I was in hell with wet sanding. I was at 400 wet, then 600 and then to 800. It took me 2 days and 13 hours each day w/ 30 min lunch. I did use the red scotch bright on some corners and the side mirrors.
Show me Your Maaco Paint jobs
- Thread starter DocuDude
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I did in some areas only because that’s what it took to get it smooth, I basically sanded everything til i couldn’t feel any imperfections , the hardest area to sand was the hood because it was so sun baked
As others have stated, the main variables that determine the quality (or lack thereof) of your Maaco paint job are:
1. Prep.
2. Prep.
3. Prep.....you can do it yourself (it's very time consuming to do correctly) or pay them to do it. If you pay them to do it, it will be expensive because, did I mention, it's very time consuming to do correctly? Whether you do it, or they do it, if your prep work sucks, the finished paint will suck.
4. Find a GOOD Maaco. Not all are created equal. They are a franchise, some are horrible. Read reviews, visit the shop, check out finished work, talk to the people, be nice, and even try to schedule your paint on a day where one of the better/more experienced painters is working....maybe slip them some paper directly to take extra care of your vehicle.
5. Even good Maaco finishes I've seen from better locations often have pretty terrible overspray issues. If you don't want your mud flaps or exhaust or trim pieces to get dusted, make sure they are all prepped/masked. Did I mention prep is important?
6. Prep. It's very important.
If you take all of this into account, you can get a really great paint job at Maaco. I was quoted $1600 at a local Seattle location for my 08 Cruiser. This was PAINT ONLY and some basic masking for overspray. This price assumed the vehicle would be smooth (ie all body work done), properly sanded (400-600 grit), stripped of all trim, gaskets, lights, door handles, mirrors, etc. and masked off in any areas that aren't obvious like windows, trim, interior that they might not bother masking because it's generally less of a big deal for most people. Such areas would include things like exhaust, trailer hitch, mud flaps, spare tire, etc. For this price, they will literally just mask off super obvious stuff and spray it. Again, if prep is done properly, it will look gorgeous. If there's any orange peel you just can't live with, you're welcome to wet sand, buff and polish, which will leave you with beautiful, show quality paint even better than OEM (I don't believe OEM paint is wet sanded). As @lp2k mentioned, wet sanding can be a nightmare.....days of work. That's often why $10k paint jobs cost $10k, and look like $10k. So either spend the $10k to have someone else do it, or spend $1-$2k at Maaco and do the time-consuming stuff yourself.
1. Prep.
2. Prep.
3. Prep.....you can do it yourself (it's very time consuming to do correctly) or pay them to do it. If you pay them to do it, it will be expensive because, did I mention, it's very time consuming to do correctly? Whether you do it, or they do it, if your prep work sucks, the finished paint will suck.
4. Find a GOOD Maaco. Not all are created equal. They are a franchise, some are horrible. Read reviews, visit the shop, check out finished work, talk to the people, be nice, and even try to schedule your paint on a day where one of the better/more experienced painters is working....maybe slip them some paper directly to take extra care of your vehicle.
5. Even good Maaco finishes I've seen from better locations often have pretty terrible overspray issues. If you don't want your mud flaps or exhaust or trim pieces to get dusted, make sure they are all prepped/masked. Did I mention prep is important?
6. Prep. It's very important.
If you take all of this into account, you can get a really great paint job at Maaco. I was quoted $1600 at a local Seattle location for my 08 Cruiser. This was PAINT ONLY and some basic masking for overspray. This price assumed the vehicle would be smooth (ie all body work done), properly sanded (400-600 grit), stripped of all trim, gaskets, lights, door handles, mirrors, etc. and masked off in any areas that aren't obvious like windows, trim, interior that they might not bother masking because it's generally less of a big deal for most people. Such areas would include things like exhaust, trailer hitch, mud flaps, spare tire, etc. For this price, they will literally just mask off super obvious stuff and spray it. Again, if prep is done properly, it will look gorgeous. If there's any orange peel you just can't live with, you're welcome to wet sand, buff and polish, which will leave you with beautiful, show quality paint even better than OEM (I don't believe OEM paint is wet sanded). As @lp2k mentioned, wet sanding can be a nightmare.....days of work. That's often why $10k paint jobs cost $10k, and look like $10k. So either spend the $10k to have someone else do it, or spend $1-$2k at Maaco and do the time-consuming stuff yourself.
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