I know Macco is in most cases a **** poor company to get you car painted by. But this is my first car and obviously I cant afford a top notch paint job.

So does Macco sand/prepare your car in any way before they paint it or basically just wash and paint it? I heard I should tape everything off my self wich is no problem but i dont want to prep the whole car if i dont have too.


I did search the topic.

And would it for some reason be cheaper if I got the car painted the same color as it is now(white).


Thanks A Lot
Eric

 

I dont know about preping and sanding....but i do know from pervious people that they dont normally mask off stuff like door handles, and weatherstripping.

 

Macco doesn't do too bad of a job if u don't get the cheapest paint job available. but if u do alot of the work urself, it helps alot..

 

Do the prep work yourself, it will be much better that way. Also talk to people who have dealed with the Maaco in your area. There may be a few, so find out which is the best. I had my winter car painted at the local Maaco.. did the body work myself and it turned out pretty nice. This job was $250 with my dad's work discount..



more pics here..

http://www.cardomain.com/id/justcallmeacbonn

 

Do the prep yourself. Take your time on it though, don't rush.

(My buddy's Protégé)

 

I am not sure what you guys consider "prep work" because a buddy of mine had his 92 300ZX painted my Macco, but he sanded the car and pimered it himself and they charged him extra because of it. I might have been a local deal but it is something to check out.
Also if you go there and give them your info, make sure you get it painted. If you cancel they will call you for a while trying to get you to change your mind.
Brian

 

To me prepping the car basically means where there is flaking or chipped paint, smoothing it out so you cant feel sharp/rough edges. Because if they dont do that then there will be ridges and dips and such in my paint. My car is in good shape but it will have a new fender on it and the nose has lots of flaking from where it was hit. So do I only need to sand those parts(not the fender obviously) or the whole car?

What did you guys mean?

Thanks

 

The Maaco near me sanded and prepped my car... And i feel they did a nice job for the money. It cost me 1200 but thats cuz i got the racing stripes put on too.

 

#2

 

Yeah that looks rad but im not looking to spend that much. And im looking at the least expensive paint job Maaco has. I just need the car to look decent. Nothing fancy either, I'm sure black or white are the cheapest colors if it matters and those are the two I would get anyway.

 

By prep work, I mean; taking care of any dings, dents and rust spots your car might have, I also mean sanding it and getting things straight. So basically all the body work. Take your time and get it perfect and you will like the results. Make sure you find the best Maaco around you because the quality of the shops differ place to place. Post your progress and good luck.

 

I have a friend w/ a CRX who went to a cheap Maco and it looks like a orange peal. If you want your car to look nice go to a nice body shop, buy your own paint (I like House of Kolors) and have them bring it to bare metal and go from there. Maco is like leasing a car, you will end up geting a new one every so often, just get it done right the first time. Just my experience

 

ide have to agree with supercharedrs, ive had 2 different cars painted at 2 different maacos, got the middle priced paint jobs, and both turned out like crap, there was tons of paint streaks, and after a couple weeks the paint started peeling off! hell your better off buying a cheap air compressor and paintgun and paint then do it yourself, it wont cost you much more than maaco would charge you and you would probably do a better job

 

Alright, what would I need to do it myself, besides the air compressor and gun(I already have a good air compressor). I need a regulator(is that what its called) on the air compressor as well right? What else will I need and what cost(CAD if possible) am I looking at to do it myself?

Also how far do I need to sand the car, it currently has a white second rate white paint job on it over top of the factory grey. I dont really want to go to bare metal but if i have to well...

How much time would you presume this might take, just examples and past experiences would be nice.

Thanks

 

There are some Maaco's out there that might do a sucky job. Try to talk to people who've had it done at your particular one. Each Maaco is independantly owned so each one varies. Ours did a pretty decent job considering the low amount we paid.

As far as doing bodywork, do the entire car. But you don't have to bring it to bare metal... just sand down the paint until it is dull and rough it up.... starts showing primer in spots...etc. Then primer the entire car. Then sand and wetsand the primer until it's smooth. Take off anything that's possible to remove when you get to the shop (taillights, badges, etc.) Tape off everything as best as you can.... if there's something you dont' want painted (door handles) put a piece of masking tape on it so they get the hint. If you take your time on it and do it right it should turn out just fine. See if you can't slip them a little extra money for some extra clear.

The Protégé job still looks fine.

 

Another thing about macco(at least the one here) is that they do not ground your car while painting it so the natural attraction to dust and other crap is there whereas at a "quality" shop they will ground your car so that nothing gets stuck to it.
Just another FYI

Brian

 

Berlinetta82

Where in Canada are you from?

 

Depends on who you get. They are the fast food of body shops though. They typically do not mask well. The main cost saver is they they use single stage paint and it is a cheaper quailty that will not last like other paints. If you prep it as suggested above and pay the guy who paints it a decent tip before he starts. Ask him to tape it off extra good and get the lower panels good.

If the car is the same color it is now, you will not have to paint the jams or engine bay, so yes it would be cheaper. Though I don't think the price they quote includes the jams. I think that would be extra. The engine bay most definately a high increase, unless you want the engine and all dirt and grease body color...