How about there paint work?? Around my area they are having a sale and it sounds real good. Almost to good to be true. But im asking because i have a guy that will do it for about $2000. He isnt the best, i mean it wont look like you spray painted it but its not going to have all of the orange peel out. Its gonna look nice, not amazing. But wondering if i can go to maaco and get the same thing for about half the price?
Well the thing is its gonna be my first car. So my parents arnt going to spend $4,000 for a "showroom" paint job when its gonna get scratched, bumped, and dinged. I just want a nice paint job. But not looking like it was sprayed painted on.
I've never paid for a Maaco paint job, but here's what I know:
- The very low "teaser" prices involve little or absolutely no prep work. Seriously, I've seen vehicles where they painted right over the headlights and even over leaves in the back of a pickup bed.
- By the time you tell them you want a good preparation, the price starts going up very quickly. Then you have to wonder what you're really saving
- I have also heard that if you strip the car yourself, sand it, prime it, do the filler work then just roll it into their paint booth, Maaco can do a pretty good job. But again, I haven't done this myself.
So, I would recommend dropping by your nearest Maaco and having a very long and detailed conversation. Ask a lot of questions and know what you are getting. Good luck!
theres was just a thread on this ealrier today.
first of all what kind of car are we taling about.
if its yourr first car and it isnt worth too much or something rare then maybe in your case
it may not be such a bad thing
but if you have somehting special or rare or low numbers you may acutally detract the value of it.
by the time i got done getting quotes with the Ambasador special with al the extras they were just as much a the corner body shop.
EDIT: guess who i plan to go with
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1970 Mach 1 San Jose built Dec 23 1969. Marti says 1 of 7. Purchased in 1987. Original family owner of the powertrain 351C 2v FMX.
1993 GT 11,000 miles, Built 2-12-93 Auto, 3:27 Axle, cloth, sunroof. Untouched except for rubber and battery, Purchased new 8-3-93. still has the factory windshield fluid and new car smell.
Last edited by Blues Power; 01-21-2013 at 04:25 PM.
As previously stated, prep your own car. They WILL overspray anything and everything they can. Remove parts if possible and mask everything else so that they can literally hand the gun to a monkey. There will be runs and orange peel but you can cut and buff the car yourself for better quality. They use a kind of "industrial" paint (e.g. - purchased in bulk) but it's reportedly durable stuff if the car is prepped in advance. Don't expect any kind of skill or care if they do body/fill work for you.
This is a summary of many such similar posts I've read on the VMF throughout the years. My car was Maaco'd when I bought it and the finish was shiny but horribly flawed and oversprayed.
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'68 convertible restoration "almost done". See Ol' Rusty's progress at 68Vert.BlogSpot.Com
It depends on the individual store. I believe they are a franchise and if the owner/manager like the older cars, they can do a very nice job for some reasonable money. I paid about $2K a piece and I've had two cars painted at my local Maaco in the past couple of years and each came out well. They always have a few vintage cars in there at any given point in time. The more prep and stripping you do, the more control you have over the finished product.
In my case, I checked on the progress every few days and was even invited into the booth once the sealer/primer coat went on to check for flaws. Here is the first car once I got it home:
Just remember that you can have the highest quality paint and the most skilled painter, but unless the prep work that's underneath the paint is not 100% every flaw will be reflected through the paint and the darker the color the worse it will look.
As for prep work how do yall recommend prepping. Besides taping and stuff. I mean stripping the pain/priming.
Well, if it was my car, I would completely disassemble the car down to a rolling chassis to include removing the interior and glass. Then I'd DA sand the entire car thoroughly, clean with a quality wax and grease remover, then shoot it with two coats of epoxy primer.
If you roll the car into the paint booth soon after you prime, you don't have to sand the epoxy. If you wait awhile, sand the epoxy, clean with wax and grease remover, then take it to the paint booth.
Of course, mask off anything left you don't want painted.
If you're expecting to drive the car into Maaco, then drive it out with a nice paint job, I think you're expecting too much.
Maybe 25 years or so ago - I was a poor college student with a 1966 Mustang in need of a paint job. I was painting over a very good - yet - very old paint job (#2 on the car). I did the small rust repair and sanded the paint down to the original primer. I removed the lights and bumpers. I put on an old set of wheels/tires and removed the grill, chrome and such.
That said, the paint job turned out very good. Show car? NO. But, if you talk to the guys before you give them any money and clearly explain what you expect AND you do the legwork. You could get a decent paint job from them.
That paint is still on the car today. It does need to be re-painted. When that happens it will come down to bare metal. I still can't afford a show paint job, but it will NOT get a Maaco type this time around. I will step it up a few notches.....
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Maaco??
and 68 coupe. I want it candy apple red with 2 black strips down the middle.
