I talked to a guy yesterday about painting my chevelle at maaco. Ok, stop laughing!:D
It seems they have painted serveral hot rod/restorations. People dod most of the body work and let them prime, block,& paint base coat/clear.

I like the fact that they "bid the job" actually itemize every step and give a price in writing. They showed me some pics of some of the previous work and it looked very nice from the pics.

My question is this is there anything I should be aware of in this type of deal? Thanks in adavance.

Yeah do the prep work yourself and supply the better paint and primers.
As with anything you get what you pay for. Runs and sags are however free.
But hey you never know, their might just be a high quality maaco shop in your area.
Just don't expect a 4-8k paint job.
I did work at one of their shops 20 yrs ago first getting into painting and the painter was outstanding.
Supplying your own paint will yeild a better paint job, and last much longer.

The main problem I've seen with these quicky and cheap paint job shops is the preparation. They do it fast and and the end result shows up when its time to pick the car up. I have seen decent paint jobs as far as the paint itself. But you can see many spots were they just didn't take there time on PREP. If they take there time and do a very good prep job you could end up with a respectable paint job. It's PREP, PREP, PREP... good luck..

thanks for the feedback. They said they would paint underside of hood,trunk, inside door jambs.
I got to thinking last night.... I hope that means they will remove doors before painting. So I called and No they dont remove anything.......I guess they just fog these areas. I'm now thinking of taking a course in body repair/ painting so I can paint those areas.
Bummer, I thought I had found a solution to my delema.
Sometimes ( alot ) I wonder if I should just sell it and purchase one painted......

If you go that route make sure you tell them that you expect to get it back with no overspray on the upholstery, tires, wheels etc. Then inspect carefully when you pick it up. Yes, they may have good qualified people there but part of their low price is from volume and they are going to spend less time on it.
I remember my first paint job back in the 60's (Earl Scheib) was $29.95 and I got what I paid for on my '58 Chrysler. Of course I was only 16 then.

If you want an 8K paint job, you will have to pay for it, but if you are not looking for "perfection", you can prep, prime and paint it yourself with a relatively small investment in some equipment and guidance from the guys right here in this forum. They have taught me well. I have already cut in my door jambs, underside of hood and trunk as well as the firewall and it is turning out very nice. Keep in mind that I am not after a "perfect paint job". I have other car related items that demand that I spend the extra $$ to get very high quality such as engine building and parts, etc...
http://users.ev1.net/~jaaustin/chevelle/firewall_cortez.jpg

thanks for the feedback. They said they would paint underside of hood,trunk, inside door jambs.
I got to thinking last night.... I hope that means they will remove doors before painting. So I called and No they dont remove anything.......I guess they just fog these areas. I'm now thinking of taking a course in body repair/ painting so I can paint those areas.
Bummer, I thought I had found a solution to my delema.
Sometimes ( alot ) I wonder if I should just sell it and purchase one painted......

Its up to you to either prep it yourself, or pay them to do it...

Removing the doors to paint the jambs? Nice, but I would bet you'd be looking at the higher end ofthe $8K range (mentioned above) for that type of job... Not that removing doors is that much work, but if you were going that far, might as well go all the way, right?


I have had several cars painted by Maaco-type shops...

I had a 66 El Camino that was pretty nice (factory 396 too), but non-original color (it was a metallic maroon, but originally Cameo Beige-yuk). A family friend put a 10" long gouge/scratch in the quatrer panel, and he had no money.

I repaired the gouge, and spot primed a few areas... I then removed EVERYTHING (bumpers, trim, weatherstripping, interior door panels, sill plates etc) and drove it to the local paint shop... Something like $375-$400 later (it was "their" paint product too) I had a nice shiny new paint job... I put new weatherstripping and all the trim back on...

I proceeded to win 2nd place in my class at a large car show (well over 1000 cars) two weeks later, and none could believe how much I paid...

For the money, they sealed the entire car (except the bed, doh!), painted everything (hood jambs, door jambs, tailgate and gas filler jambs, the bed, and 5 stock wheels that I had... I had just restored the engine, and you could eat off it... They did a great job of keeping overspray out of the engine compartment and the interior.

The door jambs look fine, even though the doors were NOT removed from the car (sure, they might have looked better, but they looked as good as stock, if not better, and I didn't look at the bottom of the door)...

I sold the car a year later, and several years after, I was contacted by a subsequent new owner... He had questions, and one was "who painted the car." I was expecting to here stories of how the paint was pealing, etc, BUT NO, the paint was still looking great (bright "Fire Engine Red") after several years...

I wouldn't hesitate to go that route again... But do the prep yourself...

Of course, I'd probably ask to supply the paint this time...

I think the key is what do you want to do with the car? A full-on show car, spend the money on the "quality" job... A nice cruiser, attending local cruises and shows, something you will drive often, then IMO, I'd go with the less expensive option (but I'd check the individuals out first)...

I have many friends that have paid $5K-$8K (and that was 15+ yars ago), and while their cars look good, as soon as they got a few chips they looked no better than mine...


I also took my father-in-laws car in for a "Maaco" job, actually at a place called One-Day paint and body (he had a clearcoat-peeling hood)... They painted the entire car with the same color (matched the factory paint codes), which was nice because I figured we'd just get some generic color that was close. DARK metallic Blue (almost black), and except for a few chips that they painted over (feather edged them, but we hadn't paid to fix those anyway), the car looked as good as new... A great job, and that was under $400, and they did ALL the prep...

I have to agree with Tony, I had my car painted at one day paint and body, paid just under 1000 for the paint and bodywork. they give you a marker you mark what you want fixed of course when you miss something you cant complain. fortunately the car was fairly straight. Paint came out great for a driver, it's still cleans up very well, but 3 weeks after I get the car back, I go to pick up my daughter at softball practice and she slams her equipment bag into the fender. Now if I paid 8K to paint it, I would have to have gotten pretty POed but heck all I could do is shake my head, I still point it out to her when we take the camaro out. And 3 years later and a few more paint chips, Im really happy I only paid 1K. next repaint, I plan on going the same route, and without the bodywork I can get it done for about 600 bucks. I did take it over there completely stripped, only thing I left on there was a license plate, which I pulled including the bracket in the parking lot. Jim

I think Mako uses Nason products. During the month of January they usually run the 1/2 price deal on the lower and middle grade paint job. I've seen a lot of Mako paint jobs look better then some 8K jobs!

My older brother has a 68 MGB GT that he did all the bodywork on it. Took it to I think One day or Earl Schieb. He walked in with a folder of all the work that was done and told them that it was going to be featured in a magazine and wanted to show other enthusiasts that you didnt need to spend a fortune on a paint job. Told them that someone would be by to take a couple pics of it before and after (had his friend come take a couple pics and ask a couple questions). He paid for the top of the line paint package and they bought into his lie. Now this was 20 years ago, that "lie" may not work now, but that car still looks good to this day.

Maaco uses Dupont paint.
They just did my Grand National...car came out beautiful

They use all dupont products. I had my car painted and do the stripes there, took almost a month but came out pretty nice. i had them do some follow up stuff to fix things and thats where they did a bad job. otherwise im happy.

http://home.earthlink.net/~baygentst/Chevelle/pix23.JPG

Correct me if I'm wrong, these are not the $199 jobs they advertise. I agree, if you do the prep work nothing wrong with a Maaco job.
What did these jobs cost???

My Maaco paint job on my Grand National was $1700..they replaced the rockers (both where a little soft,and I did not want them patched) stripped the hood (had a ton of bondo on it) and replaced the extreme lower part of the drivers side quarter (had a small rot hole)
Took them almost 3 weeks..very much worth the money.A regular shop would have charged easily double for the result that I got.

I have a good friend that owns a 69 Camaro that he had painted in a Maaco shop and it looks GREAT! He routinely wins "Best of Show" at many of the local car shows. He tipped the guys an extra $200 and they made sure they did a nice job.

Sure beats spending 5K - 10K and being in paint jail for months/years at a time. :D

Man, I'm really surprised (and glad) to hear so many good stories about Macco. I had a friend back in high school whose folks took thier family sedan to Earl Scheib (1976). The car came back with overspray everywhere and the paint was still gooey and literally running when they pulled up in the driveway at the house. That has been my impression of these shops all these years. I'm glad that was obviously the exception.
I will go ahead and shoot my '70 myself this time, but only because I want to do as much of this project as possible. The only thing I'm farming out is the engine machining. Looking forward to seeing the end result of your paint job. Good luck.

My dad had a car painted by Maaco when I was a kid. He bought a used Volkswagon rabbit that was this neon-light blue. Hideous. He had Maaco paint it gray. They simply painted the gray over the existing paint. What happened was then as the car kicked up rocks behind the rear and front tires, the paint would chip. It gave the car an interesting look with the gray paint and blue spots all along the side. I don't recall what my dad paid, but I'm sure it was one of Maacos cheaper paint jobs.

I'm planning on shooting the yellow waterbased paint myself (Auto Air Colors) this spring and then having a Maaco-like shop shoot the urethane clear over it after.

With me doing the prep and basic paint and then supplying the clear product, I don't think they can mess it up much.

The big key also to a Maaco paint job is whether the shop is independently owned or a corporate store. I own a Large collision shop. And from what I have seen and I have seen alot the independent Maaco's seem to put a better paint job on the car. It's also very important to remove all the mouldings and trim you can cause if you leave it on so will they.

Maaco is a franchise

http://www.franchise.maaco.com/

I worked at Maaco once, as a painter. I painted many high end cars in that place, sometimes with the cheap paint. Even the cheap paint looked good on cars that were prepped right. The concensus is right, prep work makes the difference, paint quality is second (although a high second). Make sure you look at the line of cars already done. The regular low price paint jobs should still look nice to you (as far as orange peel and runs, etc.) A shop with a good painter makes the difference- I have seen high end dealership bodyshops with crappy painters- guess what, crappy paint jobs!

I worked at Maaco for 2 weeks back in 1988. I had been working at a restoration shop but the owner closed the doors and went on to work for an insurance company. I couldn't stand working there, I came from a place where we produced show cars to being told I took too much time on a car. 20 more minutes with the DA and some 220 and the cars would have looked 100 times better. They will paint over everything, I'm sure there are shops that will do good work if you pay for it, but I didn't witness any of that in my short time there. They were also using Sherwin Williams paint, I didn't even know they made automotive paint....

Can They do a Two tone my elcamino has to different colors black with silver down at the bottom

thanks for the feedback. They said they would paint underside of hood,trunk, inside door jambs.
I got to thinking last night.... I hope that means they will remove doors before painting. So I called and No they dont remove anything.......I guess they just fog these areas. I'm now thinking of taking a course in body repair/ painting so I can paint those areas.
Bummer, I thought I had found a solution to my delema.
Sometimes ( alot ) I wonder if I should just sell it and purchase one painted......

When I had one of my cars painted at a competetor to Maaco (see previous post)... The painted the jambs (color change)... It was a nice job (not just "fogged")... obviously, it wasn't full coverage everywhere, but all the places you could typically see, were covered well...

I literally had the "$400 special" ( about $400, back in 1994, but that included the door jambs, under hood, tailgate ('66 El Camino), along with 5 "stock" wheels)...

I agree:
Prep, Prep, Prep...
AND
You need to be sure the manager knows what you are looking for, and give you a price

I wouldn't expect to win a trophy, but for local cruise-nights and community car shows, It could be great (alot depends on the actual shop/painter though)...

prep

Yeah do the prep work yourself and supply the better paint and primers.
As with anything you get what you pay for. Runs and sags are however free.
But hey you never know, their might just be a high quality maaco shop in your area.
Just don't expect a 4-8k paint job.
I did work at one of their shops 20 yrs ago first getting into painting and the painter was outstanding.
Supplying your own paint will yeild a better paint job, and last much longer.

The local Maaco here in Memphis from the cars I've seen them do that where classics looked good however they will not let you bring your own paint..And they wouldn't tell me what brand they would use..So..my advice is ask all questions first

There's a MAACO in the northern part of Mpls/St Paul that does good work if you want it done. The estimator/sales guy came from a dealer and he took 2 painters and a prepper from that same dealership. It was all about the money, but the guys are very skilled when they have a good job to do. I still see them every once in a while. He said he gets bored with taxis and cop car quickie jobs, and when a real car is bid on, it's like a morale booster for the shop. They all usually do a better job and make sure they slow down to do it better.

I had a Grand Prix done by MAACO back in early 90s. Was a quickie $1K 2 tone metallic and stripe job I needed done for the car to hit the track. The guy was very honest and said their prep was basically scuff it to make paint stick and try not to get paint on anything but the body. I got what I paid for, but it still got looks driving around.

I had maaco paint mine , a couple of bubbles in clear but went back and they smoothed them out, my bodywork skills need work (visible sanding grooves) I might sand it down and get repained, but its ok for now

not all maaco's use dupont and the ones that do use the dupont stuff are using the bottom of the barrel stuff. every maaco is diferrent they are all indepently owned some do good work for the money others just do crap. look at the cars that are done, look in the shop. most maaco's wont use your supplied paint so find out about that before you buy a bunch of material. i had a little mini truck that was painted BC/CC at a maaco for 1800 including body work and i was very impressed just depends on the maaco you goto. i would take the car compleatly apart and do all the prep my self and let them know what kind of quality I expect. i worked at a maaco in high school and if you met or saw some of the people and the work they did there you wouldnt even want to pull your car in the parking lot.

I know a guy that does Corvette's, he pays the local Maaco painter $50.00 on the side to insure good work, he swears by them.

I had a 72 chevelle painted at maaco in 1992 black with gold racing stripes and it came out fantastic. the stripes were perfect. dont forget they paint alot of cars

If my body wasnt so hammered I would have done the prep and taken it in for a Maaco job. Colorsand and buff later and not worry about it.

I dont think its worth it (looking back) for high dollar paint shops if youre going to drive it. Car looks good but I wouldnt do it again.

Not show perfect but reasonable and I see the car in a few weeks vs few years and avoid headaches/upsells- Ill take some imperfections any day of the week!

Lifes too short to let em sit in a shop.

Had my son's 65 Cutlass painted at Maaco. They stipped all the original paint, pulled front and rear glass, replaced metal in the window channels, fixed some minor collision damage on the rear quarter. Kept the same color (white), and all for $3200 10 years ago. Car is outside all the time In a car cover), and the paint is holding up very well. the only issue was overspray on the interior (were replacing anyway), exhaust and frame. We removed all the molding, bumpers, etc, they did everything else. Would consider again.

I know the head painter at my Maaco, I did EVERYTHING except the spraying and my car is great.
I provided everything, sealer, bc/cc, thinners, hardeners, tackrags etc. and got out for $750 bucks out the door.

I also got to watch:hurray:. We sprayed the car the weekend after Christmas right after they did all of their filter maintenance and clean up. I'm finishing cutting and buffing now, more pics soon!

I also tipped my guy $200 for the hookup.

If you look real close in the background of the last pic, that the masking dos and don'ts for the shop. (what a joke! :)):D

it looks like a hit and miss deal. my chevy step was painted there and it turned out nice but years later the hot sun here has cooked the clearcoat on the upper surface of truck. not sure how to fix this?