cooltc2004

iTrader: (1)

Maaco is only as good as the prep work you do before hand. I know there are a few maacos around here, and all of the cars that have come out of them still have that paint job, and some as old as 3 years. Of course the kids put alot of time and prep into the cars before they deleivered it to maaco.

2K2WS6TA

iTrader: (2)

I'm one of those that had a good experience with Maaco, I did all the prep work, took off the lights and trim, sanded the body and fixed all the damage myself. I just didn't have the equipment or a place to put the paint on, I kept the car for 3 yrs, and it looked as good as it did when it came out of the booth
As for techniques, you could write a book (and many have) take a look at your local bookstore for body work books, they'll tell you more than most of us can, and go take a look at hotrod.com (they've just started a DIY body and paint series) they have some good referance books listed
It's more of an art than a science, to practice get an old fender/hood/trunklid and practice on that, try putting a dent in it and fixing it, sand it till it's smooth, then hit it with rattle can paint, see how good a finish you can get
If you don't want to go to all that effort, check out your local technical college, they sometimes will paint a car to help teach the bodywork class, it's usually, but not always, cheaper, and you get a pretty good daily driver paint job (it's not a show quality job, but it looks pretty good)

MrDomino

iTrader: (3)

Well, there are no dents or any bodywork I want done, so all I need to worry about is sanding and...priming?

Please, does anyone have at least the basics? I don't mind spending the time doing sanding, priming, etc., but I really don't know what to do.

Thank you, everyone, for your help!

Btw, from what I'm reading, they don't apply much of a clear coat. Is there a simple way for me to apply a second or third coat, etc., once I have the car back from them? What kind of quality do I need to look for...i.e., how does rattlecan clearcoat look, vs. something out of a paint gun?

Charging TA

Since you are asking about prepping, Im assuming you have little bodywork experience... if your car panels are "straight" and have no "waves" in them, then I would not start sanding without an experienced person watching and giving me hints... Its very easy to end up with waves in the panels.

30thz

iTrader: (3)

Everyone keeps saying you get what you pay for. WTF is that? Just becuase you give a somebody $25,000 that doesn't mean they know what they are doing. Do the research on the body shop. Get some references and see the work they do. Look at the shop do they have a bunch of projects, if so where will you be in this line. It's not you get what you pay for you get what you put into the research.

As far a Macco, it's a chain they are the same as most body shop like stated in some of the above post look at there work. One more thing while we are on the misconception of bodyshops. Macco does not have their own brand of paint they use what the local supliers have. Our macco uses Dupont, or PPG. Now what you ned to know is are they are using for the price quoted I.E. single stage or basecoat clearcoat.

ultraz

iTrader: (4)

agreed, Insurance Shelled out 5k$ for a full repaint of my car when some ******** keyed both sides from front to back. Id say out of a perfect 10, the paint was a 9. It looked better than factory, the body looked straight, they even aligned the panels closer together as compared to factory gaps. I was asking them about a a color change and was quoted an extra few k$

NOW, if insurance is willing to shell out this cash, DONT you think that INSURANCE would know how much a good paint job costs?

Charging TA

Insurance companies usually try to save themselves money, and that means recommending a "cheaper" paint shop. (Editted, was real tired last night, or was it this morning...)

rayce08

iTrader: (2)

i had a 80 z28 , i took everything apart myself , glass , interior , scoops , wings , you name it , loaded it on a buddys rollback and took it to a good reputable shop in town and they did a color change ( kinda , one shade of red to another ) for 2500$ , and then a picked it all up 2 weeks later , and reassembled . that was in 1995 or 96 . it was arrow straight and looked good . you do get what you pay for . most good paint shops will be around the same price , whatever that is , but you will not get a agreed by most good paintjob for 400 or 500 $ dollars unless you and a buddy are doing it or some other deal , a shop will charge for there service .

6LITEREATER

iTrader: (56)

I think that's his point... and it was still $5000.

Charging TA

Ah alright, I re-read it... Sorry about the mix-up, it was late last night, tired...

joblo1978

iTrader: (14)

I agree with this halfway. Go down there, see some of the work they do. There should be some cars waiting for pickup and a shop manager should be willing to give you a tour of the facility. If they don't, then forget taking your car there. That way, you can see their work and what they have to work with. Ask questions dude because all body shops whether they have the same name or not are different with employees of different skill level. To me though, just the name Maaco makes me cringe. I've seen some cars that came out of a Maaco and they were all pretty shitty. They had virtually no prep work at all. Yours may be different though.
I can't tell you where to take your car and where not to because I don't know that place. I have an ASCD hood waiting for paint and I have decided where to take it already because I have seen their work before on a Saleen that was practically destroyed and now looks like brand new. It had an aftermarket hood that looks like it came from the factoy. He also took me around the shop and let me look around. Showed me the booths and all that ****. That was quite awhile ago and I finally got my hood and still plan on taking it there. I haven't even thought about taking it to another place because the guy was so friendly, knowledgeable, and had quality work to actually show. Customer service like that is what gets peoples business.

Sk8runeg

iTrader: (11)

While some Maacos are franchised, many of them are privately owned and they take pride in doing a good job. You just need to ask to see some of their work.

Now, Maaco uses DuPont paint and clear coat which is not shitty paint at all. Secondly, they spray 3-4 coats of paint and 3 coats of clear(that is the one near me) for their base coat/clear coat package. Maybe they dont prep the car perfectly, but its not too hard to prep a car for paint, just takes time and patience. Lastly, Maaco's paint comes with a 5 year warranty, so even if something happens to it down the road, it will be covered.

Also, when you pay for a paint job, you pay for the prep work mostly. Its not hard to spray a car, as long as you cat it evenly and give it proper flash time between coats, but a good paint job is only as good as the prep work.

JAvenger007

iTrader: (9)

I find it hard to believe that anyone here can say $1500 or less is acceptable for a full quality paint job or even $3000 is ok for a color change. Unless of course its a business in the family. Tearing down a car and realigning is labor. Major labor. And thats what your paying for.

Its hard to imagine ANY shop owning willing to spend major time on your car for a measly few thousand $. Thats like when I would spend over 100 hours on a major wedding videography for a client and they would expect a professional product for under $1k (doin the math thats less than $10/hour for you). Labor is labor, and its harder to buy a good quality job with fewer clams and thats a fact. Art work is just the same.

6LITEREATER

iTrader: (56)

These are two opinions on WAY opposite sides of the spectrum and they are both WAY off...

First of all... $100-$600 for a paintjob is going to be CRAP! I don't care who owns the Maaco, it's still a Maaco standard... And the warranty is for defects in the paint, not for the fact you are getting orange peel out the @ss...

At the same time $1500 is MORE than reasonable for a paint job and $2500 is MORE than reasonable for a color change.

PROFESSIONALS, can get the job done without taking FOREVER and therefore keep the prices reasonable...

Why pay some idiot more money because it takes them 5 hours to do what someone else does in 1?

sgt0704

iTrader: (3)

i wouldn't recommend a color change from them. cause you're going to see it. unless you strip the car down, and take it in that way. cause when the door panels come off, you'll see blue. under the hood, not just the engine bay, but the hood, will be blue. put the car up on a lift, and the under side of the panels, will be blue. if you were getting it painted the same color, i'd say do it. i had my 91 RS painted at a shop "like" macco. it wasn't bad. but i should have asked for more clear coat. i paid 500 bucks. and that included some body work. over all, it wasn't bad. but i should have stuck with black. and you have to be very specific in what you want done. don't assume that they'll do anything. again, if you're going with the same color, then i'd say go for it. or some one could "key" your car all around and you could have the insurance pay for it. again, costing you 500 bucks. if thats what your deductable is..

Sk8runeg

iTrader: (11)

demonbird you are an idiot... Maaco has paintjobs that range from $250 for a water based single stage paint to $999 for a two stage base coat clear coat urethane based DuPont paint with 3 layers of clear. Also, orange peel isnt a result of a shitty painter, its a result of not waitng the proper time in between coats, which I would guess you dont know.

Another thing, you can not prep a car as quickly as you think. I spent roughly 12 hours prepping my car and I didnt even prep it to 3/4 of the extent a good bodyshop would. Once again, when you pay for a good paintjob you pay 90% for proper prep work and 10% for someone who knows how to spray a car well, and wetsand and buff.

Granted, Maaco is not the best BECAUSE OF THEIR PREP WORK, but your "I know everything about every Maaco and they all suck because I say so" attitude just sucks, especially when you dont know what you are talking about.

So before you go running your mouth about **** you dont know, do a little research.

pHEnomIC

iTrader: (14)

One of my friends got the cheapo paint job from maaco on an 88 mustang. I went to see it in person, expecting to see a piece of crap job but i was overwhelmed. The paint looked awesome. Didnt have the showshine depth but looked like an awesome job on an older foxbody. He's had an accident recently so the job is shot but it lasted up until then.'

I did look at it pretty conspicuously for defects but couldnt find any.

6LITEREATER

iTrader: (56)

No @sshole you're an idiot who obviously works for or has friends who work for Maaco! If you read the f@cking thread he is referring to a $250-$600 paint job from Maaco, not a $1000 one.

First of all THAT'S THE DEFINITION OF A $HITTY PAINTER!!!! Hurrying, not taking time to do it right LIKE AT MAACO!!! And about orange peel, ARE YOU ON CRACK!!!! Orange peel can come from a $hitty paint gun, $hitty paint, globbing it on there (as you referenced) among other things...

YOU CONTRADICT YOURSELF YOU MORON! You say good jobs cost money because they take TIME but Maaco (which is cheap) is the fastest place in most towns!!

I think I know more than you jack@ss, and here's my credentials:



First mistake in paint as a 17 year old. I went to MAACO. Paid $1000 to get nothing but orange peel, flaking paint, OVERSPRAY ON EVERYTHING (including an interior) and a car that smelled like paint untill the day I sold it.



Next mistake. Went to a guy who painted a friend's car for a color change. I paid $2500 for bad prep and paint to basically a drug addict. Finally, after paying him most of the money, I had to go BUY MORE PAINT because he never bought any to begin with.

$400 worth of paint and it DIDN'T EVEN COVER THE CAR PROPERLY!!! Thin as hell in lots of places FLAKING off in others... So how in the HELL can $250 at Maaco cover a car???



Finally learned and this was painted (color changed again) by a truly experienced professional painter. WHISTLER on the boards... the car was a show stopper and won awards. It required $700 in materials alone, mostly due to having to fix what the previous guy did.

Cost for labor was a few hundred dollars because he is a great friend. Normal charge by him (and other show quality body people in the area) would have been $2000 because of the ungodly amount of "restoration" the car needed because of the previous painter. Normally $1500-$1800 for a color change...



Finally Whistler's TARGA TOPPED car that I and other friend's helped with. This car has been at least three different colors... It does NOT take that long to prep a car for color change. 12 straight hours would have the car prepped and painted. Maybe wetsanded and buffed... How do I know that? Because I friggin saw it happen! Car has been PERFECT for 4 years now...

So before you start calling people idiots because they warn people about the $hit that comes out of Maaco you need to "do a little research" yourself!

Better yet, go back to screwing people at Maaco and just stay the hell of the boards...

Scotty-Z

iTrader: (5)

99% of Maaco paint places = pure ****.

I would never even begin to consider letting them paint my car. If you care anything at all for your car and want to get anything decently valuable worth your money, you wouldn't let them get close to your F-body.

Case closed.

6LITEREATER

iTrader: (56)

Amen