Hi,

I am looking at a 185 that might need a paint job.

Living in the Northeast i recall owners going to Canada for a nice paint job for a better price.

I am wondering what a good paint job on a 185 will run these days and is Canada still a good way to go?

Thanks for any help,

Tom

A decent job to strip and repaint will be 10-15k
Not a ton of places to go .

I can paint your plane for 10k. That is a complete strip and repaint and 2 color stripes. All control surfaces are removed, painted off the airframe, balanced, and reinstalled. That doesn't include any dent repair that it may need. Corrosion repair is extra also

What makes the price climb is when there are dents that need repaired, It is time consuming and labor intensive, also paint time is a great time for replacing the windows (more money). Flap rollers and other control hardware are often times replaced (more money). Then you might as well paint the door jams and other interior parts (more money)

A basic strip and paint can be done for 10k but it very rarely ends up just being a strip and paint.

My shop is in PA, we have NO TAX on labor, parts or materials for aircraft.

Thank you I'll keep you in mind.

T

I posted this info on your 180/185 Club site thread.....a guy I know just had his C180 painted at Sunquest, a pretty well known paint shop on Paine Field in Everett WA. Price for strip, prep, and two-color paint job was $16,800. $1200 more for some stripes, a little more for some corrosion repair, plus sales tax, and it ended up pushing $20K.

It only takes $0.72 to buy a Canadian Dollar right now. That means that your getting a huge discount on the labour. The material cost will be about the same because they originate in the US anyway.

A few years back a friend took his 172 to Canada for paint job. He told me that the hazardous waste regulations were not as costly to comply with in Canada thus the better price.

Try Harv Air in Edmonton, Alberta. They do nice work.

He's in Massachusetts. Edmonton is a bit out of the way! There are plenty to choose from in Ontario.

Sky Harbour in Goderich Ont. Best paint jobs I have ever seen! Not cheap but not outrageous either.