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[klackey28]

I recently completed the lucky needle courses and have a friend that wants new interior in his 1953 Ford coupe. He has the old sun visors, door panels, and bare seat frames. This will be my first interior job. How do i price this? I know i won't be as good or fast as others and willing to cut him a break for that, but can't work for free either. Any recommendations? Thanks!

[Rhonda]

Material cost , mainly. Think about electricity, time you can be a little cheaper on. Cause it’s a learning time too. Just kind of write it down keep a list.

[BigRig]

@klackey28 , best thing to ask yourself is what you want paid per hour after about $6.00 an hour to run stuff out of your small shop.

[Ron Henningsen]

Others may not agree but what I do for the members of my small car club is double the cost of my materials. Don't forget to figure in the adhesive, thread cost and other small items.
Basically I'm working for free, except for direct material costs, which is what I chose to do for my car club friends.
Don't forget to add in the material you have on hand such as foam and piping. Everything adds up on a job. I'm also just passing along the cost of my wholesale vinyl and other products I buy from my supplier.
Just my two cents worth.

[Ron Henningsen]

While the Lucky Needle course is an excellent training tool it's not free. Someone paid for it, you, plus the many hours of your time watching the videos and practicing what was being taught. This all has value and cost to you. It's ok to do things for free or low cost as long as you know what your are giving away.

[TedP]

The question of pricing comes up now and then . . . You'll need to estimate your time to do the work and then plan on an amount that you want to charge - presumably an hourly rate. Since you are new to the trade and doing the work for a friend . . . you probably want to figure a 'newbie/friends & family' rate. We have discussed hourly rates on this forum as wanting to be upwards of $100/hr. (for USA) . . . of course doing work as a newbie and for friends, may warrant a lower rate.

I do boat seating/upholstery exclusively, so perhaps some other folks on this forum can give you an idea of how many hours a car interior would take.

Then you got materials and supplies to add in.

[BigRig]

@Ron Henningsen , that is an interesting approach. I am afraid I am seeing a $10.00 per hour job at the end of all this for that coupe, chalk it up to a learning experience. It is so hard to charge friends and family once the job is done.

[Ron Henningsen]

I always have a clear understanding with everyone, friends and family, before I start any project. Right now I'm doing a jump seat for a 1926 Graham Page car. I have over 5 hours alone into disassembly and wood repair seat base inside the metal frame, and non of that is being actually charged for other than wood glue. Likewise this is a car club member and when I need something done in his skill set it will also only cost me 2X his actual material cost. As I said it's ok to work at low cost as long as you understand the overall parameters. Most of my friends and car club projects are small projects, not complete interiors. The largest I have done under these rules is two roll and pleated coupe door panels so it's not the same as a entire interior.