all over the horizontal surfaces. Wings. Cowl. Fuselage. Tail. Looks like solvent pop but they appeared later. It’s progressing. Tejas blames it on salt air, he flies coast guard aix missions. Told him to get bent. then a year later, another friend of mine got his 201 painted. They had it for half a year. He brought the cowl top over to get reinforced and it’s painted white with like 3 kinds of overspray on it. It feels like 200 grit sandpaper. They told him they would “buff it all off, it’s fine.” It wasn’t fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elliott Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Joe at Hawk does a great job for the $. I have seen a lot of work recently from Aerosmith in Longview and the shop in Hondo, Tx. The best work I have seen comes from Plane Schemer in Gadsen Al. Jonathan is an artist, but he doesn't work for free, knows his value and is very very busy. A lot of people want to acquire a Mooney for what a complete job from him costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLCarter Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 8 minutes ago, jetdriven said: the two shops in mena I wouldn’t let them pay me to paint my lawn mower. How long ago? A local flight school had their 172 painted in Mena over a year ago, sits on the ramp almost everyday and still looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetdriven Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 (edited) 5 years ago. One shop did a nice paint job, but sanded the living hell out of the plane. Rivets and all. the other didn’t sand it so much, but painted In a corner of a huge hangar with plastic sheet hung around it from the ceiling. No paint booth. No ventilation. No air filtration. Overspray settles out on the plane. Then they buff and rework it. And it looks terrible when finished. a year isn’t long enough. Give it 3 and report back. Edited August 2, 2019 by jetdriven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLCarter Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 It's pushing 2 years (found txt from Sept '17), the environment is pretty harsh hear (20 nm from the Gulf of Mexico) and 50 ft from the sun. Not sure which guys painted it but they also replaced top skins due to hail damage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantom Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) Like Byron, I spent time at Mena, AR, Tejas in San Marcos, Murmer in Houston, as well as a number of other paint shops. I even spoke to the infamous ArtCraft in CA. None came close to impressing me in knowledge, ability, total price or delivery anywhere close to Hawk in Tampa. Eight years ago I paid the same $10,500, and my former plane still looks amazing! Joe had a lot of fully depreciated equipment he didn't roll into his price back then. Now he has much more overhead to cover, so of course his price is higher. Whining about it, even for a frugal Mooney owner, is short sighted and disingenuous. Given Hawk's quality, $14,500 is a steal. Edited August 3, 2019 by fantom 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetdriven Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 OK so Hawk gets 14.5k. What do these other shop charge right now today? crider mena Mena aircraft painting murmer tejas Aerosmirh ”Johnny overspray” at smoketown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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