Maaco anyone?

[HR-OLIFANT]

A new paint job is in order for the 60 this year, and I am trying to decide where to have it done. The husband of a coworker of my wife owns a Maaco franchise. Has anyone had experience with them? I understand that they are franchised and results may vary. I am looking for a clean, high luster close to new finish. The original color is 147 silver metallic, and we will either go with that or something a little darker in the same spectrum. Your thoughts?

[M5driver]

Maaco can be good, bad, or indifferent. Choose your franchise carefully. I have had excellent results with my 82 MB (Tucson AZ franchise) and really bad results with my FJ40 (Fairfax VA). In the first case, the work was done in 2002, required one small cut and patch (weld) and was done very well. Hardly any overspray, which cleaned up nicely, good patch, including restoring the undercoat. This car still looks very good; the urethane is holding up well to weather in AZ, TX including the coast, and KS, CO. I got the expensive job.

The FJ40 was another story. There were small three places needing cutting and patching. These were instead ground down a bit and filled with gobs and gobs of bondo - very obvious with the current tear down. The first attempt at painting was a disaster - white overspray on the blue, blue overspray everywhere. Several large and relatively obvious spots were missed, paint was applied over dirt and other crud, and there were smears and fingerprints in several spots. Second attempt was marginally better, only because I made them sand and clean the areas where the flaws were too obvious to ignore. This job was acceptable from 30 paces, but still flawed. Couldn't do a third attempt, since we were shipping out again (Bulgaria that time) and the truck had to be shipped. This paint was falling off the truck in less than a year. The only thing good I can say about it is that the paint that did not fall off helped protect the old mule from the road chemicals through 2 Bulgarian winters. In the tear down here in Malawi, it is obvious that the Maaco folks in Fairfax did not attempt surface prep for the most part. With enough time, I could have done a better job with rattle cans. This paint job cost 3x what the job on the Benz cost.

Now, I would not go to Maaco anywhere for anything. The Tucson franchise changed hands, so is now an unknown to quantity. The franchise in Fairfax deserves to go out of business. Never again.

[kb3gun]

Last time I used Maaco was in the late 80's. As long as you did all your own prep work (sanding, taping, wiping down, etc.) , they did a half decent job of throwing on the paint. When I look back now, I should have painted it myself as I did all the heavy lifting anyway. I have no idea how they are now days.

[Project60]

x2 on the point that each location is different.

My dad had his 40 painted at Maaco. Light blue with a white top. They did some body work - cut and weld on below the rear doors. Turned out good and the paint looked good for 5+ years that he owned it. Again - this was late 80's or early 90's.

[Sno bored]

I had my old 4 runner painted at Maaco, no bodywork. The paint turned out pretty good, just expect some overspray. I would use them again for a wheeling rig that will just get scraped up anyway.

[cruiser88]

Maaco blows

[mooker82]

Some of the guys are good but it really varies by store. My dad has had some of his stuff done (beater DD Hondas) and they turned out good. If you catch a sale you can get it painted for around $299. The guys do have a good bit of experience as they probably paint 10 cars a day, so they get plenty of practice. My brothers Heep turned out really well because the paint guy was a Heep guy and really took his time on it I think.

[Weedhopper]

To save money I would suggest doing ALL of the prep work, sanding, taping etc, and then go to a friendly local good body shop and have them spray it for ...cash.. We have done this with the kids Jettas and the results have been excellent. I would check to see if Maaco uses good quality paint. The quality I have seen from them is pretty poor.

[Jakes40]

I've found yhat its not just Maaco every body shop is the same way if you know the owner He should treat you right.
just remember you get what you pay for. if you pay $200 You will get a $200 paintjob.

good luck
Chris

[Brog]

X4
It really doesn't have anything to do with the sign over the door.
If the guys inside are good, take their time and use good quality paint, you'll end up with a great paint job.

The problem with the $300 places is that they can't afford to be meticulous or use quality products. They are about high volume and dealing with people that just want a $300 paint job.

Put some quality product and some incentive (more money or them being a friend of yours) into the picture and they can do just as good a job as any, if not better.

Keep in mind that you can spend $300 on middle if the road product alone.......

My $.02.

Me, I'm gonna paint it in the garage as soon as I raise some money to buy the top coat.

Brog

[HR-OLIFANT]

If I had a garage, I would attempt it myself. I plan on providing them with the paint, or will pay extra for a higher quality than what is standard. I have budgeted up to $1000 for paint, and though I don't expect to use it all, that should give you the idea of what quality I am looking for. Now, clear coat or not? This rig doesn't see as much trail time as most, more beach and farm riding, but I think I am leaning towards not clear coating to ease any future touch ups.

[Boogie]

If you like you paint coming off at 55 miles an hour...get a MAACO paint job. Then again, if it is for a beater...then I would suggest Maaco. It'a ll about the prep work before the paint is laid down!

[HR-OLIFANT]

Originally Posted by Boogie

If you like you paint coming off at 55 miles an hour...get a MAACO paint job. Then again, if it is for a beater...then I would suggest Maaco. It'a ll about the prep work before the paint is laid down!

What's that saying.... If you want things done right....

I will be doing all prep myself, to ensure the quality and to save some dimes. I will be checking his guys spray work, but he has two guys that do some nice sprays. This particular shop does a lot for the custom commercial and local racing guys. I will be negotiating which paint brand to avoid quality issues.

But, it will probably be May at the earliest before it gets sprayed. I've got some clean up to do first. I'll definitly keep all up to date on this portion of the project.

[Boogie]

Originally Posted by HR-OLIFANT

What's that saying.... If you want things done right....

I will be doing all prep myself, to ensure the quality and to save some dimes. I will be checking his guys spray work, but he has two guys that do some nice sprays. This particular shop does a lot for the custom commercial and local racing guys. I will be negotiating which paint brand to avoid quality issues.

But, it will probably be May at the earliest before it gets sprayed. I've got some clean up to do first. I'll definitly keep all up to date on this portion of the project.

I'm saying with cheap labor your better off prepping all teh panels and doing all teh body work yourself if your capable of doing so. This will save you from the paint flying off! Also, once it's sprayed, if you have some knowledge of color sanding & buffing, do it yourself and don't let them burn thru the clear. Runs in the clear are going to be common in alot of the "fast food" paint and body chains. Nothing really wrong with that...just means there's alot moe clear coat to play with in that area. People bitch and complain, but for the price, you really can't complain. You also have to be careful with some of the fast food paitn & Bodies, they will actually mix the clear with the paint...which is not good, it just means your shit will be peeling in a year under the hot sun! Good luck!

[79fj40moneypit]

Macco in Manchester CT. Sucks. They painted my wifes Camry and the first time she washed it in the automatic car wash the car went in black and came out brown! Half the paint came off in the car wash. Zero prep work, They steamed cleaned they body and sprayed the car with adhesion promoter then painted the car. One problem is the paint didnt stick. Macco sucks A$$

[brooklyn]

My advice is most body shops are doing insurance work and won't go near an FJ40 unless you are in the 5,000.00 complete body/paint discussion and then it will be done when the shop is slow. All the commercials shops are about ordering new replacement parts and shooting the paint and getting the next car in.

I think you need to drive around and find a small shop that will take 1000.00 in cash and do it for you, but be prepared to look for a while. I found a guy that paints school buses and had a little shop on the side.

The truck look great, but it was painted outside and there were small issues. I was okay with it b/c the price was what I wanted to spend (some body work, outside of truck, and doors - inside and out. I asked what other 4x4 they painted in the past or vintage cars - if they can't show you any pictures or works in progress I would not trust them.

MACCO in NYC is terrible and they are looking for poor fools who want something for nothing. Good luck, but keep looking for a shop who needs some "off the books" cash to pay down a bill. They are out there.

[decided advantage]

I paid MACCO over $500 to paint my GMC pickup. The result, I paid MACCO job to lower the value of my pickup from it tired orginal paint job around a $1000. Never again.

[wob]

If you are looking to spend 300 bucks for a paint job, just go to walmart and rattle can it camo. It will look better, and you'll save money.

[Senor Aguas]

From what I've seen, their cheap paint jobs look terrible. I had a '68 Chevelle SS396 painted at Maaco with a higher quality paint job (with separate clear coat) and it was much better. I paid $800 and thought it was worth it. It had a little orange peel, but with clear coat, you can buff it out. Mine had some rust bubble through within a year, but it was likely under the primer that I took it in with (I made the big mistake of buying a muscle car in primer).

That being said, it isn't that hard to get a similar quality (but $500 cheaper) paint job in your garage (have done that twice since then).