A lot of the cabbies around my home use Maaco for resprays. They use DuPont's cheap paint(Nason) but there's always lots of orange peel and dieback.
Maaco paint. what do you think of them?
- Thread starter WhyMe
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Still inexpensive if you do the prep yourself, I got a quote for my Miata using a 2016 Kia basecoat-clearcoat non-metallic of $C 1400.00 [$US 1,125.00].
The particular shop was Certified to do insurance repairs, and the late model repair vehicles waiting to be picked up looked fine. This one is an all PPG shop, so the materials are fine as well. The test sheets they sprayed for me looked excellent (two 8x10 inch boards with two OEM colors; 2016 Kia and 2016 Ford), so the guy with the gun knew what he was doing. He'd been there 20 years, plus there was one other long-term painter there.
Of course a Miata doesn't use much material, but I was OK with the quote. Still haven't painted the car, though ... waiting for a new convertible top first. I'm going to pull the vinyl black top, do the prep, and have them paint it before putting the new red canvas top on.
He did say that for that money it couldn't be a colour change as they would not spend a lot of time on door jams, etc. I was thinking of getting a quart of material from them and doing those myself.
The particular shop was Certified to do insurance repairs, and the late model repair vehicles waiting to be picked up looked fine. This one is an all PPG shop, so the materials are fine as well. The test sheets they sprayed for me looked excellent (two 8x10 inch boards with two OEM colors; 2016 Kia and 2016 Ford), so the guy with the gun knew what he was doing. He'd been there 20 years, plus there was one other long-term painter there.
Of course a Miata doesn't use much material, but I was OK with the quote. Still haven't painted the car, though ... waiting for a new convertible top first. I'm going to pull the vinyl black top, do the prep, and have them paint it before putting the new red canvas top on.
He did say that for that money it couldn't be a colour change as they would not spend a lot of time on door jams, etc. I was thinking of getting a quart of material from them and doing those myself.
Originally Posted By: WhyMe
i need to get a bumper painted .
What car? Front or back? You may be able to order a painted bumper.
i need to get a bumper painted .
What car? Front or back? You may be able to order a painted bumper.
They did a new Chinese fender I put on my Sentra. Charged $65 to paint it. Base coat, clear coat. No orange peel. Paint was fine for the next 5 years I had the car. The other cars they had in there looked good. The manager of that location was really good and tried hard to keep the quality up.
Maaco just did this for me last month for $400 and that included fixing one small area.
Originally Posted By: BJD78
When Earl Sheib (the guy who would paint any car for $99.00) finally closed shop, about maybe 10 years ago or so, Maaco probably became the modern day Earl Sheib, though with somewhat higher prices. Earl Sheib paint jobs looked good for about a month or 2. One gets what ones pays for with paint shops.
Earl Sheib gave you more than you paid for. They painted chrome bumpers, glass, tires, all included in the price.
When Earl Sheib (the guy who would paint any car for $99.00) finally closed shop, about maybe 10 years ago or so, Maaco probably became the modern day Earl Sheib, though with somewhat higher prices. Earl Sheib paint jobs looked good for about a month or 2. One gets what ones pays for with paint shops.
Earl Sheib gave you more than you paid for. They painted chrome bumpers, glass, tires, all included in the price.
Prep is everything in any recoat.
After that, shops don't paint cars, painters do.
If you're willing to do the prep and you find a shop with a guy who can shoot paint, then you're set.
You'll find few shops who won't claim to have the master shooter, but a look at their work will tell you who can shoot a finish and who can't.
It really is both an art and a skill.
The one car I've prepped and shot using acrylic enamel looked pretty good and was improved by many applications of an AIO product.
After that, shops don't paint cars, painters do.
If you're willing to do the prep and you find a shop with a guy who can shoot paint, then you're set.
You'll find few shops who won't claim to have the master shooter, but a look at their work will tell you who can shoot a finish and who can't.
It really is both an art and a skill.
The one car I've prepped and shot using acrylic enamel looked pretty good and was improved by many applications of an AIO product.
I wouldn't use them again. Inferior paint is peeling off the hood that was painted after a fender bender about 5 years ago
Just a bumper may be ok. A whole car....no way.
13 or 15 years ago during the Winter sales a Maaco shop (Saddle Brook, NJ) looked at my sister's red 1988 2 door Jeep Cherokee. Cute car.
We learned through conversation that the owner of the franchise lived in our wee town. The $X00 paint job became $800 and they did a FANTASTIC job. I stopped by during the prep and they filled dents I hadn't seen earlier.
No extra charge for reapp of pinstriping. Made the car fun to drive and REAL EASY to sell 3 years later.
This, of course, is not a usable testimonial.
We learned through conversation that the owner of the franchise lived in our wee town. The $X00 paint job became $800 and they did a FANTASTIC job. I stopped by during the prep and they filled dents I hadn't seen earlier.
No extra charge for reapp of pinstriping. Made the car fun to drive and REAL EASY to sell 3 years later.
This, of course, is not a usable testimonial.
Originally Posted By: Donald
Earl Sheib gave you more than you paid for. They painted chrome bumpers, glass, tires, all included in the price.
Earl Sheib gave you more than you paid for. They painted chrome bumpers, glass, tires, all included in the price.
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Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
The cheap comes out expensive...
Like my Dad used to say all the time. "They have the best equipment money can buy." BUT, they have mostly morons for employees who have no clue how to do "quality" prep work.
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I had an Earl Scheib store do a complete paint job on an old VW Beetle in 1985...I think I paid $59. It was a light metallic blue and had "tiger stripes" on the roof, but aside from that it looked OK for what it was.
I had a silver base/clear fender repaired and painted on a 1989 Corolla at a MAACO store in South St. Louis when the car was almost new...looked like [censored], lots of dirt in the paint, clearly single-stage, BUT it was a lot cheaper than Weber Chevrolet wanted for a proper repair.
I had a silver base/clear fender repaired and painted on a 1989 Corolla at a MAACO store in South St. Louis when the car was almost new...looked like [censored], lots of dirt in the paint, clearly single-stage, BUT it was a lot cheaper than Weber Chevrolet wanted for a proper repair.
I had my 66 Mustang painted at Maaco, but I did the prep work. I also paid for an upgraded brand of paint. Came out great!!! Total cost, $400. It was every bit as good looking as the multi thousand dollar, conventional body shop paint job I had on the car before, which faded in the sun very rapidly.
And, ya know what, the Maaco paint did not fade or have sand scratch swelling like the previous job.
I'd have to give them high marks. But I knew to do the prep myself.
And, ya know what, the Maaco paint did not fade or have sand scratch swelling like the previous job.
I'd have to give them high marks. But I knew to do the prep myself.
Sorry if I missed it somewhere in here, but what does the Maaco "$299" paint job cost today? Last I checked materials alone cost lots more than that.
Originally Posted By: JTK
Sorry if I missed it somewhere in here, but what does the Maaco "$299" paint job cost today? Last I checked materials alone cost lots more than that.
Their website says "starting at $345". My next door neighbor had his 95 Dodge Ram painted by Maaco last year. He went with their urethane base/clear for $1100 but it cost him $1500 after the up-charges. Other than all the dents he opted not to have them fix, and not having it buffed, the paint looks great. His truck is parked outside so only time will tell how good the paint job really is.
Sorry if I missed it somewhere in here, but what does the Maaco "$299" paint job cost today? Last I checked materials alone cost lots more than that.
Their website says "starting at $345". My next door neighbor had his 95 Dodge Ram painted by Maaco last year. He went with their urethane base/clear for $1100 but it cost him $1500 after the up-charges. Other than all the dents he opted not to have them fix, and not having it buffed, the paint looks great. His truck is parked outside so only time will tell how good the paint job really is.
Originally Posted By: funflyer
My next door neighbor had his 95 Dodge Ram painted by Maaco last year. He went with their urethane base/clear for $1100 but it cost him $1500 after the up-charges. Other than all the dents he opted not to have them fix, and not having it buffed, the paint looks great. His truck is parked outside so only time will tell how good the paint job really is.
That kind of money, for that level of paint and bodywork, for that truck... it's actually upsetting to read.
My next door neighbor had his 95 Dodge Ram painted by Maaco last year. He went with their urethane base/clear for $1100 but it cost him $1500 after the up-charges. Other than all the dents he opted not to have them fix, and not having it buffed, the paint looks great. His truck is parked outside so only time will tell how good the paint job really is.
That kind of money, for that level of paint and bodywork, for that truck... it's actually upsetting to read.
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Originally Posted By: funflyer
My next door neighbor had his 95 Dodge Ram painted by Maaco last year. He went with their urethane base/clear for $1100 but it cost him $1500 after the up-charges. Other than all the dents he opted not to have them fix, and not having it buffed, the paint looks great. His truck is parked outside so only time will tell how good the paint job really is.
That kind of money, for that level of paint and bodywork, for that truck... it's actually upsetting to read.
If I recall, the only bodywork they did was to fill holes after removing some side trim that separated the original 2 tone paint. They also suggested he go with a better primer as the truck was dark blue and he wanted it silver. They did a few other snake oil up-charges but I can't remember what they were exactly.
Originally Posted By: funflyer
My next door neighbor had his 95 Dodge Ram painted by Maaco last year. He went with their urethane base/clear for $1100 but it cost him $1500 after the up-charges. Other than all the dents he opted not to have them fix, and not having it buffed, the paint looks great. His truck is parked outside so only time will tell how good the paint job really is.
That kind of money, for that level of paint and bodywork, for that truck... it's actually upsetting to read.
If I recall, the only bodywork they did was to fill holes after removing some side trim that separated the original 2 tone paint. They also suggested he go with a better primer as the truck was dark blue and he wanted it silver. They did a few other snake oil up-charges but I can't remember what they were exactly.
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Neighbors got back from their summer camping trip this week so I decided to go take a look at the truck and see how the paint was holding up. Well, Maaco is going to have to address a spot on the hood that started to peel/crack and also answer to why there is no primer under the new paint when it was added to the cost of the paint job.
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