MAACO Paint

[sparticus]

I want to paint my car as the clear is peeling. Don't need anything fancy. Will MAACO sand down the clear where it is peeling before applying base paint? Do they offer factory paint match or are you stuck with what they have?

[Mike 91 318ic]

pick up the phone and ask.
I seriously doubt for 300 they'll do anything more than tape off the trim and scuff up the paint a bit. Good supplies alone is at least three or four times that. If your car is only worth 1-3k just leave it as is or buy a nicer car.

My 2 cents
M

[dude8383]

all i know is if you bring it to maaco completely prepped, that shit will come out sweet

[sparticus]

Got a nicer car. A blk 93 318is with H&R and 17's. I just need the 91 318is painted so it don't look too bad.

[bwanac]

Make sure they allow you to do some prepwork.

Also ask people around for the better Maaco in the area.
Some do better work than others. They are franchises.

[ColdAccord]

i bought a civic painted by maaco and it looks like shit

maybe if you do ALL the prepwork and taping you'll be straight. I'd still rather go ask a bodyshop guy (from a real, non-maaco shop) to just spray it on the side

[Digitalwave]

As stated, doing the prepwork yourself is the best bet. My friend had his car painted at Maaco and it looked great when it came out of the shop, minus some overspray and a few runs, but the paint they use is cheap and it requires a lot care and attention if you want it to last more than a year or two.

[PeterCip]

As stated, doing the prepwork yourself is the best bet. My friend had his car painted at Maaco and it looked great when it came out of the shop, minus some overspray and a few runs, but the paint they use is cheap and it requires a lot care and attention if you want it to last more than a year or two.

Very very true..
The PPG paint being used on my car currently cost (at cost) just under 1500 dollars. Thats just material cost..
Maaco uses a "blend" paint they put on, like a 2-3 stage paint. basically, the color and topcoat/clear go on at once.
I have seen good looking jobs, but they don't last nearly as long as respectable PPG using shops.

[cpain49176]

The previous owner of my car got a MAACO job in 2000, and the paint looks just as good, if not better, than factory. Then again my car is white so it hides the blemishes nicely.

[JRowe]

I've probably posted this dozens of times on numerous forums, but the bottom line is that you get what you pay for.

While in college, I worked at Maaco for a year. They can do great paint jobs, but you have to pay for it just as you would at any other body shop. For 300 you'll get a scuff and shoot, single stage paint job using a cheap brand of paint called Western. I would never recommend that anyone paint their car with this under any circumstances.

If you are willing to pay more, they can do a base coat/clear coat paint job with good quality paint like Diamont, PPG or Dupont. A two stage job like this requires alot more prep work and the materials are cost more as well. Expect to pay at least $2000.

IMO, the best way to get a good quality paint job at a reasonable price is to find a body shop (not Maaco) willing to work with you to achieve a good result where you do all the prep work, use the materials they recommend to do the work, and allow them to shoot it and wet sand/buff it out. Or just pay for a good paint job. While it will cost more, it will be worth it in the long run.

[golde30]

the problem with having a real body shop do only the spraying and u do all the prep, is that any self respecting shop wont let YOU do the prep, b/c the prep is extremely important when it comes to the end result, and if they let you do the prep, and the paint come out looking like shit, who are you going to blame? yourself? no, ure going to blame them, and thats why they do all the work themselves and charge you for it, b/c if they are going to be held responsible for the quality, then they are going to want to have control of all steps leading up to the end result.

i have had endless discussions on this topic with my good friends father who has been running a highly respected body shop in san francisco for 15+ years.

[Snowmann]

truthfully if you are paying 1500 for paint alone you are getting hosed. Even if you factored in reducers, hardners, and hell throw in your fillers and even your stikits you would not be at 1500 in materials for one car.

on another topic

Western is a sherwin williams line that includes 4 dimensions,

4th dimension is a base coat clear,
3rd is the best single stage they offer
2nd
and first are down hill from there.

Sherwins ultra line will still only put you down for aroud 3-400 tops for a red metelic. (red is basically the most expensive color) Sherwins ultra line is comparable to both ppg's and dupont't quality lines.

All the companys have there 'cheap' or I guess the way to say it to the customer is the 'economy' line.

We sell a lot of 4th dimension to shops doing rebuilders. And quite frankly they dont turn out too shabby. I mean the guy is paying 25 bucks about for a quart so yes you get what you pay for. If they are using the western line at maacos, then request 4th dimension, and like everyone else has said, do the prep work yourself. A lot of times your body shops will not have a in-house mixing booth, they will instead purchase from a local supplier selling: sherwin, dupont, and sometimes ppg. Of course if you are going to a shop and paying out the ass for a spray then I would have to ask some quesitons as to how they can offer such a quality job when they dont mix their paint in house. Paint isn't cut and dry, there may be only one way to bolt parts together, but there is 100 ways to paint a car.

[erik325i]

red is basically the most expensive color

Why is red the most expensive color?

[Bimmerfanatik]

red is basically the most expensive color

Why is red the most expensive color?

Because it adds the most horsepower to your car.

[PeterCip]

truthfully if you are paying 1500 for paint alone you are getting hosed. Even if you factored in reducers, hardners, and hell throw in your fillers and even your stikits you would not be at 1500 in materials for one car.

Bliggity bliggity blah blah blah. say what you want, but the shop that is doing the work, is the same shop that does the work for HMS, Turner, local galleries, so-on-and-so-forth. I know i am getting a quality PJ that will last a long time, and thats what i am looking for.
-pete