Maaco :o

[Deleted]

I'm seriously considering getting a Maaco Signature Paint job for the car I'm looking at. it needs lower quarter panels welded on (among other things), a vinyl roof put on, and a full body paint.

Anyways, does anyone know much about it? What type of paint do they use? How many coats of base and how many of clear? Any one ever gotten it before or seen one in person(Signature only)?

Also, has anyone ever gotten body work done at maaco? i know it's kinda risky, but if people have gotten good work done, then why not give it a shot. How about having a vinyl roof put on?

tell me what you think!

thanks!

[son7771]

the saying goes "You get what you Pay for"

[Deleted]

If you are considering a Maaco job, why not ask these detailed questions at the Maaco location at which you would consider painting your car?

Maaco is basically know for quick, inexpensive paint jobs. While they may do some minor dent/ding work, I have my doubts if major work such as replacing quarters is part of their normal business. Once again, you would be best served by asking about that at Maaco.

My "hunch" is that the painters at Maaco are probably pretty good at what they do. After all, they paint a lot of cars. I would suspect that the prices are cheap because they use lower quality paints and do minimal prep work....a process which may be referred to as "scuff and shoot"

My one and only experience with inexpensive body and paint work was a negative one. In hindsight...I probably got reasonably good value for what I paid for. At the time I was not particularly happy with the job.

In the end..my conclusion was that I could do bad work cheap too.

With as much body and paint reference material available, why not give doing the job yourself a shot?

Many years ago....a wise man at an upholstery shop told me..."If you are going to own those old cars, you have to learn to do as much of the work as possible"

[CDN72SE]

Yes, best to talk directly with one of the outlet's, go take a look around and as others have mentioned on various sites there are different levels of skilled and limitedly-skilled people at the various outlets. Look at pictures of their work and visit the bodyshop. There is a particular Maaco in my area that has a very good reputation and they do a lot of classics and do very good work I've contemplated taking my car there when I've got it all ready. Unless I come into a lot of money I don't think I'll be taking my car to a restoration shop that's for sure I simply can't afford it. Good luck with your decision.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the advice. I'll give them a call tomorrow and let you know.

[DynoDave]

Here's what I know of Maaco c1980 (my only personal experience with them).

I had my '70 Duster painted there. We had done some rust repairs, and replaced the hood and pass. fender.

The good news: it was all one color again.

-Had a nice gloss to it.

-The price was right.

-No runs/drips/errors.

-We did all the body work (and you could tell, but it was still better than when we took it in), removed bumpers, lights, grill, etc.

-This was my high school daily driver and the paint job was a nice improvement over what I had.

-As far as it "falling off in a couple of years", that paint is still on the car today, 30 years later. They did the surface prep (degrease, scuff, shoot). Never any chipping (out of the ordinary), peeling or cracking.

The bad news: They use Sherwin Williams paint if I recall correctly (not necessarily bad in itself). Or they did then. Not known for their automotive finishes. You will not find (most likely) another shop using these products. Makes it hard to do a direct comparison on cost/quality.

- It was a straight enamel job, not base/clear. As enamels go, it was fairly soft. Scratched easier than the factory paint.

- Mine had a ton of orange peel.

- The taped off the trim and glass, and left a few gaps that got some overspray.

- Seeing the Paint Code post in this section reminds me....they did not offer factory colors. No color matching, no paint codes,etc. My car was Rallye Red from the factory, and they offered a bright red paint that was close. Good enough for the price paid, but not "correct".

My only other experience was a friend who had a daily driver '67ish Malibu painted dark green c1995 here in Michigan. That particular store had a reputation of doing nice quality work from a craftsmanship stand point. In other words, their painter was good. Same level of prep and quality of paint, but I don't recall his having the overspray issues I did, and definitely did not have the orange peel mine did. So yes, shop to shop, quality can vary.

Don't rush into it. Ask around, go to shows and cruises and find out who people are using, what paints they are using etc. Take the time to learn and educate yourself, and you'll be able to make a better decision.

[son7771]

It is not that hard to paint and with a little practice (cheap paint, old fender, door) you could get it right and do just as good a job as them!!! You can get the spray guns at harbor frieght cheap. My dad uses these guns and it comes out just as nice as my 300$ gun. Go to a paint shop and see if the got some screw up paint in single stage and give it a try!! I am sure there are some tutorials on the web with a google search you could find them.

[canadian74se]

I wouldn't go there. I'm not sure whats a good shop around your area but as far as my knowledge goes for body shops. I would look around for a shop who mainly does older cars. They take a little more time but the paints and materials used are a bit better then a shop like maaco or other accident repair shops.

I've had my truck in for some work a few times lol great drives love finding parked trucks...anyways the paint never matches up, the filler(bondo) is cheap low grade, the cover up looks decent until you get close and the alignment is a usually off. But check prices the speedy shops will be close to the same as the speciality shops almost. Check around first get at least 5 shops quotes on what you want and need.

[71greengo]

I Have no Problems with Maaco or any other paint shop ...they can all produce the same good and bad results.....

Part of the issue is price........If you tell them you are on a budget then they will use products that match the budget...
Don't Expect PPG base Clear when you are paying for a Shirley williams paint job........I have used the shirley williams 2 stage acrylic enamel for years and had great results...

Some shops that are the specialty resto shops will only use what products they are used to getting great results from.....and they will price their work accordingly.....dont expect a bargain paint job....and yes sometimes these guys screw things up....

Ask to see some of their work and references if need be

Maaco is a franchise.....their work is as good as the Franchise owner wants it to be....Just like many Mechanical shops/tranny shops etc.....some are great and some are not

To hear people slam a certain Franchise based on one operation is crazy........Thats like saying getting bad service at a pep boys (sorry Tom ) is like saying they all will be like that..................Some Franchise owners go out of their way to be a good as they can be...based on what the customer is willing to pay for..

If you want the $199 ambassador special and expect a 10 year paint job, then you will be disappointed...I guarantee that


Learn to do as much of the grunt work as you can......If you only have so much money, farm the quarters out to a shop that will weld them on for you and prime them....
Then take the car home and finish up the rest yourself.....

If you have a place you can spray primer then do that yourself......use quality brand 2 stage stuff and keep away from the single stage primers......the paint job is only as good as its base....

So it doesnt turn out 100% the first time.......I guarantee the sense of accomplishment will make you less critical of the finished product....

There are websites for body work google them

www.autobody101.com/

Read up and don't be afraid !!

[CDN72SE]

Good suggestions GreenGo. I'll probably be on here asking questions as well when I get closer to bodywork.