Acrylic Paint to Write on Car Windows

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Decorate your car windows safely with Acrylic Paint.

Lately we have seen more and more reasons to want to decorate car windows. Whether it is a drive by Happy Birthday parade or a drive by congrats to the Grad or any car parade of some sort, there are so many reasons to want to write a positive message on your car windows to cheer on your family and friends.

Paint Safe for Car Windows:

Did you know you can use acrylic paint to write on car windows…I sure didn’t. Acrylic paint as in regular old craft paint. Just make sure that it is a water based paint. When we did this for the first time, I really didn’t want to run out to the store to buy something just for this purpose, especially if I already had something here at my house that would work. If you have water based craft paint you are good to go!
We also made a big banner for our front porch. I love acrylic paint for banners too, it’s so much better than markers for writing BIG.

What you need to write with paint on a car window:

• water based acrylic craft paint
• paint brushes in assorted sizes
• razor blade for removing the paint

How to paint on car windows:

We have found that it’s best to use light and bright colors when writing messages on car windows like the color white. Start with the color white as a base and then you can add color on top of the white to make the colors more visible. Darker colors are not as visible on dark windows. Adding white as a base coat helps the darker colors to be more visible as well.

Reasons to decorate your car windows to celebrate life.

• celebrate a wedding: “Just Married”
• wish someone a Happy Birthday
• congratulate someone on a graduation
• congratulate someone on a race like a marathon or a half marathon

How to remove paint from Car Windows:

When it came time to take the paint off of our car windows, I just used a razor blade. If you move the razor blade slowly under the paint, you can generally keep the paint in big pieces making less clean up for yourself. If the paint has been left on the window for a long time, you can spray a simple solution on the paint on the windows to soften the paint a little so you can use the razor blade to gently scrape the paint off.
Here’s the solution:

• 1 part window washing fluid
• 1 part water
• a few drops of Dawn Dish Soap

You don’t need a full spray bottle of this solution. You can mix a small bowl of this solution and wet an old rag with it and wipe the mixture over the paint on the windows. The goal is just to make the paint damp and wet so that it will come off in big chunks rather than tiny shards of paint …making a mess.

I hope this helps you celebrate BIG with family and friends.

*Disclaimer – Please do this at your own risk and preferably to your own car. Not everyone will appreciate this on their car if you are doing this to someone else’s car. Posters and Banners are also a great way to go to if you don’t want to have to deal with the clean up.
*Original Publish Date: 08/24/2011 Post Updated: 05/12/2020

How Much Does It Cost to Paint a Car?

Know the facts and follow these few tips to get the best paint job for the money.

It can pay—literally and figuratively—to make your old car look almost new with a fresh paint job. First, there’s the psychic pay you get in return for having a good-looking car once again. And then there’s the potential financial payoff when you sell your ride; it should be more valuable. So, how much does it cost to paint a car?

The answer depends on what you want to get from the paint job. How much it costs to paint a car, truck, or SUV varies widely depending on the level of detail in the pre-painting preparation process and the quality of the paint. Are you interested in a quick and economical way to pump up the value of your car before selling it? Then a less expensive paint job could be just fine.

At the other end of the spectrum is a restoration project. If you’re repainting a car or refurbishing a ride you want to keep for a long time, it makes sense to invest considerably more. This is especially true if the car is highly valuable; a cheap paint job will detract from its value should you decide to sell.

Price Ranges for Paint Jobs

Google «how much does it cost to repaint a car,» and you’ll find that there are national chains that charge only a few hundred dollars to paint your car or truck. This might not be a bad option if you’re on a tight budget. But know that there are plenty of potential pitfalls to slapping a cheapo paint job on your car or truck. For starters, the quality of the paint might not match what was originally used on your car. Most newer vehicles, for example, have a clear-coat finish that adds extra work to the repainting process if you want to do it right. Add some repairs to exterior dings and small dents, and these steps can bump the price from several hundred bucks to well over a thousand.

So, think twice if that 1996 Honda Civic you loved in college needs new paint. You don’t want to end up with the most expensive used economy car on the planet. When getting your car painted, here are five essential things to consider:

Decide How Good a Paint Job You Really Need

If your car has only a few minor chips and blemishes, then painting the entire vehicle probably doesn’t make sense. Repainting the hood and touching up door dings should range from $200 to $1000, depending on how much work is required. Keep in mind that where you live can determine the degree of repairs. Cars in hot climates, where sun is the biggest enemy, battle with hazy finishes and faded paint caused by intense heat and damaging rays. This could make touch-up repairs more difficult, since affected areas will likely be large surfaces such as the hood, rear deck, and roof. Then again, cars in cooler climates could have touches of rust beneath the paint that require attention.

Don’t Paint over Problems

You wouldn’t paint your house if the siding was falling off. Never put a thin, superficial, cosmetic cover-up over a structural problem—and painting over dents or rust without addressing serious issues is just that. If your vehicle has lots of dings and some rust, painting over the problems will only make them worse in both the near and long term. A shiny, fresh coat of paint will likely make body damage even more visible, while rusting panels will continue to rot if they’re not properly tended to. Paint is cosmetic, not a means to cover up bodywork issues.

Keep Your Budget Realistic

Let’s say you have an older vehicle with high miles, valued at a couple thousand dollars. It’s looking a little tired, but you love the car, and it’s still running great. Opting for a cheaper repaint in the same color is fine if all you want is a quick exterior freshening for minimal cash outlay. This might hold true if you’re looking to sell this same car. Spending several hundred bucks, maybe a thousand or two, could bump the asking price, though probably not by more than you’ll spend on the paint job. On the other hand, if you have a vehicle that’s either a classic or something with a higher value, skimping on paint can be a recipe for disaster. You could adversely affect the car’s value and potentially be stuck with a finish that’s not even close to what the car looked like when new.

Understand the Work Involved

For an inexpensive paint job, preparation will be minimal, and the shop might not include repairs to rust and door dings. The glass area and other non-painted exterior trim will be covered up before repainting, but that’s about it. From 50 feet away it might look fine, but up close there will be numerous telltale signs it was a surface respray, such as overspray on the rubber gaskets around the windows and on exterior trim, differences in the color of the doorjambs, and spots of overspray where the masking off wasn’t perfect. If you know this going into the process, okay. Just understand what you’re paying for, and check to see if there’s any kind of warranty on the work.

Paying More Gets You a Better Paint Job

The more you pay, the better the paint shop’s preparation. Some shops simply won’t do slapdash, budget work. Some will offer several levels of paint jobs. As you move up the price ladder, shops will remove more trim pieces and items like the head- and taillamps. This ensures the pain will cover sharp bends in the sheetmetal and get into the crevices in the body where the older paint might have shown through. In more expensive paint jobs, the prep will likely also involve sanding off the older paint, fixing exterior damage, and even removing glass. This adds time and money to the process, which is why something along these lines could cost $5000 or more.

For most of us, though, those are far better paint jobs than we’ll ever need for our personal rides. Keep the above five points in mind as you consider a new paint job, and you’ll find it easier to match your needs to your budget.

Painted windows on cars

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Where Can You Get Your Car Painted? At These 8 Places (Local to Most)

Short Answer: There are several reputable places in the U.S. where you can have your car painted, including auto shops like MAACO or Service King, dealerships like Ford or Toyota, and local paint shops. In general, you can expect to spend anywhere from about $300 to $20,000 to have your car repainted, depending on your car’s condition, your selected package, and the shop you choose. In this article, we list the places you can get your car painted, including information about pricing, warranties, and available packages.

Table of Contents

Where to Get a Car Painted

There are several national auto shop chains, car dealerships, and local shops that offer paint services with a variety of packages. Before you decide on which shop to use, you can research the shop’s history by looking up reviews on different sites such as Yelp, Google, and the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which has shop ratings and any customer complaints.

Auto Shop Chains

The auto shops listed below typically have locations across the U.S. and can paint virtually any make and model.

Earl Scheib

• Cost: Begins at about $100, plus a required Car Prep Package that costs about $200 to $300. Other package prices are about $400 for Silver, $600 for Platinum, and $1,000 for Diamond (plus Car Prep Package).
• Warranty: Varies based on the package selected — one year (Silver), three years (Platinum), or six years (Diamond).
• Packages available:
  • Silver Package: Includes two coats of acrylic polyurethane paint in Earl Scheib colors only.
  • Platinum Package: Includes three coats of paint, in most factory colors, and an integrated clear coat.
  • Diamond Package: Adds a base clear coat, Protech protection plan, and a UV protection plan.
• Locations: Nationwide; however, no shop locator tool is available. You can find locations by searching online with your city or zip code.

Econo Auto Painting & Body Works

• Cost: Not specified; an estimate is required for exact pricing
• Warranty: Varies based on the package selected — one year (Enamel Deluxe), two years (Polycrystalline Finish), three years (Poly-Supreme), or four years (Ful-thane Urethane).
• Packages available:
  • Enamel Deluxe Package: Includes hand sanding, masking to protect windows and chrome, and enamel paint.
  • Polycrystalline Finish Package: Includes hand sanding, dual-action machine sanding, masking to protect windows and chrome, and catalyzed automotive enamel.
  • Poly-Supreme Package: Includes hand and dual-action machine sanding, masking of windows and chrome, and painted with catalyzed enamel and an integrated clear coat finish.
  • Ful-thane Urethane Package: Includes the same process as the Poly-Supreme and adds a full coat sealer and a DuPont/Axalta urethane paint.
• Locations: Southeastern U.S. — find an Econo shop

MAACO

• Cost: Begins at about $300. An estimate is required for exact pricing.
• Warranty: Varies based on the package selected — one year (Basic), three years (Preferred), or five years (Premium).
• Packages available:
  • Basic Package: Includes single-stage enamel paint and color match.
  • Preferred Package: Includes single-stage paint with urethane, which resists chipping.
  • Premium Package: Includes a two-stage paint service.
  • Platinum Package: Adds a light chip/crack repair, prime and sand after the first prep, a urethane sealer, and a five-year warranty against fading and peeling.
• Locations: Nationwide — find a MAACO shop

Service King

• Cost: An estimate is required for pricing. Also, Service King will not paint unless the vehicle also has body damage that is repaired at Service King.
• Warranty: Lifetime on workmanship but not material.
• Packages Available: None
• Locations: Nationwide — find a Service King shop

Car Dealerships

Dealerships are another option for auto body painting, especially if your car is the same make the dealership sells. They are sure to have the proper specs to ensure the highest quality job. Any dealership will paint basically any make and model, too. For example, if you own a Lexus, your local Ford or Nissan dealership will paint your car. The list below includes most of the parent companies (i.e., the companies that produce other makes, such as Ford, which produces both Ford and Lincoln).

• Cost: An estimate is required for pricing.
• Warranty: Varies by dealership; not covered by Ford because dealerships are independently owned and operated. Be sure to ask the dealership about a warranty on labor and/or material. Our article has the details on Ford’s paint warranty for new and used vehicles.
• Packages available: Vary by location.
• Locations: Nationwide — find a Ford dealership

General Motors (GM)

• Cost: An estimate is required for pricing.
• Warranty: Varies by dealership; not covered by GM because dealerships are independently owned and operated. Be sure to ask the dealership about a warranty on labor and/or material.
• Packages available: Vary by location.
• Locations: Nationwide — find a GM dealership

Nissan

• Cost: An estimate is required for pricing.
• Warranty: Varies by dealership; not covered by Nissan because dealerships are independently owned and operated. Be sure to ask the dealership about a warranty on labor and/or material.
• Packages available: Vary by location.
• Locations: Nationwide — find a Nissan dealership

Toyota

• Cost: An estimate is required for pricing.
• Warranty: Varies by dealership; not covered by Toyota because dealerships are independently owned and operated. Be sure to ask the dealership about a warranty on labor and/or material.
• Packages available: Vary by location.
• Locations: Nationwide — find a Toyota dealership

Local Auto Paint Shops

No matter where you live, there is likely a privately operated body shop near you that can do the work. You can find these shops by searching online, or through word of mouth.

Most small shops use the same methods for calculating the cost of painting services as national retailers and dealerships. Therefore, you will likely pay the same set rate that other large companies are charging for a similar job.

However, using an independent may end up saving you time and money because the technicians are typically paid by the hour and don’t have quotas to contend with. This translates into a more carefully completed job with similar warranties that retailers and dealerships offer (most warranties are supplied through paint manufacturers).

Cost of Car Painting

The cost of painting your car will depend on the make, model, and condition of your car, as well as which package you choose. Reputable body shops will not paint your car without ensuring that the paint will bond and no defects will show through the paint. For example, Earl Scheib will only paint your car if you purchase the Car Preparation Package. MAACO includes the cost of basic preparation in its starting price.

If your car needs more than some basic prep, you should expect to pay more. For example, if your vehicle has rust on sections of the fenders, before any painting can be done, the shop will need to remove the rust and treat the surface to prevent the rust from returning. If the rust has eaten through the fender, you will need a new one, which increases the cost.

The most significant factor in the cost of painting your car is which package you choose. Basic enamel and acrylic paint packages start at around $200 to $400, while higher quality paint packages will cost about $1,000 to $5,000, and specialty paint and finish packages can cost up to $20,000.

In Summary

When it comes to painting your car, there are plenty of options at national chain auto shops like MAACO or Earl Scheib, dealerships like Ford or GM, and local shops. Keep in mind that your costs will depend upon the type of car you have and its condition. Make sure to get a detailed estimate so you know exactly what the service includes and check the BBB site for the shop’s rating and customer reviews.

For more on auto body painting and wrapping, check out our articles on paint jobs vs. vinyl wraps (cost comparison) and cheap car painting options to consider.