Technical What ABOUT Maaco? Chime in with Pros & Cons...

The only painting people I know are all kind of unreliable, and subject to the occasional haze of the bottle and the hash. It's their thing, and I don't knock it. I'm just looking for something maybe a little more "disconnected" from any interpersonal relations I might have.

It makes things less weird later. Like if you sell a car that turns out to have issues to a family member? It makes Thanksgiving weird for the rest of your LIFE.

~Jason

 

Wow... that's a little discouraging. But encourages me to do my homework!

~Jason

 

This is excellent info to have - I wonder if similar practices apply to today's Maaco?

~Jason

 

From what I've heard, they are truly missed.

~Jason

 

Sounds like they "got it", and were in the biz because it might have also been their hobby.

~Jason

 

I guess they're not like a McDonald's franchise. This info definitely gets out in the "your mileage may vary" category.

~Jason

 

This is actually phenomenal advice.

I've heard of other guys doing something similar with MUCH better results than normal, all with the simple application of the painter's favorite beverage trick! I'm no gambler, and Maaco still seems like a gamble, but it seems the tide can be drastically be turned in one's favor by employing tactics as above, as well as thoroughly doing one's homework and taking it to the location in town that seems like they'll work with you the best.

It would also seem that you can see immediate results of their work just by driving by every day and checking out the cars as they roll out. I'm sure they wouldn't think it was creepy at all if I walked in and said, "The painter that did ___ car and ___ car on ___ day and ___ day is pretty good. Who was that? I want THAT dude to paint my car." LOL!

~Jason

 

Wow... ***holery at it's finest!

There's probably less surface area on that dragster than on some POS Accord that's their bread & ****er!

~Jason

 

There goes my "I want THAT dude to paint my car!" scenario...

~Jason

 

I had a trailer painted by them, they did a great job.
The price was less than the price of the materials for me to do it.
They had just opened and were trying to get a good reputation I guess!
KK

 

More of the same.... Some are good, some not good. I've seen a couple of real nice Maaco jobs here (they even did the prep), as well as a couple of owner-prep jobs that were very nice. Best advice is call and go in when they have some full repaints on their lot and talk to them; some don't like to see owner-prep jobs (sometimes for good reason), they may tell you what they want to see. Last time I checked, you could get out of there for under $1K with one of their 'better' paints (with a corresponding better warranty). And/or slipping the actual shooter a few bucks can help....

 

Back in the late 60s a cl*** mate had a Green 53 Chevy.
He did all the prep work and took it to MACO.
About a block before the MACO shop he stopped at a DIY car wash.
Washed the car dried it off well. He had taken all the chrome , bumpers etc off.
We saw the car about a week later and the BLACK paint job was good.
Three weeks later he washed the car and found a hand print on the trunk with the GREEN
paint showing thru. We told him to put this hand on the hand print. Exact match.
That is where he leaned on the trunk to wipe down the rear valance. We all had a good laugh.

Nick

 

Some Marcos are good and some aren't. I worked at one in Southern California. We did some nice cars, it doesn't hurt if you can get to the guys that are working on your car and give them a little bonus if the spend a little extra time and make it nice.

 

I have had at least 50 cars done by them. Only had to redo 2. These were used cars but you pretty much get what you pay for. I have had hotrods done also, I get ready, use good materials, and sand and buff it myself. If you paint 8-10 cars a day, you HAVE to pick up something! Choose your dealer, choose your painter, Don't use cheap materials, and they are as good as anybody. They can do a fine job, but don't expect it for 400 bucks.

 

The materials being cheaper than I could do it - that's exactly what makes me consider this path.

~Jason

 

Can't beat paint with a warranty!

~Jason

 

LOL!

Seems like he caught himself, "green-handed"!

Okay, that was bad. You can shoot me, now.

~Jason

 

What's the highball and lowball figure for that "bonus" that was being flipped to the guys?

Just curious.

~Jason

 

That's exactly what I thought - if those guys are painting cars constantly, they CAN'T **** THAT bad... can they?

~Jason

 

In high school Maaco did 2 cars for me. One they prepped. The other car was done by me and some friends. About 1 year later the one they prepped started to fade and peel. The other car prepped by me and friends lasted a good 5 years before I sold it.

 

Ever see the one prepped by you again?

~Jason

 

It looks like they shoot mostly one-shot, single-stage stuff at Maaco. Is that the case?

 

I had them paint my daughters Mustang after her accident,I repaired all the damage and basically had it ready to paint,I had a friend take the car on a rollback sans the bumpers,and trim.

I think I spent about 400 bucks and they did a great job,,the car looked good 5 years later when we traded it in. HRP

 

Their premium paint job is advertised as color coat clear coat.

 

I'm in the business and have worked with some Maacos.. The ones I have dealt with can paint cars...they do it everyday....a lot. If ya do it make sure ya do the base clear and pay extra for more clear...it's all in the prep, de trim it, and remove as much stuff you don't want paint on as you can...once the paint laid on then it's on the the cut and buff..this usually extra $ there...if ya can do it yourself and do it right you can end up with a pretty nice job.. Also go with the name brand paint. They have their "house brand" usually a single stage...and all have either PPG or Axalta i.e DuPont..again they are all franchised so take a look around the shop..good luck hope this helps


Also have a friend that was a production shop painter for years. He know works at home doing Restos....he does all the prep, de t*******, hauls it to Maaco where it gets painted with axalta...extra clear....he sands it with 1200, 1500, 3000 and rubs it out...cars look great...and these are not low dollar cars...of course the owners don't know that.....does that help with what can be done there

 

Tear a $100 bill in two, hand half to the painter (or prepper), tell him the other half is waiting for the finished job.

 

There's one a few blocks down the road from the collision shop I work at....they do a LOT of older/project cars there. They look good from the street, and like I said, they do a lot of them.

My experience with them is that you will want to provide or specify materials other than their usual....you know, the one with the "integrated clearcoat" they hawk in the commercials...which is single stage.

 

I had a OT S-10 painted by them in the 90's. It came out pretty good, but I also did as much prep as I could. It held up well while I had it and seen it about four years later sitting in a swap meet parking lot. Poor girl was beat to hell, but the paint still had a shine to it.

 

as with any shop, you can help save yourself money by removing bumpers, grill and anything else that you are comfortable doing. anywhere you go can end up with a bad "gun man" but, he won't last long. have had three rides painted by MAACO, either getting the urethane single stage or single stage with clear blended in. one is a OT '76 PU that was done 2 years ago that I wax about once per year - still looks very good. a truck used to haul stuff so, body not 100% perfect. if not stripping all paint off need to pay the extra $100 for them to apply a sealer. plus, another $100 for a pick-up. never figured that one except that they shoot whole bed and not as easy as a smooth surface. right now have a OT '67 Ranchero being worked on there. but, you have to be patient because their bread & ****er is fixing/shooting regular collision stuff. old rides are done as time permits. best to relax and let them take some extra time. know a guy that has some real nice rides that he has MAACO strip paint and shoot them with base/clear for under $3K. then has another guy detail color sand and buff them. compared to a "real" body shop time is not different but, saving thousands. late/early in the year they offer 50% off paint prices. the statement that you get what you pay for may be true for high buck paint jobs. I have done full rattle can and spray gun primer jobs to just cover a car. but, never expect that to compare to a true paint job. I learned enough that doing a good quality paint job at home by me is not cheap, and finish not quick & easy.

 

It all depends on the Maaco that does the work. A company I worked for had our shop truck painted there, and it came back with bugs, runs, and dirt all through the paint job. But we had our 68 Mustang drag car painted by another Maaco years ago, and the job came out amazingly good.

The secret seems to be, sit down with them and tell them you are going to be extremely fussy, take your own paint in (rather than the stuff they sell) and then tell the guy who is going to paint it that there are one or two hundred dollar bills as a tip directly to him, IF the job is perfect.

You figure, these guys spray cars all day long, and they have to learn something along the way. You just have to ask them to see some jobs they just turned out, and then make your decision from there. Even going to a reputable body shop isn't a guarantee of a good job. I have rejected a few paint jobs done by a very well known shop locally, and I had them respray the cars.

Don