Maaco paint job if I do some work?

Chipdog · 08-21-2001, 07:03 AM

I have been driving around with a white hood on my back mustang for almost a year. I dont see myself getting an extra 2k to get the entire car painted and belive me the whole thing needs it. If for some strange reasone I did fall into the money I would rather use it to make my baby go faster. That being said I was thinking of going to El cheapo paint shop like Maaco. I was thinking if I do all the prep work like the sanding and removing all the nonpainted items. Would it be possible to get a passable paint job? I mean they would just be sparying paint. Would it come out that bad?
Any input would be great. Are ther any "How TO" pages out there or could someone go into detail on what would have to be done.

Thanks
Chip

------------------
92 GT Convertible
Hooker Headers, H-Pipe, Flow Masters, 4.10s, BBK 1.5 drop, 73mm Mass air, 65 FMS TB, FMS Aluminum radiator, T-5 swap with a Steeda shifter.

And a Small Blow Job

Dark_5.0 · 08-21-2001, 07:44 AM

This guy at work had his truck painted at maaco two years ago and it looked great at first he got it painted a shiney silver and it looked pretty good.

Now his painted has faded to the point that it looks like primer dull as hell primer.

Maroon 5.0 LX · 08-21-2001, 07:58 AM

You'd probably be better off getting prices from independent paint shops. Pay a little more and get a better job.

Those cookie-cutter places use poor paint products and they don't usually last too long as 5.0 HO mentioned.

------------------
'89 LX 5.0 - 5 speed. Original Owner
'94 E-150 4.9 Conversion Van

Fox Body · 08-21-2001, 08:14 AM

With Maaco, the reason they are so cheap is b/c they use cheap paint and little or no prep work. And I'm not sure if they even cook the car in the oven after it's painted for as long as they're supposed to.

The main thing however is the prep work. You sound like me in terms of what you would spend your money for. If good prep work is done to the car, the paint will last much longer even though it isn't as high quality as $2000 paint job paint. I have a friend who did all the sanding and primering himself and just got it sprayed over at Maaco for about $200 which included clear coat (since he did all the prep work and primering, he just paid for paint and clear coat). Over 2 years later, it still looks great. Now it is not 100% flawless, but they're the type of nicks or chips that you'd have to look for to find them--ie hardly noticeable. And for the money he paid (let's say $300 total which includes materials for his own prep work), if you're trying to save moeny, I feel it's worth it.

If you did the same prep work to your hood and had them spray it, it'd probably cost you less then $100. The only thing wrong with that is that you would have fresh new black paint on your hood, but the rest of your car will be old dull paint.

-----------------------------------------
351W-powered 1979 Ford Mustang notchback
Stock 5.8L under 4" cowl, C4 w/ shift kit
Holley 750 cfm, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake
1 5/8" MAC shorty headers, Al driveshaft
2.5" Off road H-pipe, 2-chamber Flowmasters
Front: 225/60/15, Rear: 255/60/15 Eagle GT II
Weld wheels (15x6;15x8), 8.8" Rear w/ 3.55s
14 x 4” K&N air filter (getting the Xtreme setup someday)

"Red, thou art my companion. Hasten now your quickened metamorphosis to Green that I may conquer all who dare abide there beside me. May they be left thither behind burnt black." ---Fox Body

Super_Stang · 08-21-2001, 11:39 AM

I was thinking the same thing pretty much the other day.. however i decided to do something differen't and be a little crazy.. being that i am only 17 i am not going to get 2k really fast... so i got a grourp of friends together, went down the hardware store and got some sandpaper.. (80 grit, 100 grit, 220 grit and 400 grit. ) we sanded (just the ground effects ) of my car for nearly 6 hours.. i mean there were like 5 differen't color under the paint.. ANYWAY - we got it sanded super smooth and i even did a wet sand on it.. we used primer and some black and red paint and it looks pretty d@mn good for a few teens doing paint work with spray paint.

[This message has been edited by Super_Stang (edited 08-21-2001).]

MercDude · 08-21-2001, 12:54 PM

I had my '63 stripped off of all chrome, and bumpers and whatnot, took it down to maaco, got a 1000$ paint job on it (2 tone: ragoon red with white top), and 3 years later, STILL looks great! i mean, it's not a 2000$ paint job, but then again, for 1000$ it's hard to beat a paint job that's nearly flawless. i think for most people, maaco is fine especially if you care about going fast more than a super shiny paint job.

------------------
'63 Merc Meteor hardtop, warm 302, C4 auto, 2.25" Flowmaster Exhaust,
'65 289 heads - ported/chevy valves, performer cam, edelbrock f4a intake, full length hookers, 600 holley, roller rockers, k'n, 10.5:1 hyperutetic pistons... mid 13's hoping to reach into 12's

84_GT350 · 08-21-2001, 02:05 PM

The cheaper Maaco deals that you see Pete Rose advertising for are total crap. They don't strip any paint, they paint over emblems, and they use sh!tty paint. Now...with the more expensive ones there's probably some more prep work (like...dare I say it...some primer!) and maybe some better paint. But the only way you could paint a whole car for less than $200 is by doing insanely crappy work. Why not just have the hood painted to match the car? Or is the rest of the car faded? Just a thought. But stay away from Maaco.

------------------
1984 1/2 GT350 (#842 Hatchback w/ T-tops), 302HO, Comp cams Xtreme Energy cam, Carter 625cfm carb, Weiand Stealth intake, MSD distributor, MSD coil, FMS 9mm wires, 1 5/8" MAC unequal shorties, 2 1/2" MAC Prochamber H-pipe, Flowmaster 2 chambers, KYBs, 16"x8" 4 lug Cobra Rs, Falken 245/45ZR16s

"I made the turn at 108,
And he was up on my back gate,
And I knew he had something bad,
Underneath that hood.
So I pushed it up to 110,

Chipdog · 08-21-2001, 05:36 PM

I dont think i could get the hood painted to match unless they came out with a new color called faded-cracked-and-keyed. The whole thing needs it bad.

From what I am getting from you guys is that they suck in prep work but if I do it myself I dont see how they could do that bad of a job. I wonder if I could bring my own paint?

How much prep would I need to do? Sand the whole thing, Pull all the lights, remove all the trim, tape everything up?

Unit 5302 · 08-21-2001, 10:11 PM

I've seen several cars painted by MAACO. If you bring them a car to have a $189 job done, you get a $189 job. Don't have them do the bodywork, that will seriously set you back as they aren't cheap when it comes to that. I've seen a $500 MAACO job, and it looked pretty damn good. I've seen a $200 job and it looked okay. Better than before anyway.

dinomite · 08-21-2001, 11:17 PM

mustangbelle is getting a maaco job and doing the prep work herself, she might have some input. i'd say that an off color hood doesn't look to bad, so i'd say keep it and get fast parts!

[This message has been edited by dinomite (edited 08-22-2001).]

BowTie Eater 5 Liter · 08-22-2001, 12:01 AM

I Really Dont Like How Macco Doesnt Prep the cars, they use low-grade paint & clear(if any clear is used). Maby im just pickey, but i work at a bodyshop and have seen ther unsatisfied customers come & get the paintjob re-done after 5 months. the paint was flaking off of the car, & the whole car had to be reprepped, primered, sanded & then painted.

Just My Opinion

------------------
1988 Mustang GT, T-5
3.08's, No Smog Pump (Shorty Belt), Dumps At The End Of Stock H-Pipe, K&N Air Filter (Stock Air Box), Removed Air SilencerMy Stang
My Site (Not Done Yet)

Skyman · 08-23-2001, 02:58 AM

Sorry guys, but Maacco is fine.

Ive pained 3 cars there, 2 on the cheapo paint jobs, and they look fine a year later.

My stang got the $500 job, and its still in great shape. I didnt get sprayed over, and they did all the prep work, and they baked it afterwards.

I figure get a cheap paint job every year or two, and that way if someone keys it, or you get it scratched up you dont care cuz its a cheap job and you can get it done again.

Skyler

------------------
-1989 Saleen Mustang #406-
TFS TW Heads, E-303, Edelbrock intake, 70mm TB, 73mm MAF, 24lb injectors, 1 5/8 shorties, Off Road H, 3 Chamber flows, Jaz Race seats, Back seat removed, sub-frames, Roll Cage, and a 80 shot of N20.
12.54@107.4 Motor
332RWHP, 350rwtq

08-21-2001, 07:03 AM	#1
Chipdog Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Miami,Fl USA Posts: 297	Maaco paint job if I do some work? I have been driving around with a white hood on my back mustang for almost a year. I dont see myself getting an extra 2k to get the entire car painted and belive me the whole thing needs it. If for some strange reasone I did fall into the money I would rather use it to make my baby go faster. That being said I was thinking of going to El cheapo paint shop like Maaco. I was thinking if I do all the prep work like the sanding and removing all the nonpainted items. Would it be possible to get a passable paint job? I mean they would just be sparying paint. Would it come out that bad? Any input would be great. Are ther any "How TO" pages out there or could someone go into detail on what would have to be done. Thanks Chip ------------------ 92 GT Convertible Hooker Headers, H-Pipe, Flow Masters, 4.10s, BBK 1.5 drop, 73mm Mass air, 65 FMS TB, FMS Aluminum radiator, T-5 swap with a Steeda shifter. And a Small Blow Job

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08-21-2001, 07:44 AM	#2
Dark_5.0 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Staging lane Posts: 4,337	This guy at work had his truck painted at maaco two years ago and it looked great at first he got it painted a shiney silver and it looked pretty good. Now his painted has faded to the point that it looks like primer dull as hell primer.

08-21-2001, 07:58 AM	#3
Maroon 5.0 LX Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Southern Maryland Posts: 471	You'd probably be better off getting prices from independent paint shops. Pay a little more and get a better job. Those cookie-cutter places use poor paint products and they don't usually last too long as 5.0 HO mentioned. ------------------ '89 LX 5.0 - 5 speed. Original Owner '94 E-150 4.9 Conversion Van

08-21-2001, 08:14 AM	#4
Fox Body Mustang Maniac Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: GA, U.S.A Posts: 2,266	With Maaco, the reason they are so cheap is b/c they use cheap paint and little or no prep work. And I'm not sure if they even cook the car in the oven after it's painted for as long as they're supposed to. The main thing however is the prep work. You sound like me in terms of what you would spend your money for. If good prep work is done to the car, the paint will last much longer even though it isn't as high quality as $2000 paint job paint. I have a friend who did all the sanding and primering himself and just got it sprayed over at Maaco for about $200 which included clear coat (since he did all the prep work and primering, he just paid for paint and clear coat). Over 2 years later, it still looks great. Now it is not 100% flawless, but they're the type of nicks or chips that you'd have to look for to find them--ie hardly noticeable. And for the money he paid (let's say $300 total which includes materials for his own prep work), if you're trying to save moeny, I feel it's worth it. If you did the same prep work to your hood and had them spray it, it'd probably cost you less then $100. The only thing wrong with that is that you would have fresh new black paint on your hood, but the rest of your car will be old dull paint. ----------------------------------------- 351W-powered 1979 Ford Mustang notchback Stock 5.8L under 4" cowl, C4 w/ shift kit Holley 750 cfm, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake 1 5/8" MAC shorty headers, Al driveshaft 2.5" Off road H-pipe, 2-chamber Flowmasters Front: 225/60/15, Rear: 255/60/15 Eagle GT II Weld wheels (15x6;15x8), 8.8" Rear w/ 3.55s 14 x 4” K&N air filter (getting the Xtreme setup someday) "Red, thou art my companion. Hasten now your quickened metamorphosis to Green that I may conquer all who dare abide there beside me. May they be left thither behind burnt black." ---Fox Body

08-21-2001, 11:39 AM	#5
Super_Stang Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Refugio Posts: 67	I was thinking the same thing pretty much the other day.. however i decided to do something differen't and be a little crazy.. being that i am only 17 i am not going to get 2k really fast... so i got a grourp of friends together, went down the hardware store and got some sandpaper.. (80 grit, 100 grit, 220 grit and 400 grit. ) we sanded (just the ground effects ) of my car for nearly 6 hours.. i mean there were like 5 differen't color under the paint.. ANYWAY - we got it sanded super smooth and i even did a wet sand on it.. we used primer and some black and red paint and it looks pretty d@mn good for a few teens doing paint work with spray paint. [This message has been edited by Super_Stang (edited 08-21-2001).]

08-21-2001, 12:54 PM	#6
MercDude Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: CA, US Posts: 113	I had my '63 stripped off of all chrome, and bumpers and whatnot, took it down to maaco, got a 1000$ paint job on it (2 tone: ragoon red with white top), and 3 years later, STILL looks great! i mean, it's not a 2000$ paint job, but then again, for 1000$ it's hard to beat a paint job that's nearly flawless. i think for most people, maaco is fine especially if you care about going fast more than a super shiny paint job. ------------------ '63 Merc Meteor hardtop, warm 302, C4 auto, 2.25" Flowmaster Exhaust, '65 289 heads - ported/chevy valves, performer cam, edelbrock f4a intake, full length hookers, 600 holley, roller rockers, k'n, 10.5:1 hyperutetic pistons... mid 13's hoping to reach into 12's

08-21-2001, 02:05 PM	#7
84_GT350 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Overland Park, KS, USA Posts: 1,631	The cheaper Maaco deals that you see Pete Rose advertising for are total crap. They don't strip any paint, they paint over emblems, and they use sh!tty paint. Now...with the more expensive ones there's probably some more prep work (like...dare I say it...some primer!) and maybe some better paint. But the only way you could paint a whole car for less than $200 is by doing insanely crappy work. Why not just have the hood painted to match the car? Or is the rest of the car faded? Just a thought. But stay away from Maaco. ------------------ 1984 1/2 GT350 (#842 Hatchback w/ T-tops), 302HO, Comp cams Xtreme Energy cam, Carter 625cfm carb, Weiand Stealth intake, MSD distributor, MSD coil, FMS 9mm wires, 1 5/8" MAC unequal shorties, 2 1/2" MAC Prochamber H-pipe, Flowmaster 2 chambers, KYBs, 16"x8" 4 lug Cobra Rs, Falken 245/45ZR16s "I made the turn at 108, And he was up on my back gate, And I knew he had something bad, Underneath that hood. So I pushed it up to 110,

08-21-2001, 05:36 PM	#8
Chipdog Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Miami,Fl USA Posts: 297	I dont think i could get the hood painted to match unless they came out with a new color called faded-cracked-and-keyed. The whole thing needs it bad. From what I am getting from you guys is that they suck in prep work but if I do it myself I dont see how they could do that bad of a job. I wonder if I could bring my own paint? How much prep would I need to do? Sand the whole thing, Pull all the lights, remove all the trim, tape everything up?

08-21-2001, 10:11 PM	#9
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	I've seen several cars painted by MAACO. If you bring them a car to have a $189 job done, you get a $189 job. Don't have them do the bodywork, that will seriously set you back as they aren't cheap when it comes to that. I've seen a $500 MAACO job, and it looked pretty damn good. I've seen a $200 job and it looked okay. Better than before anyway.

08-21-2001, 11:17 PM	#10
dinomite The Dude Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 1,262	mustangbelle is getting a maaco job and doing the prep work herself, she might have some input. i'd say that an off color hood doesn't look to bad, so i'd say keep it and get fast parts! [This message has been edited by dinomite (edited 08-22-2001).]

08-22-2001, 12:01 AM	#11
BowTie Eater 5 Liter Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Maple Ridge B.C. Canada, The Best Place In The World Posts: 871	I Really Dont Like How Macco Doesnt Prep the cars, they use low-grade paint & clear(if any clear is used). Maby im just pickey, but i work at a bodyshop and have seen ther unsatisfied customers come & get the paintjob re-done after 5 months. the paint was flaking off of the car, & the whole car had to be reprepped, primered, sanded & then painted. Just My Opinion ------------------ 1988 Mustang GT, T-5 3.08's, No Smog Pump (Shorty Belt), Dumps At The End Of Stock H-Pipe, K&N Air Filter (Stock Air Box), Removed Air SilencerMy Stang My Site (Not Done Yet)

08-23-2001, 02:58 AM	#12
Skyman I need 110mph Trap Speed! Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: So, CA Posts: 4,315	Sorry guys, but Maacco is fine. Ive pained 3 cars there, 2 on the cheapo paint jobs, and they look fine a year later. My stang got the $500 job, and its still in great shape. I didnt get sprayed over, and they did all the prep work, and they baked it afterwards. I figure get a cheap paint job every year or two, and that way if someone keys it, or you get it scratched up you dont care cuz its a cheap job and you can get it done again. Skyler ------------------ -1989 Saleen Mustang #406- TFS TW Heads, E-303, Edelbrock intake, 70mm TB, 73mm MAF, 24lb injectors, 1 5/8 shorties, Off Road H, 3 Chamber flows, Jaz Race seats, Back seat removed, sub-frames, Roll Cage, and a 80 shot of N20. 12.54@107.4 Motor *332RWHP, 350rwtq*