How Much Does an Auto Paint Job Cost in 2026? (Maaco, Mid-Range, Show)
How Much Does an Auto Paint Job Cost in 2026? An auto paint job costs $500 to $20,000 in 2026 depending on quality tier: economy ($500-$1,500), mid-range ($1,500-$5,000), high-end ($5,000-$10,000), and show-quality ($10,000-$20,000+). The price ladder reflects prep work hours, paint material grade, and the number of clearcoats applied. A real session from our Auto Paint Job Cost Calculator(/auto/auto-paint-job-cost-calculator) on 2026-05-12 in McKinney, TX showed a standard single-stage paint job with scuff-paint-over prep at $2,535-$5,915 — a typical mid-range range for a sedan. The reason auto paint costs vary 40× across tiers is that 70-85% of paint cost is labor in body and prep work, not the paint material itself. A $600 Maaco "Supreme" job and a $6,000 mid-range custom job use the same quart of urethane base — the difference is whether the shop spent 4 hours masking and scuff-sanding or 40 hours stripping to bare metal, fixing dents,...
How Much Paint Do I Need for a Room? Complete Calculator Guide
How Much Paint Do I Need for a Room? Complete Calculator Guide One gallon of paint covers approximately 350-400 square feet of wall space with one coat. For a standard 12x12 room with 8-foot ceilings, you'll need about 1.5 gallons for two coats after subtracting doors and windows. But the actual amount depends on your wall texture, paint type, and color change. Last summer I painted four bedrooms and a hallway totaling 1,860 square feet of wall space. My calculation called for 10 gallons with two coats, but the knockdown texture in the master bedroom ate through paint so fast I needed an extra gallon just for that room. The entire project cost $480 in premium eggshell paint -- and I learned the hard way that textured walls can increase your paint needs by 20-25% over the manufacturer's label estimate. Use our Paint Calculator(/construction/paint-calculator) to get an instant, accurate estimate...