Im getting a body kit installed and painted and I got to wondering how much would it cost me just to paint the car black ? My car is white like 54 other people in my town with 4th gens. Anyways I have always thought the white maxima has trouble matching all the pieces, my front oem and rear oem bumpers have never really matched. And with the kit install and painting all those pieces ( stillen front lip, oem replacement front bumper, sarona side skirts, and the HUGE sarona rear....MAN , thats half the car !!!!

Anyone have any thoughts..thanks

I heard geting the entire car painted, door jams, engine bay, etc. and getting a good job done at it will cost anywhere from 2.5k to 3k... I want to paint my car silver with black pearl in it and I heard it'd cost about 3k to 3.5k Paint jobs arn't cheap

Yeah, for a good paint job alone your looking at a couple G's at least. If your gonna spend some money on a paint job, might as well make it unique rather than just black, maybe some kind of pearl in it? Maybe gunmetal or blue pearl?!

Oh and take a look a the new Sarona rear in canse you havent seen it, its pretty hot and dual exhuast friendly








Eric

looks too flashy for me...imho.. doesnt flow well with the rest of the car.

I think the rear and side skirts flow, just not that front end. Looks Skyline/M3 influenced and they dont look right on the Max...



Eric

yep, couple g's at least...and the reason your bumpers don't seem to match the color of the body is because they're not metal and the paint looks like it's darker, especially on white.

Off topic but...that rust color is hot. The rest of the car is a little flashy but that color is hot. Especially with the same color eyelids on the headlights.

On topic...I've heard the same 2-3k price. To save $$$, you can just get the pieces that don't match painted (bumper, hood, whatever). That way everything should match and you'll save $$$. Just my $.02

The prices you have been quoted are correct. The issues with a color change, expically with white to black are prep work and the extra pieces. To do it right you would have to paint under the hood, four door jambs, the sunroof rim (if you have one), and the trunk lid. Not to mention making sure the other parts of the car are covered well enough to hide the white. Depending on where you go this could add $500-$1000 to the cost. Depending on where you go it could be anywhere from about $2000 for a Maaco/production shop to $3000+ for a custom job. The current condition of your existing paint is a factor as well. The more chips, scratches, dents, oxidizing, etc. you have the more prep work that needs to be done. This of course means more $$$'s. My father owns a Maaco and I worked there in college and high school. His quality is pretty good for a Maaco, but certainly not that of a custom shop. I've seen some Maaco shops that put out complete crap. Just depends on each shop. I hope this helps.

so the best thing on the pocket book is to, stay the same color and have the body kit pieces matched to the white of the car ?

I also wanted to get a few dents and dings looked at as well.

no offense, but i was told it was a sin to go to maaco shops.

yeah, its going to cost from 2.5-3k. Expect to be missing your car for about a month. I was going to get black too, but its soooooo common. I've seen a billion white maximas and a billion black maximas around my way (i wanted black). But instead, i decided to go with neptune blue. I was in an accident and got a good deal. (paint job ended up costing only 1500...yay!)

I just got my car painted the same color at Maaco. They are running a summer special and I got everything done for $500. It looks really good for that price of a paint job. That's a two-coat urethane paint and clear coat. Warrantied for 4 years. Besides, I won't have this car forever, I intend to sell it in a couple of years for an SUV before this car really starts falling apart. I figured the new paint job would raise up the resale value a bit. If going to Maaco is a sin, then I guess I have sinned and am happy about it because I am satisfied with the outcome. Anyhow, you could never compare a repainted car to a car that came off of a production line painted because the panels are painted before assembled with trim pieces added to it later. Plus the paint process is different. So if you must have that factory look, then expect to spend serious cash on custom paint work. I stayed with the same color because its a lot more affordable. A body shop can charge you up to $80 bucks per door jam, engine bay, and trunk, and that's a conservative price. In the engine bay, if you don't remove your engine, your original color will still be visible because you wouldn't be able to get to certain areas with the engine in place. Not being able to do so, it would just look ghetto. Stick with white and spend your money on good color matching instead.

You are correct that staying the same color will save you some dollars. However, those dents and dings will cost extra. The specials at Maaco are for a straight paint job only. If you have rough paint, or dents, dings, etc. that will be extra. There is a difference in their paint services, they are not just marketing ploys. The higher the service, the better the paint job and prep work, and often the better care the shop will take. My suggestion would be to keep the white, but have the whole car painted. That way everything will match perfectly. If you do go to Maaco or anywhere, be sure you see some of their work. Ask to go to the back of the shop and see some in progress and some that are completed. Also, if you live in an area with more than 1 Maaco you may want to check the others. Ask around and see who does good work in your area. My Dad does own one, but I take no offense for complaints about Maaco, some of them are horrible. If you are a fanatic about your car, I do not recommend Maaco. Even the best ones will have slight imperfections in the finished product. They are not noticible to 99% of the population, but will bother someone who is passionate about how their car looks. When you do get your paint job, wait about 6-8 weeks, and detail the heck out of the paint. This way you'll get even more shine. Start with a Clay Bar, then a polish, then a high quality wax.

I've had my car back from the paint shop for about a month now, it just started raining here but not worried because before that, it was super hot (into the 116 degrees) out here. So I'm sure the paint is cured very well by now. Where do I get the clay bar?

Oh and I am very passionate about my car too and I have a very keen eye when it comes to detail but my Maxima is 8 years old and I'm pretty sure this car isn't going to hold up much in the next couple of years. Why spend thousands of dollars on a custom paint job on a car that is starting to fall apart on you, you can only do so much trying to keep a car running in the best condition it can considering its age. I'd rather spend that kind of money on a paint job on a newer car or a classic hot rod car.

Oh yea, btw, that price included fixing about 10 dings and small dents too.

do places like maaco have experience in fiberglass work and urethane? i did a search and there are a few in my area. I have a stillen front lip, and the sarona side skirts and sarona rear bumper. Im going to check out the site and see if they can do fiberglass and aftermarket stuff for cars ... what do you think ?

The one in my town actually showed me a recent work they did, its a honda civic with a full body kit, white! It looked really good, matching is very good, couldn't tell the difference even from looking at different angles. You should visit your local Maaco centers and see if they can show you some work they are actually doing with fiberglass and stuff.

Maaco's are familiar with fiberglass work. Ask them if they've painted any Corvettes, they are all fiberglass. I agree that a custom job on a car that will only last a few more years may not be money well spent. All depends on the individual. If you have any questions ask the body shop. Ask them about imperfections, specifically at what point they will redo the job. Imperfections are a part of the process, even custom shops have them, a lot depends on what lengths the shop is willing to go to to remove them. Getting your car painted is like with anything; do your homework, shop around and you will usually be happy with the end result.

As for the clay bar, you can get it at pep boys, auto zone, etc. Mothers is the brand they usually carry. It usually comes in a kit. You need a product called "Quick detailer" for clay (it comes in the kit). You saturate a spot with the detailer as a lubricant, then rub it with the clay, and finally towel it dry. You do this in small sections until you've done the whole car. Makes the paint smooth, and takes out unseen road grime, overspray and other contaminants. The stuff is amazing. Follow the directions on the box. Then use a polish (just a polish, not a polish/wax) I prefer Meguires, then finally your favorite wax. I like Meguires #16, but it's hard to find. You may have to go to an automotive paint store for it or surf the web. Do all of this in your garage, in the shade, or on a cool day. It takes forever, but the finished product is amazing. A deep, smooth shine that makes the car look like it belongs in the show room.

Thanks MaxWilk, looks like I'll have to hold off on doing this til around fall. It's just too hot to work on a car even in the garage. We're still breaking over 100 degrees in temp and its even hotter in the garage because it holds heat inside even with the garage door open.

they have to fade the paint in with the rest of the car for it to look right. i got my base coat of QNO and didnt buy the pearl for it b/c i just bought some blue pearl im gonna throw in there.

Cesar.. better hope your car isn't a 95 - 98 white aka QN0 .. that b!tch is the hardest to match.. its a three stage pearl..

base... white pearl and clear coat... some places will charge more for that

I just got my entire car repainted for $1500. (and it was a good quality paint job) It would have been like a grand more to get the color switched correctly. I know people that work at body shops and do side work so the prices I got are below what you should expect to pay if you are paying retail for that type of stuff. It'd probably be almost twice that if you were to pay full price I think. Depends on where you live though...

To fix about 14 door dings and my drivers door and front fender where a girl hit me at school and to repaint the whole car is gonna cost me $1000. Thats white w/blue pearl. Get you a hookup...

yeap thats the color or type i have... a while back i was getting a quote on a new wing and the guy ran my vin number and started talking about layers of something...

maybe a cheap paint job, going with black or somekind of furistic silver or something. . with this artic pearl white, i may be looking at serious money to paint the car the same color

now i hope the max last more than a few years but it was a great point ... i just need a good job .. i was thinking about the color black because it seemed like that color could hide the color differences. with the white max, you could always see the difference in color from the car, and front and rear bumpers ..

i still remember noticing it one day and thinking ...man ! i cannot believe i didnt notice that on the lot !

I paid 500 for my back bumper and whole body kit painted (QNO) and installed. I had to buy the paint though. Matches perfect.

shogunmax you live up state from me i think, maybe you could hook me up with the people that did your car ... what do you think ?

Yeah , I already told you I could do it if you wanted. Its up to you. Upstate MS is right. Look up a town called Senatobia, MS. That is right by the spot your car will get done.

omg looks so ugly the new kit does not fit the maxima thank god I did not take the front when sarona offered it to me.