How far will Maaco go for you?

[TomoHawk]

My car could probably use a cheap paint job to hold it over until I do the whole body job. What will a place like MAACO paint? Like will they do the door jambs, the hatch sides, etc., or will they just mask off the windows & spray what is left?

I first thought of just doing the top & fenders, but there are chips & scratches all over. Some rust around the windows too. the top is starting to show light areas, which might be (white?) primer! The fender have llittle dark spots that remind me of freckles, the vent panel feels rough, and other stuff.

thx

[Ed]

Why not take it to them and ask?

[a7dz]

They will do anything you want it just takes money.

[Virto]

Depends on the package you buy.

The Ambassador service (the cheap one) requires you to mask off anything that needs to be masked, then they spray enough paint to cover. No primer, no sanding, no clearcoat....certainly no repairs of any type.

I don't think Maaco will even touch body work anymore. That's why they are a cheap option for people looking to sell a used car...or cover up a problem.

Quality wise, you'll get a couple years from the paint, but it's not going to last without moving into the $1000 ranges they offer with clearcoats.

[TomoHawk]

Why not take it to them and ask?

I will!. It doesn't hurt to get some opinions, like you would for any body shop or paint shop.

Maybe the paint job that's on there is the cheap type that only getsthe car sold.

[R&D Z Factory]

actually, here, they do touch body work, I dont know if its diffrent from cali to where ever you are, but when i went in to macco, I saw many cars worked on with much body work to be done, and they did a little body work on the nissan s13 we had them paint. it just takes money

[CoastGuardZ]

Back in South Carolina, a friend of mine had them paint his 65 Beetle. He used either the cheapest level or the next to cheapest level and it didn't look half bad either. He did all of his own body work and he put 1/4" rope behind all of the window rubber so the paint would get behind it. Also when we got there he pulled all the lights off. He also pulled the bumpers and other chrome pieces off too. Basically he wanted them to screw up as little as possible. He went with a nice British Racing Green, you really have to trust your bodywork and the guy with the gun when you go with a dark color. That was about 3 years ago and it still looks as good as the day it was done.

Here's a pic... sorry I don't have any close-ups.

FWIW-

Nate

[jackboxxx]

Depends on the package you buy.

The Ambassador service (the cheap one) requires you to mask off anything that needs to be masked, then they spray enough paint to cover. No primer, no sanding, no clearcoat....certainly no repairs of any type.

I don't think Maaco will even touch body work anymore. That's why they are a cheap option for people looking to sell a used car...or cover up a problem.

Quality wise, you'll get a couple years from the paint, but it's not going to last without moving into the $1000 ranges they offer with clearcoats.

uh oh...I think you are misinformed..

As a Maaco Owner I will try to shed some light on what Maaco does or does

not do. It needs to be said that Maaco is a privately owned company, and all

the Maacos across the U.S. and Canada are privately owned franchises,

since they are franchises, they are required to operate within specific guidelines laid out by Maaco Corporate...or could lose thier franchise...

though there are owners out there that dont follow the corp guidelines as they are supposed to. these franchises will be targeted and eliminated

from the chain as Maaco is undergoing some major changes that will require ALL the centers to do work at a certain quality level more akin to that of a collision shop rather than like a "earl schieb" or "one a day paint" type

shop. All Maacos will have to be "certified" in the very near future or be eliminated from the chain.

Ok, in regards to what Maaco does or does not do....

Ambassador service: (single stage enamel paint just like a 240 came with...)

Maacos cheapest paint service, Nationally advertised on TV for 249.00....

prices vary...some shops sell it for a bit more...299 329 etc...

What is done for 249.00?? well, this depends on the current condition of your cars paint, if its just old and faded for example, we are just going to

(depending on what state) powerwash the car, or hand clean the car, remove some items like emblems, then, machine & hand sand the vehicle to a 320grit smoothness all over, then mask off everything, windows, lights, bumpers etc...then put it in the booth apply a primer/sealer, then paint the vehicle, then bake it, then take it out, de-mask it, and detail it.

We dont require that you mask off the car yourself...

We do sand the car...

We do use a primer/sealer on the car prior to painting...

We generally make 2-3 passes (coats) around a car when painting.

Maaco is not "getting away" from bodywork, in fact we are moving more

towards doing more..targeting "spotwork" specifically...minor hits..fender benders on late model cars...

all Maacos do bodywork...almost all do serious collision work as well...

the majority of Maacos have frame machines as well.

Will your car be perfect for 249.00? nope...not a chance in hell any paint shop can make your 25-35 year old car look perfect for that kind of money.

but it will look much better than it did.

Now that being said, its time to help you understand other paint issues,

1st, being this is a classic Z forum, most of the owners here have 20 yr+

old cars...most of these cars if in orginal condition, are restoration projects

needing quite a bit more than 249.00 worth of painting..(my 3 240s included)

a restoration shop may charge 5000-10,000 to restore the body and paint of a classic car, a collision shop may charge 2500-5000 to do a 1st rate base / clear paintjob.

for example: my nice 240Z, the blue one, which I searched for for several months, has no rust to speak of, orginal shiny blue paint, garage kept all its life, and has about 120k miles...it needs:

20ish dings straightened: 20x $22.50 = $450.00 bodywork then about 8 hours blocking on each side of the car, 16x$45.00 = $720.00 bodywork

$300.00 in sanding/prep work, hand & machine sand, prime then hand wetsand entire car to say 400grit. then mask and shoot it with my paint of choice..I would have no problem painting it with single stage ambassador

paint if i park it in a garage..so lets add $249.00 for paint..

so, 450+720+300+249= $1719.00 plus tax of course...

$1750.00 for a Z in pretty decent shape...

if you have other issues,

costs can raise the price alot..

strip bad vehicle paint to metal. (per panel..) 100.00

rustwork...cut and weld... one 2"-4" spot 90.00

dents... one 3"x5" dent 45.00

dent on bodyline add 1 hr.

so, lets look at a bad case...say 4 dents, a few parking lot dings, say 10, 4 rust spots, and real bad paint needing the whole car stripped to metal...

dents = 180.00 4x45

dings = 225.00 10x22.50

rust = 360.00 4x90

strip = 800.00 (8 major panels)

block = 720.00

sand = 300.00

paint = 249.00

Total: = 2834.00

add for base /clear 850.00

add for colorsand /buff 350.00

*of course these costs are just examples, prices very alot from car to car...

some need more of 1 thing and less of another..my average "nice" paintjobs

with some work needed are 1500-2500 dollars. my average "cheap" paintjobs are about 400-500 dollars...the average Maaco paintjob in california hovers around 850-900 dollars..nationally the average is about

650.00 or so.*

Maacos use one of the following paints,

Dupont

Sherwin Williams

PPG

This is the choice of the owner of the center...I use Sherwin Williams, mainly because they are local to me, so I get great support and service.

I also prefer the way Sherwin Williams single stage paints lay down on a car

they seem to be easyer to apply, nice and flat and shiny. for base / clear

I think dupont probably lays down a bit better, but sherwin williams is just as good quality but a touch harder to lay down.

with any classic car, I personally would "detrim" the car before bringing it

to a paint shop, pulling all emblems, marker lights, bumpers, headlights,

mirrors, etc..

ok ive typed enough i think...heres a couple pics of a car we did,

499.00 presidential single stage paint service, 200.00 for the stripes, and a few hundred for bodywork...

My painter carlos, Me in the middle and the owner on the right.

[EScanlon]

EXCELLENT!

I'm glad you posted as I was hoping to hear how things were going. Looks as if it's going good for you.

The points you make are ever so important, as they point out the one basic thing that folks need to remember whenever they're dealing with Bodywork and Painting...TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch). If you want the "Looks Great in Black with Clear Coat" paint job, you need to pay the painter AND the body man.

Thanks for posting.

Enrique

[CoastGuardZ]

Lance-

Good info... may make others think twice about where to go for paint/body work. Nova looks great! You can even make out y'alls reflestions in the black stripes.

Nate

[jackboxxx]

EXCELLENT!

I'm glad you posted as I was hoping to hear how things were going. Looks as if it's going good for you.

The points you make are ever so important, as they point out the one basic thing that folks need to remember whenever they're dealing with Bodywork and Painting...TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch). If you want the "Looks Great in Black with Clear Coat" paint job, you need to pay the painter AND the body man.

Thanks for posting.

Enrique

Right you are brother.

you know its funny, i get people coming thru the door daily who see the

advertising on TV for 249 and get very offended when I tell them thier car

needs a bit of work before I can paint it..(im usually just talking 100-300 dollars worth of prep work) (they usually have the nasty peeling

or cracking paint...) let alone bodywork..which I have to ignore so often (everyone thinks they are an expert when it comes to how those little dents

are UNimportant to fix...prior to painting...) then we paint thier car black...

and every single dent stands out like a sore thumb...

perfect example:

a guy comes in the other day, in a 90's camaro Z28, red, we write up a 1200.00 repair order...800.00 of it in bodywork, only buys the 249.00 basic paint, and 129.00 for basic prep work...(extra sanding / priming) now the Z28 came

with a base / clear paint orginally, but he just wants the basics as the vehicle is going out of state w/ his kid to school. ok fine, parents do this all the time for thier kids and thats great, buuuuttttt...this car is a 75% fiberglass & plastic car...the quarters are steel..the rest of the car isnt.

so we give him a disclaimer, saying how we cant warranty the plastic and fiberglass painting without special prep work, the guy says fine and signs it.

so, we do the bodywork and paint the car, we all think it looks great considering the money spent, clean flat and shiny w/ good reflection,

so good, that when the customer arrives to pick it up, he arrives in his other car, a custom truck, with a 5-10,000 dollar House of Kolor Kameleon paint job

on it. turns out this guy is a major gearhead & mechanic and starts picking

apart the paint job. saying things like the color is light and dark...and keeps pointing out the bottom portion of the car, above the rocker panel area..

which if you know how that style camaro is shaped, its very curved, with that part facing downward towards the ground...so the asphalt is reflecting

in the paint, making it look darker..I point this out...he wont listen..this goes on and on for like 30 minutes...he wanted me to repaint the car..which there was no reason to, and on a 249.00 paint job theres no profit allowing me too

anyways. (unless there is really something wrong with the paintjob in the 1st place, then I would..) so ended up giving him his 249 back, no warranty on the paint since he got it for free. point is, the guy tells me he just wants a coat of paint for his sons car, whos going away to school, then has his own car with a several thousand dollar paint job, and expecting his sons to look that good as well.

I guess im kinda offtrack and venting sorry...

[Virto]

uh oh...I think you are misinformed..

Very possible.

I'm just noting my experience from trying to get my '77 LTD sprayed at the Macco that used to be in Downer's Grove, IL. If there is a specific way things are supposed to be handled, that's great, but they sure weren't in my case.

Of course, the manager there was a real ****, and maybe thats part of why the place shut down a few years ago. I don't mean to blacklist the company if one guy wasn't on the up and up.

Hell, if you weren't 1500 miles away, I'd come have you paint my car.