It should not take you more than three days to completely repaint a tractor.
Charging labor for painting is usually only done when a professional painter subcontracts jobs out to painters who do not have supplies. It can also be an attractive option for tractor owners who want to save money by going directly to the painter. For a beginner or part time painter it can be difficult to figure out what to charge. Keep in mind that the client should provide all the supplies including paints, primers, fillers, sanders, a paint sprayer and anything else needed to paint the tractor. The laborers should only be required to do things related to painting the vehicle.
Instructions
1. Figure out how many hours it will take to paint the tractor. Use personal experience as your guide or ask around for an estimate. Keep in mind that it will take time to sand or buff off any rust and wash the tractor (the tractor's owner can do this to save money) and use fillers to make small repairs where necessary. In terms of painting, you will need time to cover anything that shouldn't be painted, mix the paint and primers, apply them, apply second or third coats and possibly wait for the tractor to dry.
2. Find out the average cost of labor in your area. There are websites specifically dedicated to painting where you can find out the going rate for the average painter in your area. Look for websites that analyze auto body or tractor specific painting, not residential painting. Auto Body Online shows the present national average labor cost by the hour, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics site can tell you the average yearly income of painters in your state. The yearly income does not include the cost of supplies so you can use it to figure out how much you should charge by the hour by following the instructions in the next step. Another option is to check out a brand specific website, such as the Allis Chalmers Forum and see what people are paying to get their tractors repainted.
3. Figure out how much you will need to earn per hour to make enough money by the end of the month. For example, if you need $3,000 per month --- for an average income of $36,000 a year --- and plan to work 30 days, you will need to earn $100 each day on average. Divide the $100 by the amount of hours you will work each day; for example, a tractor will only take a few hours a day for two or three days. So if you are an experienced painter earning around $20 per hour you would only need to work five hours per day, but you would probably not spend all that time on the tractor. So if you only spent three hours painting the tractor your day rate should be $60. This number would be much more if you were bringing the supplies so do not work for this price if you are not offered all the materials. If you are charging by the job and not the day or hour, multiply your hourly rate by a reasonable estimate of the number of hours total (not including drying time) it will take to complete the task. For example, $20 an hour times 20 hours of labor would be $400 for the complete job.
4. Keep in mind is that this is an example of figure out your price, your exact labor charge should vary depending on the local average pay and cost of living. For example if the local average is $60 per hour, don't charge $100, but you should also not charge $30. The price you charge should give you a realistic living wage in your area while still being in the average pay range. If you charge too much (and aren't doing specialty work) then you will get no clients. On the other hand, if you charge too little, you will not have enough money to live on and may lower the local average. In most cases the only ones who can afford to charge lower amounts are those who do a bad job and end up costing the customer more in the end.
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