Time For Some Paint

[JASONFARIA]

Hey, my car could use a a new coat of paint and im trying to decide on a color

its a 1990 ga se with tints all around. i dunno theres the ever popular black but give me some nice ideas, im taking ti to macco for cheap..anything i should be worried about from macco? im gonna get the body work done before it goes in

[graden]

if you are getting the cheepo paint from maco......sell the car right after. while it still looks good. I have heard ppl doing this and finding paint and rust spots apearing about 6 months to a year after thay got there paint job done.

[nadir]

Originally posted by graden
if you are getting the cheepo paint from maco......sell the car right after. while it still looks good. I have heard ppl doing this and finding paint and rust spots apearing about 6 months to a year after thay got there paint job done.

not really...

they sandblast your car, paint it... but it chips. I have an 89 celica that we spent $800 for a paintjob at maaco. I wash it, i notice chips. But i have warranty so I gotta make a trip, make a scene, and get it fixed immediately.

[graden]

$800 paint is not the realy cheep 1 thay offer. you spent money on a some what decint paint job. thay have that ambasitor service..... thats the real bad 1

[JoeyK]

It all comes down to what your willing to do yourself & if you can actually do a good job. The differences in thier jobs are bodywork & prep. If you do all the bodywork & prep & you do it right it'll more than likely come out decent. Notice I didn't say great, they don't pay well enough to get & keep great painters. Either way They don't purposely shoot a substandard job just because you went the cheap route. The actual paintjob will be the same w/ either level you choose. They just skimp on the prep to save money when you go lower level. Also, they are not responsible for rust spots unless you pay them to take care of the rust. & even then, no bodyshop will guaruntee you against rust for a very long period of time. Rust is just like cancer, if you've got it, it'll come back to haunt you unless you agresssivly cut the rusted areas out.

[nadir]

I had a dent on the celica that I wanted them to remove... they said that they would drill a hole in the panel and pull it out. Now the problem w/ that is the possibility of rust when doing so. I made them take the panel off and straighten it out. Plus, I dind't want them to bondo the hole back and have paint issues later on.

The prep work they did on my car was not too bad. My hood had heavy oxidation when the clearcoat finally failed... other than that, they sandblasted the entire car and painted it.

Nevertheless, the paint is chipping and it is pissin me off.

If you want to get the maaco paint job done, don't go for solid base colors... because w/o the clearcoat layer on top, you will not get the depth you are looking for. Rather, go for their metallic pearl colors... i chose gunmetal gray w/ extra pearl. It looks really good! I can post pictures of it if you like... to get the "quality" of their work.

edit:

actually, I found some pics of the car when it came right outta the bodyshop... it's missing the front bra and some other changes. but here's my old ricemobile right outta the maaco shop:

http://snow.prohosting.com/nsyed/celica/celica_day/

[JoeyK]

Well, if it's chipping they more than likely skimped on the prep. (Prob didn't sand it properly) Or they used cheap paint. Always ask what brand thier useing. as far as depth goes, regular paint only goes so far for depth. Base / clear is where you'll get most of your depth. Metalics & pearls have nothing to do with it & both are seperate components themselves. Anyone looking into Macco needs to keep in mind they will only do the work you ask for & no more. They will aslso do it thier way unless you specify otherwise & then they will charge you accordingly. I've used them before, when i was between shops ( I worked at an industrial painting factory at night & did bodywork & painting during the day for a long time). I did all my body work & prep work & specified exactly how I wanted it done & they turned out excellent. Yes, it will vary from shop to shop as different maccos have diff. painters & slightly different policies.

[tmanz13]

I had my old sunbird painted there. I think I paid around 350 or so, I can't remember, it was a nightmare. You may not have this problem everywhere, but they had it for an extra 6 days. Then they told me not to let it get wet for 4 days.. anyways..

They put the "Sunbird" Decals all in the wrong places.
There was actually tape left on the car I found when I first washed it.
It was covered with red paint dust.
Anytime I waxed it, my rag would turn red.
They didn't open the trunk to paint under the ledge so I had this stripe of old faded paint.
I guess if you're looking for a quick fix, I guess it's alright, but it's not going to look good for very long. The one here wasn't very nice when I called about the problems and all they offered was a coupon to get it washed in a car was. haha.. yeah just what I want to do, but a new paint job through an automatic car wash...


sorry for the rant :O

[JoeyK]

Ya, that's one of thier problems, you really shouldn't put anything back on that paint untill it's cured all the way. (emblems, etc.) Also they don't paint under hoods, trunks, doorjambs, etc. unless you specify & then it costs more. You really should refrain from washing any paintjob for 4 to 7 days, depending on whether it was baked & if it's in a warm climate. Most paint manufacturers will state that waxing is not recommended for several weeks.
All in all, if your looking for a top notch job, don't go to Macco. You get what you pay for - they are the biggest examples of that/ hence thier different paint service levels. If you looking for a good job at a low price & are not too picky they may be for you. it just depends on what you expect out of it. I mean you're not going to get a $2,000 paintjob for 350 to 800 bucks.