SGOGT4

Okay, before I get crucified, I am thinking of having my 944 repainted. In an effort to minimize expense, I am contemplating doing the prep work myself and having a cheap shop (read Maaco) spray the car. My local mechanic told me that they have the best equipment, but that their prep can leave something to be desired. My father is considering the same on his BMW 2002. Other than blasting me, does anyone have any constructive input. Thanks...

Dave

No, I'll just blast you.

Unless you can get it there after everything you don't want painted is removed or masked, it may be a nightmare. A friend had his Spitfire painted there a number of years ago, I helped him do the prep work(we had the same plan), and the paint itself came out very good. There was a run in one quarterpanel, but they sanded and redid that panel. They also paid for the new top, since we couldn't get the overspray off. There was so much over spray IN the car, you would have thought they shot it with the windows open, until you saw the windows. YMMV.

awilson40

As anything, it depends on the people that work there. Do the prep yourself, remove everything you can. Check your local 'cheap'paintshops and ask to see their work. Also look at some local 'back yard shop' guys. Some of the best work comes from small 'mom and pop' outfits. If you do a little research you will find a good shop. The prep work is where the $$$ is. The best paint job I ever had was on a custom 'california style' VW I built. I did all the prep, bought the paint and got a local shop to shoot it for $100 (20 years ago) It was nice.

jim968

If you've got a local mechanic or repair shop that you trust, I'd ask them for a recommendation. Also local custom rodders, if you know any.

Otherwise, visit several shops in your price range and ask to see some of the work they're doing as well as finished results. Discuss your plans with the shop boss, and be sure they're OK with it. Be prepared for a hassle later when they say that the poor results are the fault of your prep work, not their painting....

And (not a blast, just a caution) remember that a repaint may lower yourt car's resale, depending on how bad it is now. At least keep photo records to prove that it wasn't done because of collision damage.

Jim, still groggy from too much food...

icat

Had the same dollar concerns when I was in college a few years back. The 83 944 that I had at the time was in bad shape - we called her "Code Red" bacause she was in critical condition. Anyway. I didn't want the paint job to cost more than the car, so I investigated several local Maaco type paint shops. I found one that did some nice looking work and decided to go with them (after checking with the BBB). They offered to paint the car for $300 as I recall. I took the lights out, removed the bumper pads, pulled the door handles, door locks, trunk locks, and everything else I could find. The paint came out VERY nice. They did make a major goof (sprayed over the rock guards that I had asked them to remove - luckily it was in the contract), but they corrected the mistake with out any hassle at all. The only thing I can say was a disappointment is what the others have mentioned - overspray was everywhere! I made the mistake of cleaning the engine about two months prior to the paint job, gave the overspay a nice clean surface to stick to! I'd stongly recomend coating the things you don't want painted with something the paint won't stick to - maybe spray on some WD-40 or something - anything is better than bare, clean metal!
All in all though, I was quite satisfied. New paint got rave reviews and a few "dropped jaws" when they found out what the cost was.
One other thing - take as much of the interior out as you can and have the car towed to the paint shop. Make the paint shop call you AFTER they have preped the car and BEFORE it goes into the paint booth. This will give you a chance to correct any misses they made with the masking tape.

Cobbs

MAACO might be a bottom line type business but the fact remains that they do have a better paint booth than most of the smaller guys.

J Berk

I have to agree with the previous replies! I did this with my first car ( a 1971 Volvo 142E)....removed EVERYTHING I could from the exterior of the car that I did not want painted ( grill, headlites, trim, doorhandles, mirrors, etc)...stripped the wax off the car and wet-sanded in stages down to something like 400grit wet-sandpaper and had it towed to a local highway paintshop where I got the $350 special ( nassau blue Chevy paint on a Volvo!)....it looked fantastic ( although there was some overspray)! I think most of those shops do a decent job with the paint...just very little prep....

Good luck!

John Struthers

For what its worth:
A friend of mine had 2 different vette's painted -poly-urethane- it was either the $800 or $1100 premier job. He did absolutely no prep work and the jobs turned out immaculate. There was some very fine overspray on some of the glass and one mirror
but, he took it back and they cleaned it up in less than 20 minutes. Maybe some of ole Earl Schibe's unemployed tractor painters are still out there painting with straw brooms or dumping paint in front of a bunch of high speed fans. If its not hearsay, vote with your feet and put the word out. Sweets for the sweet and Merde for those who richly deserve it.
John S. 82' weissach,Auto., 928 Pattycakes