So, I have this series one 240z that I should start to think about painting..... Last paint job was back in 1995, and the hood was repainted in 2010. The car looks fine from a distance, but I have been hit by foul balls at a softball game, scraped a few times when unloading out of the hatch, etc......

I have "some" rust ( I think they all do by now) bubbles that have shown up over the years in the lower fenders, rockers and well arches, but nothing too crazy... at least I like to think that.

Last time I painted it, I took it all apart and took it to a local body shop and they sprayed it, and I put it back together. Went ok, but wondering what I should do this time. MOST of the body shops I talked to locally won't touch it unless it's an insurance claim. I get it, no one wants to go down a rabbit hole with an old car........ when they can make money working on stuff that insurance will cover.

I would love to hear from those that have had there car painted, I want to take it back to original silver, as the motor compartment is correct original color. I don't think I want to do a bolt off restro on it, that might be for the next guy that has the car...... Any thoughts or advice is appreciated. Need to start thinking of a budget for this project.........

Edited Thursday at 01:30 AM2 days by 70z4fun

Where are you located?

It can be difficult to find someone to paint an old datsun. Better now that the values have risen but tough to avoid paint jail. Where your car is stuck in a shop for a year or more.

If I were looking for a painter, I would ask my local automotive paint shop. The jobbers who supply paint shops with materials. Ask when there aren't other customers around!

I ended up painting my own because I couldn't find anybody reasonable to paint. It's been a long road with mixed results...

I have no idea what current prices are for full paint.

The rust needs to be dealt with for sure!

I'm sure there is more there than the little bubbles. Take the glass out for the respray and strip as much as possible for improved results.

Don’t just go to the first body shop you can find. Most of the insurance painters and repair shops don’t really care as long as they get paid which leads to orange peel and miss matched paint. Like Patcon sad, ask the local automotive paint supply stores or classic car dealers (doesn’t matter which make).

Had a big scratch on the passenger door of my 2008 VW Polo thanks to the previous owner (my sister’s husband). I found a local paint shop that was recommended by the dent removal guy at work (worked at the BMW motorcycle dealer for a while as a part time job). He resprayed the entire right side of the car otherwise you would see the difference in color (light grey car). All in all it cost me €600 cash and the result was perfect, you could not see the difference at all.

My ’77 280z will also need some rust repair and painting within the coming years. I’ll probably take it to that guy as het specializes in high end BMW and Audi’s and rare classic BMW’s. He had a BMW 2002, E30 M3 EVO 2 and a first gen 6 series in the shop at that time for full body restauration. That and he accepts cash jobs which save me some money.

You don't say where you are located but try and find one or two classic vehicle clubs in your area - any make car or truck. With enough trying, you'll get to owners who can get you local referrals.

Thanks for the notes and responses. I am located in Central Oregon, which I know is limited in services. But will there are a few high end restoration shops around......

Paint is good enough for me to do a small car show this weekend...... here is a picture with the other wheels and tires.......

Edited Thursday at 09:10 PM1 day by 70z4fun

Much much better!! I know that’s Great English!!😂

Silver is tough paint to spray evenly - even tougher to match ("even tougher" I said... nearly impossible). You want someone with a good deal of experience spraying silver metallic and that's not generally cheap. We always had very good luck with our supplier (Sherman Williams Automotive) and Datsun colors - what they had was very close to factory. I think we shot three silver Z's.

Datsun metallic base paint is fairly inexpensive (for paint) and fairly consistent in price. It's the clear and hardener that will have a great deal of price variation. Be forewarned that cheap clear usually means greater LABOR cost or settling for a poorer outcome. Each painter you talk to will have a preference for the clear they use and they will have a reason they do so. If you go against their preference don't be surprised by additional labor or cost to get the clear looking the way you want it to. And please don't argue with the guy - after he's sprayed the paint you told him to. (Here in Phoenix our cost of just the final materials (sealer, base coat, clearcoat) of the brands we prefer would be just over $1,000 (using a very good clear but by no means the most expensive) and not talking of labor, fillers, or primers. We got a pretty good discount - and a painters discount may or may not be passed on to you. Paint cost is the very cheapest part of the job.)

If you want the silver "to pop", spray dark sealer under the base. If you use a lighter sealer the silver metallic will look "washed out" and will not have as much character, For the most part paint IS NOT opaque. Underlying colors will have a visual effect - subtle but definitely noticeable.

I personally despise masking around weather strip and trim. It may look acceptable at first but will eventually present a myriad of issues. Early on, we did one at a customers request and immediately afterwards made it a policy to NEVER do it again. You think you may be saving on labor cost to mask rather than remove but in reality labor saving is minute and the result is poor. We had several Z's come to the shop years after a "masked trim and weather strip" spray looking needlessly shabby. Pull the windows and trim and get paint underneath all the gaskets, trim, and weather strip.

My last piece of advice - if you can't afford what the experienced painter quotes you just don't do it - don't look for a cheap quote. And, with a Z, you CANNOT hold him to an initial ESTIMATE (unless he doubles up). There are WAY to many unseen things that may pop up. (I said "MAY pop up"... Sigh... I can't remember a single Z in our shop that didn't have surprises unknown to the owner AND to us!)

Oh,, ya,, we shot that. VVV

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by cgsheen1

On 9/4/2025 at 10:59 PM, 70z4fun said:

Thanks for the notes and responses. I am located in Central Oregon, which I know is limited in services. But will there are a few high end restoration shops around......

Paint is good enough for me to do a small car show this weekend...... here is a picture with the other wheels and tires.......

That's a nice color and wheel combination u got there.....

Very nice. (I'm also happy that you don't have any body side molding...)

Could be just camera, but if you look at the two pictures of silver Z's you'll notice the slight difference in "tone". Not to fault anyone or anything. Two different painters can use silver metallic from the exact same can, and spray two slightly but noticeably different "colors". With silver, the flake is usually the majority of the color, and how the flake settles on the part will make a difference. As will the amount of material applied and the primer or sealer used underneath.

Edited 7 hours ago7 hr by cgsheen1

Yes, silver is a tough color

My 240z is not really silver, it's more of the silver blue Porsche color. That's one of the reasons I want to repaint it, besides the fact that the paint is 25 years old..... the guy that painted it last time, didn't want to do silver because it was difficult to do right........