I was thinking about having the local Maaco do my paint and body work since i dont have the extra money to have a regular shop do the work. Has anyone had any experience with them? I would try to do it myself but i don't have any of the equipment and for what i would pay to buy it that could go towards someone else doing it.

Rent the booth.. then do it yourself.

Please, don't do it. Please.......


Like my Mama always said. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. But I could say that!

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Triple Black 69 SS 396
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=1233564&a=9105086&p=37274567&f=0

it just depends on how nice you want it. you usually get what you pay for.

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jim #899

68 SS396 CHEVELLE CONVERTIBLE
70 SS396 ELCAMINO


cars, guns & guitars.....& beer...
it doesn't get much better than that.

Do a search here on Maaco. It's been discussed at length before.

If you want an everyday paint job that looks alright...not a bad place to go. Your car will never win best of show with the job though! The body and paint quality from a job like theirs is similar to Earl Schieb, Nextday, etc. If the shop has been there for a while, you'll probably be satisfied with the work. Reason being, the bodymen and painters have probably been there for a while, and have their technique down. If they just opened, chances are they are still training the "kids" to do what they've never done before. Also, these places usually use paint that covers in 1 1/2 coats. It will last a while if you pay the extra to put a clear coat on it. Keep in mind that a decent paint job alone will cost an average of about $1000 per color -- they prep, and no body work!! Decent, not show!!
RSM

I know the quality of the job will not be there compared to a regular body shop but when you only have about $1500 to play with that leaves out doing it your self. I would much rather do it myself considering i did everything else on the car. Im in the process of looking for a house and unless i can find one cheap enough with no money down i wont have the money to even start on it let alone get lucky to find one with a two car garage to house both the car and my bike.

Had a friend that worked there. That $199 paint job, they allow 20 minutes for prep, (sanding), and 20 minutes for masking. I don't care how fast you are, you don't get any quality at that speed. The more expensive jobs is where they make there money, you don't get anything different, they just make up for the money they lost on the cheap jobs.
Although, some not all of there painters get pretty good at laying down the paint. If they had a decently prepped car and a better quality of paint, they probably would do OK.

www.Jeffry72.50megs.com (http://www.Jeffry72.50megs.com)

If you have Maaco paint it,spend the extra cash,and get single stage urethane.If you can't do any bodywork yourself,at least remove the bumpers,door handles,trim,etc.The less Maaco has to mask,the better the paint job comes out.I'm not advocating Maaco,but some people don't have the cash to spend on 5K paint jobs,nor do they have the experience to do their paint/bodywork,so that's where Maaco comes in.But again,do your self a favor and remove eveything,even weather stripping.You will at least get a paint job that is respectable(for Maaco that is)..just don't tell anyone Maaco painted it,tell them a friend did it! http://www.chevelles.com/forum/tongue.gif

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1970 Chevelle SS396/M21/4.10 My 70 SS396 (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/mr4speed70SS1)
Engine pic (http://chevelles.com/showroom/mr4speed70SSengine2)
1970 Chevelle SS454
1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible
1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass 350 Olds,TH350(daily driver)
Chris Corwel,TC Member 785

Lots of good advice above. My son just had his car done at "Peach" which is the same as Maaco.It really looks GOOD.
I believe the people at the specific shop you go to has much more to do with it than the name of the chain. Check out some cars they have done. If they have good prep and paint folks you will probably get a good job.
I suggest that you take off everything you can;chrome trim, mirrors, grille, whatever you can. This eliminates lots of overspray, poor taping, and gets the paint under stuff where rust likes to start.
Do any and all prep work you can; fix dents, remove rust, sand gloss off, whatever. The less they have to do , the less they must rush. This is what we did, and he got a nice GLOSSY job.
I'd also pay for a "better quality" job than the bottom of the line offering. Seems to me if they give a longer warranty, they may use a little more care.

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Make it the way you like it, forget what the other guys say!

Actually, the last time around, my son and I stripped all the paint off the Chevelle, did all the body work and did the urethane primer. I spoke to the manager of a local Maaco about them shooting the color coat with me supplying the paint. They had no problem with that. I supplied them with what was left of the primer, a gallon of PPG Acrylic enamel with urethane hardner and the proper reducer for the temperature at the time. The job came out very nice. Not a show job, but that's not what I was looking for anyway. The car has been a daily driver for the last 30 years and will always be one. The secret is to do as much as you can, YOURSELF! This particular shop had a classic Buick there as well as a 65 Mustang being painted, so I guess, they're used to working on classic cars. Visit your local Maaco and snoop around a little to see their work. You may be surprised.

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MalibuJerry350
Original owner '70 Chevelle.
551,000+ miles on car.
My Chevelle: http://hometown.aol.com/erie614/myhomepage/index.html

Thanks for the advice. I realy dont want to take it there but if i dont get it painted now i know it will be a couple of years before i have the money to do it right. I plan on taking all of the molding and everything else i can remove from the car. If they end up doing it the car will be stripped with the exception of the drive train. From a couple of people in town that i talked to they said if you let them do the body and paint you will get a better job than just having them shoot the car for their $199 dollar deal. Really all that i am looking for is a solid color paint job that will last for about 3-4 years. I have little time to drive the car so it sits about 11 months out of the year in my parents garage.

I have experience in both aspects, I had one car painted at Miricle and I painted the next at home myself.

The Miracle job turn out great except two problems: 1. I didn't specify that I wanted sealer in the bed area (El Camino), and a big run in the door, but they fixed that. Within 2 weeks, I had the car back together and took second place at a show (about 25 cars in my class). Not bad for $325 (included door and hood jambs, etc.). The body was very straight already, and except for a few nicks, chips and one big deep scratch was excellent, so I did all the prep, removed everything, drove it to the shop and unbolted the taillights...

The other car, I spent about $750-$800 for everything, Base/clear, PPG?, Kondar primer, reducer,activator, tape sanding paper and discs, filler, spot putty , etc. Did some pretty major body work (okay, so theres a lot of bondo in it http://www.chevelles.com/forum/wink.gif ) and applied all the primer and paint in an open carport. A lot of hours (me and my brother, probably 100+ hours not including disassembly and reassembly).

Maybe not show quality, but all things considered, I am happy. A few chips now, but at least they are not chips in my $5000+ paint job... I couldn't have afforded that...

I plan on a repaint in a few years, probably myself again, but most likely will rent a booth. I guess I could afford to have a shop do it now, but I am cheap.

Jim 72, Where can you rent a booth on Long Island?

About 7 years ago my buddy got his '88 stang done at there which wans't too bad of shape to begin with. The paint finsh looked quite good - but, in 3 days (no kidding-actually 3 days) rust was coming through a seam between the ¼ panel and the rocker http://www.chevelles.com/forum/eek.gif!!! He took it back and they re-did it. In the end, the front plastic grille emblem was sanded, the rear LX emblem had glue gushing out the side and was crooked, the finish was not as good as the first attempt, and it rusted through anyway 2 months later. He was really PO'd.

Get a book, and buddy with some experience, and do it yourself. It will be worth the experience if nothing else - and you will likely take better care of the prep!
Just my 2¢.

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'69 SS 300 Deluxe / '71 Malibu 2DR HT
"Never let fear and good judgement hold you back."

[This message has been edited by Bow_Tied (edited 05-04-2001).]

1500 should get you a decent paint job, i am haveing my car repainted deep green, with black skunk stripes, and their doing the door jams, AND a clear coat for 2000

talk to the guys at macco and see what they've done and how well it was done, my guy does hot rods so i am confident in his work.

the work of a shop will depend greatly on who's working there.

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Mike M.
KingNor@hotmail.com

'72 malibu 350, 350 tranny, not pozy yet, gots a shift kit though.... anyone like hood pins?

Many community colleges offer auto body courses for the hobbiest. You use their equipment & facilities and have an instructor for an advisor. I would suggest you check into it.

I had a truck painted by Maaco. (Actually 2 of them.) I did the majority of the bodywork on the second one and had most of the truck in primer. (Done at home in the driveway with a $19 spraygun.) I then removed all chrome, bumpers and emblems, mirrors etc and took it to them for paint and some minor bodywork that was left. Their bodywork left a litle to be desired but the paint turned out great. It was black and looked really super. Something to consider too is that these guys paint TONS of cars. No matter what it is that you do, if you do it very often you get good at it. The painters are good. The truck was sold about 5 years ago and is still around, I saw it last summer and it still looked excellent! Granted the new owner takes great care of it and keeps it in a garage but for the $600, it was a great deal! Here's thew first one thewy painted, when I went to pick it up in their parking lot http://www.noneckschevelle.com/images/020707.jpg Here's the other one after I put it back together.http://www.noneckschevelle.com/images/020706.jpg & http://www.noneckschevelle.com/images/020706.jpg And yes, I know they are Fords! What can I say. I love those old F-150's!

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72 SS coupe clone & 68 ragtop, 69 ragtop. www.NoNecksChevelle.com (http://www.NoNecksChevelle.com)

I took the car down to have them look it over. They gave me a quote of $1450 to do the boby and paint. I would have to take off all the chrome, emblems, weather stripping and bumpers etc. Included in the price is to repair all the body work (minor dents, scratches and lower front drivers fender). Chemicaly strip the car. Their supreme prep package with a sealer. Then shoot the car with a single stage with intergrated clear and uv protection and lay the stripes. They said they would do the jams for another $200 but i might do that my self. I talked to the owner for about 2hrs who gave me the quote . We talked about what kind of reputation they have, how they get talked down. I talked to one of their paint and a body guys and both were out there looking at my car for about 20 mins while i talked to the owner. They are supossed to give me a call when they get done painting a 74 grandprix with a flip flop paint to go look at. I not sure yet but if this car that i check out looks good i will probably let them do the work.

Sounds like a reasonable price..IMO, cut in/jamb it yourself and save the $200..it'll cost you less than half that for the materials,plus your time/labor.The Maaco here near me has done some nice paint jobs.I sold a 72 442 for $11,000 that they had painted for me for last year.Car came out mint.They charged me a lot less(Supreme paint job),as I did all the bodywork and prep/block sanding.Again,I'm not advocating Maaco,but each one is different,and if you find a good one,you'll be pleased with the results if you're not out to have a $20,000 show car.

no no no, your going about it all wrong, what you do is get the $150 job and just get it re-done every other month!

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Mike M.
KingNor@hotmail.com

'72 malibu 350, 350 tranny, not pozy yet, gots a shift kit though.... anyone like hood pins?