thinking of Maaco

[250 Coupe]

Originally Posted by oldsinner111

Remove your clearcoat with stripper,then lightly sand car.Because they won't.

True that. Macco didn't even sand down or remove the factory pinstripe on my Mustang. Just painted right over it.

I wasn't unhappy with the whole thing, I knew going in that it would not be perfect and I was planning on selling it in a few years. I was more interested in covering the mid eighties peeling paint on the hood look.

Michael

[alabbasi]

Correct, for $199, they'll spend no more then 2 hours on prep work and you should expect that majority of that time to be spent on masking.

If you're doing your own prep work, they should do a half decent job unless you have some really ruthless people working there. As I mentioned earlier, with any production paint shop, you need to manage the process if you want the results.

I basically tell them to stop at each stage so that i can inspect the work (sanding, masking etc). Then if there are problems, you can address them while they are still easy to address. The prep takes time, but these guys can lay a single stage paint job in about 30 minutes. If you need prep done, you're not going to get much for $199.

[WANT '71 280SEL]

Keep in mind the cars being painted there, particularly by forum members here: they're older Mercedes sedans that will never be worth a lot of money and aren't worth receiving $10,000 paint jobs. For a 30 year old Mercedes diesel, why not get a MAACO paint job? If it were a Ferrari Daytona....

Regards,

David

[JiveTurkey]

Last year I painted my first car all by myself. I'll try to address some of the things you need to keep in mind should you choose to go that route.

Compressor;
The size of the compressor tank, while important, is nowhere near as important as the compressors CFM / SCFM rating at a certain PSI. Most HVLP guns will run anywhere from 4 to 12 or more CFM, while the average 30 gal compressor will only put out from 4 to 6 CFMs at between 40 to 90 PSI. The best way to make sure you can paint continuously without having to stop (DRY SPOTS!!) is to have a gun that uses 20% less CFM's than your compressor puts out.

Garage painting;
You CAN end up with a gorgeous paint job if you shoot the car in your garage. As long as you have a reasonably good paint it will very rarely fail to preform as expected (as long as you read the instructions, twice.) The biggest thing (as I'm sure you know) is cleanliness in the "spray booth." Keep the garage clean, and DON'T wet the floor (it will **** with the catalyst, moisture makes urethanes cure faster.) Always make sure you have adaquate airflow too. Instead of a burlap bag, use a furnace filter taped over the fan. It does a very good job of keeping dust from entering your booth.

Paint;
BUY THE BEST PAINT YOU CAN AFFORD! I can't stress that enough. Single stage enamels won't be very durable, Enamels with a catalyst (look for polyisocyanates) will hold up fairly well, Single Stage Urethanes are very durable and have good gloss but are harder to shoot since you're going for coverage gloss and depth all in the same couple coats, and base / clear systems are fantastic. That being said I used Nason single stage Urethane I bought from my local autobody paint supply store.

Maaco;
I really really looked into doing all the prep work for my car and having Maaco shoot it for me, but the nearest one was two hours away and it wouldn't have been practical for me to use them to paint my car. I ended up painting the car myself and I really enjoyed the process (and the isocyanates didn't kill me) The best thing Maaco does is shoot paint. Their prep work and everything else is rubbish. I'd talk with the staff and see if they're comfortable shooting paint you bring in for them (you really don't want to use whatever paint they're selling you for the $199 job if you plan on keeping the car longer than two years.) More often than not the staff won't mind using paint you bring in (be sure to bring the tech sheet for it.)

If you have any paint questions feel free to PM me. Once I learn something I have a pretty encyclopedic knowledge of the subject.

Finally you can check out my paint odessy from last year in this thread from the vintage forums.
It Has Begun (250CE restoration Thread.)

[panZZer]

X2, on above about the materials cost---And what may be of particular intrest to technically inclined euro car guys, Glasurit is NOT the same as Glasurit was in 1993, The people who bought them out cheapened the chemical makup and many of the solids were taken out. results are a less durable paint, weather they would have had to do so no matter what because of having to comply with tightening voce regulations -probably so. but any good "plastic System" urethane basecoat/clear coat system the primer paint and clear should be around $800. on top of that
(under that-as far as doing the work) is body fillers and sandpaper etc.
I like to do cars that need nothing more than a small amount of evercoat metalglaze putty, if it needs any more for like a wavy hood, I use good bondo mixed 50/50 with the metalglaze.

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by JiveTurkey

Paint;
BUY THE BEST PAINT YOU CAN AFFORD! I can't stress that enough. Single stage enamels won't be very durable, Enamels with a catalyst (look for polyisocyanates) will hold up fairly well, Single Stage Urethanes are very durable and have good gloss but are harder to shoot since you're going for coverage gloss and depth all in the same couple coats, and base / clear systems are fantastic. That being said I used Nason single stage Urethane I bought from my local autobody paint supply store.

What? you mean you caved in?

[IVIuzzy]

isnt the original paint on the car single stage enamel? id like to keep the car looking original. so a good enamel paint would do well for me, especially if i decide to paint it myself i could colorsand the inperfections out easier.

i spoke with the local maaco, who actually has good reviews here in the sarasota area. their painter has 20 years expierence, he told me if i buy my own paint he'd gladly use it, but since they buy in bulk and i have a pretty simple color to match itd be far cheaper from them

he did state their prep work isnt the best and he feels that he is more than capable of painting any exotic car(he thinks my 115 diesel is an exotic!!!). i did look at some of the work coming out of the shop. as for the paint, there were no runs, barely any orange peel leaving the booth. as for the mask on the other hand, the door gaskets were sprayed, windows had some spray, grilles were rough as were the rims.

he did reccomend some paint package they offer for 699 right now, its normally 899. and i could get it cheaper if i masked and did the cut and buff myself.

i wonder if i go back, if this painter would want to come to my house on a sunday and do it on the side? if its worth me asking. itd save me the time hooking up my 5th wheel to tow the car there.

as for now the money isnt really an issue, i dont want to pay 3grand for a paint job. the shop i worked we charged 3-6 depending on the car, im assuming mine'd be near 6 with all the prep needed. there are some serious rust scabbs that left some big holes. but so far ive sealed the floors with por-15 from the bottom, and from the top i scuffed and sprayed with the mercedes preservation wax part # A 000 986 33 70 10.
the trunk is getting truck bed coating put in it, i figure its most durable finish, as the rubber that was in there broke and is brittle.

ill post progress and let u know how i end up, im still in the air about maaco, or doing it myself. ive never sprayed a car and im just afraid if i spend 3-400 on paint, it could easily add the 3-400 to a "professional" paint job because id screw it up.

as for caved panels or anything, the car is straight as an arrow, with absolutely no dents at all. just rust.- marc

[daw_two]

Hey marc.

Can you post some "before" pics to this thread?

Thanks and good luck on whatever you decide.

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by IVIuzzy

[FONT=Arial]isnt the original paint on the car single stage enamel?

Maybe, but new enamel paint is not as resilient as the old stuff because all of the stuff that made the old stuff great is toxic and has long been outlawed.

Go for a single stage urethane which has integrated clear or a base coat / clear coat finish.

[pj67coll]

Originally Posted by alabbasi

Maybe, but new enamel paint is not as resilient as the old stuff because all of the stuff that made the old stuff great is toxic and has long been outlawed.

Go for a single stage urethane which has integrated clear or a base coat / clear coat finish.

Why is BC/CC better than single stage? I have yet to see a clear coat that can stand up to the sun here in Phoenix.

- Peter.

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by pj67coll

Why is BC/CC better than single stage?

Seriously?

[Squiggle Dog]

Yeah, why does everyone recommend clear coat paint jobs? They always look too "plasticky" to me and the clear coat never seems to last and peels off in no time. You can't just buff out the paint when it does that, unlike the single stage paints that you can buff and will still look great until there is no paint left. You can't respray the clear, either. So, as soon as the clear goes bad in 5-10 years, you're out of luck and need to repaint. It seems like the single stage paints will last decades and can be easily repaired. When I have my car painted I want no clear coat.

[Mr.Kenny]

The 'clear' is much harder than the single stage paint with all the pigments and such. You can't buff out a single stage metallic paint job and have it look right.

I think the reason why you think clears fail is because that is the ones you see, 'the failed ones'; you don't see the clear coats that are doing just fine, because they look just fine.
But yeah; harsh climates are hard on clear coats and paint.

I do my paint jobs outside; calm, cool morning, no bugs, no dust stirred up, right when the sun is just peaking over the horizon....if conditions are not perfect I don't paint.
I have everything ready to go; pull vehicle out of garage; fully masked; tacked off and paint is mixed and start shooting. If i am lucky the paint turns out perfect.
It helps to have and experienced painter showing you how.

[Squiggle Dog]

I am going to have my car painted in non-metallic colors, so probably no need for clear? Besides, you don't see colored paint delaminate and peel like clear does. My car was repainted in black with clear and the entire clear coat is gooey and flaking off. It looks SO terrible and there is nothing I can do about it short of strip the car and repaint.

[wolf_walker]

I'm not a fan of clear either, it just don't look right on older cars to me. And as a personal oddity, I like faded plain colors just fine, silver/gray and dark blue are my favorites, they develop a really nice patina with time. My brown w114, I so with it'd never been repainted whenever it was, now it's faded different shades, and the brown shows it badly. Unless you wax it every two weeks, then it looks new. Go figure.