The Truth About a GOOD Paint Job

[mitsutunerwh2]

I have been on the boards now for a little while and has come to my attention that many people in here seem to think that a MACCO paint job is GOOD? I dont mean any of the following as a flame I am merely stating a few facts.

I work for a MACCO and quit I know work for one of the best Body Shops in Washington so I feel that I am speaking from experience.

MACCO paint is HORRIBLE. Even if you get the 1000 package that comes with a supposed "clear coat" and a five year warranty your still not getting what you paid for. THE TRUTH about Macco is they do no prep work on any of there packages nothing more than a mere Scuff with some 400 grit sand paper and Scotch Brite. Not even on there most expesive package do they accomplish anything more.

Macco's painting process no matter which package you get is this

1.) Scuff sand the Existing Clear Coat/ Paint

2.) Rub with surface prepper.

3.) Apply PAINT/CLEAR mixture (not an individual coat of clear.)

4.) Let Dry

Here is what a body shop would do if you got your car a full paint job.

1.) Completely remove all trim peices and tape off. (including bumpers, door handles antennas, headlights so on.)

2.) Completely sand the whole body.

3.) Primer with HIGH QUALITY 2KB primer

4.) Apply 2 to 3 coats of paint with 15 min flash time in between

5.) Apply 2 to 3 coats of high quality clear coat with 15 min flash

6.) Re assemble car

7.) Wet sand and High speed buff the car.

8.) Give to a satisfied customer.

So you see even if you know nothing about paint MACCO just doesnt stack up. True it matters slightly which shop you go to but they all have to meet there cars per day quota. They do horrible things to cars at those places. I have even seen them take a honda in that had aftermarket kits installed and paint over the stickers that labeled the part! Notice on any of the posts with MACCO paint jobs that there paint looks Muddled like an orange peel. You cant make out sharp objects in the reflection. THat is because they do no prep work.

So my question stands "WHY DO PEOPLE THINK MACCO IS GOOD?"

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Originally posted by mitsutunerwh2


So my question stands "WHY DO PEOPLE THINK MACCO IS GOOD?"

Becasues it's not bad and it's not 3000 or more like the paint job you just metioned.

 

[stock1g4g63]

What if i did the prep myself before i came in? i heard that a lot of people do that with some good results.

 

[redturbo66]

If you're looking for something show quality, then spend the money for it. If you are not going for show, why not save some cash and get the next best thing. It's true....you get what you pay for. I've used Maaco and it doesn't seem to be as bad as what you're saying.

 

[irjoshy]

I had a maco job once on my old 83 blazer.... yeah a week later the paint was peeling off... so i would say that its bad...

I also work for a body shop that has had a couple old muscle cars in some important magazines... so i would tend to agree with what this guy is saying... however biased it may be...

 

[Syndicate13]

You also have to remember that each Maaco is individually owned and operated. So what happens at one place is not what will happen at others. The local Maaco here in town is run by a super nice guy and they do good work for a good price. I've seen some of the heaps that roll into that place and they leave looking respectable. These guys do disassemble the cars, tape off what they can't remove, sand and primer the whole car and then shoot paint. So don't bash Maaco as a whole just because your old boss wanted to save some money and get his cars per day up.

 

[RipperXX]

What would a GOOD paint job at a real body shop cost?

 

[redturbo66]

I've been looking to get a new paint job on my gst. I'm open to all paint shops.......whichever of them can do a good job, saving me as much money as possible in the process. I'm out here in San Diego. The paint I want is a light pearl blue. I haven't seen it on any other cars....thought it would be unique and show quality. Any opinions on this or does anyone know how much I'd expect to spend? My car is red now, so I'll need the door jams painted also.

 

[EuroGSTSpyder]

I would like to know how they can charge so little if they do a good job and keep those prices. They still have to pay local rent, salary for the guys doing the job, paint, material andmost of all..time that it takes to make a good paintjob.
All this stuff just doesnt add up to make it a good paintjob.

Anything can be had cheap...but you always get what ya pay for if its really cheap...I have been doing alot of things with cars and learned that paint is something you dont wanna make halfass...It will come back and bite ya in the a'' later.

 

[paranoidTSi]

bullcrap they don't do individual coats of clear coat, if thats not true then I've got a lawsuit coming to them. There are two clearly stated options:

$125 for intregated clearcoat
$225 for full seperate layer of clearcoat

The only reason I believe people think they are bad is because they come down to the shop, get the $200 paint job and expect it to last.

I think maaco paint jobs can last as long as any other paint job, I think consumer car is what it boils down to. (i.e. waxing/cleaning)

As far as the "reflective" theory goes, some paints don't reflect as well as others (i.e. METALLIC).

 

[vipermike2002]

My dad owns a body shop in Schaumburg IL. I alot of my friends get shit done to there cars at his shop. Many people ask my dad to paint there car but he always tells them around $3000 for a good one, they always think its to expensive but it is alot of work to paint a car, thats why it costs that much.

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Originally posted by vipermike2002
My dad owns a body shop in Schaumburg IL.

Where I was born (sorry to hi-jack).

 

[candela]

ahhh I seriously thought you were from up there John bahhhhhhhhhh. No offense man and I know you have heard all the jokes but you totally blend into the "Waynes World Categroy"
I figured Michigan, Illinois maybe Wisconsin....

I used to live in Oak Forest (~30 from downtown cago)

 

[mitsutunerwh2]

I know that most people dont have the kind of money that it takes to get a quality paint job from a body shop but my point still stands.

Another point is that typically if you go into a paint shop with say 1500 ONLY 500 more than what some spend at MACCO you can typically sway the owner to give you a descent paint job if you help disassemble the car a little.

As for actually doing the prep work your self! It typically will not fly at a body shop because most painters that take there job seriously will not let anyone else touch there work. IT would be the equivalent of asking an artist if you could take a few strokes on his painting. It just wouldnt happen. So only one question can be poised, "If MACCO will let you do the prep work your self doesnt that tell you a little bit about how serious they are about there paint.

As for not affording it I can understand but most people will spend 500 at a MACCO why not save up 2 more times and get a killer paint job?

 

[mitsutunerwh2]

And Yes I know they offer it INdividually but go in to a MACCO and ask them which one of there paint jobs comes with a coat of clear and see what tey say. If they tell you that the 1000 one comes with it, COMPARE it to a 500 one with no clear and you will see no difference.

 

[MaNGiNa24]

I'm getting a full repaint done now for about $1500. Although the color isn't changing, it's the stock 2 tone, blue/black that came with the 95 talons, same color as John's.

Around the central MA area you can expect to pay around $1500-2500 for the same color, but a lot of shops won't consider a full repaint without a couple weeks notice because it is a lot of work and takes a lot of time.

Fortunately, I was hooked up through a local performance shop and it only took a week to get all the work done.

 

[EuroGSTSpyder]

I will pay 2400 for mine and I am chanign colors totally and I use a expencive STANDOX liquid chrystal paint. I take everything off the car so its a clean shell for him to work on but he does all the prepwork + sanding. This is without a receipt and by a very very good painter.This job at a shop would run me like 5000USD...

It also depends on what kinda car you are painting.If I would paint my old passat for instance a Macco paintjob would be ok cause its not a car to look good with. However...for my DSM I would not consider a cheap paintjob..as I said before..it will come back and bite ya ;-)

 

[Infiltrate2000]

actually i spoke to several professional painters, and you don't have to strip the car completly. Most of the time, you can sand off the clear, and let the basecoat act as a primer, so the new coat of paint will stick to it. Fact is, unless your going to use some expensive urethane primer, your better off leaving the basecoat to act as the primer because cheap primer can actually make the paint not stick at all, and start falling off.

I don't even think Macco do this, because if done right, it should take a good 4-5 hrs just to get the clear off the entire car.

I am currently getting my car repainted, for $500. I have to get the clear off though. The guy will do the rest, $500 includes all supply and paint labor. And its not cheap paint, its dupont paint. Not some paint you can get for $30/a gallon. The guy is also a professional painter, works at a shop. He just going to be working on my car after work, so it make take a bit longer. But i am happy.

 

[InfamousEclipse]

what shop in WA are you at? I need a paint job/my Rdora kit put on

[email protected] E-MAIL ME

 

[Morel]

how do you get the clear coat off? by sanding it?

Well, I have a very good reason for only spending 500 dollars for a paint job. Since I only paid 4 grand for my car. It's A/T, and it's got 120k miles on it. I'm not keeping it for a long time. only a few years. And right now it has more pit marks and oxiadation on it then you could imagine.
So, putting in a few hours of work, and getting the cheapo paint job just makes more sense for me then to go out and spend 2-3 grand on a car that im never gonna love in the first place.. )

A/T.. Ugh... Non Turbo... Ugh again... 120k? Ugh once more.

 

[9D9 MITSU RS]

Gotta love clear coat.

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[2GeNTSi]

I got mine done at Maaco and I know how bad it looked. The guy even told me there will be some imperfections and told me that if I wanted a "show car" look expect to pay A LOT. Overall I think it was money well spent, the only problem with mine is that it scratches easily (shallow surface scratches) but I don't have a clear coat so what can I expect. I'm going to wax it again, should get rid of those light scratches.

Oh yeah pics of before and after are in my gallery. Here is a closeup:

 

[mitsutunerwh2]

yours actually looks pretty good . IT sometimes depends on which shop you go to but remember all of the shops have to make quotas for Macco corporate. You do get what you pay for. Also that pic must have been taken rite after you got it back because there paint only looks like that for about a month. If you didnt get clear DONT BUFF ON IT!!!! You are just Buffing on PAINT it will burn easily!

Just a warning

 

[InfamousEclipse]

Originally posted by mitsutunerwh2
yours actually looks pretty good . IT sometimes depends on which shop you go to but remember all of the shops have to make quotas for Macco corporate. You do get what you pay for. Also that pic must have been taken rite after you got it back because there paint only looks like that for about a month. If you didnt get clear DONT BUFF ON IT!!!! You are just Buffing on PAINT it will burn easily!

Just a warning

how far are you from the tri cites? wanna put my body kit on and paint my car?

 

[mitsutunerwh2]

I live in tacoma so about 3 or 4 hours away probably better to get someone in that area to do it