When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
have a 1986 Camaro Sport Coupe with T-Tops. Drove it a while, moved 9 years ago, and last year had it shipped cross-country to where I've been. The paint was mostly intact but tarps had worn down paint at the edges and a slight rusting began. took it to a MAACO last year, they set the price to roughly $3K (reduced to $2100 if I sanded it myself). Couldn't quite afford that, as I already paid $$$$ for mechanical repairs + shipping. So I went ahead and gave it a Rustoleum paint job (after sanding and rust treatment, mind you) to keep it a uniform color and stop/prevent rust.
Today I went back for an estimate. The guy said that he wished I hadn't done that as he'll have to take it down to bare metal in order to repaint it properly. The spray can paint, apparently, gums up the sanding pads, etc., so they use up more sandpaper etc. So they have to sand it all the way down. Also, he said because it's a more humid area than California, etc., the rust will come back.
The estimate given is about $4245, roughly $1K more. I'm not necessarily bothered by the number per se but I'm wondering if the explanation given makes sense. As for the rust coming back--it is what it is, I don't have a garage so I can't keep my car nice and dry.
Last edited by Chris Perry; Mar 6, 2021 at 03:13 PM.
That seems like an awful lot for MAACO. Of course every MAACO shop is different, but generally speaking a MAACO paint job is low budget, often crappy work. I'm sure that will offend a few people on this board, but it's true.
Perhaps being in California is causing the price to be much higher than rest of the country, and I dont know if the price they gave you was for base/clear or enamel. Around here an enamel paint job for a car like that is under $1k.
Why do people keep looking to Maaco for paint jobs? The Rustoleum paint does gum up the paper and make it harder to redo, so they aren't wrong there. You can always use a paint stripper to remove as much of it as possible, making it easier for a body shop to finish. But $3k is still about what to expect for a low end paint job.
