thinking of Maaco

[IVIuzzy]

i was in body work for 7 years through college. i mostly prepped at a prestigious body shop in PA.

i just purchased a 73 220D and i have begun fixing the very few rust scabbs, and tried to buff the paint. the paint will buff, but with there almost being a scab on every panel that needs fixing, i cant fatham anyone matching/blending 37 year old florida paint.

I did everything except spray, the local maaco stated that if i do all prep, and all they have to do is spray it is 199... sounds really cheap to me. But i have no problem buffing orange peel to detail the finish. Afterall, now when i take any of my newer cars home from expensive body shops, i always end up polishing them anyways because i notice every little bit of overspray.

if i had a booth to use id have no problem attempting to spray it myself, however due to a lack of an hvlp gun and a sufficient spray booth im afraid to try.

im thinking if i just assume they will paint on everything, take extra precaution removing/masking everything i do not want painted how bad can the actual work be even if i am doing the finishing step?

im just scarred of all the horror stories i read online about them, i dont know if its worth it to pay another shop, and end up unhappy with the results too.

anybody here expierence maaco work before?

ive painted some odds and ends (golf carts, bumpers, scooters) in my garage before but a whole car im a little afraid.
an advantage my garage has is, excellent lighting, low ceilings, clean, no furnace or anything to introduce sparks or oil into the admosphere. i could simply buy an hvlp gun and do the old exaust fan and burlap over the windows trick. (however the paint would cost me more than maacos job including labor.

[Chad300tdt]

The quality of the spray Maaco will give depends on who they have working there.

I had my SDL sprayed by one, but I had them do some smaller jobs which built my trust in their abilities.

I plan to completely prep my CD and have it trailered to them already masked and ready to spray. Then I'll do the cut and buff when I get it home again.

In my experience, Maaco doesn't take the proper care in prep and masking but they have the setup for a quality spray.

Go look at what's in their shop now and see if they do the kind of job you'd be happy with.

[TX76513]

I have had work done at MAACO and agree with Chad's statement. Like any franchise you are going to have good operators and bad operators but overall they give the consumer the option of putting as many or as little dollars into a repaint as they want, need or can afford. It's all about choices.

[250 Coupe]

I had my 5.0 Mustang painted at Macco. I did a color change which adds up quickly, they charge separately for under hood, door jambs and under side of trunk. They didn't charge extra to paint the polished stainless exhaust system though.

IIRC, it was close to $800 and lasted about 2 and a half years before starting to look ratty. By the fifth year, it was a ten foot car.

Michael

[alabbasi]

I've had a couple of my cars done at the local maaco here in Dallas. I know the owner and we're now friends. They use pretty decent paint. Even though his most basic paint package is single stage enamel, he does not like his painters using too many systems so you get more then you pay for.

He uses Sherwin paint and has a paint mixer on site. The painters are good, the guys who do the prep work can sometimes be too rushed and miss things so you need to micro manage the project.

I normally strip my cars before taking it to them and let them do the sanding. I started painting my own cars recently in an effort to learn and the easiest part seems to be the painting. I think that if you do the prep work yourself, you'll be happy. If you're worried about the quality of the paint, then buy your own paint and take it to them.

If it's a solid color, single stage is just fine, but make sure you use bc/cc on metallic.

[mattbone]

I have a friend who works their and he gets his stuff painted there after he does the prep so does his brothers. It is decent work, definitely some orange peel. I think they have different levels of quality paints and work also. I would at least check with some other shops and see how much they charge to just do a spray. I have seen some people that will just spray in their driveway and even one person I saw that used roll on paint and then wet sanded and polished and they turned out as good as any maaco paint job i've seen.

[Graham]

I had my 300D rust repaired and painted at Maaco about 5 years ago. Went with their best paint. Cost me $3k including two new front fenders. Finish was very good.

I now have some rust around sunroof which they fixed 5 yrs ago, but has returned and one of the aftermarket front fenders has a few small bubbles.

Maaco went out of business here, so I am having a small shop do repairs ($400)

Go with the best paint and make sure they actually use it! car should look great!

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by mattbone;2599736I

have seen some people that will just spray in their driveway and even one person I saw that used roll on paint and then wet sanded and polished and they turned out as good as any maaco paint job i've seen.

I shot this in my garage during the summer, not a single run. It came out pretty well but my prep work was not as good so there is a little bit of sinking in one spot where i fixed a dent.

Like I said, the easy part is the painting.

[IVIuzzy]

i have a question for you as well, if i decide to spray it myself. my compressor is only 30 gallon, it could work but itd be pushing it. a friend always told me, the longer it takes you to spray a car, the more time you have for something to go wrong.

are there any good electric hvlp spray guns on the market? the autobody supply place here has one for 139. i dont think thats terrible. its a little pricey i figure, though, after i buy the gun and paint its cheaper to take the maaco.

[JLeather]

An HVLP gun will make your small compressor worse. Smaller compressors won't keep up with a high-volume gun.

As far as Maaco is concerned, prep-work makes or breaks a paint job. Second is quality of materials. Once the paint is sprayed, as long as you can buff it out good it'll be fine. If you're doing the prep work and it's a good job, and you pay for them to use good quality paint/primer, there's no reason a Maaco paint job can't be as good as a custom shop. The $199 is for cheap paint, though, and it won't last. Talk to their painter about what he recommends, and if he doesn't know then go somewhere else.

[alabbasi]

I shot that hood with a $9.99 gun from Harbor freight using a 60 gallon / 5hp compressor.

You need to find a gun that matches your compressor example if a gun needs 6cfm at 50psi, you're compressor needs to be able to generate that kind of volume.

[JimFreeh]

Originally Posted by JLeather

The $199 is for cheap paint, though, and it won't last.

To do a quality repaint, you can spend at least $1500 to $2000 just for the materials.

What the hell do you think you're going to get for $199?

If you are going to spend all the labor to do the prepwork, why skimp out on the paint and have it start fading out in a few years?

On the other hand, if you have a crapcar, $199 might be a significant portion of your investment in the car, and the same lifespan......


I've done a number of garage paint jobs, and prep is very tedious. If it can be done by the owner, you can save a significant amount of money.

If you want to do it yourself, spend some money on a good gun. Doesn't have to be HVLP, and you can do it with a smaller compressor, just takes more time....

Color sanding can take out most mistakes and dust, but it's important to let the paint "season" for a while, so all the solvents evaporate, or else you'll see sinking after the sanding.

Cheap paint jobs have their place, but don't expect longevity....

Jim

[oldsinner111]

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

[TX76513]

Another consideration for garage painting is lighting - It is extremely inportant to have lots of light.

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by JimFreeh

To do a quality repaint, you can spend at least $1500 to $2000 just for the materials.

I agree that if you spend at least $2000 in materials, you should be able to get a decent paint job (providing that you can paint and prep a car) and I also agree that it's going to be hard to do a decent paint job yourself for $199 but Maaco gets pricing on paint at huge discounts which is why they can offer paint jobs at such low rates.

However, unless you're restoring a pre war rolls royce, you don't need to spend $2k on paint materials to get a good paint job on your car.

I've used PPG, Sherwin and BASF paint lines. They all have high end and budget lines. When I asked the dealer what the difference was between the two; they all said that their higher end lines are more expensive because they have a larger selection of newer colors and they match better with factory paint. Because of this, they are more suitable for spot repairs and are usually sold by the pint as opposed to the gallon.

I specifically asked about the quality of the paint and they all said that there is not much of a difference there and if I decide to paint a whole car, the budget line is just fine.

Most recently, I bought a gallon of Green Base, a gallon of reducer, a gallon of clear and a quart of activator and it cost me about $300 in Dupont Nason. This is what I shot the hood with pictured earlier.

I reduced the base two parts paint and one part reducer and the clear, four parts clear and one part activator. It was 104 degrees and humid and the car was shot in a home garage with the door open. Considering all the factors stacked up against it. The paint behaved very well.

If you're planning to have maaco shoot it, they will use single stage. If you're OK with single stage then let them use what they have because the painter is used to that paint system. If you plan to paint it yourself, use a base / clear system. It's easier to shoot and more durable then single stage.