codyfr

When the choice comes down to leaving the pale, oxidized and disentegrating paint on the car, or getting one of the higher quality paint jobs at Maaco (as in the $1500 dollar ones), what would you do? I mean, is it so bad that they will cause irreverible damage?


The cheapest high quality paint job I can find is $5,000. I'm not sure I can swing that.

JRRSA

In my opinion, a really bad paint job is much worse than pale oxidized paint, especially if it's the original paint.

Rotten Robby

It isn't the paint. They can spray paint. The problem is the prep. If you want to go to the trouble of removing and prep sanding everything it could turn out quite nice. But if you left a piece of gum stuck to the fender they would spray right over it and be justified according to the contract you signed.

scottb

If you truly don't care about originality or quality paint, then the Maaco job will be fine. It will improve the looks of your car, without a doubt. However, you'll have overspray in some areas and tape lines in others. If that kind of stuff doesn't bother you, and all you want is a car that looks good at a glance, then go for it!

Among the problems you'll have though, is that if you ever do want a quality re-spray at some point in the future, you'll have to deal with the "issues" of the Maaco job. That might mean more prep work down the road.

Have you considered doing most of the prep work yourself and then letting Maaco spray it? That might help prevent some of the inevitable problems.

Daniel Dudley

I have prepped for a few Maaco paint jobs that were great for the price. I also have seen a job where the fellow prepped, color sanded and buffed his car, after paying extra for premium paint and clear coat. That was a nice paint job.

The thing is, these guys spray all the time, so you know they have that down. How good are your bodywork and prep skills ? Personally, I have thrown 3K+ paint jobs on 10K cars, because I know they will sell easier, even if I don't make it back. Also I get to look at and enjoy the car while I have it.

The question is, is the car mechanically and bodily worth the job, or will you be throwing more into it later because it's not done and you are in too deep ? For a fun car, that you pull the hardware off yourself, and strip or prep, a Maaco can be just the ticket.

84_Carrera

Bingo... from experience.

Mike Murphy

Are you up for doing some of the prep work yourself? You could save some money there. Also, if you shop really long and hard, you can find a good painter who just loves to paint and doesn't really do it for the money.

Peter Zimmermann

Prep it yourself and you'll end up with a 10-footer (looks good from 10 feet away), let them prep it and you'll end up with a 25-footer (looks good from ...) The problem isn't so much the guy spraying, it's (1) I don't think that you'll find Glasurit paint at a Maaco shop, or (2) The high-buck booth filters found in super high quality body shops are better at controlling/eliminating surface dirt found stuck in the finish coat of cheap paint jobs. Yes, item 2 can be a maintenance issue, unfortunately that doesn't change much. We saw many instances when a cheap paint job had to be removed in order to properly refinish the exterior of a car, it can be a very big job. Part of the problem is, during prep, moldings on doors, window frames, and other expensive trim pieces get scratched with sand paper (they're only masked following sanding), glass gets damaged, etc. The end result usually becomes a dramatic reduction in resale value, especially in a market where a similar car, with decent to excellent paint, can be found.
Pete

Loaded

had my jeep wide track painted at maaco I prepped it and it came out great they even nailed the stock rust color spot on.......

Prep is the word here

codyfr

Thanks for all the advice. If I could find a reputable shop that does paint jobs for $3000, I would be all over it. But I think maybe I will just wait a while on the paint, and maybe work on the interior instead.



As for doing the prep work myself, I really know nothing about it. Don't most shops use a 'wet sander' or something? Are those affordable?

Eric_P

I did the Maaco Shuffle on my 924 (couldn't justify anything more expensive). When I took it in, there was nothing left attached to body: all lights, trim, bumper pads, etc. were off (probably shouldn't have driven it that way, but I was young and dumb). I had a local paint guy do the prep work before I took it in, so it was all primered and ready to go. Came out nicely, except for the ONE piece I forgot to take off: the passenger door mirror. Two lousy screws, but they just taped and painted (bad tape job, too!)
You get what you pay for, but if you do most of their job for them, you're that much further along.
Besides, who's going to take the time to fool with your car when they've got all them Camaros lined up outside?

Lancaster911

Oh My God!!!

I would not get any car painted by them let alone a Porsche. You take a hand-made car with heritage like that only to have a "sprayer" paint it? Prep or not, it is alittle more than spraying paint at that point. You owe the car more than that.

A full paint job, full = taking things off the car not masking. should be 3-5k.

I don't post here alot, but people entertaining the idea made me throw up in my mouth.

rnln

I might be wrong or frstrated someone but this is my very personal opinion.
I think you should not do it, wait until you are ready for a btter paint job. If you must do it soon, you rather learn the paint process and do it yourself. Seriously, if you can do a right prep statages, why not learn the paint stages.
When I have my old car, a classic, and didn't plan to make it a nice classic. Even just a pln to have an ok layer of paint to protect the car, after the guy showed me their several fresh new painted cars, I left.

craiglwakefield

I have always been able to find a small shop that will do a $3,000-5,000 paint job. if you Strip the car down and there isn't much body work. That goes a long way in decreasing labor costs.

My SC has a $5,000 two stage paint job and it is stunning. My 914 will be out of the paint shop this month and I will have $4,000 into welding, body and two stage paint.

Save your money and shop around. You will be glad you did

codyfr

I asked the guy here who is pretty much the most reputed mechanich in the area for 911s (John Walker) and he reccomended this place to me called British Sportscars for what he said was just about the cheapest high quality paint job in Seattle. This place quoted me around $5,000. Granted, that was over the phone, and I plan to take it to them to get a proper quote, but that just might not be in the books for a while. Maybe I will focus on interior for the time being. IT needs a lot of work too.

The engine is perfect though, so that's is one headache I don't have. The engine has like 50 miles on it