Current revision

Prices

[written in 2013]

A standard acrylic enamel non-metallic paint job (door closed) starts at $450 in USA to paint the entire car.

A typical budget paint job is more like $1500 USD which includes small amounts of minor bodywork.

A 'show car' metallic paint job starts at $5000 USD. But if you want to win the car show, $15,000 is not out of line.

Double these prices for Australia.

[edit]

Paint Types

The original 1200 paint was "amino alkyd enamel" (a type of synthetic enamel), which is tough, durable and sprays on shiny. It's a good choice. Enamel won't dull if waxed. All new cars have used enamel since the 1960s. The older type is acrylic lacquer and requires initial buffing and is not as durable as enamel, but can be layered and buffed for a superior shine.

Alkyd Enamel dries shiny, needs no buffing, but takes a little longer to dry than 2-pak Enamel. And is inexpensive. A lot of old guys recommend acrylic lacquer for its superior deep shine, but that needs buffing and rubbing.

Single package coatings (1-pak) are less expensive and provide good results, but take longer to dry.

Two package coatings (2-pak) seal/harden/gloss the paint and dry quickly. Classic two package epoxies or polyurethanes fall into this category.

Newer cars use a base coat and clear-coat. The results can be better (or worse) than single-coat Acrylic Enamel.

1K: (single-pack) a coating that does not require a hardener, catalyst or activator. A "single-component" paints. Not the same as a "single stage" paint.

2K: (two-pack) an epoxy type coating that needs to be mixed with a hardener, catalyst or activator. A "two-component" paint, include Two Pack Acrylic Enamel, and urethane paints. 2K paint requires a full respirator to shoot, although a mask is always recommended.

CLEAR COAT

Single-Stage: a coating that does not require a clear top coat. A single-stage coating may or may not require a catalyst, hardener or activator.
Two-Stage: a coating system that requires both base and clear coats. This is more commonly referred to as "basecoat/clearcoat" or "BC/CC". The coats of base and clear may or may not require a catalyst, hardener or activator.
A clear top coat even when not required may be added for enhanced durability or depth.

Easy to paint: Regular is easier than Metallic
Easy to maintain: Do not use lacquer paint. Use either Acrylic Enamel (as per original Datsun paint) -- or -- the newer 2-part expoxy paints with a clearcoat finish.
Safer to paint: Acrylic Enamel won't kill you, as can spraying epoxy paint without a full-mask.

[edit]