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  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-

Whats your exp's with Maaco???

  • Thread starter Thread starter jgt58
  • Start date Start date Jan 14, 2006
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jgt58

New Member
Jan 17, 2003
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Knoxville,TN
Jan 14, 2006
#1
  • Jan 14, 2006
  • #1
I've only got about 200-300 dollars and my car is in need of paint bad , I wanna go back with the original color. What do you guys think. Anything would be better than the present..... .
 
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jgt58

New Member
Jan 17, 2003
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Knoxville,TN
Jan 14, 2006
#2
  • Jan 14, 2006
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keep in mind that this is not a show car of any kind , just a daily driver.
 

white1989

New Member
Oct 31, 2005
66
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Brampton, Ontario
Jan 14, 2006
#3
  • Jan 14, 2006
  • #3
All you'll get is single stage colour. I saw how my local maaco shop was run, and decided to do it myself....
 
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mustang112119

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Apr 1, 2005
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Jan 14, 2006
#4
  • Jan 14, 2006
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yeah i got mine painted there spent bout 400 bucks and 3 years later it looks awful they dont sand anything hardly and i asked for a brght silver and now mines so dull its almost grey
 

87_stang

Member
Dec 12, 2005
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Tonganoxie, KS
Jan 14, 2006
#5
  • Jan 14, 2006
  • #5
You can do it better yourself with rattlecan paint! If you have an air-compresser already, go get yourself a spraygun and paint and do it yourself. I guarantee it will look batter than maaco
 

Stinger

Founding Member
Jul 7, 2001
7,754
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118
Basehor (Kansas City), KS
Jan 14, 2006
#6
  • Jan 14, 2006
  • #6
The Maaco around here is actually pretty good. I've seen quite a few cars look pretty nice even a few years later. If you are worried about them no sanding it, do that yourself. They "paint" very well...they just lack on prep work sometimes (but the more you pay the better they will do it).
 
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tucsonpred

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Dec 4, 2005
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Tucson
Jan 14, 2006
#7
  • Jan 14, 2006
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Sadly those few that looked good paid for it, probably dearly. However they probably spent nowhere near what I do from my painter. But if your going to get a Macco job talk to them about the prep. I bought a truck that was sprayed by them. They used laquer primer on the spots that got body work. 1 year later all the spots that go boddywork were primered. The only place the paint stuck was where they didn't primer, you wouldn't have known it when the guy picked up the truck, a year later I primered the whole truck so it matched, then sold it.
Keep in mind Warranty, prep and the door jambs yada ya. This is a mAcco job that the person that owned the car before me had sprayed, I'm almost too embarresed to open the doors and hood around people.....





I'm not upset about it because it was only a $500 car and I plan on going black, all black.
But Macco was nice enough to paint the gas tank dark blue for me
 

evintho

20+ Year Stangneter
Nov 12, 2003
683
245
73
Santa Rosa, CA.
Jan 14, 2006
#8
  • Jan 14, 2006
  • #8
In a word - garbage! But............if you've only got $200-$300, that might get you a basic paint job and your car would look half way decent for about a year.

The problem with Maaco, Miracle, Earl Schieb, etc is;
A) They barely prep the car at all, and
B) They use VERY inferior quality paint.
The key to any good paint job is preperation. I would suggest getting ahold of an air compressor and D/A sander, buy some materials and prep it yourself. Secondly, negotiate with Maaco and tell them you want their best paint products. You'll have to pay extra and it'll still be crap, just not AS crappy! You could also buy your own paint and have them paint it. Quality paint starts in the neighborhood of $400 a gallon, but then you're going way over your $200-$300 budget. In short, the cheapest and most effective way for you is to prep it yourself and use their high-end paint. It may come out OK!
 

bigcat

start with the upper hole, and if more traction is
May 1, 2005
3,015
1
79
7200 feet
Jan 14, 2006
#9
  • Jan 14, 2006
  • #9
maaco gives the tech 3 pieces of sandpaper and one scuff pad to do the entire car. not nearly enough. like it was said before, prep it yourself. go to a paint supply store and buy some masking tape and some scuff pads. tape off things you dont want to scratch/paint and scuff it good. make sure you dont have any shiney spots and you should be good. make exra sure you do a good job around mouldings, handles, trim, windows, etc. they wont even try to get to these spots and it will peel soon after painting it.

just remember, it may only look good for a short time. if you plan on keeping the car, and want to repaint over the maaco paint, you will most likely have to strip the panel to get that crap off for a good job next time.
 
1

140CILX-Coupe

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Mar 30, 2005
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Jan 15, 2006
#10
  • Jan 15, 2006
  • #10
You get what you pay for
 

white1989

New Member
Oct 31, 2005
66
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Brampton, Ontario
Jan 15, 2006
#11
  • Jan 15, 2006
  • #11
You can get a ok quality single stage paint (solid or metallic) from Pep Boys (for the US members, Partsource/Crappy Tire for us Canada members) or NAPA - whomever for about $70 a gallon. Rent an air compressor, buy a spray gun (with bleeder valve - unless you like sanding orange peel often) and do it yourself. You could probably do a better job for $200 than you would ever get at maaco. Plus you learn another skill - win/win situation.
 
J

jgt58

New Member
Jan 17, 2003
92
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Knoxville,TN
Jan 15, 2006
#12
  • Jan 15, 2006
  • #12
well , i do know how to prep and paint cars , but the problem is , no enclosed area avaible for me. I'll prolly prep it myself , thats the only part I dont know how to do. if i primed the car with rattle primer , where should I get it from? What sandpaper grit do you recommend? Thanks. BTW , i dont have compressed air sorce
 

white1989

New Member
Oct 31, 2005
66
0
0
Brampton, Ontario
Jan 15, 2006
#13
  • Jan 15, 2006
  • #13
check this linkie:

http://www.autobody101.com/

I used his info to paint my cars.
 

evintho

20+ Year Stangneter
Nov 12, 2003
683
245
73
Santa Rosa, CA.
Jan 15, 2006
#14
  • Jan 15, 2006
  • #14
jgt58 said:
if i primed the car with rattle primer , where should I get it from? What sandpaper grit do you recommend? Thanks. BTW , i dont have compressed air sorce
Click to expand...

Absolutely, positively DO NOT use rattle can primer! You need to find a compressed air source. Is it possible to rent one? As stated before, it's all in the preperation! Check out the above website for info.
 
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jgt58

New Member
Jan 17, 2003
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Knoxville,TN
Jan 15, 2006
#15
  • Jan 15, 2006
  • #15
I'm just going to save a little more money and have it done right.
 

carbed87

Member
Jun 5, 2005
215
0
16
Jan 17, 2006
#16
  • Jan 17, 2006
  • #16
the car i just bought was maaco-ed last april... i guess its only a matter of time before it starts looking like ****. when the guy got it painted, he got their best packege, and it looks killer right now, im just wondering what its gonna look like after i get outta college.
 

rd

Founding Member
Jan 12, 2000
3,316
63
109
Ocean Springs MS
Jan 20, 2006
#17
  • Jan 20, 2006
  • #17
I had Maaco in Savannah GA paint a CJ7 about 8 years ago. I discussed it with them when I got the estimate, paid a bit more, and got an excellent job, for $500 or so. The paint still looked great 5 years later when we sold the Jeep.

The key is discuss what you want first. In that price range, you have to make some decisions and sacrifices.

I just got my 82 painted, for $900, locally this time, single stage, with me removing the trim and stuff, with cleaning and sanding, but NO bodywork. I think it came out perfect. But it is a race toy, not a show car.

Nearly any quality paint job these days, will be in the $2000 range, if there is any body work needed.
 

bigcat

start with the upper hole, and if more traction is
May 1, 2005
3,015
1
79
7200 feet
Jan 20, 2006
#18
  • Jan 20, 2006
  • #18
rd said:
I had Maaco in Savannah GA paint a CJ7 about 8 years ago. I discussed it with them when I got the estimate, paid a bit more, and got an excellent job, for $500 or so. The paint still looked great 5 years later when we sold the Jeep.

The key is discuss what you want first. In that price range, you have to make some decisions and sacrifices.

I just got my 82 painted, for $900, locally this time, single stage, with me removing the trim and stuff, with cleaning and sanding, but NO bodywork. I think it came out perfect. But it is a race toy, not a show car.

Nearly any quality paint job these days, will be in the $2000 range, if there is any body work needed.
Click to expand...
$2000 for someone to do it on the side....most shops near here wouldnt touch a complete paint job for under $5000
 

mustangphil

Founding Member
Jul 9, 2002
21
0
48
No longer The Beach
Apr 3, 2006
#19
  • Apr 3, 2006
  • #19
I know it's old but if you still need it here is the answer:
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=613859
 

ISMYTHE

Founding Member
Nov 25, 2001
77
0
6
Marysville WA
Apr 4, 2006
#20
  • Apr 4, 2006
  • #20
Happy with Macco

I had my sons car painted after his wreck. I did the prep, removed all the trim, lights ect... sanded it, primed where needed (rattel can) color sanded with 1000 grit, and they painted it bright (burn your eyes in the sun Orange) It looks great, and after a year it looks new. A kid walked on his trunk after two weeks, left foot prints, i washed it, not a scuff to be seen. I also had a ranger painted a red metalic and paid extra for a shot of clear, it looks new, same story on the prep. Anything you dont want painted, remove! they suck at masking, but the guys in everett wa do a good job of shooting. The trouble spots for mustangs according to them is the plastic, if you dont ask for the primer designed for the flexable bumpers, and trim you may not get it.
 
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