I know everywhere people bash Maaco about the paint jobs (cheaper ones) and how they don't seem to hold up good. I also found out they just paint the bare metal, I thought it was supposed to be primed..

Anyways, has anyone ever gotten one of the more expensive paint jobs with the layers and clear coat and everything and can say they were happy with the 5 year warranty?

Thanks.

 

nope.....

regardless if the paint actually stays on there Maaco prep work sucks so expect to have everything painted....

and how would they paint bare metal? unless you brought the car stripped down to the bare metal there is no way in hell Maaco paints on bare metal and strips the car of paint...

simple fact is, if anyone is happy with a Maaco paint job then it just means they are NOT picky

the only possible way I think to use Maaco is to do all the prep work yourself and bring them the car exactly as you want them to paint it, have them use your paint that you proveide or make sure they use good namebrand stuff (PPG BASF DuPont) and have them shoot the car. They arent half bad at shooting the paint as the do it like 30 times a day.

 

Ok thanks. I'm pretty sure they just sand it till it's down to the metal. I've seen it before. They even showed me the cars before they paint them. They said, "prime is not needed. Prime is needed if we are doing body repairs, and only on those spots".

maybe thats just in boston, which is horible.

 

if you need to ask about maccos quality before you get it done, your already second guessing yourself. Go to a regular body shop

 

macco is horrid.My friend got the highest price job from them to paint the whole car and in 6months it started fading and in some areas you seen the old color coming threw.Dont do it to your maxima.

 

I've had painting done by Maaco and it was fine. Of course, I did ALL of the prepwork myself so all they had to do was spray the paint on top of a perfectly prepped body. Any monkey can do that if you have the right equipment. Oh, and they do!

You really have to take the seal coat off and rough sand the entire surface of the paint...AND primer it...no matter who is painting it. If you don't ...you can have Michael Angelo paint it and it will still look like pooti!

If they aren't using primer they are morons. If they didn't need to use primer then Manufacturers would save a boat load of money by NOT putting it on the bare metal that they start with! You should find whoever said they don't need to use primer and kick their ***!

 

I dont know if it is fair to attibute all maaco paint shops are horrible. I had a shop spray an integra for me years ago after I had done some prep work on it. I had the car for 3 years and the paint was great (and yes I am picky). On the bare metal topic I am not a paint expert paints themselves change pretty frequently from what I am told on how many coat they take etc. I havent ever heard of a paint that has the adhesion and cover up properties needed to just spray over bare metal but then again I am not paint expert. He might have been talking about powdercoating.

 

Even aircraft expoxy paint is applied OVER a primer.

I don't even think NASA has figured out how to get away without using primer on bare metal before applying the color coat.

 

yeah. I got a good quote from this other place that goes all nine yards. I was jut wonder though if Maaco was horrid all around .

I thought the Five year warranty meant good thing

 

Once a long time ago they did some body work (new front bumper) on another car, it wasn't pretty. It was supposed to be just like the OEM paint however it didn't match the color well and it didn't hold up very long at all. I know someone who got their entire car painted with a more expensive paint job and the paint completely faded to a nasty dull oxidized color and no matter what amount of machine polishing we did, it was still oxidized straight down to the steel.

I really really really really do not recommend Maaco.

 

My friend just paid $2000 to them to paint his mustang, he was not pleased at all. I havent seen it but he said they left parts off, got overspray on taillights, paint had debris under/in it, etc.

 

Ut oh, better not get Maaco.

 

i read an article in a real recent edition of either Hot Rod or Car Craft where Maaco was used to paint a car on a relative budget and they reported that the job was done extremely well saving a butt-load of $$ compared to a "regular" body shop.

the article stated that in both prep and paint work Maaco has tiers of services, going even beyond those that are widely advertised, costing more as you move up the tiers. there was a bit of prep work done outside the body shop (trim parts removal, sanding and such) but then some dent repairs were done at the shop as was the priming and then the painting. the article stressed the importance of removing trim parts one's self.

the article stated that prior to any work the quality expectations were specifically discussed with the Maaco folks and the materials and workmanship were tweaked to meet those expectations... kinda what one needs to do with any shop doing any type of work on one's automobile.

the bottom line of the article, really, was that Maaco doesn't do any worse a job than any other paint and body shop and you can get a high quality finish from them as long as you are very clear on what you want and what you expect. the savings evidently doesn't necessarily come from "cheap" work, it comes from Maacos ability to do volume business and pass that on to us.

i'd use them. i would however, as has been recommended, take some time to talk to them first and let them know exactly what i want.

if anyone's interested, i'll track down that article and post it up.

 

getting your car painted at maaco is like going to mc donalds! you can get a great paint job or not depending on the painter/prep guys they hire that week! i install paint booths high end you might want to get a quote from a respected body shop it might cost an arm and a leg but you get what you pay for! go to maaco and youll prob have alot of trash in the paint just my opinion tho good luck

 

my brother in law just got his car painted at Maaco

Cost him around $1300 for a full color change.
Pretty much everything except under the hood/engine bay

My thoughts: (also, for credibility, I've painted front ends, fenders, bumpers, etc. Sold 60 cars from my house over the past 3 yrs. I'm in no way an expert painted ~ but I know what to look for)

The paint job was a 9/10
I would have given it a 10/10 but the hood was slightly blotchy.
Car was stock pearl white and it was changed to Brilliant Silver

What we did:
removed all door trim pieces
removed front and rear bumper
removed headlights and taillights
removed rear and front windshield trim

What they did:
He included to have the rear quarter glass removed/installed (240sx)
He removed door handles prior to painting
Did a little body work on the trunklid
removed 2 big door dings
Was to sand, prime, bb/cc, and buff/polish


Overall result:
Impressive. Beside the hood being semi-blotchy, the rest of the car is excellent
There were no runs in the base - the clear coat was well polished.
There WAS overspray on the tires. But, I couldn't see any overspray anywhere else. This was expected so we readily put some steelies on the car.


I'm sure it's all based on which Maaco you go to and the painter doing the work. I have to say it was DEFINATELY worth the $1300 we paid.

I'll snap some pics later when the car is all put together

 

[quote=runyun972;6479426]my brother in law just got his car painted at Maaco

Lots of even the cheap paint jobs look decent right after they are done. The key is what they look like a few months down the road.

 

[QUOTE=nafddur;6479457]
I understand the concept of prep before paint.
Again, I've painted numerous body panels.

Besides, most people that go to Maaco usually purchase the single stage paint job. The OP asked experiences of the "higher" priced jobs that include bc/cc
As long as the prep work was done correctly ~ the paint has a good foundation to adhere correctly unlike the single stage enamel jobs

 

I almost screwed up and went to Maaco, because they were the cheapest and for a five year waranty i thought you couldn't really couldn't beat that. all i have heard were bad things about them though. Finally got a guy who owned a body shop to completley do a color change and all the body work all for an english bulldog puppy (well over $2000 worth of work) didn't have to pay a dime. we still have three puppies left. no telling what else i could get done. lol. but he told me some horror stories of people that went to him after going to maaco. he said they hire people who have no idea what the hell they're doing and he said people(mainly car dealers) would only go there if they were trying to sell a car within the next six months because the paint does starts to look like crap after that.