I recently repainted my truck, it's a '97 3500. My main objective was a quality finish, I have owned this truck since new and wanted it to look as good or better then the day I purchased it. I too looked around for the right shop to do the work, talking with the managers and looking at their work. I ended up going with Mall Chrysler, a local dealer that takes great pride in their work. Don't let people confuse you with fancy terms or Lengo, their isn't anything Magic about a good paint job. It takes good old fashioned effort. And 90% of a good finish is in the prep work. Media blasting, is a little over kill for your truck, the paint is very thin to start with and takes very little time to remove with the more conventional dual action sanders. My truck was completely striped, all glass was removed, the bumpers, grills, lights, markers and taillights, moldings, nameplates and decals. In my case, I had some hail damage, so I replaced the hood with a aftermarket one and had them repair the roof area. With the high labor cost, it was cheaper to replace the hood, and looked better. Once the truck has been striped down, the body can be sanded down in just a few hours, it goes very quick. I had no rust or body damage to repair, which saved time and money. If your truck needs anything done, now is the perfect time to do it. Many early models have rust damage around the windshield and to the passenger side front floor pan, their are several TS B's about water leaks, take care of them now. I decided to leave the side moldings off, I think the truck looks cleaner like that. I also decided to trash the OEM nameplates and go with '04 nameplates and decals, It gives the old truck a new look. I also repainted the truck to the OEM color, if you plan on changing color make sure they do the door jams and door sills right, also under the hood and behind the cab. If done properly, know one would ever know the truck isn't stock color. But plan on adding 2,00. 00-2,500. 00 to the price tag, very labor intensive.
I am very happy with the way my truck turned out, the finish is much better then when it was new, I don't have the "orange peel" the stock finish had. I do not think you have to drive to New Mexico, or do anything else to get a good finish and quality job. Just go around to the area body shops and see what they say and look at what they have done, even ask for reference's.
Be very up front, and tell them above all else, you want a quality job, not just a quickie or average job, run of the mill type. I found that the better body shops really liked the fact that someone wanted them for there talents and not just the cheapest estimate. The shop I chose took great pains to get things done right, and I could see the pride in their work and faces. My truck was in the shop for almost 4-weeks, of coarse not all that time was spent on working on it, but that is how long it took to complete the job. I ordered my hood and had it sent to the body shop, that took some time to get in plus I told them I was in know hurry for the truck, take your time. I applied the new nameplates and decals myself, plus I also pulled off my Buckstop bumper and front end parts and re-installed them after the body work. I have added many mods to the truck, most have been done by me, so if felt weird to turn it over to someone else. But their was no way for me to do what they were able to do. My '97 has less then 49,000 miles, I don't drive it much but when I do i enjoy every minuet. Good luck with your paint job and let me know how it went, the total on my paint job was around 6,000. 00 after all the bills were tallied up.
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