What to charge?

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nnickusa
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What to charge?

Post by nnickusa » Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:02 pm

A mate has sasked me to spray a strat body in lacquer for him. I have no idea what to charge. The Mirotone will cost between $10-15, and I fugure about 5 hours time all up....Does $100 soumd reasonable for a hobbyist?

Any thoughts appreciated....
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simso
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Re: What to charge?

Post by simso » Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:12 pm

Is it already painted, are you having to sand and prep it, are you sanding and buffing at completion, is it going to be mirror finish or satin finish

Steve
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rocket
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Re: What to charge?

Post by rocket » Thu Jun 19, 2014 10:14 pm

$100 is a gift but it is a mate so mates rates!!! a stranger would be paying 4 or 5 times that,,
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kiwigeo
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Re: What to charge?

Post by kiwigeo » Thu Jun 19, 2014 10:25 pm

$20 an hour??.....you're charging less than a plumber charges to change a tap washer.
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Re: What to charge?

Post by simso » Thu Jun 19, 2014 10:36 pm

I asked because there is a lot to refinishing a guitar, even for mates

For info we charge 450 to paint a strat body, that's our standard body charge and we turn work away because we cannot keep up with the demand, if it's for a mate, no cash, carton of beer and bottle of bourbon.

There's paint jobs and there are paint jobs, here in Australia Perry's work impresses the hell out of me every time

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charangohabsburg
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Re: What to charge?

Post by charangohabsburg » Thu Jun 19, 2014 10:47 pm

nnickusa wrote:reasonable for a hobbyist?
Why should a hobbyist charge less than a professional if he does the same excellent job one can expect from the latter?

If you want to do your friend a favor by not charging what a pro would, there are two in my opinion good options: do it completely for free, or let him do the job with your equipment and charge him for materials and the time you need for cleanup, while just enjoying the time spent together when showing him how to do things.
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kiwigeo
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Re: What to charge?

Post by kiwigeo » Thu Jun 19, 2014 11:04 pm

charangohabsburg wrote:
nnickusa wrote:reasonable for a hobbyist?
Why should a hobbyist charge less than a professional if he does the same excellent job one can expect from the latter?

If you want to do your friend a favor by not charging what a pro would, there are two in my opinion good options: do it completely for free, or let him do the job with your equipment and charge him for materials and the time you need for cleanup, while just enjoying the time spent together when showing him how to do things.
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Allen
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Re: What to charge?

Post by Allen » Fri Jun 20, 2014 6:53 am

For good mates I don't charge them anything. But that list is a pretty short one. And they all have the good sense to at least bring a case of cold ones over.

The rest of them pay the shop rate. For me that job would be $400 - $500 without actually seeing the condition.
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nnickusa
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Re: What to charge?

Post by nnickusa » Fri Jun 20, 2014 8:38 am

Yeah, Steve. Good points. It's a new body, and I'll prep and buff to a mirror gloss.

Wow! $450!

Markus, I agree with you as far as there being no real difference in who does the job as long as the job is done right, and I do like to do them right.

Hmm. Might go the slab and bottle route for Mark.....
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Re: What to charge?

Post by Ormsby Guitars » Fri Jun 20, 2014 10:29 am

I stopped doing refinishes for people last year because I can't be bothered. I had no trouble charging $1250 for a bolt on design.

Sounds expensive? Go get a quote on getting a door resprayed on your car. They wont buff it. It will be two coats of paint. It will have orange peel. Zero skill needed to spray flat surfaces. They wont need to reassemble and rewire anything.

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Re: What to charge?

Post by Richard » Fri Jun 20, 2014 10:31 am

A good rule of thumb for doing work for mates is either do it for free, or charge full rate. That in-between part is where things get tricky because you both have different expectations. If you do it free then having them pay the cost of any parts/consumables is reasonable, and beer is of course to be expected.

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Trevor Gore
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Re: What to charge?

Post by Trevor Gore » Fri Jun 20, 2014 1:26 pm

Ormsby Guitars wrote:Sounds expensive? Go get a quote on getting a door resprayed on your car. They wont buff it. It will be two coats of paint. It will have orange peel. Zero skill needed to spray flat surfaces. They wont need to reassemble and rewire anything.
Body shops must be expensive in WA!

Remove old driver's door, supply new aftermarket door, paint to suit, rebuild all interior and exterior trim, window with mechanism, lock and electrics (mirrors, remote locking, windows, speakers) into the new door, hang the door. $500. Minor orange peel to match the rest of the car was free.

I suspect that if it had been an insurance job it might have cost more!

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demonx
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Re: What to charge?

Post by demonx » Sat Jun 21, 2014 7:14 am

Trevor Gore wrote:
Ormsby Guitars wrote:Sounds expensive? Go get a quote on getting a door resprayed on your car. They wont buff it. It will be two coats of paint. It will have orange peel. Zero skill needed to spray flat surfaces. They wont need to reassemble and rewire anything.
Body shops must be expensive in WA!

Remove old driver's door, supply new aftermarket door, paint to suit, rebuild all interior and exterior trim, window with mechanism, lock and electrics (mirrors, remote locking, windows, speakers) into the new door, hang the door. $500. Minor orange peel to match the rest of the car was free.

I suspect that if it had been an insurance job it might have cost more!

Sure you're not missing a digit in that price, doesn't sound right. A new door would cost more! The paint job alone on the door would cost more! Last door quote I got was $800 for a door frame, then I had to buy the skins seperate to fit. That's just the metal, no glass or mechanicals

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DarwinStrings
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Re: What to charge?

Post by DarwinStrings » Sat Jun 21, 2014 11:00 am

Just had the bonnet and front guard done on my 2005 conformadore wagon, metallic paint matched and clear coat for the bonnet and a dent pulled out of the guard plus paint. It was $500 per panel and that was the other drivers insurance. I quote 400-500 for a electric guitar body in pre-cat.

Jim
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Trevor Gore
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Re: What to charge?

Post by Trevor Gore » Sat Jun 21, 2014 11:06 am

demonx wrote:Sure you're not missing a digit in that price, doesn't sound right.
Nope. $500 is what I paid. I had quotes from other places that had a 1 in front.

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Re: What to charge?

Post by simso » Sat Jun 21, 2014 1:39 pm

Ormsby Guitars wrote:I stopped doing refinishes for people last year because I can't be bothered. I had no trouble charging $1250 for a bolt on design.

Sounds expensive? Go get a quote on getting a door resprayed on your car. They wont buff it. It will be two coats of paint. It will have orange peel. Zero skill needed to spray flat surfaces. They wont need to reassemble and rewire anything.

I had a customer a little while back perry that asked can he do something to bring the price down, yep you can pull the guitar apart strip out the electrics sand it back to wood, and re-assemble after we finish painting, Ill knock a 150 bucks of for that, he brought the guitar in a box a few weeks later and said stuff that its hard work, you can have the 150 back :).
Steve
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simso
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Re: What to charge?

Post by simso » Sat Jun 21, 2014 1:41 pm

Trevor Gore wrote:Body shops must be expensive in WA!
Had the rear quarter panel on our delivery van assessed for repair as it had a small impact damage from a side swipe at one stage, the quote was 1250 to get it done, nothing being supplied except skill and paints. If it had been around 500 I would have paid to get it done

I ended up doing it myself on a saturday
Steve
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