Anyone have any paint work done by Maaco?

My Girlfriends 69 Camaro was painted by macco 5 years ago for $850 (previous owner had it done) Take a look at the pics in my sig- Not bad at all for $850.

Previous owner told me that he had to have them re-do it immediatly after it was done though because it was very poor the way it first came out. Looks great now though!

You will get all kinds of replys on this. I will tell you where I see it after being in the autobody/paint business for about 25 years and dealing with a number of "McPaint" shops (MACCO, Miricle, Earl Shieb).

I have NEVER had a job that I would be proud of done by them. What they can do is get the car all one color, period. They are NOT owned by bodymen or anyone in the business, those guys open thier own shops. They don't need to buy a franchise. The "McPaint" shops are owned by retired people or investers. Not that this is so bad, it really isn't, I just thought I would mention that.

I have been LIED to by them, balled face LIED to. I have had them paint the car the wrong color, paint rubber or chrome with NO masking.

They do have a purpose, if you REALLY need to get something painted that you don't give a crap about, they are perfect. Quality paint materials alone will cost you about $500.00 to $750.00 for a car. The "McPaint" shops charge less than that for the whole job! That should give you an idea of the quality paint used as well as quality of work.

This is the trick to using them, set your expectations VERY, VERY low. Then when you go to pick it up, you won't be "that" disapointed.

By the way, if you paint a car with ANY "classic" value, you will cut the value of that car by a LOT by having them McPainted.

Tom.....whats on your mind.......... :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Thanks Ben, looks great.

Base coat and clear coat it looks like. I can't find anyone around me that won't charge $5k and more to do an older car and 2 of the guys are friends who do awesome work they won't even do it for any money.

Thats cuz all the "body shops" are making a killing doing insurance work, they don't want to take anything on that will actually take some time and effort,unless you have lots of time,they say a month,,turns into 6,,,then 9,,then a year. I'm about ready to go to Earl Schieb myself,just to get one color on it...lol, actually I've found a couple around here that will tackle mine for 1500-2000.

By the way, the car the have sitting out front (they ALWAYS have a nice car out front) is NOT like how your's will come out. That is owned by one of the painters and NOT like the shop EVER does.

I have also found that their "high end" $1500.00 or $2000.00 job is only ever so slightly better than their $500.00 job.

Originally posted by mc71454:
Thanks Ben, looks great.

Base coat and clear coat it looks like. I can't find anyone around me that won't charge $5k and more to do an older car and 2 of the guys are friends who do awesome work they won't even do it for any money. Thanks, i was truely amazed after the last owner told me who painted it. I didn't ask, but i beleive he did all the bodywork and prep ahead of time.

2 things to keep in mind though

1. The car does not have a clear coat on it- i'm pretty sure its just a basic 1 color job.

2. At the previous owners insistance they had to re-do the whole car again immediatly after because the first time sucked real bad.

Personally I would not take a car to them unless i had done all the prep work ahead of time, and planned to do the finish work after the paint is sprayed- Also I would assume the work would be less than super quality.

The camaro does look great and i do get compliments on the paint specifically, and people are amazed when i tell them it was painted by macco- but i think this car is an exception to the rule...

I want to make something clear. I don't mean to bashing them so badly. I know there must be some good ones out there. I am just speaking from MY experiance. I have personally dealt with a number over the years, maybe ten times. Out of those ten all I can say is I got my moneys worth about half the time. But it came with lots of head aches, and few redos. The other half of the time, it was not even worth the little money they charged. The worse part was the dishonestly. Being told a price, then changing their story. Being told a product, then changing thier story.

I understand that most "real" bodyshops are doing bread and butter collision repair. It is very hard to get a "middle of the line" job. But there is ALWAYS somewhere. I have a shop in my area that paints decent jobs for about $1200.00. It is a far side better than anything I have ever seen from a McPaint shop.

Thanks for the replies. I am selling a '72 Skylark (see the pics in the member classifieds) that needs some paint on a GS/GSX Hood and GSX spoilers I have and the roof and trunk. If I don't sell the car I am going to take a $1000 chance with it in the spring and make the 455 GSX Clone I intended to.

I have had 2 Maaco jobs over the years, one on a '68 Camaro and the other on a '74 442. The 442 was black urethane and was nothing short of awesome. Won best paint at several shows. The key is DO YOUR OWN PREP WORK!! Let them spray it and no more. Martin is right about most of the shops, but the one in my town was enthusiast owned and the painter was GOOD. I have heard that some will use your materials so that you can up the quality. My Camaro was acrylic enamel ina metallic and was a nice finish with no tiger striping.

If you are looking to just have Maaco spray it and do your own prep work why not do the same with a painter who is good? I know some shops will even rent booth time. Heck why not play general contractor and hire someone to prep it and do bodywork and then hire the painter etc. Hire them by the hour and go from there. It seems you can always find a decent bodyman and painter looking for some side work.

my Dad's truck had a real good prep, but the paint JOB sucked. The paint is good quality and spray job is good, but the taper must have been blind in one eye and crosseyed in the other with 6 missing fingers on each hand.
My chevelle was done by 1 Day Paint and Body. I am satisfied exept for the rust they "fixed" is now coming back and the paint is peeling around the rear marker lights, under the headlights, and the lower front of the quarter panels. pretty good for $1200 I guess. :rolleyes: (this is after 2 1/2 years). I'd rather do it my self as a learning expiriance, but I don't think I could matck the tape job 1 Day did. I still marvel at my stripes on the hood and deck! :eek:
Zac :D

We have a good Maaco here locally..I do my own bodywork/prep,plus I "cut in" all the door jambs,under the hood,etc. myself.All they have do to do is spray it..stick with single stage urethane too.When I send a car to them,theres nothing on it..no bumpers,door handles,etc. NOTHING And believe me,I've sold cars for 15K that had Maaco paint jobs on them-they've come out that good..just don't tell anyone Maaco painted it ;) you only admit Maaco painted it if it comes out crappy :D
(and I've never had that happen) My 68 Cutlass convertible I had painted by a reputable bodyshop my cousin works at..single stage Glasurit 22,and again,all they had to do was mask off the top and the glass,and paint it.They charged me $500,same as Maaco,but Maaco doesn't use Glasurit!

I've used One Day and their work isn't that bad if you aren't going to nit pick. The paint has held up over 3 years on more than one vehicle. They guarantee against peeling paint unlike the Earl who does not. I would not go to ES because of thier lack of guarantee against peeling paint. If that occurs, the entire vehicle needs to be sanded the next time.
http://www.1daypaint.com/

My '70 had a "Mcpaint" job on it when I bought it for my restoration/clone project. It had a thick gooey layer of "green goo" someone called paint. It took me many weeks to strip that "goo" from the body so that I could put an acceptable base (epoxy primer) on the car for my base coat clear coat. As the guys said before, supply the product to the shop and let them shoot it, but don't let them apply that "Super Delux Diamond Gloss" Earl Scheib garbage or you will regret it. ;)

Very interesting! A fellow told me that if you did the bodywork and masking on it, Maaco has some of the better painters around because they do so many cars a day. Very experienced. That was his view.

I bought my Jeep CJ in 1983 when I was 15. I drove it for a few years and finally got tired of fighting the rust issues. I finally bought one of those fiberglass body kits. I put that on and had Maaco paint it for me. They did a fantastic job on my Jeep. I had the Jeep from 1983 until 1997 and the paint job held up like a champ. I probably wouldn't take my Chevelle to them for a paint job but they did do a great job on my Jeep.

Thanks,

Keep em coming... smile.gif

I had my Chevelle done by Maaco last year, and am very satisfied with the results. I did a lot of checking around prior to painting. My first option was the shop that did my MG. This is a high end shop that does really nice resto work, they quoted my $6-10k with no major bodywork, and me stripping all the trim, interior, glass and vinyl top. Similar quotes from a couple other shops. I wanted a driver, not a show car I'd be afraid to drive around, so I started looking at Maacos. We have several in the area, a few I looked at I wouldn't trust- One even had a dirt parking lot and clouds of dust drifting into the facility! The one I settled on is owned by an enthusiast, although he is a mustang guy. He paints all the local Mustang club's daily drivers, but not their show cars. I spent a lot of time with the owner and the painter explaining what I wanted, and what I expected. I did all the prep work and brought them a bare shell, they did the painting, but I was required to be there to approve the masking prior to painting the stripes (once the paint is on it's too late). Paint is PPG base coat/clear coat Patriot Blue (2001 Chrysler color) and the stripes are base/color/clear Diamond Pearl (2001 Cadillac color). There are a couple small flaws, but like I said I'm not trying for a show car. Total cost was $1400, and took about a week. Compare this to $4500 and 6 months it took to do my MG.

Final note: If I ever build a show car, I am going back to the better shop. The bodywork on the MG was straight as an arrow, and the paint was absolutely flawless.

Here's my take on the subject as applied to Chevelles and classic cars in general:

First and most important when approaching this subject, we must remember that everyone has their own personal views of quality and acceptance of what constitutes a 'nice' paint job.

For some, an even coat of color that is smoother than their living room wall is nice. The car is shiney now. For a while anyway and probably nicer than it was before paint.

For automotive afficinados with a life-long love affair with above average cars, a finish must be slick smooth, color sanded and buffed. A finish that will last and endure everday use for years to come. Afterall, we love these cars. We demand a noticably better finish than any economically minded shop that sprays $20 a gallon goo can ever produce.

Then there are bodymen, painters and the cradle to grave restoration hobbyiest. Many of 'US' that are active in this forum, fall into this catagory. We are the ones that have been there and done that many times over. We detest having sand, let alone remove the layers of cheap, thick crap that was sprayed over our beloved cars. The lack of care, aptitude and total disregard for quality, frankly, pisses us off. If someone would pay $500 to paint a car, they would probably be OK with Bondo over duct tape for bodywork and rattle can primer for a substrate. graemlins/clonk.gif Bad tape lines with overspray on door handles and locks. UURRGGHH! :mad:
A cheap enamal McPaint (Thanks for the term, Brian) job also keys us off :eek: to a car that has probably had more than one short cut taken in the processes of making the car what it is today. A car to steer clear of unless it is being sold way cheaper that it should be.
Then, only then, may we even consider buying one of these plastic coated cars. And it still pisses us off that we have remove all of that crap. A slightly rusty, bare steel surface would be better to start with.

There are exceptions to every rule. I could easily imagine a good paint job could slip out of one of these goo factories. A quality product could be applied over a well prepped car by an experienced hand behind the gun, instead of the $500 55 gallon drum of what they call paint. Then someone took the time to color sand and buff it. But that scenerio only exists in my imagination. I've never seen it happen.

In short, a McPaint job on a classic car is the eptiome of short-sightedness and being cheap.

For automotive afficinados with a life-long love affair with above average cars, a finish must be slick smooth, color sanded and buffed. A finish that will last and endure everday use for years to come. Afterall, we love these cars. We demand a noticably better finish than any economically minded shop that sprays $20 a gallon goo can ever produce.


There are exceptions to every rule. I could easily imagine a good paint job could slip out of one of these goo factories. A quality product could be applied over a well prepped car by an experienced hand behind the gun, instead of the $500 55 gallon drum of what they call paint. Then someone took the time to color sand and buff it. But that scenerio only exists in my imagination. I've never seen it happen.I had my car (1966 El Camino) painted at Miracle, complete color change (door jambs and stock wheels, bed). Total cost under $500 (I think actually under $400, but this was back in 1994).

The car placed second in its class (at least 15 other cars) at Kool April Nites show in Redding (a big show), and even after 3+ years still looked good enough that people asked who did the paint (and they were SHOCKED when the heard it was a miracle job).

Okay, so I did do ALL the prep (removed all the chrome and weatherstripping, and fixed a few minor imperfections), so they really didn't have to do any body work. just sealer and color.

There were a few minor blemishes that needed to be repaired after ( one run on the lower door, etc).

The previous paint was very nice and very straight, but from driving it, I recieved a few chips, and one gash on the 1/4 panel, hence the repaint, as I was selling and wanted it to look good.

Sure my car is probably an exception to most cars done at the McPaint shops.

a McPaint job on a classic car is the eptiome of short-sightedness and being cheap. I do agree that many (if not most) of these cars are probbaly hiding shoddy bodywork and maybe countless other previous paintjobs.

But if you are looking for just a paint job (I wouldn't let these guys do any prep work beyond the basic) for a driver (even a nice driver), I don't see a problem.

Sure their Cheap jobs use the cheap "goo" but you can also ussually specify higher quality products (at an additional cost).


For automotive afficinados with a life-long love affair with above average cars, a finish must be slick smooth, color sanded and buffed. A finish that will last and endure everday use for years to come.Being a true automotive afficinado and a huge enthuthiast, I do love a great looking car. BUT spending $$$ for a daily driver that will get chips and blemishes from normal (if even somewhat infrequent) use.

No reason why the McPaint job can't be "slick smooth, color sanded and buffed".


Although, if you were really just going for paint-only, then it might not be too much more money finding a shop that would do just the paint.

So what am I saying? I am not really sure...

You CAN get a decent paint job at the McPaint shops, but usually, you get what you pay for.

So my vote would be "for" the McPaint, if the body is looking good, but just needs some fresh color, and you are willing to do some prep...

IF you do ALL the prep, body work, priming, etc, Maaco WILL spray the vehicle using YOUR paint. They WILL insist that everything be supplied from the same product line...primer, reducer, color coat, etc. These guys paint about 14 cars a day and can turn out a very nice paint job IF that's all they have to do. Also, a few bucks in the painter's hand will help! ;)

A friend of mine had his old 51 Chevy painted black by one of those places (not Maaco) and they did all the prep work.
It only took two or three days and it still looked great five years later.

Several other people I know have had their car in the body shop for as long as a year or two (or more) waiting for a paint job.

I know a guy that has had his in for quite a while now and is still waiting on it to be completed. He knew in advance it will be a $10,000.00 paint job but the car will be very high dollar non driven perfect show car when it's done.

So it depends on if you what a nice looking driver or a non driver and are willing to gamble I suppose.

My earlier comments referred more to Earl Scheib more than any other "Mcpaint" shop. I too have heard some good things about Maaco and would definitely consider them for painting a car for me, but I would ask for references and ask about their paint first. Each shop is different. I would also verify which primer/paint system they intend to use. I just don't want to see anyone letting a shop spray "GUMMY GOO" all over their car. Be careful graemlins/thumbsup.gif

McPaint and Gummy Goo........You guys are killin me.

Bottom line is.......You get what you pay for or you pay for what you get.

If it was easy,everyone would be doing it.Been painting cars and bikes for 28 years and theres ABSOLUTELY nothing easy about doing it right even with the right tools and materials.Someone made the statement about materials being 1200.00 to 1400.00,to do it right with the best stuff available its more toward the 2000.00 mark from start to finish.

Originally posted by 69ssragtop:
McPaint and Gummy Goo........You guys are killin me. That's just about the only way to describe that crud if you know what I mean.... :D

True Story. Took my 67 Cutlass with a SBC 350 to the local McPaint place, Its actually called Peach, the week before Christmas in '99 for an estimate. I had done all the prep and had alot of stuff like bumpers, windshield wipers and some stick on chrome trim off the car. While everyone else in town was out buying Beanie Babys or whatever for the kiddies at Christmas this guy was starving and shot my car with his paint for $182. It still looks decent except for one place I didn't get the rust good enough and made it in Car Crafts Readers ride section in March of 02. I realize one gets what one pays for, but I drive my car and don't cry if I get a stone chip on it. At $42.50 a year so far I'm estatic over the job.

...I wasn't going to bother with a reply as there were already so many; however, I felt as though I should if for no other reason except that I have had a car ['68 Chevelle] painted by a local MAACO and I wanted to give 'em credit when/where it was due:

I did 95% of the prep work as well as delivered the car with the front clip off and in pieces. They shot it in an afternoon and I think it looked great. It cost $750 and that was around 10 years ago. I sold the car about 7 months ago and it still looked great [med blue]. The car received many awards at both Shows and Cruise-in's. I even had folks want to know who painted it....and were SHOCKED when I would tell 'em.

Like everything else, you win some and you loose some. One thing for sure: the "good" shops wanted $3K+ for the same work and I can't imagine that $2K+ more would have purchased that much better a job!

MAACO did a good job for me.

Mike O'H

The "McPaint" stores (as previously named smile.gif ), can do some decent stuff, but you DO have to keep in mind a couple of things:

(1) Decide which direction you're gonna go with the car. Is it gonna be a nice driver? Do you want anything custom? Are you just looking to have it all one color, not in primer anymore?

(2) Are you willing to take everything apart? Most of these guys do semi-decent work if they're given a blank canvas (ie they don't have to take any parts off).

(3) The car will look pretty good in the sunlight. You know, a 10footer: looks great from 10 feet away. It will look like a monkey's behind if it's under anything faintly resembling a flourescent light.

(4) Basic paint colors are good: Red, Blue, Green, White. Don't go all crazy house of colors Chameleon or anything.

If you're willing to put in the $$ and the time, there are plent of people who would LOVE to get their hands on your car.

Oh, and most body shops right now have almost no insurance work. Too many people cashing out or not fixing their damage cuz they can't afford their premiums increasing.

[ These guys paint about 14 cars a day and can turn out a very nice paint job IF that's all they have to do. Also, a few bucks in the painter's hand will help! ;) [/QB][/QUOTE]
Yeah, that's how I feel about it, and deffinitly put a few schekels in the painters pocket when no one is looking.

My dad had his 71 chevy pickup done like 8 years ago, in white. It turned out nice, but it was white. My friend recently spent over a G on a black paintjob on his integra, it turned out HORRIBLE. From what I seen/heard, its hit and miss. If you want a NICE job, don't deal with them. If you just want a quick shoot then its cool tho...

Guys,remember..the paint job isn't the hard part..its the easiest part..theres more effort in bodywork/block sanding than anything else..only thing that tops that is the color sand and buff on a bc/cc job.

Good info..And I thank all who responded...

My plans are to get the Monte painted, it has the original paint on it and the lacquer is getting very weathered and thin now and has turned into a maintenance item. It is a street driven hard and raced hard. I don't want to cry over every rock nip and chip I know I WILL get.

The same with my '72 Buick GSX Clone project, A driver car that looks good is what I am after I will get scratches and nicks, but that's expected with a driven vehicle. touch up paint and good to go....If I still have my Buick it will be a 12 second street/strip car also driven hard.

I have 2 friends that do awesome body and paint work, but they won't touch either of my cars because they don't make any money on resto projects. I can't really blame them because they have to make ends meet too. They have families to support.

Also, I am not willing to pay 5k to 8k from some of the other shops around and then wait 12 months for driver/racing cars. I can't imagine my Monte hanging around a shop for 6 to 12 months... :eek: I would have to put a 2k rev limiter chip in it.

I am willing to risk a Grand or so on a McPaint project so that's what it looks like I will be doing.

when my '69 SS ragtop is done (can you say 5 years) :eek: It will get the 6k squirt since it will be a some street mostly show car.

I need 36 hour days !!! my oldest is 8 and almost ready to learn how to sand graemlins/hurray.gif

Thanks Again...

I have had several cars painted over the years by Macco. They are great if you have a car that is straight and just needs paint. Their body work is always pretty lame but for a cheap paint job you can't beat their prices. I had a 93 firebird formula painted and the paint looked great for the 4 years I drove the car. I have seen some Maccos do good work and others look like spray cans.

Another thing to consider if you are just looking for a cheap paint job...

Do you have any VocTech Schools near you with a paint/bodyshop course?

If you do, often they will take on your car as a project over several quarters(say 6 months) and you will only have to pay for materials.

I know a guy who had his 71 442 completly taken down to the metal and redone by a local school- Its a black car and it is now ARROW straight, all rust fixed, etc etc. Very nice work, plus they had no problems with him coming in and checking out progress whenever he wanted.

Downside is, you do have to give them time, as they have to teach while the work gets done. The insructor origonaly told the guy with the 442 it could be up to a year- but it turned out to only be about 6 or 7 months.


Definitely an option to check out!