Well, I too am heavily considering a maaco paint job... I have a couple rust holes... about 2 inches of the corner bottom of both my doors has rusted off... I also need to repair a crunched section of body underneath my passenger door (fiberglass I believe).

Anyhow I was wondering how good bondo is for reconstructive surgery like this and what I should expect for longevity?

Also, what kind of primer works the best, I think I'm gonna sand down the whole car... should I put on a couple coats of primer and how far should I sand? All the way to metal or just down into the factory primer?

Thanks

- CPC

 

it will look ok for a little while but after about 6 months to a year it will start to crack and bubble, but a macco paint job isnt exactly going to look fantastic eather

 

For the holes use fiberglass mat to reconstruct the bad areas then bondo over that it will last longer. As for primer anything not in a spray can is good. For the paint it depends on the condition probaly wetsand with 400 grit and spray some primer.

 

for those corners you could cut some old sceens and costum cut them to fix it, or sheet medal will work too. Just use a good amount of primer after to make sure no more rust returns. Grind that rust on it like a bitch!

 

Well, I've seen some pretty nice maaco jobs... several years old too. There are a lot of horror stories, but they wouldn't stay in business too long if there were so many unsatisfied people. I really think the key is to make it fool proof... If you think of the $2000 + Jobs, the real part that costs money is the prep work... the final paint isn't the hard part.

Is there a specific brand of primer that stands above the rest or will it not matter as long as I use an airbrush?

 

April 2002 Car Craft has a Paint and Body issue that may answer a few of your questions.

As to a Maaco or E. Schieb paint job,....it's all in the prep. I've seen quite a few good ones. Go by the shop, check out the prices, and see a few finished products.

 

Hey guys, if available, try using long strand fiberglass body filler (i get mine at canadian tire) If you put it on glad wrap, then on a template of some sort (ie. 2x4, cardboard, your hand) you can shape it any way you want, and it sets in 5 min. I did my door corners with it, and my rocker panels are made completely out of this stuff, it works quite well. Check for yourself.
www.picturetrail.com/HamstersForRent

 

A good rule of thumb is bondo should never be more than a nickel thick. The proper way to repair rust is to cut the metal out and patch in a new panel. The easy way is to fiberglass and bondo it. Whichever you are up to depending on how long you want to keep your car, etc.

I would second the notion on the fiberglass stranded filler. I would also treat the area with POR 15 or Corrosles to neutralize the rust areas as well. Also look and see if you can see why it rusted. It's usually a design flaw which is hard to correct or bad weather stripping or drainage which is correctable.

Primer is for one purpose....... filling scratches. High quality, high build primer is $150.00 per gallon as is sealer. You only want to prime your bodywork. And you only want to "sand" your car where it needs sanding as in chips, bodywork, etc. Otherwise you can scuff the finish with scotchbrite for adhesion for the rest of the car. It would also depend on how many times, if any, your car has been repainted as to whether you strip the finish or not.

When all your work is right then you will seal the entire car, shoot basecoat, then clear coat.

The chemicals alone on a high quality paint job are approximately $800.00, and as a rule the average paint job with a couple of dents and some dings here and there will run $2500.00 to $3500.00, so that will give you an idea of where the Maaco job will rate.

<B>«««««««««««»»»»»»»»»
<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="red">Red 86 T/A </FONT><FONT SIZE="2"> 5.0 TPI (LB9/WS6)</FONT></B>
¤ HyperTech Cap/Coil/Rotor/AFPR
¤ Derale Adjustable Fan Switch
¤ 170&deg; Stat ¤ Flow Matched Injectors
¤ K &amp; N Air Filter ¤ Ported Polished Plenum
¤ Runners ¤ TB ¤ Polished Wheels
¤ Alternator ¤ Fuel Rail ¤ SLP TB Airfoil
¤ Pirelli 245/50/16 ¤ All Else Stock

<A HREF="http://www.gmtips.com/3rd-degree/">Tech Site</A> ¤ <A HREF="http://v.webring.com/hub?ring=3rddegree">WebRing</A> ¤ <A HREF="http://www.gmtips.com/3rd-degree/dox/3rd-award/awards.htm">Car Award</A>

<A HREF="http://www.gmtips.com/3rd-degree/"><IMG SRC="http://www.gmtips.com/3rd-degree/cg/3rd-logo.jpg"ALT="Tech Tips" BORDER="0"
</A>

 

Ok, I'm a little confused here... so bear with me.

So my car has it's original factory finish on it... it has been sanded in some areas and repainted with the $3.50 Semigloss special from the local auto parts store by the last owner. Some of the paint like on the hood is as good as it came out off the assembly line, the spoiler was replaced and is flat black over metallic red.

So, do I strip all or some of the paint off of it first... then primer?

There are no dents on the entire car and only two places where I will have to rebuild door corners that rusted off.

Once I put down a coat of primer do I seal it with clearcoat? I thought clearcoat was only for the final layers after the actual paint.

One last question, how many coats of clearcoat do I want on the final product?

 

ok, as far as i know.

If the paint is in good condition, you just need to skuff it up (400grit) for adhession.

If the paint is loose, or starting to flake, sand down till it's solid.

You'll need to prime any repair areas, and then seal them to prevent colours underneath (ie pink bondo) from showing through, and if your changing the colour of your car, you need to seal the entire thing.

Clear coat goes on after the colour. I strongly recomend you have it clearcoated. I haven't had mine clearcoated yet, and the paint seems to skuff and scratch easily. I figure clearcoat, in addition to adding depth to the colour, would help protect the finish also.

There's my 2 cents