F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

Maaco doesnt do a bad job they did mine here some pics
http://community.webshots.com/album/402707385TiRACb

NoItsNotForSale

iTrader: (1)

They may not do bad jobs but they don't do good ones either.
For $299 what can you expect. Yours looks good. A friend of mine has his painted there a few years ago and I guess during painting a moth about the size of a half dollar landed on the hood.
They painted right over him. When we saw it we laughed for hours.

Gunny Highway

iTrader: (1)

Give it a year or so then let us know how you still feel. However, for any daily driven car I recommend a cheap paint job. No point in spending $4,500 for something that will get a ding or rock chip in less than a month.

Here's my Maaco job (top end for what they offer):

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

any close ups?

RS Chris

Maaco sucks a**. The paint on my hood started to peel after six months. They didn't even prep it, you can still see bare metal where the paint is coming off.

cooltc2004

iTrader: (4)

You have to pay extra for them to prep it. If you didnt fork over the cash, dont complain about a crappy paint job.

F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

specially if you tell them you dont want to bring it tehre because of a bad rep
i got a upgrade on mine 90% of the dents and body work they did i dint pay for... they offer good warrwentys... they missed a spot the next day i borught it back tand they fixed it no questions
they are good it just hard to work back form a bad rep.. THey warrenty now with higher end paint againts all that... well theyll fix it atleast

Gunny Highway

iTrader: (1)

How's this? Can kind of see the pixels though. . .

phoenix305

gunny highway how much did you pay for your car to be painted?

F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

i paid 1300 if anyone wants to know

MNformula350

iTrader: (2)

Here's my maaco job, pic was taken last weekend at the Car Craft Magazine Summer Nationals this is the 3rd year since I had it painted. I did all the body work myself and just had Maaco paint it for $329.00

Gunny Highway

iTrader: (1)

I paid about the same thing. I also had a fender and a few other GFX pieces replaced. . . jammed out as well as painting all the trim around the t-tops and rear hatch.

F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

i got my jambs besides my underhood because it was black and would have tooken weeks to clean it... i had alot of body work

DanTheMan_smlk

you wont be saying that 3 months from now when the paint starts cracking and chipping. Most maacos's dont even sand the car before they paint it

bj350hp

iTrader: (1)

That’s why you do all the prep work first and just let them paint the car.

Iv had 2 cars done by them and they did a good job because i did all the prep work...

Any one can lay down paint Its the Body work that makes a good paint job.

(now don’t get me wrong Nothing beats Base Coat Clear Coat But for single Stage paint Maacos a good place to go.)

but that’s just my 2cents

82firebird

It seems like the only people who really bash Maaco are the one's who don't seem to understand what has to be done as far as prep work to a car.

All Maaco's are different shops, therefore produce different results. It's stupid to just say "Maaco Sucks." I had my first car painted at Maaco for around $200. I did all the body work and prepped the car myself. It came out excellent. I owned the car for a little over a year and it looked great until the day I sold it. I saw the woman we sold it to the other day and it still looked great.

86NiteRider

iTrader: (10)

Gunny, your car looks great. I am more interested in how you got those turn front signals so clear. Were they buffed, bought new or bought clear? I will need mine to be clear once I paint my '92.

I had my '86 painted at Maaco in 2000 and had to return a couple of times for touchup. But overall since I didn't have $3000 for custom I was happy. Now several years later the paint is starting to fade but I also am ready for the custom paint so it's okay. Each Maaco is independently owned so it depends on which one you go to.

F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

the one i went to wanted you to come and watch the car get done.... i got numerous phone calls on coming down jsut to check up on the car and see if everythign is going to plan. It turned out great. I just got lucky with my maaco. Very nice people there

Gunny Highway

iTrader: (1)

I bought new ones. However, I did clean my orginals using a similiar method that people use for the taillights and works as well too, but I still had foggy lenses due to the seals being worn out.

(method for polishing lights: clean light, Eagle One Never-Dull, Mcquiers' Plastic-X Polish, and then Mequiers Stage 3 Carnuba Wax)

BigWhiteGTP

Is prep work ding removal, primer, and gfx & spoiler removal?

Should I remove the door guards as well, will they break if I remove them?

DanTheMan_smlk

not gfx, spoiler, or door guards. That would just be more work and wouldnt make much difference if it was painted off or on the car

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

can macco paint my parts of my car.

I have the whole thing in pieces. Can i get the doors done, then the fenders then the hood and so on, and assemble it at home???

I ask cuz i want it all to be jammed well.

And then drive the car there for the final body paint?


Thx for any help

jimp2001

I wet sanded my lights with 600, then 800, and clear coated them when I was painting my car. they looked brand new.

I have since sold my paint equiptment and moved... I dont have anywhere to spray now. I'm going to attempt the same thing again, but this time with a rattle can of clear and adhesion promoter

Confuzed1

iTrader: (4)

I think it would make a huge difference...at least in my case it would have. You shoulda seen all the crap that was behind my ground effects...not to mention bad surface rust. Not all the way through, but pitted pretty deep. Now I can add filler etc. before it gets painted.

That same rust would've been creeping up from behind the effects in no time. So - I'm in the same boat as dennisbernal91z kind of...my ground effects were taken off along with the spoiler etc..

F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

sure can they just do peices

DanTheMan_smlk

well since it was a 91, i was assuming it isnt in that bad of shape, if it doenst cost a lot more money, than i guess u should do it...i guess what i said was more an opinion than a "fact"...lol


and about painting the car in pieces, it would be good to ask macco

z28maro

how do people feel about maaco's expensive jobs. any chipping, poor coverage anywhere, paint on anyones windows, etc... my girlfriends uncle owns a maaco and i can get a deal if its worth it. i think that might be the differences in quality, they are a franchise store, like mcdonalds....

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

I totally disagree. If you have dips, runs, fisheyes, primer that isn't sanded and feather good enough....that will ruin a car...I don't care if the body work is at straight as a dye. One can't work without the other

Cadillac

FWIW, I have an Earl paintjob. It's really my daily driver (when I don't ride my bike).

If I get to a point in my life when the car is more of a hobby and/or prized possession (pretty close right now) I'll invest in a better paint job.

One month after I got the car out of paint I was overjoyed. Anything was better than this:



After another 6 months I was starting to notice the warts of a cheapy paint: Orange peel, overspray, etc.

Lately, the comments of no prep work is starting to become apparent especially on the bumbers where there is some flexing happening. The paint came with a "3 year warranty". I might be looking into that soon.

Johnny Blaze

iTrader: (15)

To bad they don't know how to mask off for stripes. Those stripes look very cheap when they just end at the body panel. Unless you are going for first gen stripes, then they should be rounded off at the back of the hood. Also they need the pinstripe around them.

From what I have seen and learned, anyone can paint a car, its all in the prep work. The paint is only as good as what it is covering.

DanTheMan_smlk

what stripes? where?

Johnny Blaze

iTrader: (15)

Look at the first link in the first post here. The one that started the talk about his macco paint job.

DanTheMan_smlk

oh yeah, i forgot there was a link to pics...and youre right btw

Parrydise7

iTrader: (1)

I had a fairly cheap paint job done by 1-Day. I had the dents taken out first by paintless dent removal place (which I highly recommend, BTW).

Mine looked worse than Cadillac's, above. The car was built in Van Nuys with a water based paint that was peeling off.

The car looks 100% better than it did and I have a five year warranty.

F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

i liek them... there is apinstipe around them if ya look. and i wasnt goign for any look just one i like and im personally happy with the car

Johnny Blaze

iTrader: (15)

Thats all that really matters.

F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

Im sory it doesnt look like they have pin stripes aound them because of the pic... but there is

Johnny Blaze

iTrader: (15)

I looked closer and sall them. IMO, those stripes were not laid out right, they don't match the body, but as I said, if you like them, that is all that matters, unless you are trying to build a throphey winning show car, other peoples opinions shouldn't dictate your build.


Its your car, do what you want to it.

F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

they look fine if you see them up close pictures dont really show everyhting. i bet in those pics you cant tell that me paint is pearl metalic

Johnny Blaze

iTrader: (15)

Its the overall shape and placement of the stripes that I think is done wrong, but again, I am not trying to argue with you, if you like them, that is all that matters

F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

its also not a 6grand job

tom3

Guy at work used to work at this place. Lots of stories. They use steel wool and thinner for surface prep, spray on primer right over it then. Big rust hole? Sheet of cardboard glued to inside, punch some holes in it and lay on the bondo. Assembly line deal, shoot one and while it's baking, shoot another, about two hours for each car.

BirdsofPray

The whole Maaco paintjob deal has been beaten to death here, there are threads as old as these forums are on the subject.

It really all depends on who runs the place and how they do it. There are top-notch Maaco shops and there are deplorable ones. Just like with any other franchise/chain business.

That aside, based on what I can see from your pictures, the car looks great. I think you got a great deal F5Storm91.

F5Storm91

iTrader: (1)

thasnk and i agree with you.. there are some maaco shops that just want money and could care less about your car... sad really.. those give maaco a bad name

smokefan

io had my pickup painted by macco and it looked good until i went off roading and then tried to get the scratches taken out. my friend owns a detailing shop (yes he knows what he is doing all he works on are high end cars) and he said that there wasnt enough of clear on it to buff out the scratches so i told him to try anyways and he burt the paint on the door anyway for the price i couldnt complain, its been about 6 years since it was painted. the truck stays outside and still looks good so i had them spray my 86 iroc. for the amount of money it looks 100 times better than in primer.

DanTheMan_smlk

since macco doesnt have a 90% approval rating, despite some really good maccos out there, its safe to say macco generally sucks. Macco needs to get their sh*t together, you hear good and bad stories about them; i will never go there untill 80-90% of the their customers come out happy. Its not worth the risk...

f355bird

iTrader: (2)

heres my maaco job after 10 years

DanTheMan_smlk

see, your one of the lucky 10%

f355bird

iTrader: (2)

Well its like what everyone else was saying you pay for a cheap job you get a cheap job. Maaco can do a nice job if you pay them.

bj350hp

iTrader: (1)

Like i said before its all in the Prep work Maaco is not going to do any good prep work unless you pay them to do it than your paint job goes from 300 to 1000 real quick.

All i let them do is Throw on paint nothing more than that. I do the dents, Sanding prep everything I even take stuff off the car when i get there like Head lights, Tail lights, grills, and other stuff that i know they just tape over and do not remove.

Yes Maaco Sucks, but for guys like me Who have cars that get dents and other dings and When the car is only worth kbb $2500 bucks its not worth spending $7000 on Paint when its not a Show car. Its just a daily driver

So to sum it up

Cheap Paint? yes.
Can it turn out good? YES IF YOU DO YOUR OWN PREP WORK FIRST.......... (thats the key PREP WORK)....
What if they miss up painting the car? (any thing they do wrong with painting the car, like Runs, bubbles, fish eyes, orange peal, or even Wrong Color {it does happen} they fix) that might just be at my Maaco tho dont know about others.

But this is all just my 2 cents . .