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Can Maaco be trusted with a two tone hood paint job?
I know Maaco is the devil because they usually do as little prep work as possible before spraying. But I've also been told and discovered for myself that quality of work is usually shop dependent. My local one did a respectable job on the fascia and bumper of my red Z28 over a year ago. Unfortunately, the hood started having clear coat failure in multiple spots out of the blue a few months ago. The hood in question is a red SS hood replica but the scoop itself is painted black with lines running to the edge of the hood.
I know Maaco is terrible at prep work but does doing a 2 tone job add anymore risk of that being a problem? Especially if the local shop did a decent job previously? I'm thinking black could possibly bleed through if not removed completely but am looking for all opinions.
I'm not opposed to going to a normal body shop to have it done either but being that a paintjob for an entire car at a shop usually costs what could buy you a highly modded Fbody in good condition these days, I imagine painting a hood is going to be 3 to 4 times what Maaco would quote me.
My ex brother-in-law used to work for the local MAACO back home in GA. Besides their allergic reaction to prep work, they also use the cheapest paint possible. My uncle had his car painted by them and it lasted about 3 years before it started to deteriorate and fade.
Here on the coast in MS, I've seen a couple of cars my buddies on the base had painted by MAACO that didn't make it past the two year mark before they started to fade.
Maybe they are better where you are at, but, I personally wouldn't let the one's I know of paint my lawnmower.
**** that. I've learned the hard way when it comes to paint work, you get what you pay for. I might trust them to do my 1982 work van and that's pushing it. I've lived it, wasn't ******* worth it at all. The headaches, the re work etc etc etc.
I had them paint a hood once... clear coat failed and base coat oxidized in less than a year. Then I had to fight them to honor their warranty.
A friend of mine had his 95 Z painted by another maaco. In less than 2 months he had spiderweb cracks all over the fenders (they don't put a flex additive in the paint on plastic parts) and had paint flaking all over the door jambs and quarter panels.
Im not gonna lie Maaco kinda sucks. They painted my car and i think it came out pretty good, but i prepped 90 percent of the car, and like an idiot i got lazy at the end and had them prep the rear bumper 🤦dum♂️. Basically they painted over the chips i assumed they were gonna fix. EVERYTHING needs to be pointed out that you want repaired. I mean u need to circle every chip, nick, or ding, or its going to get painted over with no prep.
Aside from having them do the rear bumper prep, I did all the body work, primed and blocked the whole car. Even wetsanded it and removed all the parts i didnt want sprayed over. I paid for the base coat clear coat job,they sprayed it in the booth so there isnt a bunch of crap in the paint at least. After 2 days off removing the god awful orange peel they were suppose to remove, Im actually pretty happy with it. Moral of the story, If you want it to come out nice, and have no intention of doing any prep work, DON'T DO IT!
You have to buy an uplift on the type of paint you want. I have a friend that does half million dollar cars, every one of his spray booth guys came from Maaco, they get more actual painting time than anybody. (He has a chemical engineer on staff that mixed the Sikkens Enamel he uses).. They do fine operating the gun but if you let them use the cheap enamel you'll get a cheap paint job. I had them do a race car, started at the 699 special, uplift on paint was 299, full prep with me inspecting before spray was another 300 (No real body work just a full wet sand and block. It came out fine and lasted until it met a wall at about 125 and the cheap paint didn't protect the cal at all. Also, you always want the car in the booth last job of the day when it can sit in there all weekend if they are closed. Polyurethane paint dries slow. I paid a extra hundred for that..
Maaco does a Good Cheap paint job. You get exactly what you pay for. They did an aftermarket hood and my front bumper cover. The hood will be replaced and will respray the bumper cover. It was my DD, I needed it done cheap and quickly, they did just that. I have no regrets, it was cheap. Whenever I do manage to get an OEM SS hood without someone trying to rape me Maaco will not be the painter.
i called my local maaco for my 94z. They have several options he told me about. I'll take the car over there on Friday and see if I can get a full writeup and share with the group. My own car is just my hobby and the 5th fourth gen I've had, having owned one from new. I've been in this game a while and these are not collector items that require 10k paint jobs or even 5k paint jobs for that matter. The car is just not worth it as a whole to make that investment.
That said, here's what they told me:
single stage enamel -699
single stage acrylic urethane - 899
bc/cc (3 coats of each , sherwin williams paint) -1400-1500
OEM bc/cc (whatever that is ) -3250
I can't beleive your asking this question with a straight face...with paint work you get exactly what you pay for...find a reputable painter and have it done right and then enjoy it and all the compliments for years to come.
I'd only use them for a car I didn't care about. A buddy and I did all the prep on an old Volvo wagon he wanted to sell. Maaco did an acceptable job painting it, with only one notable flaw (a big run on one of the doors). He only wanted the car to look good for sale, and it sold promptly. I don't think he paid for than a couple hundred for the paint job. Just like many other posters have said, in terms of paint jobs, you get what you pay for.
06-07-2017, 01:33 PM
Can Maaco be trusted with a two tone hood paint job? 
Also, you always want the car in the booth last job of the day when it can sit in there all weekend if they are closed. Polyurethane paint dries slow. I paid a extra hundred for that.. 
