Aftermarket paint jobs.

[PaleDSM]

I have seen a few Maaco paint jobs and they usually look "OK" for a year or so. It begins to degrade after that.

I have been to a few high end paint shops for estimates on a full repaint and with a color change I was quoted at $5k-6k. That is pulling off all of the body panels, doing the jambs, and removing all the glass and trim pieces.

 

[scirio]

$1700 total: $550 for the paint and clear and additives, doorjams and engine bay included. I over payed.

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[IMMORTALSPYDER]

I painted mine when I used to be a painter. I've had it painted since spring. The prep work is what determines the outcome and longevity of the paint. Some Maacos are good, and some are crap. My shop charged at least 3K for a all over paint job. But you do get what you pay for and we put out some of the best looking cars around.

 

[wafflez66]

In southern NY, where I live, it will cost you between $2000-3000 for a decent paintjob. You can't get a good paintjob usually for under a grand. I've had a few cars painted and they looked like shit, but it was only $300. A friend of mine just got his truck painted and it cost him $250 just for someone to spray paint (he did prep work, body work, bought paint, and clear). I'm going to school for autobody, and in our paintbooth we only use the top of the line paints and it costs around $600 for supplies (just primer paint and clear), but you get a top of the line end result if you can shoot paint that is. Either way I truly think you get what you pay for. And it is very true that it is all in PREP WORK!!! a paint job can only be as good as what comes before it. If there is more than 3 coats for paint on your car, then you need to strip the car and start from scratch. I believe that is also the manufacture's policies; if they have a car coming off the line and teh paint hasn't been right the first 3 times, they scrap the car, but for a car you own you would strip all the paint. well, that's enough rambling. sorry...

Jon

 

[trapspeed]

Paying 5-6G's on a paintjob is crazy.

 

[9D9 MITSU RS]

I spent over $2k just to have my car done in the stock color and have kandy cobalt blue flames done. (shaved door handles and antenna too) I'm spending more soon to have pearl and airbrush done. I don't drive everyday tho and I do a lot of shows, so it is somewhat practical for what I do. It'll never be a trailer queen tho. I hate that.

 

[talontsiawd]

With all the budget chain shops, usually they will yeld poor results. Sometimes not horrible, but not what you would want. There are alway exceptions. I heard of some Macco places that turn out good jobs. My friends truck looks the same as the day it got painted and it has to be about 3-4 years. My friend with the truck paid more than the "base" job which i figure is just to get you in the door. He paid well under a grand though. My grandma's nissan however looked decent for about 6 months but it faded and eventually looked like it was painted with flat silver paint. She expected that so it wasn't a big deal but that's what a $300 paint job got her. Another person i know got a datsun 510 painted and the paint stayed glossy and whatnot but there were runs in the paint which i find rediculous, even for $400 it probably cost him. Just look around and find somepeople who are happy with the price and the job and go from there. Going to any budget place with no knowledge of their work is playing russian ruliete with 5 bullets.

 

[Sinner]

I think these threads where everyone talks about people paying between $3-5000 a paintjob and calling that a good job is so funny since the paintjobs I put on cars my employer charges $20-25k for and these are show quality paintjobs, and then thinking of a $300 dollar paintjob just seems unreal to me unless it was spray paint. I would never do a paintjob out of my home garage for less than $3500 and that would be buddy pricing.

 

[ZenkaiRacerDsM]

20-25k . Ill take a brand new car with fresh paint for that price thanks.

 

[talontsiawd]

I think these threads where everyone talks about people paying between $3-5000 a paintjob and calling that a good job is so funny since the paintjobs I put on cars my employer charges $20-25k for and these are show quality paintjobs, and then thinking of a $300 dollar paintjob just seems unreal to me unless it was spray paint. I would never do a paintjob out of my home garage for less than $3500 and that would be buddy pricing.

Well the skys the limit with paint but $3000 will get you a good paint job. $20,000 will get you a perfect job where you never want to take you car out of the garage and is for show only. If you sunk 200 grand in a car 25 grand isn't that bad. On your average import it is rediculous. I don't think many people would be unsatified with the average quality shops $3000 paintjob.

 

[miteclgst]

I love these threads because they always start off as someone asking what a reasonable proce for a quality paint job should be and then the thread swiftly turns into a MAACO bashing fest. Then the thread starter comes back and says that the average consensus is way too expensive.
On one hand you will have your average MAACO jobs which normally consist of a quick scuffing, masking, spraying and pushing out the door. MAACO, much like any business, has found ways to streamline their procedures to render a higher profit and do more business quicker. One of the ways MAACO accomplishes this is by formulating their own paintline. The lower price paint jobs are not base / clear as many people would imagine. They are a single stage paint that only comes in solid colors. Single stage paint is simply a paint that would closely resemble that of yester year's lacquer, with the durability of todays poly paints. This method requires only a few coats of paint, this yields greater speed and thus a lower price. They have people who only mask and do nothing else. The problems that occur with the masking is that many times is the time alloted for masking is simply way too short. This means that many times there will be overspray or parts that are painted body color that shouldn't be. The scuffing process is kept to a minimum, they probably clean the car with a wax and grease remover and simply scuff pad the paint quickly to remove the shine. When it comes down to it the most unbiased way to compare a MAACO paint job to that of a 3-5k job would be like comparing the McDonalds Filet-o-Fish to a 7 course lobster dinner at a swanky restaurant. Just don't expect the lobster for the price of a filet-o-fish.
I currently work at two shops, one that does award winning auto restorations and another that does custom import bodywork and painting. At both there is a lot of work that is needed to properly prep a car and paint it. Fact of the matter is you won't get a quality color change for less than $3000. I did my own work, this included masking off my underhood, door jams and hatch jam, scuffing the parts, and prepping alone took me 8 hours.
$20K to $25K is a bit ridiculous unless you are talking about hours of airbrushing, which in that case will cost quite a bit. If you are just talking about a run of the mill, single color base / clear or single stage job then you are totally gone. The only way I could even see a paint job getting to that price is if either a) the paint was $10,000 b) you do everything 6+ times over or c) you charge a ridiculous labor rate. I mean say what you want but you can get a complete vehicle restoration for around $25K and that is show quality. And before anyone goes off saying that the paintjobs that we do aren't as show quality as yours, we had a Jaguar SS-100 recieve a 99 pt grade out of 100 at a concours show. It lost 1 pt because there was a finger print on the windshield. That is just naming one vehicle, we have had several others. And we don't pump cars in and out, we currently have a hemi challenger that is 1 of 14 that has a market value of 500K.
So to sum it all up you get what you pay for, MAACO could be hit or miss, a good shop will stand behind it's work and fix any problems that may arise. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

 

[SpYYder]

It's very true; you get what you pay for, as far as prep work, labor, and paint quality. I started by stripping the entire car of the yellow paint; then molding, and shaving things came next. All together we spent ~3 months on prep work because im a student and work two jobs. we tried to get everything seemingly perfect (there will always be flaws... ) if you want things done correctly, without paying over a few thousand, its best to do alot of prep work yourself with the help of another experienced person for difficult areas (dents, shaving things if you want). After the 3 months of working on it on the side, prepwork, shaving things, we sent it to a bodyshop to do the final details, finishing the taillight conversion, shaving the trunklid (it needed alot of work that i couldn't do perfectly.) also cutting the fenders for the lamborghini hinges, a dent in the fender that was being a bi***, taping off the car, and repairing a few cuts in the rear bumper. After all that was done (about a month) they primed the car with 2 coats of filler primer. prime, sand, prime, wetsand, this gave it a really smooth feel over all of the molded and shaved parts, and transitions where things had to be modified. Then they sprayed it with a white lexus paint with extra pearl and flake from the GX470. select trim areas got a dark charcoal IS300 paint with the same pearl and flake. I paid ~500 for the paint, little more, and ~2500 for the bodyship work, and probably ~200 for sandpaper, fiberglass, beer, other materials we used when prepping. i think it came out very nice.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

look to spend AT LEAST anywhere from $1500-2000 if you want a "GOOD" paint job..

you get what you pay for..

not being an ass but its true..

here is mine..

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here was the crappy old paint job done by previous owner.. was supposedly "pearlescent (sp?) black"

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[93 Talon Boy]

OK to end this MAACO bashing thing: MAACO is a chain-corporation, so there are a ton of them across the US. The quality of the paintjob varies from each MAACO. It's just a matter of how good and patient the people who work there are, and if they are experienced. My car was painted there and you would never be able to tell that that paintjob was only $500. I have friends who have dumped several grand into their cars on paintjobs and you wouldn't be able to tell a difference between ours. However, the MAACO I went to must have done a good job on my car because some of their jobs are not as good at other places. So it depends on each place, so if your concerned about it, do some research on that MAACO. Look at the cars recently painted there, see if other people had their cars painted there and then check them out. OK, lets move on from bashing MAACO.
-Lance-

 

[Corbic]

If you want something that looks factory, its going to be $3k easy. A friend had his black car repainted black and that ran him roughly 1,200 for an "ok" job. It wouldnt pass for brand new, but it would pass for used factory.

As for $300 paint jobs.. nothing looks worse then this.

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Red car repainted black... yum :thumbdown

 

[Stapl3]

Redturboeclipse-

Is that the same camera and all? The difference is amazing.

 

[trapspeed]

Redturbo, I was thinking about taking my car to the Bay Area to get it painted. I also was red and went to black. That included the jambs and everything? What was the name of the shop?

 

[91boost]

You do get what you pay for with a paint job. Sad, but true. Some people are happy with their under 1k paint jobs, and thats fine- but you still get what you pay for.

Mines in the shop getting sprayed now- $4500 was the total bill. I'll post pics when I get it back of course.

 

[Stapl3]

$4500 was the total bill. I'll post pics when I get it back of course.

Jesus, I've bought entire awd 2g's for less.

 

[ZenkaiRacerDsM]

Hey trapspeed. You said Earls gives a 6 year warranty when you spend a little more right? I wonder if they do anything else to make it last when you pay for the warranty. I really want mine painted!

 

[trapspeed]

Just don't take it to the one on Sunrise. Check out another one. Also before you get it done make sure you check out the cars they've already painted. I think I just took it to the wrong shop.

And yea, the 6yr warranty should be better.

 

[91boost]

Jesus, I've bought entire awd 2g's for less.

Oh, I don't doubt it. But let me add one more thing- I'd like to thank hurricane Jeanne and State Farm for all their support.

I know I'm not footing the bill, but FWIW $4500 included new headlights, door handles, front bumper, sunroof seal, sunroof sunshade and all new rubber mouldings. So its not all labor and paint in there.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

i live in houston, i have been quoted 2k for same color (barcalona burgandy_pearl is 3 step paint) above any body work from places that i WOULD take my car to. as everyone states before_the painting is not what cost all the money, probably 60-70% of cost is in the prep work. and not to be an ass_but you do get what you pay for up to a point.


jim

 

[99gst_racer]

Here's mine. It is the factory R87 Red color, but it is all fresh paint.
It costed somewhere around $3000 I think...... It's been a while.....

 

[VtecRex]

RedturboEclipse...

I want a larger version of the second picture for a wallpaper!