The International Cessna^® 170 Association

What do people think a fair price is to strip and repaint an entire 170?
I know there are a lot of variables to this question but I'm just looking for a ballpark to expect with out any surprises after stripping, a decent white paint and 1952 stripes.

Not for my plane as the paint is only 5 years old.

Thanks!

I was quoted $15k for a C180 by a reputable shop in Oklahoma last year. Base white, two (non-touching) stripes, including strip, couple hours worth of labor for light corrosion removal, prep, and paint. I thought that was a little high.

I paid $8500 for complete strip and paint in 2001.

Lots of labor in the stripping process to do it right.

Ask some important questions:
Do they disassemble the plane to strip and paint?
Do they have A&P's assemble and rig after painting?
Doe's it include an annual?
And most important!! Do they provide a written contract outlining work to be accomplished and cost.

This is for a proper paint job and a happy owner.

I would check to see if there is a hazmat charge for using either blue or green paint.

Seriously though, I think you get what you pay for. If I were having an airplane painted, I'd want the wings taken off, tail taken off, gear taken out, fuel tank covers taken off, hardware replaced, etc. I could see paying upwards of $15K for a good job with that much labor and disassembly/reassembly. I presume the person needing a paint job is located on the east coast? Arizona Aeropainters (Don Copeland) is a demigod amongst the Beechcraft group and stays booked over a year out. His attention to detail is astounding.

In this case, it's a second 170 I'm looking at buying. Everybody should have two, right?
The wings and tail are already off the plane as well as the interior and instruments.
For the small stuff like inspection covers, I could do all that and I'd expect to balance the surfaces and re-assemble the plane myself.
But the numbers are close to what I was thinking it would cost. Probably a little less with me doing the assembly work.

You make me extremely jealous, David.

On the bright side, 81D will be for sale early next year.

It's pretty rough on the outside, thus the re-paint questions. No real interior and the panel needs work/re-done.
But the sheet metal appears to be clean and straight.
It's got the float kit installed and a zero time TCM IO-360 with constant speed prop already installed !

I think I can finish this one for about what it would cost to put a 360 in mine so, we're flying out this weekend to have a hard look at the project and run the numbers.

Oh and if you know which plane I'm talking about, I already have an agreement that he'll hold it until I see it this weekend

Aryana wrote:David, we need pictures or I'm recommending a temporary ban to the mods!

Agreed. My interest is very much piqued now.

I hope everything goes well this weekend, but more importantly, I hope you post some pictures!

I know a "re tired" (that's different than "retired") airline "mekanik" who lives on the lake near Toledo Bend, LA who will paint it for three cases of beer and a rack of ribs.

He does it with a rattle-can, a wire brush, and a piece of cardboard in lieu of masking tape, thereby saving you a bunch of money.
He has only a short waiting-list, so he can work you right-in. (His wife wants him to plant some more "da-mater plants an' beans" out behind the barn first.)

<No additional cost feature>>>>> He provides ALL of the necessary sign-offs. All of 'em.

You can choose yer own colors at any local Wallymart or Ottozone.

(For having made this suggestion, all I want are the movie rights.)

His advertisement states:

"Iffin yew want a mor prophessional phinish to yer paintjob I can do it in my COMPLETELY INVIRON-MENTALly friendly hewmidified controlled hanger but the addishunal inspekters cost extry laber":

That guy painting his plane must be a professional cause he's using an air compressor instead of rattle cans. Does he charge any extra for the bugs that stick to the paint Bet he charges extra for when he has to get up on a ladder to paint the top of the wings since he has lots of experience climbing ladders

Painter don't need a ladder. He can stand flat footed and poop in a dump truck . Is that a whiskey still in the timber behind the open air hangar?
One of the best paint jobs I've seen was done under a very large water oak. Nothing wrong with improvising.

David-
If Amos Painting is still in business in Mena, it is an excellent shop and Darrell would rather paint 170s than anything else and he has done them all from tiny homebuilts to C-5As. I had mine painted there in 2009 when it was disassembled and it is flawless. In 2009, his base price was $7500 for a white base plus 2 color trim. I had extra trim detail done plus the N-number on the wings and all the interior trim pieces and door jambs painted as well and the total price was $10,000.

Call Del Lehmann at Mountain Airframe in Mena AR, 479-437-3333. Del had the entire airplane taken apart for restoration and I had Del manage the job and cycle the various parts and pieces in and out of the paint shop as required. Del then reassembled the plane and made sure everything was correct. If there is anything else that needs to be done such as re-jig the wings or replace any damaged skins, etc, Del has all the tooling to do that as well. He even has a trailer to transport the plane with the wings off so that is no problem either.

If you need any interior work done, Rose Aircraft Services has an excellent interior shop on the same field and will work with Del to make sure the job is perfect.

There is also an good engine and a good avionics shop on the field if you need any of those services, or at least there was in 2009.

Good luck and PM me if you have any specific questions.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big fan of Del Lehmann.

Thanks Richard!
I'll try to call Del tomorrow.
I went to look at the project today. I didn't take any photos..not much to photograph other than bad paint and some mouse turds. Aside from the paint, panel, electrical, landing gear and brakes .... it's actually in better condition than 81D. FAR less corrosion (has bright metal), no repairs that I could find less a damaged panel right where a baggage door will replace
It has some corrosion here and there but its the same spots that 81D has.

I need to figure out the logistics of ripping out everything electrical before sending it to whoever will be doing the paint....and I'm on the edge of leaving it bare metal.
There may be yet another project rebuild thread on this forum yet.