I am thinking about getting the car painted. ( I can't afford a 3k paint job). So, I was wondering what you guys think of the MAACOs out here. I know each MAACO is independant, and each store is different. Just wanting some input of what you guys think.

 

I need to get my car painted as well my brother got his car painted at that one looked good for a year but he never even washed it so i bet it would have been fine if he hade waxed it from time to time if you try them let me know how it looks

 

Go to the one on Palo Verde North of Ajo. Talk to Ed. Tell him Tyler @ Furrier's sent you.

Here's a little secret about Maaco. For $300, you will get a $300 paint job. Auto body labor is $45/hour IIRC. Paint pigment has gone through the roof. Yellow and red are the most expensive base colors, and orange even more so. If you want blue or black you can save some money. You can also save some money with a single stage paint (not a base coat/clear coat) job, but then you're color limited (solid normal colors) and single stage paint is a pain to maintain with the buffing and the polishing. If you're going the same color you can save money by not having to do under the hood, door jambs, and other areas that aren't easy to paint.

You can also save some money by prepping your car for paint before you take it in. I won't go into detail, but a good google search should find all of the information you need about sanding and masking on an auto body forum.

 

Im not expecting my paint job to be cheap, cost wise. I want to put the car back to the stock Flame Red (maybe a mettalic?). The PO put a nice coat of gloss Krylon black on it, so the car will need to be stripped and redone. The door jams, under hood, etc. are still the stock color barring over spray, but I am not worried about that. Only body work that needs to be done are the doors needing realignment. My whole thing is I dont want to pay Dealership prices. I am not building a show car so it doesnt have to "glisten", I just want it done right.

 

They should require a statement of intent when you buy spray paint....

Metallics cost more. To redo my 87 the proper (87-only mixture) Dark Flame Red Metallic I needed a gallon and a quart of paint. I had the car fully stripped though, door jambs, upper inner fenders, windshield frame, etc. to get every surface. The quote on the gallon of paint was $750. We used BASF's middle paint line, not Glasurit (price would have at least doubled) but the R-M I think. My guy was comfortable using a different brand clear. Diamond Coat or something. The gallon of clear was $400 or so IIRC. It looks good (I didn't get it done with Ed, but some independent shop. Never doing that again) but he had a flunkie doing the hood prep, and a big chunk of the paint is cracking + peeling. He said he'd respray it, but he got caught smuggling cocaine in his spare tire across the border and got deported. Took the rest of my paint with him. Bastard mixed in a little extra flake too, so my hood will never match the rest of the car unless I get it painted AGAIN. >.<

You probably don't need to strip it, and realigning the doors is almost child's play for a body man. It sounds like you're an excellent candidate to do some of your own prep work. As long as the paint on the car isn't coming up in areas you can sand down until you get red or primer and that will be a good surface for paint.