Secret to a good Maaco paintjob

[mbmbmb23]

Here are the options available from Maaco (taken from their website):

THE BASICS
A clean, fresh look to help sell your car faster and keep the cost down.

SMART VALUE
A new look and durable finish for the older car--and a great way to economize.

VALUE PLUS
Excellent gloss and color with added durability for the family car you depend on--and plan to keep.

THE WORKS
Exceptional depth, gloss, color and state-of-the-art durability for the vehicle that’s more than a means of transportation.

PER YOUR REQUEST
Superior customized attention to detail, quality and durability in every respect--for late-model and classic car owners who want to duplicate that "factory look."




WTF is "Per Your Request"?? So it looks like you actually have to TELL them to make it look nice and not to screw it up.....if thats infact what you want.

Reading down the option list I get to "VALUE PLUS"...and how it mentions "....and plan to keep". So basically the 2 options before "VALUE PLUS" are garbage if you plan on keeping the car (as most of us are).


I already knew Maaco was fishy, but I thought I'd post this so people were aware of the "PER YOUR REQUEST" option....which clearly states you must tell them EXACTLY what you want and how you want it....otherwise they will cut corners.



-m

[gh6o6]

go to a repuitable paint shop - dont bother with that bull shit chain store crap. any place that has a order for a paint job your not going to keep should be shut down

[andrave]

if you do all the prep work and just have them spray it, and you sand between coats, you can get it done right.
but for that much work you can probably have a more reputable place paint it

[matlock]

Yeah I have heard some wild stuff about maaco, like sprayoff on door handles and windows and stuff. Or them not painting dorjambs and whatnot, not sure if its true but after reading this I wouldn't doubt it haha. Like when they have basically a quality scale for a workorder with it being pure shit to decent, but for the "factory look" I am sure they charge you an arm and a leg when you could go to a real shop and get it done right. I don't wanna go to a paint store where I have to hold their hand, I call it a paint store because it is hardly a body shop. I have been looking to get my car painted, and i will be honest a maaco job crossed my mind but I am glad I decided for myself they aren't reputable.

[driftstyre]

I'm not looking to get burned here but I have seen some pretty decent paint jobs come out of maaco for the money put in. Their equiptment is pretty much the best in the industry and it all comes down to the individual painting the car. For those without a show car, unless you have connections at a legit body shop, there is no where else you can get a "decent" paint job for under 1K. If you do the prep work yourselves you really can't loose. Prep is the most labor and if you can eliminate that labor, throw a $200 tip the guy's way and you will come out with a decent paint job (thats probably going to get f-ed up anyways if you're competing in some sort of racing/drifting) for around $500. (At least this applies in the Boston area)

[andrave]

thats a very valid point for me, lol if I cared about my car's paint it would end up getting resprayed every other year anyway.
thank god for autozone's silver frost, its close enough for me.

[zombieman]

my auto shop teacher back in high school told me maaco "COULD" do a good job...only if you sand down the car yourself....or else there lazy ass will just paint of the paint you already have...

and i knew this one dude who got his mustang 5.0 painted baby blue at maaco..he paid a grand for it and it came out pretty good.

[weirdstyles.net]

<-- x-employee @ a body shop

Look homies, any shop can suck. Macco's are individually owned and operated so if your sux that doesnt mean they all do. I have seen SHOW cars roll out the door from my local Macco. Its all in the owner.

Workin at a body shop teaches you a few things...

1) All painters do coke
2) Anyone can paint, its the prep that counts
3) Dont do drugs.

Your right, if you do your prep and sanding, Macco can lay down some decent paint at base price. However, always trust your car to THE shop. The one that all the kids talk about, the one your father told you to go to, the one the mechanic takes his 69 Nova to... THAT shop.

Macco does great business cause their prices are ROCK bottom and the average consumer doesnt see some of the things we know/can.

*word*

[Anubis]

I agree with weirdstyles.net totally. Maacos are independent. Some are great and some suck. I've had 2 cars painted there previously and they were great for the money.

[Jeff240sx]

Cheaper, shoddier maaco's use a spray-on sander... which basically pits your existing paint, and then lay down some primer right on top. It's those places that you do the sanding yourself on. Paint is basically paint. It adds color and needs to be waxed, some more often than others. Like said before, it's all in the prep work.
-Jeff

[s14xman]

I like how they laid out the paint options. They are strieght forward and tell you exactly what to expect. Besides most o f the people that go to macco dont really care as much about their cars as much as some of us do.

[S13Nissan240SX]

I just had MAACO do a lot of work for me and I'm happy with the results. I paid for their best job and I had them do a lot of body work too. The job isn't flawless by any means, but as a whole I'd say it's pretty good. I had them do the following:

1. Remove a few dents
2. Remove my side markers
3. Remove my antenna
4. Apply a base coat and clear coat.


Best wishes,
Matt

[tchenku]

if you do all the prep work and just have them spray it, and you sand between coats, you can get it done right

I have no experience in auto paint but... you sand between coats of paint?

I had thought that what people meant by prep+sanding your car yourself before taking it to MAACO/Peach just meant sanding off the old paint, primer the car, and smooth down the primer...

[andrave]

wet sanding between coats, yeah...
don't have to do it, its probably better to let them throw a few thing coats on then wet sant it with really fine grit, then let them clear it.

[91CRXsiR]

hey Matt any pics of yout Macco job, i always wanted to see what thier work would look like.

[DriftMonkey]

thast basically wut u have to do, u have to watch make sure u tell them that u want the utmost care taken and basically baby them through the process..i know people who have had the job done and u can see the paint running in certain spots and others who took the time to prep their own car and basically be on Maaco's cse about the paint and it came out good.

[Sanchi]

:confused: see this is funny alot of ppl talk about Maaco and their cruddy rep. But i have not only never seen a Maaco paintjob (... im sure i have on alot of civics) but i do not know anyone that has gone there. They dont have much of an advertizement, alot of word of mouth... but its all bad how the fwk do they stay in buisneiss?!?!?!?

[S13Nissan240SX]

Originally posted by 91CRXsiR
hey Matt any pics of yout Macco job, i always wanted to see what thier work would look like.

I tried to upload a picture but since I attached the picture in another recent post, it won't let me do it again. If you want to see it though, either just email me or look for a post called 'Blue and Silver 2 toned'.

If anyone knows a way for me to link that post to this one, just let me know and I'll do it. If anyone wants to email me I'll be happy to send it to you.

---Matt

[S13Nissan240SX]

I guess I could just do this:

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?s=&threadid=40675&highlight=Blue+and+Silver

It's early and I'm not thinking. If you scroll down in the post you can see where I attached the image. If anyone is seriously considering a MAACO job and would like to see some pictures of the things they did well or not so well, just let me know.

Best wishes,
Matt