1991tealRSt-topGuy

hey guys

i am gonna be prepping the 1987 Z28 i bought for a maaco paint job

as i understand here is how i should do things:

rough up the old paint with 400 grit
prime with a sealing primer
then prime with a sandable primer
then wetsand the sandable primer with 2000 grit
then take her to the shop to get painted.........

am i correct with my steps??

what would you do differently??

thanx in advance guys

No4NJunk

Well here's what I do. First sand problem areas (dings, dents, places where paint is peeling, or places with bad crows feet) with 250 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Then use putty and fill in dents and deep scratches. You only need spot putty (comes in little container and is orange) unless you have major damage. Wetsand puttied areas until smooth. Primer all areas you worked on with sandable primer. Then wet sand with 300grit. Primer them again making sure all areas that were worked on are covered with primer and wet sand again. The reason in doing this is that paint sticks better to paint. You only want to primer the areas that need it. The car should be totally straight after this. Remember to remove decals and emblems!! I did all this with my car (had it painted at maaco also-I was too lazy to paint it myself) and it turned out pretty nicely. After getting it back wetsand it again with 1400 grit and it will turn out looking like glass . This is just what I did. My stepfather taught me how to do body work and so this method has been used many times.

BTW- what color you painting it.

orange rocket

What type of materials are you useing?

1991tealRSt-topGuy

hehe i wish i knew what color


hey no4njunk

i know you got your color change done at maaco........does it look tacky when you open the trunk and see a different color???

cuz i REALLY want a corvette yellow Z28........................ughhhhhh i'm getting horny just talking about it

if i do decide to get the color changed from white........i will be going with corvette yellow


if you dont mind, no4njunk, how much did they charge you for your job LOOKS AWESOME MAN!!!!!!!

No4NJunk

LMFAO!!!:sillylol:

Thanks for the compliment. As to if it looks tacky when I open the doors or hatch well......not really. Its just not something I look at very often. And the color my car used to be was very dark blue (At night it looked black). But for some people it might. I'm going to take the gun to it though just haven't had time. I have a LOT of friends that work at the maaco I took it to so they took care of me They charged me about $150 or so and I got 2 base and 2 clear. I did the wet sanding myself (they're my friends but I still don't trust them with my bodywork ) The color sounds bad ***. do you have a pic of what the color looks like??

1991tealRSt-topGuy

sounds cool i think then corvette yellow it is!!!!!!!!

lemme try to find a pic

finally find what i am looking for

No4NJunk

yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!! (*sits in corner drooling with evil look on his face*). LOL!!
Thats going to look awesome. Make sure to take pics of the process and what the outcome looks like.

1991tealRSt-topGuy

sounds cool man

but this aint gonna get done for a few monthes prolly


my dad dont want me getting another camaro

tough ****

my mom is talking him into though

(dont worry jeff, i'll have the $$ sunday)

so, he wants me to save for a 3.4 engine for my 1991 camaro
cuz it has 180k miles on it..........ironically, i just ran some diagnostic tests on it at auto-skool and everything came out 100%

but i figure, i need to save some $$$ to get this all done............i figure by years end i will have the Z28's tranny rebuilt and the car painted.........

No4NJunk

Nice. Do you have any pics of the car now??

pd23braves

Hey guys I am looking to have a Maaco job done myself, I think I can handle the prepwork and they have the deal now where you get 2 coats base and clear for $250... 1991tealRSt-topGuy - I am debating between your color choice (corvette yellow) and a dark blue, like Dodge Viper Blue. I would love to do the yellow, but I don't know if I want to stick out so much for the cops, but damn it would look so good. My car is maroon now, and I want the sills and trunk and under hood done, but does Maaco do it? How pricy is it you guys know? Or should I just find a similar color spray paint and do it that way??? What do you guys think? Mine too will probably not be for a couple months, so let me see pictures of your yellow car, I have an 86 but with 91-92 ground effects and coming soon will be the IROC turbo hood and high rise spoiler from 91-92's. No4NJunk - to be honest I didn't really care for thirdgen Firebirds compared to the Camaro's until I checked out this site, now they are a close second to Camaro's but thats only because I own a Camaro. Yours is bad a$$ and makes me want to have one of each, I don't think a Camaro could pull off your color so well. Thanks guys.

1991tealRSt-topGuy

yeah, i think i am just gonna cover the engine when i get the car back and do under the hood myself with like a flat black paint.........just so you cant tell the car was white............i think maaco will do the door jambs and stuff though..................

and no4njunk...........i do have a pic of the car............i am buying it from moderator MSS.........look in the readers rides for his 1987 Z28

here it is:

No4NJunk

pd23 thanks for the compliment. There definitely are some really nice birds on this site. 1991-that bra has to go!! But I'm sure your removing it as soon as you can. That car is sweet looking already....I can only imagine how badass it will look with that paint job. Do you already have it or will you soon? I'm gonna check out the specs.

1991tealRSt-topGuy

dont have it yet

i should have it sunday...................as long as my bank dont give me a fit cuz i need to empty my account.................they shouldnt cuz i got one of them teenagers accounts where you dont need to keep a minimum in....................

cant wait till sunday

looks pretty good................the whole front end is in primer right now

orange rocket

I am using sherwin williams paint on my car. I am doinng a total restoration and want it done right. Different companies recomend different stuff. I have to say that stripping to bare metal and useing etching primer then a second stage primer, base/clear process is working great. I am doing behind the lenses, bumper, door jambs, interior etc on my own. Who cares about a spec of dust there. I will then have them put the new rear quarters on and blend the seams so no tape lines. I have hear of to many nightmare stories about maaco unless you know someone there. Hell a gallon of sherwin base coat is $225. I am upto around 800 in materials now and am guessing around $2k when I am done in materials alone. Then to pay for the spray and weld. You get what you pay for. $250 for prep, spray and materials you cant expect the greatest quality. Just my oppinon but I'm a picky bastard.

1991tealRSt-topGuy

well, i had my 1991 RS done at maaco 2 years ago...............came out great, still looks great, i get nothing but compliments


hmmmmmmmm $5000 for a paintjob or $5000 for a 383 stroker......................you know what i am going to pick




so i guess i will prime behind my tailights and everything...........then drive the car there and pull the taillights off......................i think it should come out good in corvette yellow................................

Jim Berry

When I was stationed in San Diego, alot of guys would take thier cars down to Tijuana and get them done. One of my friends told me to come look at his '84 Caddy with metallic green paint on it. It looked like Ray Charles had taped it and Ronny Milsap had sprayed it. Edges were all oversprayed, glass was frosted in some places with paint and the badges had all been sprayed over. He said he paid $300 bones for it and was proud that he didn't go to Maaco or Earl Schieb.

My brother and I did a '70 Camaro with 32 rattle cans in 1989. He found them in a dumpster. A little wet sanding and a light coat of clear.......looked great. We sold it for $400 more than we were asking.

IMO, it's all in the prep. The '86 T/A that I have now, I brought from my little brother. It had been stolen twice and damaged. The insurance company paid for a cheesy spray over that lasted for a couple of months. The nose cone and ground effects were just straight painted with no "flex agent" in the paint. They have all cracked and peeled.
I just sanded down the nose cone last week to the bare urethane and it looks better than driving with spider line cracks and peels. I will finish the rest of the ground effects and rear bumper when the sun comes out up here. (Apartment living sucks...no garage.)
I will be removing the nose cone, hood grill pods, side air ducts, wing, ground effects, and rear bumper to be painted seperately. Lights and stuff will all come off of course.
I will post picture when completed.

Mikes86SC

When I had my car painted, I did a ton of prep work and the body shop did a lot of work. Countless hours and $3500 later I now have this:



Hmm, someone needs to prune that tree!

No4NJunk

My frame of mind exactly. I'm not driving a $5000 dollar paint job around the streets. But I will drive a motor with that in it.

When you get the car sunday take some pics. I want to see everything!!

ops32

Some other things to do (that haven't been mentioned yet) if you're gonna get a MAACO paint: remove all your weatherstripping and replace it after the car is painted, remove all your light fixtures (after you get to MAACO parking lot...), and remove the fender liners. Put everything back after the car is painted.
Do all this and you should be able to hide all the edges where ridges form where the masking tape was.

MikeInAZ

Some of your steps are out of sequence.

1. Pull your metal out so minimal body filler is needed.
2. Use body filler to level surface.
3. Putty Coat to fill sanding scratches over bodywork.
4. Use a "high build" primer over bodywork to fill all scratches.
5. Wetsand with 500 wet, entire car.
6. Shoot sealer over primered areas. Shoot over entire car if changing color.
7. 2 Coats of base color.
8. 3 Coats of clear.
9. Color Sand with 1200 followed by 1500.
10. Compound with Finish Compound and Wool or Foam pad.
11. Compound with Finish Glaze.

Understand these are the very basic steps. If you sand with 2000 your new paint will have nothing to stick to. You don't want to prep any higher than 500 wet.

If you spend $300.00 then you have a $300.00 paint job and it will look like a $300.00 paint job. The average bodyshop cost of chemicals on a complete paint job is between $600.00 and $800.00. This is discounted not retail to the public prices and this is for an "average" paint job with good quality chemicals.

Good high build primer with catalyst is $150.00 per gallon, the sealer is the same price. A pint of some reds and greens is over $50.00 per pint.

So you can do the math and figure what your are getting for a $300.00 or $400.00 paint job when that includes paint, materials and labor.
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fastback79

I'm thinking of having my vette sprayed by Maaco. I'm trying to find a reputable one in North Jersey. Which one did you decide on? I'm leaning toward one in Nutley.

1991tealRSt-topGuy

well, i am down in brick, so its gonna be lakewood again
they did a great job on my 1991 so..............why not?



after some thinking, i think the car is going to stay white


hate like to open the trunk and see yellow on the outside and white inside.............it would be too tacky