FyreLance

Since I've heard some Maaco horror stories, but I'm also too cheap to take it anywhere else...

What exact preparations do I need to make to my car to have Maaco respray it? I have a few chipping spots and such and I want my car to shine. I don't want to drop even a few hundred dollars into a paint job and have it look like crap. Do I need to mask or remove anything? etc.

IROCZ28KevinZ

iTrader: (2)

i got a maaco job on my bitchin 88 sport coupe. it's metallic sebring silver , just like a 2002 super sport but anyway,u need to research local maaco paint shops and find out which ones are good. do your own bodywork, and see to it that you get a few coats of shiny clear coat. it really makes your car shine.

Go here to see how my car looks with a maaco job, and if you want pics of it in the sunlight, let me know.

http://photos.yahoo.com/kevin88camarosc

:hail: Kev

Hulk0202

Most jobs at Maaco type shops are crappy one part jobs. There is no clear to throw over it. My buddy had his car done to sell it. They got overspray on everything. What do you expect from guys that get $6 to spray your car. Hell, if you have access to a compressor, buy the materials and do it yourself. You couldnt do worse then what I've seen.

traxxxton

Personally I think if your going to spend the money, spend it all and get it done right. Why spend a few hundred bucks and have a maaco job, when you could spend a few hundred more and have it done right. I dont want to start a flame war here, but I was in your situation a few months ago, i was cheap, maaco wanted about $500, the chevy dealer about $1600, and a local shop about 5K. I spent the 5K and had the shop restore the whole body. Sure it sucks to spend all the money, but personally I think if your going to do it, do it right or save the money for other stuff.

Hulk0202

Halilujah

Jason86Z28

Yeah, but if you don't have $5K to blow, Maaco is more than adequate. Like Kevin said, do some research and find out which place around you is best. Usually there's at least 3 within driving range, find out which has the best reputation. Then, get their top of the line job, its like $400 or $500, but it also has a 4 or 5 year warantee against everything... everything that everyone says you'll get with a maaco job, peeling, chipping, fading, orange peel, etc. So you could go spend $5,000 that you probably don't have, for a show car paint job that'll last 5 or 6 years, or you can spend $500, on a moderate quality paint job that'll last 5 or 6 years, AND have a warantee on it.

SoCo80p

iTrader: (5)

car looks good iroc, how much did they charge you?

1991tealRSt-topGuy

hmmmm $5000 paintjob and $500 for speed parts

OR

$500 for painjob and $5000 for speed parts

unless you can do both ($10,000)

i'd say maaco is ok

i know i would feel like crap if i saw my camaro got keyed after getting a $5k paintjob

i got a $500 and it got keyed

so i font feel so bad

my maaco job is 2 years old and is in the same condition it was in when i took it home

they did get overspray on my CRACKED weatherstripping a little

but, um, gee, thats gonna be replaced anyway

see what i'm saying

semlud

Yeah I agree halfway with traxxxton. I'm definitely not going to spend 5K to paint a $1500 car. But I'll spend up to $1000 and ask around. I figure, if I spend $200 to paint my car, that'll only increase it's worth by $100 or so or even lower it if it's crap. A thousand dollar paint job will at least give me $600 in return plus the satisfaction of a nice looking Camaro!

86camarodriver

If you get a good Maacco you can get it done for a grand but I would sand the car down yourself as in get all or the edges and stuff because they are not picky and when you get the car back look for over spray and what not and if you find some get them to fix it. My paint job is so nice for what I paied that my dad took his Porsche with the galvenized body to them here is a pic of my car after the pain and a mounths worth of dust and dirt.
David
P.S. Ask to look at some of the cars they have there that they just painted and look for screw ups on them.

FyreLance

My thought exactly, which is why I considered Maaco in the first place. And to the person who said "Hmm, $5000 paint job and $500 performance parts, or $5000 performance parts and $500", also my thoughts exactly. :-) I'm a senior in high school. I paid $1700 for my Formula. I'm not concerned with resale value. I just want it to look nice.

Now, when you say I should sand it myself, does this mean sand until there is no paint visible on the car..? Down to primer or what?

FyreLance

By the way, the car looks great.

IROCZ28KevinZ

iTrader: (2)

TempesT68-

I have to go by the receipts I got with the car about the Maaco job, as I wasn't the one who had it painted. If I was..well I wouldn't know what color to choose. But I don't hafta worry bout that

The recept basically states the following. Again, this is what MY car has on it, and it looks fantastic; just keep in mind, they DID NOT paint the inside of the doors, hood, and hatch. Outside, car looks great. When you open the doors, there's still maroon there


Surface Prep: Value Prep

Paint Service Supreme

Gravel Guard: UV Sunscreen

Additional Paint Charges: Color change(my car was maroon; repainted silver, #419-63 striking silver met)

Other paint options: none

Paint comments: none

Surface reconditioning: none

Body repair work: strip hood, strip top left fender, strip right fender, remove rear decal do not put back, da and prime rear bumper, strip nose

I guess by the looks of it, they did the body work. It came out ok though, so I'm not complaining. But just be VERY CAREFUL with Maaco body work. Even though my car had body work done by them, if it was my choice, I wouldn't have done it. I'd have gone and done it elsewhere, then had Maaco do it.

Oh yeah, the job cost $500

:hail: Kev

83tranzam

Maaco special right here....

FyreLance

Man, $500 is not bad. Yeah, that's the main reason I don't wanna do a color change.... If I just have mine resprayed red I don't have to be concerned with the door jams and such.

So should I strip and primer my entire car before bringing it to them? Is this what you mean by body work? Or do you just mean fixing dents and scratches?

ops32

Don't take off the old paint unless it has problems like cracking, etc. What you want to do is remove EVERYTHING you can before you give them the car - all emblems, moldings, weatherstripping, inner fenders, mirrors, spoilers, lights, etc etc. If you know how to do bodywork, then you should also do all the ding & dent repairs, too. By removing everything you will minimize the amount of paint ridges left by the masking tape. By removing the old weatherstripping when you install new weatherstripping it will hide the paint ridges. If you can do all that, then a MAACO paint job should get you some "oohs & aahs" because it won't look like your typical "tape everything and spray" MAACO job.
I did all that with my '73 Bug and everyone who saw it loved it, AND couldn't believe MAACO painted it! Pics of my Bug on my website, follow the links if you wanna see it.

Rob

FyreLance

Sounds good... but how do I drive the car _to_ Maaco in that condition? Do I remove the lights and weatherstripping and all in the Maaco parking lot?

FyreLance

By the way, the Bug looks great! How much did that job cost?

ops32

The Bug only cost $200 to paint. I removed everything, even cut the old weatherstripping so the paint ridge would be under the new stuff. The fenders bolt on a Bug, and I had them bolted on so there was a gap between them and the body so paint would be under the new fender welting. The licence tag was taped inside the rear window. The only external items left on the car for the drive to MAACO was the driver's door handle and the tail lights. The tail lights were removed in the MAACO parking lot and the driver's door handle remained, but did not have the gaskets under it.
I plan on using MAACO to paint my T/A. Gonna use the same techniques on this car.
Rob

FyreLance

Excellent, sounds great! I think I can handle that. Thanks a lot.

What color are you painting your T/A?

Get-Slicked

First thing you need to ask yourself, is how much do you like your car?; second, how long do you plan on driving it with shiny red paint before you have to go through all the steps again just to take it back to Maaco?........
In my opinion, you get what you pay for.....
For one, Maaco DOES NOT paint your door jambs, so, if the paint doesn't match up (which it never will), it's going to look pretty soar as soon as you open the doors, or hood, or gas door, or hatch.....
Maaco uses what you call a "single stage" system, or acrylic enamel. That's pretty much what comes out of a rattle can, but a little bit better quality, and sounds a lot nicer..... If you have them spray it with single stage, and you eventually want to get it done right, having to seal the the acrylic or remove it is going to be worse on you if you do it, or worse on your wallet if someone else does it.....
You do have a point though, 5,000$ in go fast parts adds up.... you could have one hell of a fast car for that, if you spend it right, but your still sporting a maaco paint job which kinda defies the purpose..... I'm sure that 5G's isn't the lowest a real autobody shop is going to charge, look around..... It'd be worth it....
And if not, do it yourself. Find someone that has experience, and have them give you some advice. I did mine last summer, when I was 17, and right after I shattered my leg, so considering I sprayed it while hobbling around, it doesn't look half bad.

I'll step off of my soap box now....
-Tyrell

Get-Slicked

Here's 350$ worth of paint.....and a couple weeks of work.

-Tyrell

Jason86Z28

Get your facts right before you speak. Maaco will paint door jambs, gas door, etc. It just costs extra, but when their most expensive job is like $600, it makes sense that for an extra $200 they'll do that stuff. They also don't ONLY do the one step spray, that just happens to be the most common job that gets done (the $200 job). If I remember correctly, when I was going to get my Camaro painted, there was a $500 job, that had either 3 or 5 layers of clear coat, and came with that 5 year warantee I was talking about. For a daily driven car the highest quality maaco paint job is more than worth it. I'm sorry, but even if I had $3K to spend on a paint job, unless that car sat in a garage 5 out of 7 days of the week, it wouldn't see that paint.

Get-Slicked

You must have some luxory maaco's wher you live...... Around here, (Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming) maaco DOES NOT offer a base / clear option, why? I couldn't tell ya... It's not for emissions.... The maacos I've been in use a pressure pot setup, which has premixed paint, all they have to do is grab the gun and squirt..... You are right, you do have to request them to paint the jambs and such, but that's if you know that before you plop down your hard earned cash..... I've seen quite a few maaco jobs in my day.... I wouldn't let them put air in my tires let alone paint on my ride.....

-Tyrell

ops32

It's going to be the original two-tone white over charcoal.
The Bug's paint job was done during their 1/2 price sale, so it was the $400 job but I only paid $200 for it. The MAACO place I go to has these 1/2 price sales about twice a year, so I'll wait for one of those again!
Rob

MileHighDiesel

Thanks for poiting me to this topic. Just a FYI, Maaco here in Boulder, CO does do base coat, clear coat on its top of the line paint job. That costs $600, strip to metal, self etching primer, sealer and do the interior and the cost jumps to $900.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

I realize that a lot of people are on a budget, and don't have access to Dad's body shop like I have, but I will give you this warning: If you ever, ever, ever plan to ever make that car nice in the future, don't even consider having maaco paint it now. Live with it until you can afford to have it done right. The money you save now will get spent 3-fold next time when the body shop has to completely strip the paint off before they respray it. Then add the expense of replacing all of the stuff they get overspray on or don't mask properly. The maaco paint is low quality sh*t, and if you ever want a good paint job later, it will need to be stripped. Plus, their masking sucks and you're guaranteed to get paint and overspray on moldings, park lights, tail lights, windows, inner fenders, etc. Replacing/restoring that stuff later is going to be very expensive.

Snowdog 91 Formula

My wife's car was painted by Maaco... they did a real good job on it too. I suppose because I knew some of the people in the shop too.

Like others have said, you need to find a good Maaco shop.

TomP

I disagree; if the paint's in good condition, it wouldn't have to be stripped to bare metal. Sure, a $5000 paint job might take the car down to bare metal, but there's no need.

Here's how I brought my car to Maaco. The shine came out pretty good, and lasted until I stopped washing/waxing my car... which means it lasted for 3 years. Now, the doors shine up nice, but the hood/roof isn't that hot. When I did the car, I had no air compressor or air tools. I used a power drill with a sanding pad and sanding discs, and an 8" orbital buffer/polisher with sand paper. I also had one of the solid rubber sanding blocks.

I. Start with a clean car.

Before you do any sanding or bondo'ing or primering, you must have a car that's clean. I don't mean that you've washed it recently- I mean CLEAN. Find cans of MarHyde's "Total Prep" (or similar) at chain-style (Pep Boys, Autozone, etc) auto stores. This stuff removes the invisibles, like old wax, road grime, bird crap, tar, etc. If you don't remove this stuff, when you sand, you'll embed it into your paint. You spray the stuff on the car, wait, then wipe it with a rag, then rinse it with water. If the rag's dirty, wait till the spot dries, and repeat the application until you see a clean rag.

II. Fix all your bodywork problems.

Learn how to use Bondo. Buy a sheet of steel ($5) from Home Depot, kick it a few times, and then fix it. To apply filler, you'll need to strip the paint down to bare metal; use 60 grit paper. Only apply filler in a THIN layer! Use the bare minimum. Using an inch thick bondo layer will wind up in the stuff cracking and falling off! Bondo tools: Spreader, mixing board (if it's flexible plastic, when the filler dries, you flex the board, and the old stuff falls off!), "cheese grater" file, 60 & 100 grit paper, glazing putty.

[7/9/02 edit] As I'm about to link to this message, I re-read it, and thought I should point some things out. You could use 36 or 40 grit paper to strip paint off, but it will ruin any zinc galvanizing (anti-rust) coating that's on the metal. 60 grit might take a lonnnng time to strip paint off, though, so 36/40 grit might be your better bet. If you have deep dents, use a $15 body hammer and $8 "heel dolly" to fix 'em. Buy a $15 bodywork book to give you some pointers, and use the hammer/dolly on your scrap of steel.

I never used glazing putty; it's supposed to fill any pinholes left in the filler. I used Bondo's "Ultimate Bondo", in a sky-blue can, and it was pretty good with preventing pinholes. Keep in mind that Bondo is NOT waterproof- it soaks up water. Primer isn't waterproof either!! Don't think you can apply filler, prime the spot, and leave the car in the rain. Either spray the primer with a "sealer" (http://www.eastwoodcompany.com) or spray it with some paint.

[8/13/02 edit] The more I link to this, the more I edit it. In July, I finally used glazing putty. You apply it with a spreader over everything, let it dry, then sand it all off flat, with 100 or 150 grit paper. Kinda cool; you can actually see your pinholes filled. Remember to just sand off the glazing putty, and don't sand into your filler job. Wear a dust mask!!! My cheap paper dust mask turned red; this stuff creates a fine dust that gets all over the place. (Your white t-shirt might turn pink!)

Keep a cheap spraycan of black paint handy. (I use black primer.) Mist the repair with black paint- this is called a "guide coat". Then use sandpaper on a block of wood (or a regular sanding tool) to lightly sand the repair. Any low spots will show up as unpainted.

Got front/rear bumper damage? Bondo makes a two-part epoxy for urethane bumper repair, which is just like the shops do. I filled some holes and fixed some tears with the stuff, it's easy to work with. Don't use a powerdrill with a sanding disc, you'll cut grooves in the bumper. Use an orbital sander. I used Plastikote's "flexible bumper adhesion promoter" on the bare urethane, and Plastikote's "flexible bumper primer" on top.

III. How to prime

I used rattle-can primers... I think mine was by Plastikote. Stick to the same brand of primer for all your jobs. Some primers are lacquers, some are enamels, and you don't want to mix 'em around. Find "tack rags". They're super-sticky cheesecloths that pick up dust. Before you prime an area of bare metal, rub the tack rag over it to pick up dust. Mask the area off. Shoot the primer. Make sure the wind doesn't carry the paint onto your dad's car, or the house. When it dries, sand it down with 100 grit using a sanding block. NEVER use your fingers with sandpaper, you'll leave fingermarks that will be lower than the rest of the paint. Now mist some black paint, and sand some more, to make sure your bodywork is fine. After sanding, use the tag rag again, and shoot another coat. Now, sand with 150, and work your way up to 320 for the final sand. If you hit bare metal (possible "high" spot that needs bodywork?) , re-prime the area.

IV. Remove bad paint

If you see an area of paint that is checked (that means cracked) crazed, peeling, rubbing away, bubbling, etc- you MUST sand that area down to bare metal. Sure, you could paint over it- if you want to see those cracks thru your new paint. Prime the area as usual.

V. Remove old emblems.

Remove your old emblems. Take measurements or make drawings if you want to put them back in the same old spots. To remove an emblem without damage, get some fishing line. Put gloves on. Use the fishing line as "dental floss" to separate the backing tape from the body of the car. Hold the line tight (gloves!), and hold it so it presses against the car body. Then with a back-and-forth motion, dig into the adhesive, and slice it apart. Then use Total Prep to remove the adhesive.

VI. Scuff-sand the car.

When the entire car is body-damage-free, scuff sand all your old paint. There's no need to go down to bare metal to paint a car. If the original paint shows good adherability (no cracks/peeling/etc), it's a perfect base for new paint. Scuff the whole car with 320 grit paper. When done, the paint should look as if it's a faded paint job. You don't want to hold the sander at an angle, or you'll cut into the metal, and if you do that, you need to prime that area and put some paint or sealer on it (to keep it waterproof).

I didn't have an air sander, but I had my dad's 8" orbital buffer/polisher. I bought large sanding sheets (the kind that comes 3 to a pack), and cut each sheet into a circle. Then I used some rubber cement (you know the stuff, sold in any shoprite or kmart or arts/crafts store... same stuff from school) to glue the sandpaper to the backing pad of the buffer. Then, I buffed the car.

Remove things "in the way" to get a good sanding job done. Remove the taillights. Remove the blinkers from the side panels. Remove your antenna! Remove foglights. Tape up door handles (so the sander doesn't chew them up) and door locks. You get the idea.

VII. Dropping the car off.

If you have any black rub strips on your bumper (like Camaros do by the headlights, or Firebirds do on the front/rear bumpers), tape them up 100% completely with tape. If you see an 85-89 Firebird with those rub strips painted over, they went to Maaco. Remove the headlight shrouds from the flip-up lights. Cover your exhaust pipe and muffler with tinfoil. If you have inserts on your door handles, tape them up too. Tape up the weatherstripping along your side windows. Use the "total prep" on the car, one last time. Bring the can with you, and check for road tar/bugs when you pull up outside the shop.

When you bring the car there, get there early in the morning, and also, bring a bag and some masking tape & newspaper & tinfoil. Remove your headlights, blinkers, taillights. Cover the bare bulbs with tinfoil or tape, or remove the bulbs completely. Tie the taillight bulbs out of the way of any painting. Cover the holes left from the rear taillights with tape so they don't paint the inside of the car. Tape over your antenna (if it's still on), and unscrew the shaft if yours isn't a power antenna. Remove your license plates, blinker bulb housings. Throw everything in the bag. Tape the metal edging that goes around the hatch window, or that'll get painted too. (Doesn't look that bad, though.) Talk to the guy beforehand, and see if he'll paint your spoiler separately. Tape the weatherstrip between the outside of the side window glass and the door metal. Tape the weatherstrips at the top/sides of each window. Tape the strip (if possible) around the windshield.

Good luck; let us know how the job turns out. Just keep in mind that they're a high-quantity shop, "get 'em in and get 'em out", so the more prep time YOU spend, the better the job comes out. Most of a paint job is prep!

ops32

Good info Tom. I plan on removing all my weatherstripping, headlights, tail lights (once I get there), inner fenders, mirrors, spoiler, etc etc. The only things MAACO will have to mask will be the windows...

Rob

semlud

Wow- that advice was great! You answered nearly ALL my questions and addressed my concerns perfectly. J
ust one thing.. you talked about the urethane bumber repair kit. Just what I'm looking for. Will it work for a 5-inch crack in the bumper? The cracked edges line up perfectly and I need a way to seal it. Is it just a glue you squirt and sand down when it hardens? I know it sounds stupid, but can I smack some duct tape or something on the underside of the bumper to hold it even after it's been repaired? I've seen fiberglass repair patches-will those work too? Some advice please...

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

If you're going to go through all that work, pay the money for the 2-stage urethane paint. If you had that done, your hood and doors would still shine.

There's a ****box van that my father painted in 95 with the 2 stage urethane paint. Never got washed since. Still shines like new, other than the 6" of dirt on it.

orange rocket

I love the cheezy way of doing paint jobs in here. For starters I completely agree with Jim85iroc. I can only imagine what a job lik I am doing on my car would cost. Between sand blasting complete interior and exterior, 2 layers of Sherwin Williams etch, 3 layers of S.W. P50 build primer, 3 layers of S.W. 7000 ultra base, and 5 layers of S.W. 7000 clear. The build prime is $100 a gallon, etch is $8 a can (everyone recommeded the aerosol over 2 part mix don't ask me why) the base is $250 a gallon, and clear is $100 a gallon. So total these #s up and tell me how you can get a good job for $200???? I am spraying the interior and jambs myself. I already did the rear filler, impact bar, rear glass jamb, and inside of rear filler. These things came out perfectly. No runs, sags, dust or anything. It takes alot of time but is definetly worth it. When the interior is done I will bring the body shop the roof primed and have em install the new rear quarters andspray it. Yea it's alot of money but it is way worth it. This car had a maaco job on it judgeing by over spray and how the 2nd layer of paint clogs teh sand paper. It is a junk job! As for the stuff you are recommmending TomP I have to disagree about its quality. For starters the Total prep is junk. i tried it on the outside and on my leather. It didn't do much to either. For a surface that is ready for primer lacquer is the best (extremely strong) but for a primed surface that is too strong and attacks the primer. For those times you use a DuPont or S.W. fast drying cleaner(won't attack the primer.) The lacquer primers you suggest and adhesion promoters are junk. No one uses a lacquer paint. The paint will not properly "grab" it and it will cayse a bad reaction or cause the paint to sink in. As for around the body work a etch primer should be used first and then a build primer to prevent "sinking". There is alot of stuff to it then using crap auto parts store paint cans. Get to a auto paint store and tell em you need some prep stuff and explain what you are doing. they will hook you up

Camrs89

Maaco paint job. Lasted 3 years. Not bad for 600...

TomP

Wow, I'd never pay that much for my car's paint. It's a daily driver. But hey, we're all different.

On the leather? Why? The total prep did clean off my car pretty good, removed all the old wax, tar, etc... but I'm sure the stuff you recommend is better.

Well, my paint didn't react, it hasn't peeled off, and it didn't sink in, either. My maaco job included a primer/sealer coat for an extra $50. There were no reactions to the old paint, either.

I definately don't disagree with that. When I paint my own car this summer, I'm going to have the guy tell me exactly what primer & paint is compatible with each other. Oh yeah, and I'm going to shoot a shtload of clear. My hood is all chipped up; I paid for the $70 "mix the clear in with the pant". I should've paid the $140 for the "full clear coat".

MileHighDiesel

Boy you guys take your paint questions seriously! I'm going to go with the Maaco job. $900 gives me a base coat clear coat paint with the interior and self etching primer and sealer and a five year warranty. The car is a daily driver for my son back and forth to high school, not much sense in putting $3K or more in a paint job. I realize that some of you guys are basically building show cars and the value add of a good paint job enhances the work you have already done to your cars. But for my particular needs I think Maaco may fit the bill.

I will take everyones advice and make sure the car is stripped of all the tidbits and make sure we sand the car good prior to sending it to Maaco. We'll also do all the masking.

By the way, I did check into the paint prices to do the job myself. Duponts best paint along with the primer sealer etc. would cost $374. PPG was similar at $361. Both the local shops warned me that the primers are very hazardous to your health. They recommened complete suits with respirators.

OûtlåwFørmûlå

" YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR "

Ok I feel better now.

Peace

orange rocket

They said full suits and respirators??? Oh no now I will be dead in a few years I guess I need a suit now


Now I may not be the guy who has been doing this forever but my cousin who has for 19yrs gave me alot of advice and tips. I talked to many other body guys in great detail to get different points of view. I talked to 5 different people from 3 different S.W. stores. I have done my research and am glad to say my work is coming out great!

What puzzles me is why everyone is so into this " self etching primer and sealer" A etch primer is for bare metal only. There is no benefit to them using it and I bet they don't seeing as they don't strip down to metal.


Oh and TomP Total prep says it's good to clean leather. As you can see in the sig I have Taupe which gets dirty very fast. The only interior cleaner I am satisfied with is Kent. for the outside teh processes with total prep is a PITA and doesnt't do the best. It is good for the amature but why settle when for a few dollars more you can get the pros stuff?

RSFreak

And you can get the car painted ten more times for the price of the one $5000 job!

TomP

LOL! Plus, you won't get as upset if someone slams their door into your car in a parking lot.

cfirebird86

I am in the process of getting est for paint job. One guy quote me 800 with body work included and 50% down. Then I went to macco and the quote me 1,770 dollars (yes dollars) for my car without them doing the front end. My car was in a collion with a previous owner and its not aligned right. red arrows show areas that need work. the whole car needs work.

MD83Z

What type of paint does macco use? I will soon be painting myself and am wondering what to use after removing the 10 year old paint. What type do most do it yourselfers use? ( I want to spray clearcoats to finish) Back in the 70's I used lacquer.

FyreLance

Wow, I didn't realize this thread was still open.

It's kinda a moot point right now for the simple fact that I have a load of mechanical problems to take care of now. I can't even DRIVE the car, much less think of painting it...

Camrs89

Hey, I was at that point once too, I know how you feel, just stay with it though, you will be glad when you are all done.

erictheviking

Some very interesting points from everyone.I personally like to attempt to do as much as I can myself.With the help of a friend,I am in the process of doing the whole car myself.(the engine bay is complete).A friend of mine had a chevy nova painted by a so called reputable body shop,it cost him about £4000($5640).The job looked great.Now a lot of that money was swallowed up by prep you could do yourself.My point is even if you buy a compressor,gun,airline,filter/regulator,mask etc etc and the paint,it would still be a fraction of the cost.I won't pretend it's a quick job because you need a lot of spare time to do it properly.I had to bare metal mine as it had too much corrosion coming through.As for using aerosol products for this type of work you can do it a lot cheaper using proper autopaint supply stuff and gunning it on yourself.(A hell of a lot of the aerosol can contents is propellant).The paint I've used is a two pack(2k) basecoat/clearcoat.All the paint,wet and dry,thinners,panel wipe,tack rags etc cost about $700.(it's not ppg but it's good stuff).The paint I'm removing is one of those cheapo jobs everyone is talking about (crap single stage cellulose paint,bad masking,overspray etc).Each to his own ideas and all that,just a few of mine.Hey if I can do it so can you,and at the end of the day you get to keep the compressor,gun etc,you'll be able to repair your own dings and you will have taught yourself a new skill.


ps.the guy with the nova had the paint bubble in loads of places.It seems that the bodyshop left the car in primer outside in the rain.Primer will tolerate water from wet sanding as long as it is dried properly,but it is essentially porous and if left wet it will eventually creep down to the metal and we all know what happens then.
Does anyone else lie awake at night worrying about the rust demons slowly eating away at their car?

lopoetve

IF you can bear to let go of your car for 2 months... Take it to Vo-tech body school. Pay for great paint ($800), and they will do about the BEST blinking job you'll ever see, custom detailing as well! The instructors certify all of their work, and it all looks PERFECT... They just go REAL slow. I know many people who work at the local one, and everyting is certified by professionals, and they have great equipment. Just real slow...

DoorMatt86

hahahahah im getting a 5000 dollar paintjob for 350 bucks!!!!

ah the benifits of having a dad thats a awesome body guy and painter

muahahahahahahahaaaahhaaaa
matt:lala:

casmith91V6bird

I agree, you get what you pay for. I just had my 17 year old daughters 91 Firebird painted at a Maaco here in the Dallas, TX area.

The car was originally black and we had them paint it a dark metallic gray with a clear coat. I stripped about half the car myself and then took it to Maaco. We had them finish stripping the car, repair 2 cracks (one in rear bumper and one in driver door ground effects), install a new headliner and sail panels all for $688 out the door. The paint came with a 4 year warranty.

It is not perfect, but the car is also not a show car. I did find a couple of runs in the car but they gladly corrected them at no extra cost. For a 17 year old, I think the car looks a lot better than it did before Maaco, the paint was 10 years old and flaking everywhere. I also feel like I could get my money out of it in the added resale value.

Of course I am not knocking the $5000 paint job, but for a teenage daily driven car, Maaco is the only way to go.

Aviator857

I had the local macco paint my car about 2 years ago, it is two tone grey on white devided with the red strip. Painted to match the orginal. The issue is you have to go over the car with a fine tooth comb and tell them exactly what you want done. The paint how ever is like a one or two step paint. It is softer than the more expensive, well except my grey. The paint is not compatable with touch paint from wall mart and will turn lose if you use it. I am also having trouble now on my spoiler and my hood. the plastic insert on the cowl has spots where the paint is truning lose and also at the edge of the hood where the plastic meets the hood. The rubber spoiler, yes I actually had one that is in good shape, the paint is cracking off it like there is no tommorow. Any ways, look for a good paint job for about 3 years and thats it, its also alot of work to paint the car right afterwards, good paint and macco paint have a chemical reaction.