I don't hear much on the .org about changing the color of our Max's. Has anyone had any good or bad experiences doing so? Now I'm not looking for questions about why someone would, I can't answer why so save those.

But I'm curious to see if anyone changed the color to a non Maxima color? and how did it come out?

I personally would love to see one painted an M3 Blue.

BTW if you have changed the color, I'd love some pics.

 

The more you pay, the better it looks.

 

I was extremely happy with mine, just don't go cheap
Before:

after:

 

Agree 100%.

I had my previous car repainted (totally), due to hurricane damage, at a Cadillac dealership known for good work and it still had 3 runs and a fish-eye in it. Plus, the wet sand left a lot to be desired. Even though these guys generally dealt with Caddies it still didn't look as good as a factory paint job. I didn't change colors but I'll give you some advice; don't change it unless you're prepared to pay to have it ALL done and done right. Like Chris says, don't go cheap.

My thoughts.

 

They really did a good job. It looks great. I agree 100% to not go cheap but how much does a really good one go for? For a novice like me, what do I want to ask for when shopping around?

 

Mine, at the Caddy dealership, set the insurance company back $3000 and it still wasn't perfect. They replaced 2 emblems on the side, 1 bowtie, and 1 Monte script. They also took out about 25 or so small dings that I am aware of. Took about a week or so iirc to get it back from the shop.

Ask them what kind of environment they spray in and where it will be drying it (probably THE most important questions), what type of warranty you get, and anything you would want to know about the number of cars they've done before. You may want to know how long it will take them, as well... And, of course, how much!

 

yeah, dont go with the one day for 1k paint, that stuff is horrible. My friend thought he was getting an awesome deal, the paint looked good for the first day but a week later it started to fade and chip. I truly think with paint, you get what you pay for.

 

You are looking at somewhere around $3k at least

 

nissan repainted my entire car minus the ae bodykit and they had right around 2700 for their cost if i had paid for it. i was and still am happy with their job.

 

it depends on what kind of paint you want..if you want a nissan oem color it will be cheaper than say a custom PPG color with flakes..for a nissan oem color id say around 2.5-3.5k for a good job

 

Also look for a place that will take their time. Like my guy who paints my car says "Painting is a chemical process, it has to be done right and with time"

 

i changed mine... house of kolor paint.... go with either house of kolor or PPG, those two are pretty good... dupont is good and dupont clearcoat is one of the best...

 

^^^ the paint looks really good on Jdouble0e703's car... it has that really deep look when you stare into it.

 

it all comes to how much $$$$$ you want to spend. color change will cost you at least 5 grand for a good job.

 

I would probably agree with that amount since you would have to tape and spray so much more to make it look right. The paint cost is minimal, even though paint is EXPENSIVE there's not that much that goes on, but the actual labor is what kills you. More on that in a sec.

Think about it this way. You'll have to paint the following (if I miss anything, someone please put that up to):

Entire body
Door jambs
Door sides
Under side of hood
Under side of trunk hatch
Inside of trunk (remove lining(s))
Fender wells (remove guards)
And, to do it right, the floor (remove most of the interior)

The last one is optional but the first time someone went to change the fuel pump out, the gig would be up! lol But the rest would have to be done and I'm sure I missed something. Like I said, the labor would be the killer.

And, to make it look right, you'd have to remove a TON of components and spray them off the car. Granted, you may be able to get by with spraying them on the car but there are a lot of overlaps that I can think of that would be very noticeable if the paint didn't get into every crack. Anyway, there's another several hour labor charge for "body panel removal / installation" on your final bill.

That all being said, a car done right looks awesome. To me, a car done right shouldn't have its value hurt because it has had a color change but many people will tell you (and rightly so) that the worst thing, value-wise, you can do to a "modern" car is to change the color.

Sorry to be so long-winded. I deal with painting on a MUCH larger scale on a daily basis so I like to comment on it. But those are my thoughts, for good or bad.

Good luck!

EDIT:

I just wanted to add that this is not taking into account of a REAL repaint where the entire unibody and all body panels would have to be resprayed. In that event, you'd have to take out EVERYTHING and reassemble it after it was done. This is right down to the headliner coming out, the pillar guards, the door covers... everything. And everything under the hood, under the car, etc. But this would be more for a restoration project than anything.

 

Car looks really good. Its good to see a Max with different coat.

Thanks for all the feed back guys. Real helpful stuff.

 

i like sterling mist too much. probably in a couple years i'll have them redo wherever f*ckers ding my car and stuff, repaint whatever panels have chips and remove all the little dents. i swear i have so many and i've never hit anything in my max before, so frustrating. seriously takes away from the look when it's clean