paint advice please!!

[stprorolla49]

well i went with my buddy to a friend of his who does side jobs (painting, body work, etc.) to see what he would charge to do a paint job for me...turns out he doesnt do full jobs but gave me a lotta great advice i'd like to share with you guys, and maybe you guys can throw in some info to because im trying to figure out what to do with the car paint wise because i'd like it painted in late april...

what he told me is that for any half decent paint job including tear-down, prep, paint, and re-assembly, i would spend anything less that $2k which as a high school student working for minimum wage 15 hrs a week, i can't do....

that being said, he told me the best way to go about this would be for me to prep it all myself....the body is pretty much immaculate panel wise except for 2 tiny dings on the door, a dime sized ding on the roof, and a few very small scratches on the used front bumper i bought to get the car driving again....

i will be getting a used cobra r hood next week which i will fit on the car and prep as well, and i'll be getting a new drivers fender because the one i have now, AAA ruined trying to tow it....

this guy said to do all the prep, then the day before getting sprayed, take the bumpers, head and tail lights, side skirts, spoiler, mirrors, and weatherstripping at the bottom of the windows off, and putting them in a pickup, throwing my car on our trailer, and have maaco spray the car with one of their better quaility paints...

theres no doubt in my mind that we can prep this car seeing as how my father has done his car and it looks mint....im just weary of putting my car in maaco's hands....

can some of you guys please offer some advice as to what i should do here? i'm aiming to have this car done during the 3rd week in april, and i only have a week because i need the car for school and work.....thanks guys!:SNSign:

 

[89white50]

the only thing maaco seems to do well is spray, so that sounds like a very descent plan. There are several guys on here that i think have done this and it turned out well. Most of the final product is only as good as its prep work anyways. Maaco guys spray a lof cars, so im sutre thier skills with the gun are up to par.

 

[DeadLifter]

I got a Mustang sprayed at Macco once and I wasn't happy with the work looked like they threw dirt on the car before they sprayed it. Everybody else thought it looked fine, but I know what a good paint job should look like. The paint work itself wasn't really bad just a lot of dirt. I imagine some Macco's do better work than others though too. I would tell them if it's gonna be full of dirt they're not doing it.

 

[stprorolla49]

goddammit!!! this is where my dilemma is!!! some people say maaco does a really good job spraying and others say it looks like ****!! im not really willing to take the risk of having a **** paint job...

 

[stprorolla49]

ttt

 

[DeadLifter]

From a few feet away my car looked great but when you looked close you could see all the dirt. I would just tell'em if it's full of dirt you aren't payin.

 

[CarFreakGT]

I don't have any personal experience w/ Maaco. But from past posts that I've checked out here, one thing to keep in mind is that they are franchised, of course. It all depends on which Maaco you go to. Maybe the best feedback you'll get will be from those who have had their car sprayed (recently) at the same Maaco that you plan to have yours sprayed at. You're not necessarily going to get the same results in northern Jersey that I may get here in Louisville. Maybe they have some customers' phone numbers for referrals, or you can see some of the cars that they are currently working on.

I'd be careful telling them that you need them to hurry, too. This may not be what you want to hear, and I understand that you DO need quick turnaround. But, you don't want to be kicking yourself in the a** for the next few years when you have to look at a rushed paint job on your pride & joy. Even if they say they'll get it back quickly, have a backup plan--borrow a car, share a ride, something--so that you're not left high and dry.

Best of luck, fella. It sounds like you're putting a lot of thought (and willing to put a lot of effort) into your project. Whoever sprays it for you, I hope they do a beautiful job! Good luck!!!!

 

[RMODEL65]

it will be mainly in ur prep the quailty of the paint job and rember most of the trash(dirt, etc.) in a paint job is from the car wash out all the places for dirt to hide when u go to get it painted!

 

[Roland69]

Check out thier booth and look for dust what kind of booth, Cross draft, Down draft or just a cheap homemade house fan frammed to the wall going outside painting the next door niebours car the same colour as the car there spraying inside. Take a peak at thier filters in the booth and see if thier clean. Is the floor dusty on the out side of the booth that aint good either cause when the door gets opened the neg pressure from the booth will suck dust and dirt from the outside of the booth most likely landing on your cars paint.

My dad has a body shop and he has been doing body work and painting since he was 18 he is now 35 (step dad cause I'm 23 do the math) I have been around this stuff since I was 9 or 10 so I even know a little bit. We are going to paint my truck in the spring and it needs cab corners fromt fenders and paint on the whole truck. He told me to put away 5-600 bucks for the complete job. Thats just pannels and material and paint. Labour for me is free since I will be helping anyway (and he's banging my mom)

 

[Blakthorn]

i did my car at earl scheib for 400 bucks in summer - check out my cardomain link below

im happy

 

[JBeezy53]

i did my car at earl scheib for 400 bucks in summer - check out my cardomain link below

im happy

Looks real nice from a distance. Did you get their top of the line paint job when they had their half price sell? Clearcoat looks real good.

 

[Blakthorn]

i got this one, http://www.earlscheib.com/pro3.php and they had $100 coupon in august when I did it, all i did myself was take off the headlights but some of the body was spot primered here and there because of the parts i added on

i was honestly suprised, the masking was good, there was no overspray and i got a 6 year warranty with it

 

[JBeezy53]

Hey its on sale down the street from my house, $360. I'm not ready for paint yet. But I think yours turn out that good because of the person who painted it.

http://www.earlscheib.com/stores.php?store=401

 

[Blakthorn]

That might be the case as each store may be different

 

[Michael Yount]

"im not really willing to take the risk of having a **** paint job..."

If that's true -- then save your money. It's one or the other. With car projects (and many others) you want high quality, cheap cost and quick turn-around time. Well guess what? You can have 2 of the 3. You decide. If you want quality and low cost --- it won't be quick. If you want quick and high quality -- it's gonna cost. And if you want speed and low cost -- the quality is gonna suffer.

So, if you want certainty -- it's gonna cost you. If you can't afford certainty, you must take the risk.

 

[stprorolla49]

"im not really willing to take the risk of having a **** paint job..."

If that's true -- then save your money. It's one or the other. With car projects (and many others) you want high quality, cheap cost and quick turn-around time. Well guess what? You can have 2 of the 3. You decide. If you want quality and low cost --- it won't be quick. If you want quick and high quality -- it's gonna cost. And if you want speed and low cost -- the quality is gonna suffer.

So, if you want certainty -- it's gonna cost you. If you can't afford certainty, you must take the risk.

haha why do you always have to be the sensible one around here j/k man thanks for the info....ive been searching around all night and i found a few buddies that would be willing to spray it if i prep it, and they know how meticulous i am so i know they will treat it like one of their own, concidering they are mustang owners too

 

[CarFreakGT]

"im not really willing to take the risk of having a **** paint job..."

If that's true -- then save your money. It's one or the other. With car projects (and many others) you want high quality, cheap cost and quick turn-around time. Well guess what? You can have 2 of the 3. You decide. If you want quality and low cost --- it won't be quick. If you want quick and high quality -- it's gonna cost. And if you want speed and low cost -- the quality is gonna suffer.

So, if you want certainty -- it's gonna cost you. If you can't afford certainty, you must take the risk.

Nothing else needs to be said. Perfectly put, M Yount.

 

[2000xp8]

With maaco you get what you pay for.
You get the $400 job, and it's garbage, some look to be done with a roller and brush.

But i've also seen people get $1500 paintjobs from them and they seem to be ok, not what i'd do, but still pretty decent.

 

[302RollinHard]

I have had quite a few cars painted by Scheib, and have always had good luck with them. Look at the cars waiting on pickup and you will see what you are gonna get. If you want it perfect, pay for pefect at a good local shop. What is that saying about having your cake and eating it too?? Good luck. I am getting ready to get in the same paint boat here directly.....

 

[stprorolla49]

thanks for the info guys...anyone else?