Tail gate on 97 Chev. Truck laugh

[sssarawolf]

Okay, 2 1/2 years ago we had a load of wood, cement block, bags of concrete and so on go through the front of our hauling stuff trailer and right into the tail gate of our truck coming down a a hill. Store folks loaded it and hubby thought he had it tied down good enough. Yeah right. He couldn't load it himself as he had had prostrate cancer surgery 8 weeks before and wasn't suppose to lift heavy things.

The crunched tail gate had to be replaced, so we ordered one ourselves, cost us almost like $185.00. It is primered but not painted, last year as the money wasn't there to do so it didn't get painted. So he wanted to get it painted this year. So this last Fri. he asked an auto repair and paint place down in the valley, well a couple of them that we have and dang what is in that paint? Gold? Both places want around $725.00 to paint the thing and it would be white, plain old white. Forget it. I was flabbergasted and laughed when he told me and had the paper work in hand to prove it. I know labor, cost of paint and etc. but dang.

 

[Doc1]

LIghtly prep it and use plain ol' rattle can white. Problem solved. It's a '97 truck, not a classic Rolls or Bentley!

Best
Doc

 

[Raggedyman]

unbelievable . . . but then so is this . . . and from just last week

I wanted to replace an upstairs toilet with one of the newer, 12" high models. nobody ever uses the upstairs, except when the kids come up. the current fixture's worked just fine, but I just wanted it done and it WAS 20 years old, so I tell myself - JUST DO IT.

now I've set a terlit or two in my day, but at 72 and it being in a small place and UPSTAIRS, I'm like hey that's what plumbers are for. CALL ONE dummy. so out comes mr plumber and helper and its $375 just to yank the old and set the new. bear in mind the new terlit is ALREADY HERE. that's the cost to just to take it upstairs, unbolt the old, set the new on the wax and run a couple of bolts down. I'd have to haul it off myself. I asked about a cash price - as in folding federal reserve notes (the soon to be worthless kind) - and got it down to $325. I was good with that (being upstairs and all) and told him to go on and start. I'd be down in the pasture if he needed me.

20 min into it I get pulled out of the pasture (I was setting new corner posts) to "hear some bad news". seems like I had a "cracked flange" and there was a "potential flood problem because the crack could extend all the way into the street el". to fix all that I need to tear up some floor, some tile and replace the existing plumbing and flange". the estimated cost was $1850. PLUS that was just the plumbing part - not the floor and not the tile work. that'd be on me.

- AND -​

there was also an issue with the valve at the feed line . . . "bad bonnet" says the man. he says "I can just snip the pex right there and toss on a new valve". how much says I. $100 says he. says I - that valve is under $10 at the Lowes - I saw one right next to that new braided SS feed line I got for you to use. NO RESPONSE.

so I say - let me get it all straight - to fix that "bad valve" and set this new terlit its gonna be $1850 + the valve job at $100 for a total of just under TWO GRAND . . . "yes" says he . . . when I asked him how the thing had managed to work so well for 20 plus years he had no answer.

I thanked him for carting the new terlit UP the stairs and the tear out. told him if he carried the OLD ONE DOWN I'd pay him $100 for his time, the trip out and the education and that I'd take it from here. if he didn't cart the old one down he wasn't going to get A DAMN THING for what he'd done - which at that point was leave the upstairs bath in shambles and try to rip off an old hillbilly. after a little more . . . "conversation" . . . including discussion about bad reviews and better business bureaus - he decided that hundred was gonna be OK after all

a trip to Lowes, $5 for a flange repair bracket and $7.99 for a new valve later, my newly installed KOHLER throne is working just fine. BTW the leaky feed line valve? post op dissection and investigation revealed a brittle washer. . .

don't EVER
complain about the high cost of a medical bill again - plumbers bills put those to shame​

 

[FNFAL1958]

Reminds me of a statement I hear an old feller say once, I might be old but I ain't stupid.

 

[dash8200]

1 gallon of 2020 ford rapid red runs $2000.

 

[Raggedyman]

1 gallon of 2020 ford rapid red runs $2000.

that's and INCREDIBLE amount for a GALLON of paint . . . question:

after mixing thinning and spraying . . . (assuming you might know):

1. roughly how many coats on a standard pick up does a body shop get out of 1 gal?
2. how many standard sized pick ups would 1 gal do?

 

[West]

I would buy some heavy duty tractor paint. It come in gallons, I get mine from atwoods.

Van Sickle Paint Tractor Enamel, International Harvester Red Gloss, 1 gallon

Tractor Enamel - International Harvester Red Gloss - 1 gallon

www.atwoods.com

It comes in white too. And either spray it or brush it on. Excellent paint.

But I'm a redneck okie...

 

[raven]

Ebay has "NEW Painted To Match Tailgate Shell for 1988-2000 Silverado Sierra C K 1500 2500"

for $320

 

[dash8200]

I’m not sure how many coats. I’m not a paint guy. I’ve got a car I will be using that paint for in the future. So I was checking. It’s going to be a twin to one of my other cars.

 

[Old Greek]

A good friend of mine owns a body shop (40-year business - we are both old). I am always asking him the cost of items. A lot of 1/2 pint paint costs hit over $200.00. A gallon of good clear coat about $1,500.00.

 

[Ku Commando]

It is primered but not painted

Lightly prep it and use plain ol' rattle can white

A sheet of 220 aluminum oxide sand paper & 3 cans of Rustoleum Gloss white all from your local Walmart.....about $20 plus a little sweat equity on your part

BTW, where can I send the invoice for the $700 consulting fee ??

 

[sssarawolf]

A sheet of 220 aluminum oxide sand paper & 3 cans of Rustoleum Gloss white all from your local Walmart.....about $20 plus a little sweat equity on your part

BTW, where can I send the invoice for the $700 consulting fee ??

LOl very funny. I told dh just go get some spray paint. I don't think he thought to much of that, but that's most likely what we will do.

 

[Ku Commando]

I told dh just go get some spray paint.

Well get the rustoleum gloss white....it's about 5 bux a can last I looked [last year].....quality quick drying oil based enamel spray paint w/ a button that doesn't hurt your finger

 

[Millwright]

You can get Duplicolor brand primer/basecoat/clearcoat at the parts stores.

 

[Mother Of Two]

that's and INCREDIBLE amount for a GALLON of paint . . . question:

after mixing thinning and spraying . . . (assuming you might know):

1. roughly how many coats on a standard pick up does a body shop get out of 1 gal?
2. how many standard sized pick ups would 1 gal do?

Considering that only two or three companies control ALL automotive paint, and the a pint of red paint is about $300, and that auto shops have to cover the costs for time and so forth...

They get as many coats as they can out of it!

Also, the $300 figure was told to me by a guy I used to live next to a few years back who was an auto restoration specialist. Had been working on all vehicles, both modern and classic, for probably 20-30 years. He knew his prices WELL.

 

[seraphima]

Just spray it on and then tag it with the paint shop's name - free advertising for them, ya' know?

 

[raven]

just go to autozone and spend $20 on some wrap.

 

[Tripod]

On my way to work this morning this dick in a pickup truck pulled out in front of me.
Mike

 

[West]

I painted a 1994 Honda civic and a 1989 Toyota 4x4 truck in industrial white paint like what I posted above. It goes on thick, it's glossy and it works! Just don't look to close. Really if your about 15 feet away it's a excellent paint and DIY success story!

 

[notyoung]

A sheet of 220 aluminum oxide sand paper & 3 cans of Rustoleum Gloss white all from your local Walmart.....about $20 plus a little sweat equity on your part

BTW, where can I send the invoice for the $700 consulting fee ??

Rattle cans work fine for many things. Better half said the mailbox and post (both metal and several years old) looked bad. Wet cloth to get the dust off. 220 grit sandpaper sponge. Rustoleum Automotive Enamel. About an hour and it's the newest-looking mailbox and post on this section of road. More than a year later, it still looks good.

I'm 70+ and I replaced the last non-low-flow toilet several years ago - but it was in the basement and a two-piece toilet. Disposal of the old one? Put it in a construction debris grade trash bag, wear gloves, long sleeves and eye protection and use a hammer to make a bag of trash that will fit in the wheeled "can" and get picked up with the other usual stuff. Had anyone asked, it's just some broken porcelain ;-)

 

[packyderms_wife]

Okay, 2 1/2 years ago we had a load of wood, cement block, bags of concrete and so on go through the front of our hauling stuff trailer and right into the tail gate of our truck coming down a a hill. Store folks loaded it and hubby thought he had it tied down good enough. Yeah right. He couldn't load it himself as he had had prostrate cancer surgery 8 weeks before and wasn't suppose to lift heavy things.

The crunched tail gate had to be replaced, so we ordered one ourselves, cost us almost like $185.00. It is primered but not painted, last year as the money wasn't there to do so it didn't get painted. So he wanted to get it painted this year. So this last Fri. he asked an auto repair and paint place down in the valley, well a couple of them that we have and dang what is in that paint? Gold? Both places want around $725.00 to paint the thing and it would be white, plain old white. Forget it. I was flabbergasted and laughed when he told me and had the paper work in hand to prove it. I know labor, cost of paint and etc. but dang.

I have a friend from HS that owns an auto body shop back home who regularly posts photos of the pints of paint they get in and the invoice showing the cost. A pint of auto paint, assuming it's not a custom color, runs about $495. You can go to Auto Zone, etc., and buy auto paint there for far less, but remember it's not going to be the same quality as what your local shops are getting.

 

[Double_A]

1 gallon of 2020 ford rapid red runs $2000.

A friend retired a few years ago. He was a mechanic, then a Body man till he retired.

He was in awe of the painter’s skills in the Body shop. Their skill at mixing paint to match color when “dry” was incredible to him.

He went on to explain more, since I wasn’t that impressed. He said you have to understand the little jars of paint “tint” could cost $300 or more dollars. The painters had to be exact in mixing paint and tint, mistakes are costly.

 

[buttie]

If you've got an air compressor, just go to Harbor Freight and get a $25 spray gun. Then take the truck to an automotive paint store and get a quart of matching Centari enamal paint, some thinner and hardener and you're good to go for less than $100. I like the tractor paint too. I'll even blend it to make the colors I want.