MAACO paint job????

[saab900turboguy]

Has anybody had an experience with maaco?? I have been doing some research and its about 60% good review and 40% bad review. But for 500 bucks, ANYTHING will look better then the paint i have now. And they warranty there work so if its bad i could just take it back. But anyone have any personal experience?

[EvanD]

I have never gone there before but I never hear good things about them.

[dazoff123]

only bad story i heard was when some dude had is caddy painted black and said dont paint the chrome because he spent alot of money on it. and they did end up painting it and had to pay to redo all the chrome on his car

other then that i heard ok things i'm probally going there my self though

[CookinSPG]

My sugestion on this would be if you have the space time and a compresso do it yourself, 1 you can say you did it, 2 any thing that's not perfect you can fix the first time and a decent set of low pressure guns and paint will cost around the same coin.

[saab900turboguy]

i do have a compressor and a set of paint guns. The thing is i don't have the time or the space to do it. I have a garage im sure i could clean up to make a paint booth. Through some tarps down dampen the floor to catch dust and keep from dirt kickin upbut time is a factor. Working full time and going to school plus havin a wife that wants attention and doesnt like my saab "habbit" to begin with is a factor. And i have never painted a car before which is the biggest factor.

[Matt88S]

Originally Posted by saab900turboguy

i do have a compressor and a set of paint guns. The thing is i don't have the time or the space to do it. I have a garage im sure i could clean up to make a paint booth. Through some tarps down dampen the floor to catch dust and keep from dirt kickin upbut time is a factor. Working full time and going to school plus havin a wife that wants attention and doesnt like my saab "habbit" to begin with is a factor. And i have never painted a car before which is the biggest factor.

I see you have a 90 Talladega. It's my understanding that they were a non-clearcoat and oxidized like crazy. Have you tried cleaning up the current paint? Usually with Saab paints that oxidized you could hit them up with some buffing compound, glaze, and a good wax and they looked as good as new. The key is keeping a good wax on them.

I wouldn't do MAACO. At worst, take the time to strip the car down yourself, do all the prep work, and get a proper shop that will cut you a deal and shoot it for you. For the same or less you'd get at least decent paint and a good painter.

[SteveTheFolkie]

Originally Posted by Matt88S

take the time to strip the car down yourself, do all the prep work, and get a proper shop that will cut you a deal and shoot it for you. For the same or less you'd get at least decent paint and a good painter.

Matt hit the nail on the head - when you pay a bodyshop a couple grand for a paint job you're NOT paying for the paint - you're paying to remove all the trim, door handles, bumpers and other gee-gaws, you're paying for surface prep, if you're changing colors you're paying to strip out the interior and perhaps remove the engine/trans - a LOT of work - applying the paint is a breeze - it's doing all the prep work that takes time and costs money -

So how do you think places like maaco can make money by painting on the cheap? Simple - minimal prep - mask instead of remove - screw the stuff you really can't see - don't repair rust just slap on some bondo - sand it smooth and paint over it - it won't bubble through for a year or two

If you want a "twenty foot" paintjob maaco may be just fine - if you want a "five foot" paint job you won't be happy with the quality.

Steve

[Matthew]

Originally Posted by saab900turboguy

ANYTHING will look better then the paint i have now.

What's wrong with it? Photos will help.

[Saab named Jag]

I tokk my first car there to get done (86 caddie so no loss ). Way better than it was before and looked fine from ten feet away but you noticed the lack of prep work if you really looked. But it was also cheap so pick your battles. For a highschool kid with no money it was great.

[philbert]

After having my '57 Metropolitan demolished by some drunk driver about 10 years ago, I had Maaco paint it for me during the rebuild. I was quite pleased by the final results.

However.....I did all the prep work first. I replaced all the bad sheet metal, I did all the paint removal, I did all the bodywork, I removed all the glass/trim/etc. Even then, there was still overspray on the dash that I wasn't happy about (but was able to clean). After the paint cured, I rubbed it out.

This is a show car that I also happen to drive. At the time, it was a 2-footer, now it's a 10-footer (rock chips from driving). It's still glossy and looks quite good.

Because it's an odd car, Maaco did try hard to make it look good. I think the results you get will depend on prep time and Maaco's enthusiasm for the job.

[dasaabguy]

i havent used Maaco, but i used One Day Paint and body which is similiar to Maaco, i had them paint my NG900, i asked for a Silver and they gave me what looked to by like a Silver Mint Green apparently the painter may have added some green by mistake or didnt clean his stuff very well. The guy said that he would give me a discount if i just took the car like that! I said hell nah i want the car silver....they took it in for a second time and finally got it silver but it did not come out like i expected..it had no luster. After reading up some more on there process they do what is called a single stage paint job, which has a built in clear coat. I paid just under $800 with a warranty.
Oh and I actually took alot of the stuff off myself before i took the car to them.

here is the 1 Day Paint job



I ended up repainting the car a couple years later with a multistage paint job.

here is the multistage paint job

[woywitka]

*Shivers*


THe only thing more tacky than a rusty car with dents is a rusty car with dents re-painted by Macco.

You get what you pay for.

My dad spent $3K to repaint our Firebird and it looked about spot on factory. There is the odd bit of overspray we took care of and the car looks very good.

On the other hand, I had a friend get his mustang repainted for $850. The car looked horrific. Very wavy, painted over rust, and the paint has no luster. After careful work to wet sand and polish the car started to peel. Now the car looks like a 1980s american car but with a worse initial paint job.

So horrible, he should have just left it. Spent the money on a paintless dent removal, cut polish, and then perhaps had a section or two of the car repaired.

When I took in this poor old Saab is looked about a 3/10 body wise. I spent 3 days on it: The interior looked done too. It is amazing what some careful work can do. I am no expert.









Red is lots of work. THe car looked like is was 6 shades when I got it. There is some peel, a few paint cracks, and the odd dent. Careful work still made this mostly original paint look farily decent.

[SaabHat93]

Dang, Woy.. that interior looks flawless.. you say that it was almost done when you got it? How long did you spend cleaning it up? Looks amazing.

[EvanD]

And a dash with no cracks nice.

[saab900turboguy]

I just bit the bullet and spent all day polishing and waxing my 900. I was amazed at the aftermath. Maquires car polish and there special RX Wax made the paint look BRAND NEW. Still the hood is all fluckered up but i now i know what some elbow greese can do i just need to get a dent or two fixed and the hood done. Ill get pictures up tomorrow when the sun is shining. I was so amazed. It looked dull and it looked like it was 2 or 3 shades of red. Maquires polish and wax made it look brand freaking new. My father in law actually thought i had it painted. Ill get pictures up tomorrow.

[woywitka]

Originally Posted by saab900turboguy

I just bit the bullet and spent all day polishing and waxing my 900. I was amazed at the aftermath. Maquires car polish and there special RX Wax made the paint look BRAND NEW. Still the hood is all fluckered up but i now i know what some elbow greese can do i just need to get a dent or two fixed and the hood done. Ill get pictures up tomorrow when the sun is shining. I was so amazed. It looked dull and it looked like it was 2 or 3 shades of red. Maquires polish and wax made it look brand freaking new. My father in law actually thought i had it painted. Ill get pictures up tomorrow.

YAYA I WIN!

I really look forward to those pictures!

Congrats eh, feels much better than a sub par Macco job.

Getting a hood repainted by a pro would only cost you around $400, money well spent. Focus on some main area at a time. Refinishing bumpers really cleans up the look as well.

[woywitka]

Originally Posted by SaabHat93

Dang, Woy.. that interior looks flawless.. you say that it was almost done when you got it? How long did you spend cleaning it up? Looks amazing.

Thanks. Took me about 5 hours a day for 3 days.

There are so many little tips. That was not my best job either.

There is money in buying cosmetically poor 900s and fixing them up for profit. I have sold a few on the side. The one above I made like $10 because I sold it to a friend. .

It isn't big money for the amount of time, but the satisfaction is really high.

I have spotted a really poor looking 900 turbo with great mechanical and no rust. Should be interesting if the price is right.

[Matt88S]

Originally Posted by saab900turboguy

I just bit the bullet and spent all day polishing and waxing my 900. I was amazed at the aftermath. Maquires car polish and there special RX Wax made the paint look BRAND NEW. Still the hood is all fluckered up but i now i know what some elbow greese can do i just need to get a dent or two fixed and the hood done. Ill get pictures up tomorrow when the sun is shining. I was so amazed. It looked dull and it looked like it was 2 or 3 shades of red. Maquires polish and wax made it look brand freaking new. My father in law actually thought i had it painted. Ill get pictures up tomorrow.

Told ya!

Glad it worked out for you without having to bother with all the aftermarket paint mess.

[SaabHat93]

Originally Posted by woywitka

Thanks. Took me about 5 hours a day for 3 days.

There are so many little tips. That was not my best job either.

There is money in buying cosmetically poor 900s and fixing them up for profit. I have sold a few on the side. The one above I made like $10 because I sold it to a friend. .

It isn't big money for the amount of time, but the satisfaction is really high.

I have spotted a really poor looking 900 turbo with great mechanical and no rust. Should be interesting if the price is right.

Wanna make a trip down to California? If you could make my cars look like that one I'd be one happy guy.

Nice work, turboguy. Makes a world of difference. With a little time and effort the outcome is way satisfying.

[saab900turboguy]

Im gunna have pics up tomorrow. Now that i realize i dont have to paint anything but the hood an get a few dings out i feel so much happier. Which means my car is almost complete. I just have to get the drivers seat done and the dash fixed. It has all the usual cracks. Also i have to get one of those rubber mat things for the dash facia. And she will be good as new! Ill take some pics first thing in the morning, aka when i wake up at noonish eastern standard time lol.

Originally Posted by woywitka

Refinishing bumpers really cleans up the look as well.

Im not worried about the bumpers right now. I have some authentic airflows and fender flares that im going to start on tomorrow. They need to be sanded mounted and then painted. Check out this link it has my bumper pics and some other things like my intercooler and this an that.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21903748@N03/