someone446

P.O. decided to paint the 944 that I just bought a light shade of baby blue with pinstripes. I was thinking of going back to something more original, like guards red or black.
Anyone know of any body shops in the nyc area that will do the job for relativly cheap?
Thanks

apierce918

find a maaco

and remember, you get what you pay for

FRporscheman

Then why are you suggesting a Maaco? I mean, if you're dying for a new color, and don't have much cash, then that's what Maaco is there for. But otherwise, it'd be wise to avoid such shops. Trust me, you will wish you just left the car alone.

Trust me, I ruined my mom's 944 by taking it to Earl Scheib.

Though, I spent 3 months prepping my old 944 for paint, and had Earl Scheib spray it for me, and it came out well. But that took a lot of work on my part.

pjburges

Is the old rumor about Earl Scheib using watercolors true? Like when it rains after the car has been painted you can see the colored water running down the driveway?

Ive spent about 8 months on the body work on my 944 and am about to take it somewhere to be sprayed - do think an Earl Scheib would turn out pretty good since ive done all the body work?

flashgordon

Prep work is what makes or breaks a paint job. If you have done all of the prep then most shops will do a decent job painting. There is a huge difference in the quality between different Maco and Earl Sheib shops, so if you go that route it is important to research the shops in your area. The big chains like Maco are hit or miss.

xsboost90

maaco and earl shieb use enamel- which is not a water color but just a cheap paint- not so UV resistant either. SHops like Maaco CAN do a good job sometimes though if you spend more $ and pay for a quality job w/ eurethane paint. Ive seen some killer paintjobs come from Maaco when they did them right. My dad used to run a Maaco back in the day.

BeerBurner

My 944 was painted by Maaco five years ago. It's not a perfect job (the paint is easier to chip and I should have wetsanded it) but all in all, it was worth the $3-6k that I didn't spend versus what everyone else wanted to shaft me for.

Of course, I stripped the car down myself and had them only spray the paint.

BB.

apierce918

because he said CHEAP

harrisonrick

Buyer beware.

Tenacious_G

My PO had resprays on a few quarter panels and it strips off in chunks. Kind of a day wrecker. Caviat emptor.

FRporscheman

Don't know how I missed that part!

If you've done all the prep work yourself, then Maaco or w/e will come out somewhere between pretty nice and really good. Let me make a few specific suggestions:



-cover the wheels, and douse the tires with tire shine (to be a barrier) because the shop will probably get paint on the wheels and tires. DONT ask me how I know - it's a painful story

-pay for the separate clear coat (not integrated)

-try to stick with solid colors

-go to all the local cheap paint shops, and look at the cars they just painted, then pick the shop which does the best job. Also try to figure out which worker did which car, and get friendly with him. Make sure HE paints your car, and not some other fool.




I've had issues with Earl Scheisse concerning the baking of the paint, and special requests. For example, they didn't bake the 928 we just got painted. I know this because the 928 now has road dust engrained into the front bumper, and the dust that settled on the rest of the car feels like it wants to stick on. Also, when I asked them to paint the mirrors and bumper caps separately, they forgot the mirrors, and took 2 weeks to finally do them.

Basically, expect the worst and be ready for anything. When you get the car back and it looks way better than expected, you'll be happy. Be ready to wetsand! And $500 really beats $5000. It's just paint, it's just looks. If I had $5000, I'd use $500 on paint and I'd dump $4500 into the engine or suspension/brakes.

500

Prep is very important as everyone says, and I remember the huge hours that I put into it. However, don't under-estimate the importance of the paint quality either. ANY brand of paint can look very good at first, but the longer-term durability of a quality activated urethane paint is streets ahead of the cheaper stuff. If you have ever looked into how much quality paint products cost (just the cans of liquid) you would know.

Although I consider paint as much a component of the car as anything else, I can appreciate why not everyone wants to spend lots of dollars on it. In many cases the car my not be "worth it". However, be wary of spraying truly cheap paint on a car, as it can become a real liability later on. I would look for a workmanlike shop that sprays some decent quality stuff from the likes of PPG, DuPont, BASF etc.

Rrrockhound

Regarding Maaco...a bribe to the person who checks your car in might not hurt...

420WHP944

Very true Allen - very true.

I painted my own car and saved a shed load of greenbacks - I recommend you guys take the plunge and do it yourself - you would easily do a better job than some of the Maaco efforts I've seen.

V2Rocket

If I had $4500 extra I'd buy an LS6.