the last maaco/earl schieb/one day paint thread... (a cheap/low end paint place FAQ)

[uncle_el]

yes folks, it's that time again. time for yet another faq thread by me.

people constantly ask about maaco paint jobs are they good, what kind of prep, how much paint, why is it so cheap, should i go there, my boy went there and he said..., i heard one time... this thread is designed to be a collection of thoughts/posts/concerns/issues regarding maaco.


maaco the company... how does it work?

maaco's are franchised. in other words, they are similar to mcdonald's, subway, bally's gyms, l.a. fitness, etc. etc. in other words, just because the maaco in city a is good, doesn't mean the maaco in city b is good. and the converse is true as well, just because one location is bad, doesn't mean that all locations are bad. like many businesses, the quality of a particular shop depends on the people that run and work in that shop.



why do they offer such a cheap paint job?/how can they offer such a cheap paint job?

prep work and the paint job itself. most people agree that the prep work at maaco isn't the greatest- i.e. on the cheapest paint job, there will not be much attention to the details (sanding, dent removal, taping the trim, etc.)

some say the cheapest paint job available at maaco doesn't even involve sanding... they simply paint over the existing paint!!!!!!!

if ur gonna get it painted at a production paint shop DEFINATELY do the prep/body work urself! when they sand the car down the dust is flying everywhere but they just go ahead and start painting the car... so the finished product u can actually see lil things in the paint that makes it not smooth. also, if u look at the paint from a side angle... u'll notice that the paint is marred and blurry and not clear. stand in front of ur door and u'll see that the reflection is not a clear reflection like it should be. like everyone has been saying... u get what u pay for!
oh btw, i suggest if ur going to get a production paint job then go to earl scheib. u can get their pro 3 paint for a lil over $300 with an extra clear coat and uv protection and 6 year warranty

Maaco and the other paint shops can offer low rates because they skimp on the prep work. And prep work makes or breaks a paint job.

So, do the prep yourself and have Maaco do the paint only.

do they have more than the $249 special?

yes.


well, what kind of paint jobs does maaco offer?

ambassador - cheapest paint job. described on maaco's website as "we paint the exterior with an industry workhorse, high grade automotive enamel. great value when price is a major concern." costs a few hundred dollars - this is the $249 paint job advertised on tv and in the papers.

presidential - per maaco "we paint the exterior with a material that is more resistant to environmental chemicals, weather extremes, and tough road conditions. enhanced performance with great value."

supreme - quoted from maaco "we paint the exterior with the most durable single stage paint material available- easy care finish with superior resistance to the sun's uv rays and environmental conditions. great long term performance and value, especially for light metallic finishes."

signature - maaco states "we paint the exterior with a two-step application process of base coat/clear coat technology, duplicating the "factory" look, color, and gloss. ideal for metallic finishes. state of the art for both look, durability, and maintenance." costs up to $1000 or more.


in the end, it comes down to the prep work.

Really depends on how much prep you get and what package you are looking at. Maaco is franchised. They do show quality multistage paint jobs also for the right price. They are like any other body shop.



Prep work is the most expensive part of a paint job. I know people who have put in 500 man hours into Body and Prep work into paint jobs. I have a bunch of friends who have done nice prep and body work and have gone to maaco and even with the $400.00 range packages have come out with NICE paint jobs. If you pay Maaco they will do prep work be specific though. Make sure you tell them what you want done and what you don't want done and make sure they write it down. If they don't do it right don't accept it. Maaco is known for single stage quick paint jobs, but they also do 2 stage work. I saw a guy with a black GTO at maaco who had spent $4000 and it looked amazing. Remember again they are just like any other body shop you have to sample their work and make up your mind.



If you know how to prep your car do it. If you hav3e the patience to learn and are good with your hands yes. If you aren't either of the above pay someone to do it. Body work isn't exactly hard but it is time consuming and you must strive to be a perfectionist while doing it.

On their higher quality jobs Maaco uses DuPont. Their paints are actually of decent quality. It's more their lack of preparation that keeps many people complaining, but what can you expect if you pay 400 or 500 dollars you will get little to no time in preparation on your vehicle. People put 100’s of hours of bodywork into their vehicles it’s not supposed to be cheap. If you pay a reputable Maaco location enough money and talk about what you want they can do great work also. For someone on a budget the best option is to learn to do some of the work themselves and take it to a shop like Maaco.

enough talk, show me some pics of some good maaco paint jobs!!!!!








from honda-tech.com

Recently took a project car to the paint shop for preparation to be up For Sale... it was originally tenitian green (spelling)... sprayed it electron blue.

Before


Before, but after the doors were installed




After








They oversprayed in a few areas, particularly around the hood hinges (hard to mask off). they definitely did a better job of masking the windows and trim pieces. When they sprayed Homer yellow, they did a horrible job of masking.

Downsides:
- They put a nice dent in the passenger door, but, I can't prove it...innocent until guilty i guess. If i was keeping the car, there would have been hell.
- cost me $402.
- took 7 days.

Overall, I highly recommend it for anyone on a budget and needs to have their car sprayed. it looks a 100% better.

I got my car done at maaco. just thought i give my 2 cents in coming from the eg forum. 300 dollars with presidential deal. took 4 days to finish. had the paint job for almost 2 years until my car got totalled, but the paint held up very well. At maaco, its either hit or miss. oh yea...i didnt do any prep work before going to get it done.

how can i make sure i get a good looking result?

prep work, prep work, prep work.

All depends on the painter, my friend slipped his $50 on the day of the paint

He did a marveloud job and painted the door jams for free and the unside of the hood

And what was in the trunk? Minimum of 20 shammy clothes and a few bottle of wheel polish and waxes

I plan to slip my guy some money as well

should i go there?/why should i go there?/why shouldn't i go there?/final synopsis

why choose MAACO:
- you realise your car is worth maybe $3500...so throwing a $700+ paintjob is pointless.
- you don't own a show car
- you need something that looks better than 3 different colours on various body panels
- you don't care if the paint chips away a bit after a year (ie. minor paintchips)


Why you SHOULDN'T choose MAACO:
- you really really like the appearance/paint quality of your car
- you own a show car
- you are a perfectionist (not a bad thing)
- you want your paintjob to last forever


for me, I'm ok with spending $300 on my paintjob every 3 years, vs, spending $700 every 5.

if you get ur shit painted by macco, u cant expect your car to be in a mag. cause there surely a difference in a macco paint job, and a high quality shop paint job, but then thats why macco isnt MONEY.

if your gonna beat your cars ass at the track, theres no point in spending a thousand plus for a fuggin paint job.

if you mod your car and use it at the track alot, might as well go with macco.

kyle had the ek painted at macco, and i dont plan on babying to 'show status', maccos fine with me:



this is a macco paint job.

you get what you pay for. plan your work, then work your plan. spend your time and money wisely.

[uncle_el]

some more pics of maaco paint jobs (couldn't fit them in the initial post):

One Day Paint :crook:






Then my old ass 98 DX back in 2001



One Day as well...Ashamed? sometimes..

[FDAccord]

Yeah they did a great job, my car turned into a BBB after two years!

[Backfire32]

i got my car painted by macco for 300 it turned out very well c-in how it only cost 300 but i have a kit and the only complaint i have about them is the paint does not hold up to pebbles on a kit at least the front piece kit is rock chiped to hell! and its not the fiberglass chipping its the paint chippin off the fiber. But overall the rest of the cars paint has held up
very well and think it was 300 for sure. i just need to get a basecoat clearcoat paint for the front bumper! they taped off every thing well with only minor overspray that i could clean off later with rubbing alcohol and scrubing. no runs in paint except minnor one on back bumper that they said they would reapaint for noting, but it does depend on who runs the business also.

[Aaron]

i got my car painted by macco for 300 it turned out very well c-in how it only cost 300 but i have a kit and the only complaint i have about them is the paint does not hold up to pebbles on a kit at least the front piece kit is rock chiped to hell! and its not the fiberglass chipping its the paint chippin off the fiber. But overall the rest of the cars paint has held up
very well and think it was 300 for sure. i just need to get a basecoat clearcoat paint for the front bumper! they taped off every thing well with only minor overspray that i could clean off later with rubbing alcohol and scrubing. no runs in paint except minnor one on back bumper that they said they would reapaint for noting, but it does depend on who runs the business also.

MMMM, im glad to hear the good review seeing as i also live in the dfw area , where was the macco you went to?

[georgeda]

Maaco paint jobs

I got a good job in Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. My paint was full of chips from hale with some rust, so all the flat surfaces had to be taken down to the metal. I asked them to call me after it was stripped so I would be sure they did it. I got the call and was told to get quickly so they could get the primer on before closing. They did what they said and the white paint job was beautiful. They said the paint had the clear coat mixed in - what ever that means. Now that job wasn't cheap - $800. Other body shops wanted more than twice the price.

[Aaron]

was the body shop that did this well known?

[deevergote]

I had to add a pic to the collection

Yes, Maacos are all franchises (at least as far as I know... no corporate stores). They deal with DuPont, so they have better paint now than they did a few years ago. They can offer the paint itself so cheap because of two things: The amount they buy, and the amount they apply... the cheaper jobs have a VERY thin coat compared to more expensive jobs (there and elsewhere).

I havn't taken the best care of my paint, and it's holding up pretty well. There are some flaws, but those would've been fixed had I brought the car back in... I never followed through with that (it's a temporary job anyway, so I don't care). I got the presidential job... on sale for $250. If you dare risk the winter weather on a new paint job, winter jobs are often MUCH cheaper, as that's when they run sales!

[bodiez]

I got a good job in Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. My paint was full of chips from hale with some rust, so all the flat surfaces had to be taken down to the metal. I asked them to call me after it was stripped so I would be sure they did it. I got the call and was told to get quickly so they could get the primer on before closing. They did what they said and the white paint job was beautiful. They said the paint had the clear coat mixed in - what ever that means. Now that job wasn't cheap - $800. Other body shops wanted more than twice the price.

Clear coat is a protective coat as well as a coat to cover minor errors such as fine dust getting trapped. 2-3 clear coat layers are excellent

[Accord_droccA]

well i geuss im going to do the ONE DAY PAINT... with school and a job, i need my daily driven car. Nice write up

[uncle_el]

$388 job

from this:









to this:

[Aaron]

$388 job

from this:









to this:

what kind of preping did you do on the car before you took it to macco to get painted?

[deevergote]

That's not el's car, just an example.

[uncle_el]

That's not el's car, just an example.

how do you know i didn't pic up a hatch foo?!?!?!?! lol.

no, it's not my car.
none of the cars in this thread are mine. most of the pics were found on honda-tech.com, minus deevergote's, and the acura legend (a local guy's car).

what kind of preping did you do on the car before you took it to macco to get painted?

here's the thread on honda-tech with more pics of the above hatch, with pics of the self prep work. the guy's quote:

cost me $388 bucks. i did the body work like dings and stuff, when i took it in, they sanded, primered the whole car, taped and sprayed... the results.....

btw, the car was done at 1 day paint and body shop... pretty similar to maaco as far as price and "perceived" quality.

honda-tech has a lot of guys that get cheap paint jobs... you're likely to see a thread over there about a cheap paint job every other week. it's a good resource to see you don't necessarily need a high end paint job.

[Aaron]

alright thanks...i had forgotten you started this thread and wasnt thinking so i thought the hatch was a previous car of yours, haha