Would anyone care to speculate on the likely cost of having a tractor unit painted?
Say a rough ballpark figure for three colours, red for bottom end paintwork, steps and bumper etc, with a simple two colour paint job for the cab.
And how long would it be off the road for that?
Depends whether 2 pac or something cheaper and how particular you want the job. Cab only £1.5k to £2.5k, + chassis another £1k+. A least a week/10 days work depending how many blokes on the job.
I’d save your money H… and get vinyl graphics… less downtime… easy to remove and thus makes it easier to sell.
Decent Paint Job on a cab is £2k then at leat £1k for the chassis… add that to the loss of revenue… costly… plus you will never ever make it back at sale time…
You can stand out with a plain cab …i.e Black… or White with graphics.
I don’t know much about the world of paint spraying, so here’s my chance to learn, I am thinking.
What is 2 pac? (I’ve heard of 2 pac many times before but have never known the difference between that and the traditional type of paint spraying I have seen). I always thought Tupac was a murdered rapper from Harlem 
What is the difference, why is it better etc etc?
routier:
I’d save your money H… and get vinyl graphics… less downtime… easy to remove and thus makes it easier to sell.Decent Paint Job on a cab is £2k then at leat £1k for the chassis… add that to the loss of revenue… costly… plus you will never ever make it back at sale time…
I do appreciate all that you are saying but from the word “Go” I want a strong and distinctive livery (which I already have in mind), I’ve looked at vinyl wraps but they just wouldn’t work as well as paint. The lettering will be in vinyl, of course.
This is largely because I would be hoping to pick up specialist exhibition and roadshow work where clients remember what colours the truck was in when they are putting together next year’s tour.
If I did get the unit painted, it would be about three months after I had put it on the road by which time I would know if the mathematics of doing the bread-and-butter traction work were stacking up.
Harry Monk:
I don’t know much about the world of paint spraying, so here’s my chance to learn, I am thinking.What is 2 pac? (I’ve heard of 2 pac many times before but have never known the difference between that and the traditional type of paint spraying I have seen). I always thought Tupac was a murdered rapper from Harlem
What is the difference, why is it better etc etc?
2 pack paints are generally tougher, hold the colours and probably cost more !They use different chemicals than ordinary paints, I can’t really find a good web-page that explains the technical stuff but there’s some basic info here :-
If you are going to get ( motor tbc) id stay with one colour… look at Pulleyn, Ralph Davies, Thorburn… they all stand or stood out…
Didn’t Thorburn win his Glaxo work on the appearance of his kit?
Harry Monk:
I don’t know much about the world of paint spraying, so here’s my chance to learn, I am thinking.What is 2 pac? (I’ve heard of 2 pac many times before but have never known the difference between that and the traditional type of paint spraying I have seen). I always thought Tupac was a murdered rapper from Harlem
What is the difference, why is it better etc etc?
I beleive 2 pack paint you mix with a hardener before use and this makes it “dry” but traditional Cellulose paints dry by the solvent in the mix evaporating.
However something in 2 pack paint isn’t to good for your health so you need breathing apperatus to use it, not for really for home use.
I’ve also heard of water based paint being used on cars now as well, but besides the obvious I know even less about them as I do about 2 pack paint.
As for vinyl wrap, I was talking to the guy who does our cars about it and he says you can get stuff that will polish up like paint and you can do some pretty eye catching graphics.
muckles:
However something in 2 pack paint isn’t to good for your health so you need breathing apperatus to use it, not for really for home use.
I’ve got a FH xl being painted by MC truck & Bus at the moment it’s in two colours cab and chassis,hopefully they can turn it round in 12 days total cost 3k
Jwalker78:
I’ve got a FH xl being painted by MC truck & Bus at the moment it’s in two colours cab and chassis,hopefully they can turn it round in 12 days total cost 3k
Mate, I will give you the best advice you willl ever get, do not touch MC Truck and Bus with a bargepole, they are absolutely useless from the top to the bottom. They had to pay for a new FH12 engine for us after they seized it because they “took it out for a test drive” in between draining the old oil and putting the new oil in. 
You must have some seriously good work lined up, if you are going to spend £3k on a paint job three months into your new venture, that`s £3k AND the downtime, I would have thought that you would have needed to spend £3k twelve weeks into your new venture, like a hole in the head 
Time keeping/Attention to detail/Pure Hard Graft/Attitude go a lot further with potential new customers, than a “livery” 
You need to keep your costs down, spending £3k on an eye catching design ain`t doing it !!!
And, makesure you get the wording in your “O” licence advert right, its a costly exercise having to re-advertise, I`ve seen a few in the last few weeks in our local paper, completely ■■■■ it up
Also, go for saturday night, not friday, LESS people read the saturday one, I was`nt joking about the “nimby” and their G+Ts
Harry Monk:
I don’t know much about the world of paint spraying, so here’s my chance to learn, I am thinking.What is 2 pac? (I’ve heard of 2 pac many times before but have never known the difference between that and the traditional type of paint spraying I have seen). I always thought Tupac was a murdered rapper from Harlem
What is the difference, why is it better etc etc?
You may talk about a Spray paint in one or more Colors and then go with a Clear paint over to seal the Color you have Painted.
You cant do it on the Road as Dust would let your Truck look like sandpaper.
but on the Cheap Site gets you a few Teens with Paintspray cans.
just give em a few pound and you get a Graffiti Truck
no real idea of costs, so slightly of subject, but just my opinion, whilst i like certain plain liveries, Ian Ridleys Scania and Man spring to mind using different shades of red to create a nice look complemented by the silver writing,i also think mixing different colours can often look eye catching, Mcgawn Bros of maybole always stand out to me, aside from being well kept there liveries really suit the trucks.
Harry Monk:
Jwalker78:
I’ve got a FH xl being painted by MC truck & Bus at the moment it’s in two colours cab and chassis,hopefully they can turn it round in 12 days total cost 3kMate, I will give you the best advice you willl ever get, do not touch MC Truck and Bus with a bargepole, they are absolutely useless from the top to the bottom. They had to pay for a new FH12 engine for us after they seized it because they “took it out for a test drive” in between draining the old oil and putting the new oil in.
Priceless, always wondered if this may have happened somewhere! 
I had a Scania Topline painted in metalic silver 5 years ago from top to bottom (not chasis or mud guards), cost me 2k.
Silver_Surfer:
Harry Monk:
Jwalker78:
I’ve got a FH xl being painted by MC truck & Bus at the moment it’s in two colours cab and chassis,hopefully they can turn it round in 12 days total cost 3kMate, I will give you the best advice you willl ever get, do not touch MC Truck and Bus with a bargepole, they are absolutely useless from the top to the bottom. They had to pay for a new FH12 engine for us after they seized it because they “took it out for a test drive” in between draining the old oil and putting the new oil in.
Priceless, always wondered if this may have happened somewhere!
I had a Scania Topline painted in metalic silver 5 years ago from top to bottom (not chasis or mud guards), cost me 2k.
that is cheap as i know silver is a ■■■■■ of a colour to spray i used to be an aprentice painter and the amount of patchy silver that came out the booth was unreal however they were always sorted when the left the shop 
on another know do they still use 2k paint thought it had all changed to waterbase these days 
Thought 2 Pac was a black American rapper?
Ken.
Quinny:
Thought 2 Pac was a black American rapper?Ken.
Your are quite correct there Ken, “was” being the operative word 
That £2k was 5 years ago mind, god knows how much it would be now. That was from AR Houghton in Birmingham, via Keltruck who would get a decent rate as I think he sprays most of Keltruck’s specials.
Stanley Mitchell:
You must have some seriously good work lined up, if you are going to spend £3k on a paint job three months into your new venture, that`s £3k AND the downtime, I would have thought that you would have needed to spend £3k twelve weeks into your new venture, like a hole in the headTime keeping/Attention to detail/Pure Hard Graft/Attitude go a lot further with potential new customers, than a “livery”
You need to keep your costs down, spending £3k on an eye catching design ain`t doing it !!!
And, makesure you get the wording in your “O” licence advert right, its a costly exercise having to re-advertise, I`ve seen a few in the last few weeks in our local paper, completely ■■■■ it up
Also, go for saturday night, not friday, LESS people read the saturday one, I was`nt joking about the “nimby” and their G+Ts
Also check with your local newsagent about the circulation of papers, and go for the one who sells the least amount of copies in your area, or go for a national because people very rarely look for an advert like that in one of those.