I have a 96 EX VTEC and when I got it there were a lot of dings and chips in the paint. There are also some small rust spots. If I am going to keep this car for the long run I would like to get it painted. Right now it is that silver champagne color. I was thinking of going black. What type of place is going to do the best job for the least amount of money? How much should I expect to spend? Any places to stay away from? Is that cheap macco stuff just crap or what? Thanks for the opinions.

 

Paint jobs that cost $300 = crap

Paint jobs that cost $1000 = okay

Paint jobs that cost $3000 = oem quality
ok well not quite oem quality, but close enough

For a used car, you'll probably want a decent paint job that costs around $1000-$1500.

 

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You wont actually believe that $300 paint job can actually look pretty damn good. I got it done at Maaco. Picked out the factory color of the subaru wrx as mentioned in my signature and looks like a brand new spankin car......

EDIT: On my friends login on accident....

 

i heard that maaco was the worst place to go. they do half-*** jobs and their paint will not last very long. Go to google and type in maaco and ull be suprise what people gotta say about it. I guess drivinaway found of those rare good maacos but still..i would stay away from that place. Theres people on HT i think that does painting and you can prolly get a good deal from them. just search.

 

I thought the guy there was pretty good. He was very professional and solved any problems that I had. I have heard for the most part that Maaco isnt all that great but I guess I just got lucky......

 

My friend got his monte carlo painted at maaco they didnt mask off the tail lighs good ebough got paint on them other than that it looked pretty good. If you need a pint job the good paint jobs are way better. They use better paints more coats of primer and better primer all that is going to make a difference in the long run. Dont get a paint job thats worth more than your car.

 

Way back when a neighbor decided to use my vw as a target for their air rifle. I had the car repained at Macco and the paint looked great for a year or so then the paint began to fade, peal and just turn into a powder at touch,,,, I would find a good local shop that has a paint oven. better paint and a baked finish will look very nice...

 

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I believe this is what happens to all maaco, earl schieb, and other cheap paint places. My friends first car was an 83 sentra that had been painted at maaco, the paint had already turned to powder by the time he got it by about 2 or 3 years, he said.

 

go with a powder coat or do a custom paint job yourself if you know how.

Best if you know how to do yourself. Then you don't get ripped off. $1500-$8000 paint job= $200-$500 in paint and then rest in labor cost and mark ups.

 

i had a nice paint job and it ran me a little under 5,500. its oem color but looks sexy cuz its like translucent green &gt; purple

 

That is the camilion paint job. Can be done very easy with a good paint gun and the paint and then some clear coat. all cost of $580 in paint rest is markup and labor.
Easy done if you know how. Two stage paint with clear coat to the layer you want it to hold up. Usually 3 coats paint per color and 4 coats of clear coat to make it shine for a couple of years.

Price on paint is an avg. as not sure what you had painted. Avg. based on 1 gal paint and 1/2 gal clear coat.

 

Well my car also got keyed the f*ck out of it so that was a little bitch to get the really deep surface scratches out.

 

ok, one of my cars is a 1994 accord coupe, im wondering, how much paint do they use when they would paint such a car? you mentioned something a post or two ago about a gallon and a half, is that the ballpark amount?

I also wonder, is it a good idea to get a lot of clear coat on the car? the more layers of clear coat, the more candy it looks? the more glass like and the more gloss it has? or is that a myth?

my third and final question is this, if i want to do a repaint of the stock color, and i obviously want a good paint job just like stock, in everyone's experience, how much do you think a fair price for that is?

 

Yes the more clear coat the more protection. put mainly you have to know how to cut and polish it to get the total reflection and gloss from the clear coat. when cutting start with a 600 grit wet sand and slowly work your way up to 2000 grit wet. then start polish part.

 

Most people do not have good experiences with Maaco, while a small group of others have had actually had pretty good outcomes. One of the biggest things that determines how well the paint job comes out is prepping. Most places that offer "inexpensive" paint jobs do a half-*** job of prepping. You'll especially notice bad prepping when changing the color of the car, like when the new paint wears off around areas like the wheel well and other areas that get pummeled by road debris.

Another big factor is the clear coat. A lot of those inexpensive paint and body shops like to use paint that already has the clear coat mixed in with it, and some will only spray one coat of clear coat. (Not good, obviously...) The more layers of clear coat sprayed on top of the paint, the better the finish will look. Also, the brand of paint matters. For example, PPG is a proven brand of paint in terms of quality, and resists fading way better than cheaper brands of paint.

 

it wont look spankin new to the seasoned eye

 

If a person knows how to do it right, then you can get a show paint job from it. Use a dust free area, make one if you have to. Prime sand, reprime, smooth, then paint, dry, look over, if alright, then lay down 3 more paint coats, if still good look then can clear coat, but I always smooth out the paint as it will have pits in it from the spray.

When smoothing the final coat of paint before clear coating, I use 2000 grit wet, then work up to 3200 grit. Takes several hours to acouple days. But then you have a 12,000 paint job (8 coats of paint hand sanded before and after, 4-6 coats of clear coat hand sanded, hand buffed with special was and finish buff compound) and takes about 2-6 weeks to finish.

But this is the kind of paint job that your special cars get like Porch, Lambo, and those specail Rat Rods that always win first in shows.

Most of your shops use power tools to speed up the process. Avg. high quality paint job will cost you about $5,000. For mid grade will cost you $2,200 to $3,200. Your back yard job will cost you from $100 (maco special) to $1,200. These are using power tools to speed it up.

That is why if you know what you are doing, its best to do it yourself. Then you know what you have got and you can put your own name down for the work. Brings in more points at shows for those that are working on that.

 

How can someone who has never done this prepare to paint his own car for the first time? I don't really run into people that have this kind of experience, and honestly, I'd be intimidated.

 

Most people are that is why the shops can charge so much and get paid for it.

They do a low end job but charge a mid or high end price.

Best of luck