Anyone with experience getting a Maaco paint job? They have too many choices!! What kind of Paint? What kind of Prep? Do I need sealer, primer, clear coat?
I am expecting to pay between 800 and 1000 bucks. I want a good quality job that is going to last me another 20 years, but I dont want to pay for a lot of "extras" that I dont need either.

What's the bare miminimum I should get? What extras are worth while?

Thanks in advance for the Advice.

People i know all say maaco sucks. ( I never went there). I dont know. But there has been recent threads talking about this and they all say maaco doesnt do a good job at all.

I believe the quality can vary based on each shop. And when judging quality, its also important to keep in mind in most cases these paint jobs are a few hundred bucks at Maaco while a "real" body shop would cost you 2 to 3 thousand or more. I'm just trying to maximize what I can get from Maaco, get the best paint job I can for the money, and not get taken at the same time.

My gut is that its all in the PREP. I'm guessing that you can get away with the cheapest enamel paint they have, if the surface is prepped right, while the best 2 part paint they have will look like crap without good prep. But since I've never done body work myself, I don't know what to ask for, so I'm turning to all the great Pennock Fiero experts.

MAACO is the proof to the rule "you get what you pay for"

If you want showcar quality.. don't go there.

If you want cheap, decent looking 6-10 foot quality.. Maaco is a great choice.

I have had 2 cars and one truck painted there using their Ambassador service. Each painjob cost me around $300-$400 after tax and I did the prep work myself. In two of the three cases it was a color change (black > silver and silver > charcoal) and the other was a cleanup job on my Trans Am.

I've actually been pleasantly surprised with the results each time.. but MAACO, like all paint shops, is going to be as good as the guys they have in the booth. The one I have gone to has some skilled techs working there. I compared their work to other shops in the area and they were noticeably better than other 1-offs and Maacos within driving distance of my house.

If you do go with them.. I would recommend spending more money for the higher-end services where the clearcoat is not integrated into the paint. Otherwise you can't wetsand the car and may have issues with waxing depending on the thickness of the paint (happened to me on one of the cars)

This is a MAACO job using their integrated clear.. the top three pictures were taken 3 years after it was painted. the last was taken about 2 months after it was painted:

[This message has been edited by Mr Schaefer (edited 06-27-2007).]

They throw in a lot of extra paint for free. (overspray everywhere)

It does vary between shops. The Maaco next to me does show quality jobs for a price. They always have some 50s or 60s custom cars there. Trick is for you to do the prep. Dont get anything special other than just the basecoat/ clearcoat. They try to charge you extra for sealer, hardener, etc. They put hardener in all the jobs so they can fix ones they might mess up, and you dont need a sealer. Their tape and sanding jobs is where they really suck. And dont bring it in primered and ask them to finish sand it. They dont, just wipe it down and spray. Sand it all yourself. This one also uses PPG paint, so its not just cheap paint.

The Maaco here in town does some very good work but for the price they skimp on the prep work. If you can do the sanding yourself, then prime , wet sand and mask some critical areas and then bring it to them to be painted, you'll probably have decent looking paint. However, if you take you car there "in the raw" and rely on the poorly educated, unskilled, cheaply paid Mexican labor that most Maaco shops use to do the sanding, then expect your Fiero to look like sh*t

Here is my two cents. I have had two vehicles done by them. As far as the paint quality, I got what I paid for. It did not fade, crack or anything like that. Both paint jobs lasted a very long time. The kicker here is that they LOVE to spray the car, tires, mufflers and anything else they can get a hold of. All of this after I very clearly ask to be careful and not paint anything else. If you want a paint job that will last you 5 yrs and look good, go with their highest service. Lastly, remember that you get what you pay for with them. Good luck!

My black car here in my sig was a macco job. The first guy did a pretty bad job of it, lots of over spray. And then they changed owners and when I had to get my door redone after getting it hit, the owner did a great job even fix what the other gy messed and all a fantatic price. I had the car you see painted matalic black, porsch color. Before you spend youre money with them, take a good look at what they did recently. Lookover the cars they just fineshed. And YOU have to do a great prep job, at their prices they cant! BTW: anyone oin the fredericksburg area of virgina want good at low price check this guy out, for a macco shop he's great.

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As mentioned, the shops are all independently owned, and quality varies. The El Paso shop does decent work for the money. Bill has shot several of my cars, and I've been happy with them all. If something does come out wrong, they are willing to make it right. My 2M8 had some overspray, but I just clay barred the car after a couple of weeks and all is well. Here's a pic or three (dial up beware).


http://temp.corvetteforum.n...o_paint_pics_006.jpg

http://temp.corvetteforum.n...o_paint_pics_005.jpg

http://temp.corvetteforum.n...o_paint_pics_004.jpg

Paint job cost $600. It's not perfect, but at 5 feet or 5 mph I think it looks great.

quote Originally posted by Frizlefrak: Paint job cost $600. It's not perfect, but at 5 feet or 5 mph I think it looks great.

Sure, it may not be perfect, but that's a hellova great paint job for $600.

Obviously, if you want a show car finish, you're going to pay for it.

Maaco is the best of the CHEAP paint job prep prep prep prep try to do as much sanding as you can any places that are not sanded might not be sanded even if you mention themthe one post that said look at the cars tah have been painted stop by a few times and look at the cars that have been painted,chech for over spray auto paint shops should have special covers that go over the car make sure they use these.look at parts boardering the paint job is there a lot of over spray if so you will have to clean this.. i worked as a paint and body man for a short period try to pick a dry windless period to have car painted.paint can still be damp when taken from booth,,when you pick up car this is the time to look for runs orange peel globs spotswith good prep even the average painter looks good.. i thought painting a car was easy NO way only you can choose what you want I like a simple paint job just paint,if scratch easy to fix try to repair scratch on clear coat..how fancy do you want it??

i was wondering how hard it woul be to take off the body panels yourself, wet sand them, then take them to Maaco to paint. The hardest pieces would be the roof / A pillar and rear roof / B pillar. ?

Would it be possible to wet sand at home, take the car to the shop and mask it off yourself before they paint it ?

[This message has been edited by PaulJK (edited 06-27-2007).]

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Sure, it may not be perfect, but that's a hellova great paint job for $600.

Thanks!

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Obviously, if you want a show car finish, you're going to pay for it.

Definitely. And then you're paranoid about it. I spent $3500 having my Corvette painted. It came out quite nice, but for the first couple of years I would cringe any time I got within 100' of another car on the freeway. Then it got it's first few blemishes, and now all is well and I can enjoy the car again Honestly, I wouldn't spend that again.

That's the one thing I love about a decent budget paint job. It makes the car look nice, but you can still enjoy the car and not go into a frenzy every time you have to leave it unattended. The other thing I like about the Maaco here is that I can drop the car off on Tuesday and pick it up on Friday. They are the masters of the quick turnaround paint job.

As for their durability, we had our 1996 F150 shot at Maaco in 2003. It's getting scratched up again (we work the truck on our mountain property), but it hasn't faded too badly. In the last 4 years it's never been waxed.....hell, it's seldom been washed. And for $600, I'll have it done every three years.

Again, I've heard horror stories about some Maaco shops. We're just fortunate to have a good one here.

If I could know I was getting a paint job as good as yours, I'd take my Fiero to a Maaco next week. It's just too inconsistent from location to location.

If you are doing all the prep work yourself...how much would a more reputable body shop charge for just spraying they car? I'm sure it would be more than Maaco, and obviously it will vary by who you go to...but how much more should be expected?

HOw much 'prep' is required. I need just a front bumper painted. I have it completely sanded down to the urethane, but do i have to prime it and wet sand it a few times, or should I just bring it to them 'raw'.

Also, if I need to prime it, will it matter what kind of primer i used based on how they'll paint it?

quote Originally posted by Jncomutt: HOw much 'prep' is required. I need just a front bumper painted. I have it completely sanded down to the urethane, but do i have to prime it and wet sand it a few times, or should I just bring it to them 'raw'. Also, if I need to prime it, will it matter what kind of primer i used based on how they'll paint it?

Maaco's answer to that will be "Yes". They make sure to mention that if you do the priming yourself they're not responsible for any paint adhesion problems you might happen (heard the speech a few times myself). I used an automotive primer and never had a single problem with adhesion.. so I would recommend staying with something like Duplicolor Automotive Primer.

As to how much prep.. It's hard to answer without seeing the part you're dealing with. The paint is going to show every dip and scratch and rough spot.. so you want the piece you bring them as smooth as possible (especially if you're going with a dark color).

Keep in mind too that if you're only having one part painted as opposed to the whole car, you might have some color-matching issues.. the Maaco's by me don't have the ability to computer match paint like a bodyshop would.. they go off swatches and get as close as possible.

I really doubt if Maaco will paint it panels off. One here dont, and I dont either. I have done them panel off in a restoration job ....But, you pay dearly. It takes up the whole shop and then more. In my case 2 stalls, so you will pay at least double and then the cost of more material because so much goes to waste. I did an old MGA for a guy that took it all apart. I painted and rubbed out both sides of a lot of the panels in red. Then he picked up the parts in a big box truck. My charge was over $5,000. My most expensive job was a 1928 (i think) Lincoln that belonged to Al Capone. I repaired all the panels, unassembled, painted them all in 3 diff colors, clear laquered all the wood work and assembled the body. Cost was $40,000. That won a few very prestigous concours shows. Belongs to a member of my sports car club who has his own personal little museum at his home. Also has an Auburn Speedster owned by Clark Gable.

The difference between a good paintjob and a SHOW job is the wet sanding and buffing that occurs after painting. If you learn how to do this you can pay for a 1500 dollar paintjob and make it look like a 3000 dollar job. Its pretty easy to do if your careful and the results will amaze you. But I doubt any MACCO job will last for 20 years. Unless its garage kept.

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Fiero w/ 1998 Supercharged 3.8 V-6 Intercooled
Best ET: 12.20@ 114.90 mph (street tires)
11.74@115 mph (drag radials)

"NO Juice....Just BOOST!"

[This message has been edited by lildevil (edited 06-28-2007).]

i don't believe there is a paint of any kind that will last 20 years without being garage kept. i know they won't in florida anyway. i'd be happy with five years for a maaco job though.

quote Originally posted by lildevil: The difference between a good paintjob and a SHOW job is the wet sanding and buffing that occurs after painting. If you learn how to do this you can pay for a 1500 dollar paintjob and make it look like a 3000 dollar job. Its pretty easy to do if your careful and the results will amaze you. But I doubt any MACCO job will last for 20 years. Unless its garage kept.

Not to mention the quality of the paint. Like the old saying goes, you can't polish a turd.

I havnt had any personal experience with maaco but my dads friend has had his iroc painted there with the presidental. THe paint last about 3 years before it started to peel. I do know the people here are to cheap or lazy to paint the door jams so your kind of screwed unless you can do that yourself.

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"A mobile home with a flat tire, is just a home."
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quote Originally posted by rogergarrison:..... a member of my sports car club who has his own personal little museum at his home. Also has an Auburn Speedster owned by Clark Gable.

If you get a chance, ask him if that car at one time belonged to a museum in Missouri in the 80's. I remember visiting a place near Lake of the Ozarks (Kelseys Antique Cars) and they had a Speedster that Kelsey said belonged to Clark Gable when he was making "Gone With the Wind" I was probably about 10 or 11 at the time and remember thinking, who in the world is that, and should that be important to me? I also came away with the impression that the car was used in the film, which it obviously wasn't. One thing i noticed was the car had quite a few dents and dings in it.

Ill ask if I see him. I dont stay much in touch with him now that I sold the Ferrari. I havent gotten any work from him lately because I think he ran out of car buying money.... He owns some big dealerships in eastern ohio and his collection is prob worth $6 million plus or so. He even drives them in local parades so they all run like they look. Last one he got i know of was a mid 30s Duesenburg Town Car. The engine was as big as a Fiero, lol.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 06-29-2007).]

Might be okay if you were doing black, but my car came with a gold $600 macco paint job.


I dont think it is supposed to be that color under the headlights.


Nice! Just look at how professional it looks in the gutter.


Note to self: Do not leave hood open or lights up. Also do not touch under wing as paint is VERY ROUGH! Next time, bring in wing separately so they don't just let what every paint blows under, be there.

The paint looks pretty good to me, its just lacking where we said it would be....Prep. If you had pulled the wing, headlite covers, tail lights and sanded it yourself it would have been 10 times better. They only give the notalents an hour or two to mask and sand the whole thing. Spraying the paint is the easy part.

quote Originally posted by shawnkfl: i don't believe there is a paint of any kind that will last 20 years without being garage kept. i know they won't in florida anyway. i'd be happy with five years for a maaco job though.

You've never seen a job done witrh Sikkens base/clear. I'd be willing to bet it will last 40 years left outside in the sun & rain 24-7 (if done right). Of course I spend about $1,000 on materials when I paint a car.
But yeah if a Maaco job lasts 5 years that would be great.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

You just shot an unarmed man!
"Well, he should have armed himself."

High school and college trade schools do decent work and the price is usually good. Even though I am pretty handy with a paint gun, I let the college paint my car for me. Cost is normally around $500~$800. My car has overspray in the normal places and if I had taken the effort to clean it up right after it was finished, it would have came clean easily. Oh well, my laziness turned into more work because now that the paint has cured, it is stuck Here is how it looked-


The car was a turd and considering the condition of what is under the paint, it turned out very good.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: The paint looks pretty good to me, its just lacking where we said it would be....Prep. If you had pulled the wing, headlite covers, tail lights and sanded it yourself it would have been 10 times better. They only give the notalents an hour or two to mask and sand the whole thing. Spraying the paint is the easy part.

My car came that way, but it would have only been 5 times better. To get 10 times better the owner should have masked it themselves too, because there is overspray everywhere. I just showed the two most disappointing spots. Not to mention the paint is already starting to chip in one spot. It's been garaged since it was painted about 8 months ago. But personally, if i'm going to do all the hard work (prep) i might as well get to do the fun part (spraying). It is shiny though!