I have a 89 GXE I have rust kinda bad on the bottom of my fenders and I want to buy used fenders but I cant seem to find pearl white fenders anywhere Ive been calling junk yards all week and even if I did they wont be exaclty the same color but Im not ready to paint my car and I dont want to ride around with a mismatch car. Some time in the next 3 or 4 months after I find the fenders and get some other repairs done I was thinking about getting the car painted to blend the colors a little, but I have one small problem, I am a poor college student and I cant afford a 1500-2000 dollar paint job. How bad is an Earl Scheib paint job. I know you get what you pay for but will it be that bad. I mean I dont expect a factory quality paint job. Please someone help me out I dont know what to do.

Earl Scheib is basically on the equivilent of Maaco.

It's hard to tell. All depends on management and employees at each specific location.

There's a Maaco by me that does REALLY good paint jobs....didnt say nice paint....I'm talking about strictly the job itself. Then there's also a Maaco by me that does REALLY bad paint jobs (which is a rarity).

For the most part though, stay away from Earl Scheib and Maaco. The biggest problem with them is their use of crappy paint and rushed preparation. But then again, whatdya expect for 200 bucks.

Im sorry I know this sounds like a dumb question but what do you mean by bad paint. What will happen to the paint. I dont really know anything about paint. What will happen to the paint?

Well they dont use a base-coat/clear coat system. Meaning, color coat, then glossy clear coat on top.

They either dont use any clear coat at all or they use a mixture of of like 20/80 clear/color coat. I forgot what they call it but they try to make it sound good. They also WONT give you a true clear coat even if you specifically ask for it.

Basically the paint will look good for a couple months then become really dull. It's also probably gonna flake off and chip.

how about providing the paint?

Or painting it yourself. You can get a good quality gun for under a hundred bucks.

Practice on a junk car. Get your strokes goin, rent a paint booth or even shade-tree your own.

I plan on doin it.

I had a friend that went to Maaco and got a paint job (from white to red). A few months later, some of the paint started bubbling and fading and you could see the old color showing through. I wouldn't bother if you plan to keep the car for a while.

Macco paint is about $30 and quality paint is $100 and up

In a month or two when I get some money could I just go to a reputable paint shop and get a clear coat put on top? As you guys can see I dont know anything, I dont know what I would do without this forum. Im not really worrying about the original color showing through because I am painting it the same color but I definitely dont want the paint to start chipping off.

I've had an Earl Scheib paint job for the last 5 months and it still looks slick!!! I got their best package for $500 and it come with a 6 year warranty. my advice is find out how good the painters are and one day go up there and watch them do a car(ie-masking, sanding, etc.)...not only will you see their quality of work, but they'll see you watching and most likely they'll do the same for your car since they think you know the procedure.

besides a little overspray on the pass. door(which I had redone for free), my car is looking 100 times better than it used to! plus the Pewter Metallic paint job look sweet in the sunshine, the only thing you have to remember to do is wash and wax it a little more than you would usually, I agree Earl Scheib paint isn't the best, but if you give meticulous care you'll be fine.

not sure if this will work but here is a pic of the paint job --->

http://92turbomax.0catch.com/Picture_0425.jpg

...and then you get into the Chromalusion type stuff that can easily triple the amount of that $100 quality paint.

my2ndmax, basically, you get what you pay for.

The problem with earl scheib and maaco isn't that their paint isn't good, it's preparation work isn't good. Basically if you take your car in one day, you get it the next day, that will never work.
If you take your time and sand your car yourself before going to a place like maaco and earl scheib, then you shouldn't have a problem with the paint itself as long as there aren't any runs and other blemishes. The reason why their paints usually start to flake off is because they don't sand the car properly, therfore the paint doesn't stick properly. It could be the worst quality paint, but as long as the car is prepped correctly, it'll stick fine
As Damax said, their 'top of the line' paint packages are often good. The cheap jobs like $200 just includes paint, no clear coat, that looks aweful. Many shops will try and rip you off, try going to one that's reccomended to you, when you go look at the quality of work the do on other cars..etc etc. I think a budget paint job is alot better than having a sucky paint job on the car currently, some people can't afford expensive paint jobs..you guys should try and understand that.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DA-MAX
[B]not sure if this will work but here is a pic of the paint job --->

Thanks I was starting to think no one had anything even halfway positive to say. Glad to see that someone has had a good experience.

Thanks Sudesh for understanding that I dont just have 2 grand sitting under my bed. I will take your advice.