Paint jobs, the real deal?

[Lotek]

Alright, i always hear people saying how expensive paint jobs are, then i hear of people getting good deals, etc, but i dont hear much furthur than that.

Could you guys help clue myself and others wondering, how to go about getting a good deal, and what are some general cost expectations/avrages for paint jobs? Such as the normal price brackets for Normal/factory paint, normal paint but non factory color, metal fleck, etc.

This is one of thoes areas i just dont really know how to get my foot in the door to know what to expect.

Also are there any of those weird things everyone needs to know when getting ready for a paintjob, but are never learned until after you've blown a buttload of money? things to ask or know before hand?

How many coats is a bad job vs a good one and a great one? whats the price/longevity of sanded and primered vs maco paint over? What do i need to be sure is included in the job(technique, steps, etc) for it to be good and last?

And lastley, how to get the best you can, without spending as much as you would on a K20 swap:msntongue: .

Thanks,
Ian

[deetz]

if you do the prep work macco paintjobs turn out just as good, its all up to how much work ya wanna do as apposed to how much ya dont wanna do,

[Lotek]

So could you elaborate on how one would go about makign a macco job good/last?

I assume it involves sanding the paint down then primering it yoruself, then they do the rest and its good?

[99PreludeSh]

if you do the prep work macco paintjobs turn out just as good, its all up to how much work ya wanna do as apposed to how much ya dont wanna do,

Are you serious?!?!

They use shit product, they will pretty much hire anyone. Maaco sands and seals everything but the reason why their jobs look so crappy is because of inexperienced painters. Most people pay for single stage colors which are relatively hard to paint when they are metallics.


Average OEM paint jobs are 4-6 mills of paint thickness, 1 mill is one one-thousandths of an inch. You dont want anymore than 12 mills in laymens terms thats probably equal to 2 complete over all paint jobs. The number of coats a good OEM matched paint job should have is primer where there is body work, sealer over any of your primed areas, 2-3 coats of basecoat or until best hiding, and 2 coats of clear.

The average life of a cheap paint job($300-$600) is usually 2-5years. Good shops that have established clientel in DRP's (direct repair plans) almost always have lifetime warranties of their finishes. These paint jobs with usually outlast the life of the vehicle and cost depends on color change, if there is a color change will you be doing the jambs? If you are the price would go up. A paint job like that could cost anywhere from $2,000-$5,000. Also depends on what product you use.

If it's just collision repair such as a hood, 2 fenders, and a door, expect to spend anywhere from $1,000-$2,000 for that.

A lot of people think thats sky-high for a paint job, but to do the job right you have to tear down the car. Pull all the belt moldings off, take the door handles out, headlights, tail lights, take the bumpers off. If your changing colors and have to do the jambs expect on pulling the doors, hood, fenders, decklid all off, and possibly sometimes quarter glass, back glass, windshield, but only sometimes.

In a nut shell thats about it, if you have anymore questions just ask!

[jigglenuts]

it all depends on the painter. do not primer the car yourself. i worked for macco for a while and ppl would bring in shit already primed and the paint would just bubble up. if u wanna primer it then go to an auto body supply and actually buy the right stuff not the shit in a spray can lol.

im sure steph will fill in all ur questions as soon as she comes on today.

[Lotek]

Alright, so say i wanted to change the color, and have it last mabye 5 years, not too perminant, but not something ill cry about next year.

My car is black, so i dont really care about the bay being painted, and i would have to whip up some photochops, but black jambs might not look toooo bad(iffy on that, id deff has to see it before i did it, smells ricey). i assume since its black it will take more paint/time to cover well and get a good coat.

I'm looking for sub $1000, cause anything more than that is out of the question(I'd get jumpy and drop the money on a boatload of dt/engine parts before i got halfway to the painter's shop).

i havent decided yet, but im looking at metalic colors(mabye a deep purple or something, altho i havent come close to settling). Can you give me any kind of ballpark figure for that? also, from your experience, how much do the jambs add pricewise?

Are there any good local guys(or girls) who can do good work for a fair price?(fair meaning fair for the quality of work, but on the low end of the cost spectrum).

p.s. thanks steph.

Lmao, cans of primer arnt allowed within 20feet of my car(adjustable due to wind strength etc)

MLR brought up a good point, i have no rust and only a few minor dents which i can do myself, so we arent talking any body damage.

[MLRtimeSTL]

I had my buddy do mine...I got a great deal considering the amount of hail damage and rust that need fixed.

[99PreludeSh]

In all honesty it's who you go to. I know Greg's in St. peter's can charge about $4,000 for a good paint job while someone who does it as sidework you can find someone to do it for $1000 without jambs and possibly $1200-$1500 with jambs, and im quite sure they would let you help out as well so it would be some nice hands on for you.

[deetz]

im serious, ive known a few guys who worked for macco, and they say as long as all the shits prepped the paint they use works fine, but i guess if ya work for a ass raping autobody, pro paint shop ya they would say macco sucks, only because it takes bizzness away

[99PreludeSh]

Every single Maaco I have been to does EVERYTHING half assed. I have yet to see a Maaco paint job look anywhere close to a decent shops paint job.

And I don't see how a $1000 GREAT paint job is ass raping.

Oh BTW thanks for the NEG rep deetz :gayfight: