MAACO Paint Job Buicks

T

turbohye

Nuclear Reactor
Joined
Apr 19, 2003
Hi,
Ok well i am fed up. Today i anticipated meeting with a shop owner and he is the 10th one ive gotten estimates from. He said he would paint my car for no less than 5400 and i just gawked..

I had already decided that this wouldnt be a show car in any way shape or form but a decent factory quality job would be fine. After discussing with my friends and fiance (money is tight and the mortgage is priority) this will just need to go to maaco for a simple scuff and shoot. I cant afford the nice gelcoats that 10k gets you so **** it.

Guys, those of you with Maaco or SCHIEB paint jobs post a pic or two and how much you paid. I know each Maaco is different but this would really help me out a bit. Please and thank you... in advance of course

Tony
 
Might be better to wait and find someone to do it on the side. Over the winter a member was doing them at his house for a good price. I will look for that thread. I think he was close to you.
 
Do Not go to Macco it won't look good when its freshly done and will only get worse as the months and years go by. It will fade and peel quickly!!!!!!
 
When my dad had my 77 Grand Prix, he had it painted by Maaco before he started storing it for the winters. It is going on 20+ years now and still looks pretty good. I have heard horror stories about Maaco, so the decent paint on my GP might be the rare exception. Now when I had my daily driver Dodge Ram there to paint the side of the bed, it was a nightmare. It wasn't done when promised, and when I raised an issue about, the manager and the guy that gave me the promise got into a fight. Then a week later, the paint started peeling off from the wheelwell lip. Manager took it back, claiming bad prep and painted it again. It is maybe 6 years later, and the truck is a bucket of rust, including the area they painted. Personally, I wouldn't go back to Maaco.
 
Macco

Do all the sanding and tapeing off yourself, get it prepped correctly yourself.
This is where most of these low buck places fall short. Have it ready to shoot and sanded down nicely.

When you take it to their shop, find out who is going to paint it. Meet the painter and slip him a couple hundred bucks and tell him if it come out good there is more where that came from. Trust me it will help.

Most of the painters at these shops have held a paint gun for awhile (most I say) and they can paint, they just are rushed most the time and cand do it right due to time.

That would be your best bet if you went this route.
 
I don't know about Maaco.......the last big wind storm we had here I saw some poor sap chasing his Maaco paint job down the street....:rolleyes:

Bruce '87 Grand National
 
Here is a couple pics of a cheap $500ish Maaco paint job that has been setting in this spot for 5 years or so. It was painted about 6 or 7 years ago. The car has real bad orange peel and as mentioned it was not taped up very well. However the paint held up well considering it has set in the weather for so long. The interior did not fair as well. It was my dads car but he gave it to me a few months ago. Because most of my budget is going into the engine(spun bearings)I will be forced to try and buff the paint out as much as possible. One day I will do right by the car and get a good paint job. Before the flaming starts, those wheels are history. I got the original wheels out of the barn and polished them up and had new tires put on them.

ugotdubbz-albums-86-gn-picture3699-setting-5-years.jpg

ugotdubbz-albums-86-gn-picture3700-setting-5-years.jpg
 
If you pull off the easy to bolt on stuff,sand it yourself and see if they can spray it in base/clear for alittle extra money i dont see why it wouldnt be nice.I worked at a macco for a few years and never really had any problems with cars coming back for peeling.But i can say it is run like a production line so you are busting your butt to sand and mask the car in a short amount of time.Anytime we had a car come in that the person wanted a nicer paint job it wasnt the same rush/rush.The best people would work on it and make sure it was done right(more like a normal bodyshop).It doesnt hurt to tip the painter either.
 
Thanks guys i appreciate the feedback.... Its one of those things that you wish you could do better but i just have to accept the fact that its not financially possible to give her the paint job she needs. I will do what you all suggest and prep her the best i can, i will visit a few maaco shops and see what they can do... Thanks for posting example pics of your maaco job. it doesnt look all that bad...believe me, mine is worse right now. The last paint job looked great for 2 years but was vandalized and insurance didnt cover it.
Once i get my bumper fillers in, i will be shopping around...
 
I'd rather have a trashed factory paint job than a POS Maaco/schieb paint job. You will just get pissed off at the end result and will throwing away $500. DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
No Way

I had them do one for my Trans Am.. What a waste of money. Ill never do that again..... Sold the car shortly after that, i was so pissed ....
 
ugotdubbz said:
Here is a couple pics of a cheap $500ish Maaco paint job that has been setting in this spot for 5 years or so. It was painted about 6 or 7 years ago. The car has real bad orange peel and as mentioned it was not taped up very well. However the paint held up well considering it has set in the weather for so long. The interior did not fair as well. It was my dads car but he gave it to me a few months ago. Because most of my budget is going into the engine(spun bearings)I will be forced to try and buff the paint out as much as possible. One day I will do right by the car and get a good paint job. Before the flaming starts, those wheels are history. I got the original wheels out of the barn and polished them up and had new tires put on them.

ugotdubbz-albums-86-gn-picture3699-setting-5-years.jpg

ugotdubbz-albums-86-gn-picture3700-setting-5-years.jpg
Click to expand...

Hey, that's nice of your Dad to give it to you...great to hear! The paint looks pretty good to me....just do your best to get it running right, it's not the paint that will make it move, it's the engine/your budget...the paint can wait.....buffing it out the best you can is a smart move...most important thing is to get it safe and on the road, up to performance par....in other words, get the engine juices flowing.....then worry about the interior, paint.....it looks like you can do something with that paint, as it does look nice from the pictures....glad you still have the wheels....HEY!!! I'm happy for you, man, real happy! Not everyone is fortunate to have one of these black rockets given to them....always appreciate that fact and give your Dad a hug for me. And, nice GN!!!:wink: Good for you, buddy.

Bruce '87 Grand National
 
jpwalt1987 said:
I'd rather have a trashed factory paint job than a POS Maaco/schieb paint job. You will just get pissed off at the end result and will throwing away $500. DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
ill bet even the cheapest paint at maaco would be better quality paint then paint from 25 years ago
 
Somewhat on topic, but...anyone remember an old Maaco commercial long time ago that had a GN in it? I've been trying to find it on youtube but no luck.
 
challengermike said:
.........Anytime we had a car come in that the person wanted a nicer paint job it wasnt the same rush/rush.The best people would work on it and make sure it was done right(more like a normal bodyshop).It doesnt hurt to tip the painter either.
Click to expand...

That is exactly how I have done many cars and trucks at MAACO, and the finish product was very good, especially considering the price.

For a GN, it is best to step up to their premium product, and very important to meet with the owner or manager once or twice to discuss what you expect, and the pricing.

Like was said, their paint work is excellent, but a good paint job is all about the proper prep work. :)
 
I did my own prep work bought my own paint and clear and paid very little to have a body/paint shop go through the work I did and spray it. Decent results. Like you I just needed paint not show paint. Just remove all of your trim, door locks/handles, quarter glass, etc. I removed all except i forgot my trunk lock and it got painted. Body/paint guys aren't too thorough/anal on the budget work.
I bought a paint brand called Transtar. Good paint/clear for the price.

c6e4d0bc-b650-50ef.jpg

c6e4d0bc-b4a8-acf2.jpg
c6e4d0bc-b4c0-ac2e.jpg
c6e4d0bc-b4ed-9cc9.jpg
 
Years ago, there was a guy in Greenville, Pa. All he wanted was a killer paint job on his Pro Street 34 Ford Coupe. Well he showed up to our first car show of the spring one year and his car looked AMAZING!!! We inquired as to where he got it done, because we remembered he said he wasnt paying HUGE $$$ to either of the 2 Rod shops we have around here. " My wife did it." he said. She got so tired of me whining about it, that she bought some books on "How to paint custom cars" and here are the results. She hung plastic in the garage, wet the floor, and learned how to wet sand. I took it to a shop for the final rubbing and buffing, but I gotta tell you. It looked great. 2 tone, white bottom with a teal hood, roof, and decklid. This might be a route you can take. This is a hobby and learning a different skill, is part of it. I have painted a few. Its not too bad.

:biggrin:
 
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