Hi

My 97 GLE was recently used as a parts car to replace the front end (bumper, hood , radiator, grill) on a 97 GXE.

Both are different colors and i'm now looking for a reliable source for a paint job that'll last me a solid 3 years without peeling (I hope).

I was having a conversation with my uncle earlier today about Maaco and he told that he was talking to his wifes relative who does autobody paint and he said something along the lines of :

"I dont know what kind of paint maaco uses but something isn't right with it. When I applied better quality dupont paint to a car that had been previously painted by maaco it started to blister under the new coat I was putting on and It was hell to get it to blend properly."

With a statement like that I just had to come here and ask for advice on a getting a decent paint job without paying an arm and a leg for it. I understand that now-a-days its pretty hard to find a good "middle of the road" paint job for good money ... I just figured "hey why not ask on the forums and just see what happens" ...

any and all advice is appreciated seeing as maaco seems to be one of my only options at a decent price point and I dont really want to go to them ...

Also ... it turns out that the car has also been painted over already once before because it had been in an accident the seller never told me about ... Who it was painted by previously I dont know and i'm just curious if this will make it even harder to paint again.

 

dont even touch Maaco, just check the online reviews and most if not all are terrible. i was also considering them a couple years ago, but talked to some people and they all said no.

for the cheap paint jobs, i guess they just spray over your current paint with little or no prep, and i guess they overspray and stupid stuff like that.

the ONLY, and ONLY way i would consider Maaco is if you do all of the prep yourself and just let them paint, otherwise trust me dont go Maaco.

IMO just post a local ad in your area and see if you can find a automotive painter looking for a sidejob, or try some automotive painting schools and see if they need a vehicle for students to work on

 

If your going to do a paint job get it done properly, otherwise don't waste your time and money.

 

The bottom line is, you get what you pay for.

 

My friend had his Chevy Lumina painted by Maaco in high school. Now this was an old beat up Chevy Lumina and we were in HS so he just needed something to make the car all one color. It was great for that. The other things that became that same color however were the badging, chrome trim, and I believe even the weather stripping.

If you actually care how your maxima looks and are expecting anything near OEM appearance stay away from Maaco. If you just need a quick and dirty paint job on a daily driver or cheap transportation car then its worth a shot.

 

+1

Do all the prep yourself, remove anything you don't want painted. From what I understand from conversations past about Maaco's are that they are independently owned, so some have had shining reviews, and others are nothing but horror stories.

 

I had a friend who got his car painted by maaco... his car was originally green, and he got it sprayed yellow. Along the bottom it was still a shade of green, and under the hood was still green as well were the inside of the doors, you could see the green when you opened them. Its just like they use a monkey to do the paint.

 

What matters most is the prep of the car before the paint.. My buddies dad is an auto body specialist and he preped and primered my buddies integra and got it shot at macco for 220$ and it came out good.. The only thing is that after my buddie got the car back, i went and did a cut and buff to make it look even nicer and its been 4 years and it still looks good..

 

i had maaco repaint my old pontiac, and it turned out all right i guess, except it had little spots that just burned a hole in the back in my head, like on the bumper it had a spot where it looked like they painted with a brush instead of a spray gun. i guess its alright if you were repainting the car the same color lol, but if you are lookin for a fresh lookin car, i wouldnt recommend maaco, its like they just dont care to do a great job. if i were you id ask around some shops, i bet they can recommend some local who could do a better job

 

Thanks to everyone for all the great responses!

Time to rethink things ...

 

Browsing the members rides section earlier I was admiring this guys car and noticed he said he had it painted by Maaco. It looks pretty great to me maybe worth sending him a PM.


http://forums.maxima.org/members-rid...-14-years.html

 

nice maxima...i have black se