Getting car painted

If you do most of the work and get someone who knows what they are doing and only has to do minor things other than spraying I would guess 2000-3000 including paint and supplies. You would be paying for the experience of the painter.

There is a lot more that comes into play beyond sanding and spraying. I'm sure you have little dings which are hardly noticeable now, but with a freshly painted car will be very noticeable. Those would need to be removed and I'm guessing your talking about the NSX? If so, paintless dent removal on those aluminum cars is a PITA and more costly than most cars. After the car is sprayed and it cures you are definitly going to want to have the car wet-sanded and polished(which on a black car is not a newbie job).

Also, a lot of shops won't just spray. The prep work is key, and unless they did the prep work/sanding themselves, they really can't give any kind of warranty on their product, and may turn you down or just charge regular price.

Thank you guys for the response. It isn't for the NSX.

So it looks like it won't be overly beneficial for me to do the prep work myself...

Jonny