[HardcoreZ28]

Unfortunately having it done right and done cheap do not go together. When I paint a car I usually have close to $2k in materials alone. You need almost a full day to mask and paint a car after all the prep work is done. Oh and if you don't want orange peel you'll need to wetsand and buff....probably another 30-40 hours to do properly.

For a first car I wouldn't go with an all out paint job but if you want something presentable and durable you should realistically plan on spending close to $5k.