if anyone knows
1. how long does the macco paint job last?

2. how do they put the clear coat on, all clear coats at the same time?

3. which way is it the right way to put the clear coat, wait each day till one clear coat dries and then add another coat next day?

4. how many clear coats does a nice paint job have?

5. how many clear coats does a macco paint job have?

6. macco uses bad paint?

7. and as long as there is a good clear coat on the paint then it should last?

A maaco paint job can actually be decent. To better your chances, do all prepping yourself. That includes taping, sanding, primering, everything. You could also buy your own paint from House Of Kolors or someplace so you know you are getting the best paint. The deal with maaco is, the guys painting, for the most part, are very good at what they do. But Maaco only gives them a certain amount of paint, tape, clear, etc... They are also on a timed schedule, most of the time . If they use more then what they are givin to prep and paint then they are paid less, or something along those lines. At least this is what i was told by someone who worked there. But i think he was telling the truth.

for the paint job to last, does the kind of paint matter or how good the clear coat is on,


becz I seen a macco paint job, on a car and the looks like the clear coat was all fu*ked up and painted the exhaust tip alittle and didn't get down all the way to the bottom of the side skirt

I should go to different macco shops, ask to look at there paint jobs that they did, try to make a deal with them, see if I pay extra for more paint and more clear coat and i'll do the some taping off stuff and sand it down

how can I prime it myself, don't I need a compressior and a spray gun?

a good paint job has alot to do with with the prep. I say its a 50/50 cut between awesome prepping and awesome painting. I have actually seen some good jobs come out of maaco. A good clear coat will indefinately make the paint last longer and look better longer. I would honestly save up the cash to get a good paint job, you will enjoy it more in the end and it will come out hella nicer. The chance of getting a great Maaco job is slim, i jus wouldn't risk it on my car. If i remember correctly, they also have different levels that you can get. Check into it and talk to one of the painters. They will be more honest with you then someone taking your money will be.

I would honestly talk to your local paint shops about the job, like aside from Maaco. They will be more expensive, but if you have probs with paint, questions on maintaining, etc.. They will be more apt to stand behind their product and make you happy. Plus since you are in the NE, a good paint job will definately be needed. Clearcoat will be a big factor since we have alot of road salt, mucho coldness, snow, etc..

oh....and thanks bud ....My pleasure to answer on things i know about

edit: I know people that have just used spray on primer (spray cans) on their cars. Just sand it down and primer, sand, primer, sand, primer, etc... I don't know if this is a bad thing, but their paint jobs are holding up fine.

I mean if I had 3k then I would spend it on a new paint job, but I didn't have a job for 8 months since a stupid civic hit me when I was at a red light, and the kid didn't have any insurance and I only had liab., and plus I'm a full time college student, I'm getting a job at autozone next week but it's part time, so most of the money will go for gas and insurance, so I think I would only have money for a macco paint job....lol

the color I want is like yours

lol.....well....a basic Maaco paint job could prolly tide you over till you can afford a big time make over. My friend had the el cheapo paint job from Maaco and it looked good for about a year. Then it dulled up quite a bit.

edit: you should really look into going after that kid. After all, driving uninsured is against the law. Take him to small claims or sumthin. And even with state min. insurance i thought you still had uninsured motorists insurance.

I think the kid is locked up or something, I'll try to find out, I didn't have uninsured drivers on my policy which was a stupid think, I didn't set it up, I didn't have a job at that time so I just had liab.
wow only a year, I hoping like 5 years, how was his clear coat on the paint job

what if I get the highest paint job from there, how long you think it will last and if give extra money for clear coat and paint

the paint job itself was pretty nice for the first year.....but then it started to fade and lost its luster. I would say to talk to the painters at maaco to get a better feal for what to expect. Talk to the techs, not the sales reps. The techs will, more times then not, be very honest with you.

how do I do good prep work before the paint job and what do I do

I will leave that to the autobody guru's. I honestly have not prepped a car for paint. But i will be in the future...From what i understand you must sand the entire car down to the metal. Then throw on a layer of primer, sand it smooth, wash off all the dust, then repeat those steps a few more times. If you are looking at just the exterior then you have it easier. After all is primered i would drive it to maaco and take out your tail lights since they are a snap. Then tape off everything you don't want painted, ie headlights, windows, key holes, exhaust tips, etc. Then when the car is in their garage i am sure you could get them to put bags over your rims/hubs or something. Pretty much make sure that any overspray wouldn't screw over anytihng on your ride. If you have any body damage from the accident or anything, i would get that fixed up professionally. I would personally try it and screw it up horridly . I'm learning it though. Anyone else with more info then what i can give feel free to add or correct me where i am wrong. I know i ain't perfect :p.

EDIT: as far as the longetivity of the paint job, i am not sure on teh different stages they offer. You get what you pay for, imo. How bad is your paint job now??

my paint job is not bad but i'm not about to pay 800 for a shop to paint my bumpers, hood, and fender

800???? damn bro. Shop around....you could even get that stuff done at maaco. the paint might not match up exactly perfect, but it could be a cheaper solution to what you are thinkin. A paint job is something that should really be done correctly by pro's. Any actual damage to the stuff? or is it replacement parts that are all mismatched??

I just got new stuff and don't want to put it on since I don't want my car looking stupid with 2 diff colors, but I will want to paint my car si blue, viper blue like that color, I'm gonna look into macco

Don't get maaco. The kind of paint you use matter also. Go to a shop that uses real paint. Maaco usually uses acrylic paint that doesn't even have a separate clear coat. It's an all in one. Save your time and money and go to a real shop. You'll just end up redoing it after a while. If you had a dirt cheap car like a 2k dollar 1g or honda, then it might be okay, but if your car still looks good, don't ruin it with a maaco paint job imo.

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2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl

eclipse804, ok since they use acrylic paint and don't have a separate clear coat, then should I buy good paint and clear coat and have macco paint it for me

by the way.....if you're gonna prime a car for painting, do not prime over the paint that you don't want to get painted, THEY WILL NOT ACCEPT THE CAR..PEACE!

well i just got a maaco paint job back in Feb

basically i went to maaco cause at the time, i didnt have much $$ and i got hit on my door so the check i got covered half the costs of maacos bill to re-paint my car and fix every dent on my car rofl

anyways, at first i got the integrated clear coat with their second highest paint package...like $599 i think

came out nice

then about two weeks ago when it got cold.....BAM tiny bubbles appeared all over my car...i called up Maaco and was like WTF i got Brail all over my car... apparantly 4 other silver cars called up that week complaining about the same thing....i guess bad paint..

so i took it in to get repainted under warranty but this time, i upgraded to the clear coat instead of integrated, all was done, so i went to get my car the next day and ..... BAM maaco went on fire...most cars got damaged by the fire but mine was in the front of the store so mine just got messed up by the firefighters who dragged their hoses and shit all over my new paint job

so im off again tomorrow to get it repainted once again, free of charge heh

point of my story? i agree, maaco might not be "top of the line" but since they are a corporation, your chances of a hassle free warranty problem are higher than if you went to joe shmo at some other paint shop

and the clear coat came out pretty decent IMO i was very satisfied minus the huge scratches made by the firefighters...hehe

one more thing...

if you do get a maaco paint job....do not put on the Bra for the car cause the clips cause the paint to flake at the edge and it just keeps flaking away..

i forgot to mention that...i did that back in like June, called up Maaco and told them it just started flaking and they repainted the front bumper for free

iv seen a decent paint job, but their way of tapping off shit is some of the worst ive ever seen...

Boca Raton, Florida
95 Eclipse GS- sold
99 Eclipse GSX- 386awhp
98 Eclipse GS- sold
92 Prelude

I had a horrendous time with Maaco. The actual paint was good, but they did such a terrible job. They painted back to the engine so from the front you could see a yellow engine under there, painted my whole muffler yellow, werent supposed to paint mirrors but oversprayed onto the mirrors. woulda been better if they just painted the mirrors to fix it. sanded my sunroof. dont ask. Can they not see the difference between the black top and black sunroof? lost one of clear bumper lens. ugh. acted SO dumbfounded when i asked where it was. forgot to put my trim back on the door, so as IM driving out they run out saying uhm can you bring your car back so we can put this on. because they couldnt put it on there because they hadnt even painted it yet. and they used all my touch up paint to paint the piece. and under my spoiler, the big turbo one, they barely painted it. you can see the old dark color through the yellow. oh man i mean mistakes are mistakes but they lied and covered their asses about everything like i was making EVERYTHING up. god damnt. Fucken bastards. You ge twhat you pay for, and Id go back to then simply because its 1/20th the price of a real place

I got banned for being a constant tard.

eclipse804, ok since they use acrylic paint and don't have a separate clear coat, then should I buy good paint and clear coat and have macco paint it for me?

and what should I do about the primer, use the spray cans or buy primer from house of kolors and do I need to buy a base coat?

>eclipse804, ok since they use acrylic paint and don't have a
>separate clear coat, then should I buy good paint and clear
>coat and have macco paint it for me?

No because their painters are usually no good. You need an experience painter with a lot of skill at a good body shop that pays him well.

OH and don't use spray can primer. YOu need the primer to be sprayed from a professional paint gun using professional primer - use PPG primer if you are going to use PPG paint. ALso, you don't need to primer the whole car. If you already have a base coat of stock factory paint, just sand off the clear, and the factory paint will act as a primer coat since it's been bonded to the metal for years already. You only need to primer over areas you've bondo'ed or worked on.

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2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl

if I understand this then base coat is a primer right? and what does PPG stand for, and should I use Chromate Free Epoxy Primer Surfacer or another primer from here http://cararts.com/category.html?UCIDs=1199986, and which clear coat from here http://cararts.com/category.html?UCIDs=1199377

thanks for the help, your very helpful

another question how should the paint be put on the right way, how does a macco shop do it and how does a good body shop do it,
a good shop puts 2 coats of both the paint 2 coats and clear coat 2 coats and between each coat, I could could be wrong, do they wait or do they put it on all at once? like wait 6 hours between each coat and wait after the paint dries and then put clear coat on?

and for the primer, say there was some work done with fiberglass and bondo then that spot needs primer and when they put primer on, they just primer it and sand it or primer and sand it like 3 times

PPG is the factory brand of paint. Let me just say this as my advice: let a shop do all the final prep work etc. Let them supply their materials and make sure they are good name brand like PPG, Dupont, House of Kolour.

Only do the sanding yourself. The difference is that Maaco's painters aren't as experiences or careful as other professional body shops. Also, we use 4 coats paint, 3 coats clear on top of that. You only have to wait under 30 min between coats, but you put all the clear on top of the paint. You don't mix the two...

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2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl

i'm using house of kolors paint, which clear coat should I use, and if there is a spot with bondo on my car, how will the shop do the prime on there, prime it and sand it, or prime and sand it like 3 times?

They will sand and then prime and then sand again for the bondo areas. Use House of Kolour clear coat too then. Stick with all one brand imo.

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2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl

thanks for the help, I have like 10 or more holes from spoilers, can I cover that with fiberglass, and if so, would it crack?

fiberglass and bondo will crack for the spoiler holes. You have to get it professionally welded, and then smoothed out.

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2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl