Truck drivers and fleet owners tend to be well-versed in the world of repairs when it comes to their semi trucks, but collision repair and custom paint jobs are equally critical to keeping them on the road. There are a variety of reasons that truck owners may have collision and paint needs: They may need to bring a pre-owned truck into the fold of a new fleet, repair damage to an existing paint job, or simply show off some personality and flair.
With custom semi truck, RV and bus paint jobs increasing in popularity as new paint technologies and options emerge, you might be wondering what the custom paint job process is like. We asked Ben Rouw, Operations Manager at our Highway 10 location — which is home to Momentum Truck Group’s Collision Center — to talk us through the custom paint job process, including how Momentum adds value to the experience for its customers.
How common is custom semi truck painting in the Momentum Truck Group shop?
Complete custom paint jobs for semis are fairly uncommon for our shop, mostly due to the price point. Of course, if a driver or fleet owner has a specific need, we are prepared to offer those services.
Most often, though, we’re refinishing trucks for customers who bought a truck and want it painted to match their existing fleet. Recently, we’ve been seeing more and more customers interested in complete refinishing as they look to keep older trucks.
How involved is the process of getting a custom paint job on a truck? How collaborative is it in terms of the client’s creative vision?
Momentum’s custom paint process is definitely collaborative! In every service we offer, we’re big on ensuring the customer is in control, that they are empowered to make the best choices for their needs and vision, and that they feel they have all the information they need to make those choices with confidence.
When it comes to custom paint jobs, truck drivers usually come to us already knowing what they want, or at least having a general vision. The customer provides the direction for color, stripes, and other details, and we’ll provide guidance as needed. We’ll show customers chip books to help them pick out the perfect paint color, for example. We’re also happy to provide photos of other trucks we’ve painted to help customers get inspiration or see our capabilities.
Once the customer has selected their colors and we’ve agreed upon any additional design elements, the rest is up to the expert painters in our shop!
How much does it cost to paint a semi truck?
The cost of a custom complete paint job really depends on the complexity of the job, the size of the vehicle, etc. A large-scale job with a high degree of detail, many colors, etc. is going to be a much larger expense than a very basic refinish. If we’re talking about a basic single-color paint job on a day cab, it’s a safe bet for owners to expect to pay a minimum of $10,000, with costs going up from there.
How long does a custom paint job take, on average?
Again, everything varies depending on the complexity of the project, but a good estimate would be 3-4 weeks.
What are the challenges of painting a truck?
Whether we’re painting a semi-truck, school bus, RV or motor coach, they all have one thing in common: There’s a lot of surface area to cover! Trucks provide a supersized canvas for paint, and any little imperfection — like corrosion, stress cracks, chips, dents, etc. — will be magnified with fresh paint. The Momentum team makes sure to discuss expectations with truck owners in advance of any refinishing, as that’s key to ensuring they are 100% satisfied with the final product.
Momentum is a full-service repair shop and collision center for all makes and models of heavy and medium-duty trucks, buses, and RVs, so if a client’s truck does have more significant imperfections that would undermine the quality and appearance of a custom paint job, we would recommend that they complete those external repairs first.
How does the Momentum team ensure quality in their custom paint jobs?
It starts with the materials. We use only the best, highest-quality paint products designed for heavy duty use in our custom paint jobs and refinishing. Our shop uses modern paint technologies to ensure smooth, even coverage and superior finishing. And, speaking of our shop, we have an 80-ft. downdraft paint booth at our Collision Center that is just incredible. It allows us to handle small jobs, large jobs and everything in between with a great degree of flexibility, visibility and attention to detail.
The other important element is our people, and our company-wide commitment to continual improvement and quality. Our paint shop team members are highly skilled and trained, so owners can trust that their trucks are in good hands. At every stage of a project, we’re inspecting our workmanship to ensure we are delivering on our promises with work that lives up to our high standards.
We understand that Momentum uses some impressive technology to paint match trucks. Can you tell us more about that?
We paint match every truck we spray, every time — even if we’ve painted that color code before. It’s another way we guarantee top quality work on our paint jobs. We use an Acquire Quantum EFX camera to look deep into colors and determine the best possible formula for matching it. That technology, paired with our Axalta Coatings ColorNet liquid management software, gives us the most comprehensive library of color formulas available to ensure we achieve that exact color match for our customers.
It really is outstanding technology, and I think it makes Momentum stand out as a repair shop. We definitely pride ourselves on the precision of those color matches — you really can’t tell where the old color stops and the new color begins!
What other external modifications does the Momentum shop offer?
While we have done some cab modifications, collision repairs are our bread and butter. If you’re looking at our collision repair services through the lens of external appearance, you go back to paint matching and touch-ups, repairing or replacing cab glass or windshields, gel coat repair, etc.
But we do it all — from minor collision repair to full-scale wrecks — and thanks to the skill of our team and our parts department, we do it efficiently. We have the largest parts inventory in Central Minnesota and a vast network of trusted vendors, so we can really minimize the downtime and waiting around for parts. That’s a huge thing for truck drivers, because we know they just want to be back on the road as quickly as possible with a complete, top-quality repair — and we can make that happen.
Learn more about Momentum Truck Group’s custom semi truck paint capabilities by visiting us online today!
