while my car needs paint bad really bad. i was thinking of going to maaco since the wife gave me a budget. so what do u guys think. also i was thinking of removing most of my trim pieces. any one know of an easy way to get all of the window moldings off without breaking every single clip. i think if i do most of the prep it would look better

 

from what i hear your better off renting a paint booth and doing it yourself or giving it a rattle can job....(i did the latter haha) im sure it would look good at first but wouldnt last like it should

 

Unless you are gonna get the higher dollar job from them, it will not last very long.
The only way to get there cheap paint jobs to last, is do all the prep work yourself. They don't sand or prime anything, and mask off little, as well.
If you're gonna do the prep work, might as well spray the color too.

 

Actually, I don't agree. The name on the sign doesn't mean as much as the guy doing the painting. What I DO agree with is to remove everything you can yourself, trim, headlights, tailights, etc. The price considers a set number of hours for prep work. Better those hours be spent on sanding and masking what you can't remove. I also suggest you get their highest quality. Second highest quality is fine for very light colors like white or beige.

My reference is that I've had excellent luck with the Maaco in Pomona on Holt. And I'm a picky sob.

The only thing I was very under impressed with is their color sanding (a $200-400 add) to remove any orange peel. I suggest you let a car parlor shop do it even if it costs bit more.

 

I did state that the lower dollar jobs, were the crappiest. They don't bother to sand anything prior to spraying paint. They just wipe it down with an "Adhesion promoter", and shoot paint over the dings and chips.

I haven't seen any of the upper end jobs they have done, so I did not comment on those.

Paint is one area where you get what you pay for, and it really shows. Maybe not right away, but a few months or years down the road.

 

You will not be able to remove the windshield trim w/o braking clips. No biggie. Black Dragon has them, as do many glass shops. Be very carful when removing the trim pieces. If there is any distortion in them, it will break the new clips during refit, particularly the smaller ones. Personally, I leave the drip rail trim on as they seem to be hardest to reinstall for me and those clips are NLA from what I understand.

Prep work is the key for a quality paint job. It's time consuming and can be frustrating for a novice when doing puttying and smoothing. There are some online 'How To' sites that cover the basics of tools and techniques.

 

i had my spec7 painted white at maaco. after 4 or 5 months there were small bubbles in the paint but only on the hood and nose piece. it has a 2 year warranty (i got the cheapest one, total of 380 with some additional sanding they had to do) they repainted the hood and nose cone w/ out even makin gme sign paperwork or pay any fee at all. pretty happy w/ them on that level but they don't do very good work all in all. they painted my muffler white... wtf... overspray all over my engine and radiator... wtf... wheel wells were all white... wtf, but its cheap and it does have warranty, enter @ ur own risk

 

Hit a local tech class and do it your self.

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/starting-work-my-85-se-618998/

 

yeah i was thinking of maybe painting it myself but i really dont have the time. i know not expect the best from maaco but what can you say for 500.00 they said 250 for paint and 150. for sanding and prep. i was thinking of taking off the moldings, headlights, tail lights ect. hey any one know where i can get all the mazda badges for my car.

 

Black dragon sells the badges.

 

maaco paint. not a good idea

my friend got a maaco paint job on his
VW corrado and the paint just comes off
at certain areas

 

Its all about the $$$$.No shop could stay in buisness if EVERY paintjob they did was crap.
If you pay them 300 bucks,youll get a 300 buck paintjob.Minimal prep time,less manhours and single stage enamel with only rudementary finishing.
If you pay them 3000 bucks,youll get more manhours,more prep time,better materials,more finish time, and a finer end product.

Of course,there are always wildcards,and there will always be incompetant painters and prep'ers.But if you paid more for the better job,then you have more latitude when it comes to disputes about quality and warrantees.

 

The one and only time I went to Maaco for a paint job (after hitting a deer on the highway), one of their prep techs stole the stereo out of my car while it was in their compound, they didn't bother covering the windows while sanding and filled my interior with dust, when I complained about both they tried to tell the bailiff I was refusing to pay the bill so they could seize my car, etc.

After returning with a cop and a piece of paper from my lawyer I got my car back, with a discount for the retail value of the stereo. But only after going through a week of phonecalls, faxes, and legal threats.

And I still had to get the dust cleaned out of my interior.

 

This was posted on my local club forum:
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/...0&fpart=1&vc=1

A $50 paint job. I've only read the 1st page but sounds like an interesting idea.

 

^^ I've seen this thread before, and it intrigued me as well. I think it sounds like it would work. I'm going to give it a try on an inconspicuous area I think....

 

If you pull as much trim as possible and point out areas you def want sprayed, the $500 MAACO paint job is perfectly fine for a daily driver. The painter and the owner of the shop's integrity are paramount...I got lucky because I had an opportunity to see some of Anasta's handiwork since he sprayed a local used car dealership's nicer inventory to get them to sell quicker....plus he liked the car to begin with, so that always goes a long way to getting preferential treatment while in the shop...I told him no time constraints and they had it done in a week.

And, boy, I just keep learning the things I need to mask myself every time I go to MAACO...



ps. Rogue_Wulff-----> It was the yellow FB at the last Quad State Rotary Meet...I was too cheap to get the color change extended into the door jams and hood, so you could see the red in some places...I'm going to rattle can and clear those areas prior to selling the car this Fall.

 

To have a great paint job, you need to go and pay more. When im in need of a paint job, not anytime soon, I figure i'll try and get the best paint shop in Vegas to do it.

 

Nobody needs a $15,000 paint job on an FB...

 

Oh, no way... totally agree. Well, maybe not the top paint shop in vegas, lol. I'd prolly pay like 1k or a little more at the most.

 

a good paint job that'll last usually runs $3,000-$5,000 depending on the prep work required.

 

I have so far read through page 10...I'm gonna try it on my Camaro since the paint for my 7 has already been purchased! Let ya know how it goes!

 

My 85 will be at one of the best reputable custom paint shops in Orlando in about 2 weeks ...the guy said between $1800-$2200. They remove everything including wheels, hood(and in this case hatch-window...to get the hinges off) only things they tape are things like wheel wells, windows, engine bay, ect...all molding/trim removed.
My buddy says that I'm an idiot, that I can get a good paint job for $1000...Well I've put alot of my $$ and over 3 months of my time 7 days a week into this car and I say I'm spending $1800-$2200 for a bad *** paint job...might even get a racing stripe or two on top

 

At that price, custom stripes or three tone paint with painted pinstripes should be a given...

 

I was going to post about the Mopar thread, but read a little further and see I was beat to the punch. I haven't tried it, but I did actually talk to the guy with the orange charger - very helpful with tips on how to do it and what exactly to use.

My only thought is this - what colour???

 

Without going into how much body and paint labor I paid out, for my car......I must say that you guys should be grateful,nay,extatic to get a GOOD paintjob for 2000 bucks out the door.
Body shop labor rates are insane here in CA,typically around $100 an hour.For a quality job,a couple grand will get you prepped,but there is still the materials,application and finishing to consider.I got a deal with the guy who did my car for $75 and hour since hes a customer of mine,but still,I had to break it down into 3 seperate visits over 2 years time because I couldnt swing the dough to do it all upfront.In the end,Im a bit embarrassed at how much I spent,but it goes along with the "snowball" effect that has applied to every other aspect of the build.