Cheap paint jobs????

[bigchevy74]

Im looking to get my 74 painted but dont want to spend $$$$$.....has anybody gone to maco to get there truck panited and if so how much do they cost and is it worth it....thanks

[1979C20]

My buddys' parents took there 78 camaro to Maaco and got it painted for like 650. They let the paint run, when they removed trim the bent the body, and they chipped the paint before they even gave the car back.

[bigchevy74]

hey thanks....it looks like ill do it myslef i just dont have the room do you know if theres a place like them that do cheap paint jobs and a fast turn around?

[big bear]

everywhere will have there up and down opinions.

[1980c10]

The best thing to do is talk to the shop; ask them to see some recent work. let them know what you like and don't like, talk money and go from there.
Most of the high volume shops will add or remove services depending on what you want to pay for.

[69byrd]

Just remember you get what you pay for

[VileZambonie]

Just remember you get what you pay for

This

[Dr_Snooz]

I got my '89 Accord painted at Maaco and am very pleased with the result.

Before:



After:



The shops are franchises and the quality can vary widely depending on the shop doing the painting. I got a good shop. They steered me away from the cheapest paint job as well as the most expensive. They painted it (no body work done or needed) for just under $700. You can see from the pics that it is a gigantic improvement over the Fresno sun-destroyed paint I had before. The car looks nice now. It's not perfect. There is overspray in a couple places and poor taping got paint along the edges of a lot of trim. I may have found a run and a couple fish eyes at some point, but I couldn't now tell you where they are. So no, it's not a perfect paint job, but it's an acceptable paint job. If you want to win at car shows, don't go to Maaco. If, however, you don't want to be embarrassed every time you pull in for gas and don't want to spend a fortune in the process, then Maaco's a heck of a deal. My car was painted in Sept. 2008 and the After pic was snapped last week. The paint job is 3 years old now and holding up reasonably well, though the car has spent a lot of time in the garage. I will note, however, that on the roof there are some plastic seam covers where tiny bits of the new paint are flecking off. I suspect they didn't prep that area quite like they should have. Is that a problem? Yes. Do I want my old paint back? Oh no. I have stopped going to automated car washes to keep the paint from getting stressed out and beat on. I'm not terribly worried about it honestly. Someday I will do a full frame-up restoration on the car. At that time, I'll have the body media blasted and I'll paint it right. Until then, I don't have an ugly eyesore in my driveway. I have a nice little car and no one knows it was painted by Maaco unless I tell them. They just see a nice car and wonder how I've kept it looking so nice. LOL

I'll second 1980c10 though; ask to see examples of the shop's work before committing to a paint job. If they look like garbage, keep shopping.

[80stepsideguy]

Good paint jobs arent cheap cheap paintjobs arent good.

thanks
pat

[DustyRusty]

I agree with the others.  Something else to ask the shop about:  Find out if they will give you a better rate if you remove the trim, bumpers, turn signal lenses, tail and head lights, grill, door handles, mirrors, etc.  You likely will save a little on the labor cost 'cause the shop doesn't have to spend so much time carefully masking around these items.  You will probably get a better paint job since some trim items won't have overspray on them.  Also, you can help to avoid some paint problems by properly cleaning your truck beforehand of any waxes, especially if you've been using a silicon wax.  Point is:  Talk to the shop about what you can do to make the job less costly to you and still have it turn out nice.  One other thing:  Some shops won't guarantee their work if you start doing body work to it or put it in primer because that hides things.   They do the top coat w/o warranty for obvious reasons.  You may do perfect work but they don't know that.  Not saying don't do some of your own work.  There are reputable shops that will do the topcoats over your bodywork and primer.  Communcate!

My $ .02

Rusty

[Blazin]

Good paint jobs arent cheap cheap paintjobs arent good.

You get what you pay for.

[Skunksmash]

What if your truck needs all manner of bodywork done to it? My truck has more than its fair share of dents and dings, along with some deep gouges into the metal. And the paint is utterly destroyed by the texas sun. Looks far worse than that picture of the honda accord.

[beastie_3]

Its best to do most of the work yourself. doing the body work is generally cheap since its mostly labor.

[Skunksmash]

Well, most of the time you hear the bodyman complain about previous work that has been done.

[beastie_3]

i dont think macco will care ha.