Anyone ever goto Maaco?

[thawolfman]

I've got a '92 Prelude, and the body is in great condition but the paint looks like sh!t, and I've been thinking about getting it painted. I don't want to go all out and get an expensive job on it since I don't know how long I'm going to have the car for...Has anyone ever gone to Maaco and gotten the cheap paint job (It's like the $200 dollar special I think) or any paint job from them at all?

-wolf-

 

[Thegonagle]

What color is it, and what is wrong with the paint?

 

[thawolfman]

Red (R81 is listed on the inside of the door I believe) The side mirrors, front & back bumper are both faded to a very dull red, almost pink color, the hood & roof are pretty scratched up and so are both bumpers, I mean the car looks alright from a distance (aside from the faded parts) but it's kinda blah close up. I'd go snap some pics if it wasn't 11:50pm

 

[Thegonagle]

I'd try buffing it with a buffer first, then a coat of wax. Repeat 1-2 times per year. You might be happy enough with the results that you forget about a new paint job.

Sorry, I don't know anything about Maaco. If you still think you need new paint, I'd try asking a more reputable shop, like Abra if they're in your area, how much their paint job is, what it gets you, and what Maaco skips/skimps on at their price. If you call a couple of the collision shops located by a strip of auto dealers, you could probably get a very good idea if the $200 paint job is any good.

 

[ZeroBurn]

give me $100, i'll have my little brother go at it with his crayons, you'll save money and it'll look better

don't use that maaco crap unless that's what you feel your car is.

my friend's got a 92 'lude who's saving up for a new paintjob. thing is it'll probably cost him almost the cost of the car to repaint, bleah

 

[thawolfman]

Is his VTEC? Mine's not so I don't even know if it's worth it to get it painted....I'll just try what Garfang said and see how that turns out

 

[AlwaysWong]

Well, if you ask a reputable shop, then they will try to sell you on their low-end $1000 paint job. Anyway, I've never seen a good paint job for under $2000. I had my POS Accord painted at Earl Scheib for a couple hundred and it was garbage. I mean, if you think you're going to keep your car for another 2-5 years or so, then sure, the $200 Maaco job may be right for you. It makes your car look shiny and pretty sharp from 1/2 a block away. But, up close, the paint will look like crap and your car won't be masked correctly or even sanded before hand (they might say they sand, but for 200, I doubt they will). At Scheib, they even painted over the edges of my glass and even my windsheild wipers. So, for $200, you definitely get what you pay for.

 

[ZeroBurn]

no it's not, he loves it to death though. he almost crucified me for moving it one time

 

[Ns1]

seriously, you get what you pay for

and don't diss the h23a, that thing has massive amounts of torque

my friend's red lude (92) looks great, best 10 year old <30k car i've ever seen


any half assed paintjob is gonna set you back 2k ^_^

might as well just leave your ish faded if you don't really care about it ^_^

 

[deus79]

My brother in law worked at Macco.If you want a cheap paint job It's not a bad place, But if you want the paint to stick I would sand the car down myself. If they cand hit it with the electric sander it dont get done and the paint will chip right back off

 

[Thegonagle]

If you're going to try my suggestion, I'll tell you the products that worked for me. I bought a 7 inch Craftsman buffer, but it's a little weak at only 0.5 Amps (120 Volts), so I would look for one just a little more powerful. I also bought a bunch of cotton buffer pads. Get like 10, they're washable, but they gunk up while you're using them, so it's nice to change them, especially on the final wax.

The most important product was the Meguier's swirl remover. It will polish that oxidation right up. Then I used Meguier's High Tech Yellow Wax for the final polish/shine/protection/water beading. I think you can use any wax you want, but that yellow stuff worked for me.

They will have products that are supposed to remove oxidation, but they're quit harsh, and I don't believe they're necessary. The Swirl remover will most likely do a fine job.

Good Luck.

 

[Chipster]

I got a maaco paint job on one of my older cars 3 months ago and I was in the same position as you were in which my cars finish was unbuffable and pretty well cooked .

I brought it down to Maaco and 2 days later my car was finished and all shiny again. I'll tell you,they did a very good job for 200 bucks and I would go back again if If I get another older car with a lousy finish that I dont' want to dump alot of cash into.

It certainly isn't perfect and yes if you go close you'll see some imperfections but It was 200 bucks and it looked so much better than before.

I went there cause a close friend who just had a 1300 dollar paint job done by a local shop on one of his cars then had a Maaco job done on his other older car (the higher package though /$450) and they almost looked the same quality wise.

I'm sure it varies from shop to shop reguarding the quality but just take a ride down to the shop and see some of there finished jobs.

One thing though:if your finish is extremly bad and actually really rough to the feel,you may want to consider having them strip it. I actually did it myself on my trunk using Citristrip and the paint just falls off with that stuff but its messy.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Better make sure your car is clean when you take it in cause I have seen on peoples cars where they painted right over dirt

 

[thawolfman]

Don't get me wrong, I love the car as it's my first, but I just don't know if I really want to get it painted...Plus up in connecticut we have harsh winter/harsh summer so I dunno how long it'll hold up in this weather, especially since I have no garage for it...I'll give it a wash and wax once spring hits, and see how that looks, then maybe I'll go the way of the buffer

Thanks for the advice so far guys

 

[BooneRebel]

Maaco will give you $200 worth of a paint job. It's decent enough, but if you want it to look good do some prep work first. Remove -everything- that you don't want to see paint on (trim, wipers, etc.) before getting there, put on some old wheels if you have them. If you have any dents or body work go ahead and prime & sand it yourself, wash everything down and use one of the degreasing washes to clean the paint really well before giving it over to Maaco.

 

[TommyWDetroit]

DO NOT go to Maaco, i've went to 3 different ones and they ALL screwed the paint job. First one, paint started peeling off 3 months after, and the lettering they stuck back on started to fall off, not to mention it was all crooked in the first place. The rest of them pretty much went the same way.

 

[randomlinh]

they did a decent job on the paint on my car.. it's lasted so far (since nov 01). I need to wash and polish it soon tho.. i haven't gotten a chance to (i did the middle choice of their services). But the quality of my car was so crappy... there's a bit of paint on my headlight (luckily my headlights are old and need to be changed or soemthing.. and it's not blocking any light at night), paint glazed all over the front dash, and A LOT OF SAND in the vents... everything was sticking, all my buttons and what not. My AC/heat fans weren't working right.. i couldn't get max for a while.. then i did and there's STILL sand in it now (i blew much of it out w/ my friends air compressor).

oh, and i left w/ STUCK REAR CALIPERS... i swear they must have gotten paint or something in them.. but i forgot to ask the place for the old calipers.. grrr.

all in all, for the cost, i guess i realize why other places want 2-3x as much.. they had better do a much better job on not screwing w/ the stuff in you car.

i didn't pay for the paint job, i honestly didn't care as bad as it was. but if you can help it, don't go.

 

[MichaelD]

<< Maaco will give you $200 worth of a paint job. It's decent enough, but if you want it to look good do some prep work first. Remove -everything- that you don't want to see paint on (trim, wipers, etc.) before getting there, put on some old wheels if you have them. If you have any dents or body work go ahead and prime & sand it yourself, wash everything down and use one of the degreasing washes to clean the paint really well before giving it over to Maaco. >>




Best advice in this thread. Well-put and to the point.

 

[Zenmervolt]

<< Well, if you ask a reputable shop, then they will try to sell you on their low-end $1000 paint job. Anyway, I've never seen a good paint job for under $2000. I had my POS Accord painted at Earl Scheib for a couple hundred and it was garbage. I mean, if you think you're going to keep your car for another 2-5 years or so, then sure, the $200 Maaco job may be right for you. It makes your car look shiny and pretty sharp from 1/2 a block away. But, up close, the paint will look like crap and your car won't be masked correctly or even sanded before hand (they might say they sand, but for 200, I doubt they will). At Scheib, they even painted over the edges of my glass and even my windsheild wipers. So, for $200, you definitely get what you pay for. >>

We have a winner. A decent paint job requires thorough washing, sanding, and priming. Maaco will not do any of those. They will just spray new paint right over the old paint, as well as over anything that happens to be on the car at the time. I knew a guy who had Maaco do a paint job and they even painted over clods of mud that were on his car. A decent paint job will set you back between $1500 and $2000, and a good to high qaulity paint job will run between $3000 and $5000 because to do it right the interior and running gear (including engine and peripheral systems) must be removed.

ZV

 

[Miramonti]

I had my car painted at a Maaco a number of years ago. First of all, it was more than the $200 etc. because I wanted them to do some body work, which you probably will too once you look very close at your car and consider that everything stands out much more on a very shiny surface.

Secondly when he told me what coats was going on it, he said "primer sealer", so I thought, excellent, I'm getting primer. But no way, it was some 'sealer' stuff and not primer, and as a result once the car got scratched in a few areas, the paint became very easy to flake off...not good.

All in all though I paid them about $800 and the car looked phenomonal. If they put some dang primer on it I would have been a much happier camper tho.

(note that when I took my car to them I had ALL windows out, no trim on the car, no headlights, no bumpers, and the fenders were even loosened to fall away from the body to get the edges better...68 bug)

 

[Ns1]

<< I'll give it a wash and wax once spring hits, and see how that looks, then maybe I'll go the way of the buffer >>



wth? you only wasy your car once a season or something???? lol

 

[tcsenter]

I can't comment personally on Maaco, but I've used Earl Scheib (sp?) once and know a few others who have used them also. I've also talked with several people here and there who have done business with one of these companies. Maaco and Scheib share the same business model, and they've both been around for a while, so I suspect they are very comparable.

I can only say this: you are NOT going to get an $1800 paint job for $199. Duh, as if I had to say that. On the other hand, if all you want them to do is shoot the color and clear coat - nothing more - and you are willing to do most if not ALL the prep yourself, you can't beat the $200 - $300 deals.

If you leave them to do the prep, they do as little as they can possibly get away with. I've seen lots of defects directly attributable to poor surface prep.

Before Sheib's painted my car, I took all the moldings, emblems, mirrors, bezels, and trim off the car myself. A friend and I knocked the finish down at least one layer of base (it was being painted the same color). We did most of the masking, leaving a few things for Sheibs (we wrote down what needed to be done), then we had it towed to the paint shop (an extra $70). There were no defects in the body like as dents or rust, at least none that I couldn't live with.

All Sheib's had to do was finish masking a few things, give the car a final wipe-down, then shoot. It turned out great, there were no defects that a little wet-sanding and polishing would not cure. The paint job was better than it left the factory with and certainly lasted longer. The car was an '87 Olds Cutlass that was made when GM was phasing in clear-coat only on certain models. Except, GM used a base coat on the car but they didn't clear-coat it! By the time I bought the car in 1992, the finish looked 20 years old.

 

[thawolfman]

<<

<< I'll give it a wash and wax once spring hits, and see how that looks, then maybe I'll go the way of the buffer >>



wth? you only wasy your car once a season or something???? lol >>



I live in New England(Connecticut)...What am I supposed to do? Wash my car in the middle of the winter?

 

[thawolfman]

bump just incase anyone missed it

 

[HappyPuppy]

Maaco has never been known for its quality paint jobs. They rank with Earl Scheib, "We'll paint any car, any color for just $29.95."