94LT1Maro

Hey guys...........got a big check coming in and I think it's time to repaint the Camaro. The color is set in stone i'm going with the Navy Blue that was on the 98+ Vettes. I was wondering if you guys used maaco and if you did about how much did it cost to get your car painted a whole new color. Any comments would be appreciated thanks again.........

Rice Killer87

maaco is about the worst place to get a car painted man. they half @$$ almost everything and the overall paint job isnt good at all. i know some1 that got his 94 GT painted there and had over spray on the back of the wheels,exhaust,and around the windows where they did a $hitty job of taping it off. he even put an aftermarket hood on it and they painted the hood on the car (was a fiberglass hood) and there was overspray ALL over the engine/engine bay where it didnt even look like they tried to cover it at all.

cheap prince=cheap quality

highboost

maaco sucks donkey d*ck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
earl schibe is much better
be carefull who you have do a color change cause some butchers
can really f*ck things up and make it worse to fix the nasty paint job than it would have been to paint it the first place

IROC-T

You get what you pay for. Most of those cheapie paint places are great for a two year paint job ,which is ok if your tring to get rid of the car,and you want to make it look good so you can up the price ,but anything more than that forget it save your money up and get it done right. You'll be er

94LT1Maro

Then how much do you think it's going to take to do it the right way? Remember i'm doing a full color change. I know your not the guy that's going to paint my car but I just like to have a general estimate of how much it's going to cost so I know how much to put back. Thanks again

IROC-T

Most of the cost of a paint job is preperation ,if you do all of the bodywork ,and sanding you could cut your cost down to about half. Out here a decent paint runs around $1500 and up ,so that is why a lot of people go to the cheapie places ,go to your local body shops in your area and talk to the painter and tell him what you want ,and what you would like to pay. You might be able to work a deal with him to paint your car on the side at home. I used to paint cars on the side for $300 ,but that was a good 15-20 years ago. Good luck.....

94LT1Maro

Thanks IROC i'll keep that in mind

CNCREG

Well I'll probably draw flak for this but I use Macco all the time. Granted I build wrecks and the guy (which is now like a bud) cuts me a heckuva deal, $225 for their middle of the road job or $325 for a base clear. I have found at both the one here in Savannah as well as a similar type shop I used in FLA that if you will prep the car (i.e. wet sand it with 320 VERY GOOD, do the body work and block it all in) these guys usually do a fairly decent job. I will be the first to agree they don't prep for squat but think about it. They've got these guys painting (at least at this one) that all they do all day is shoot paint. I mean the car is rolled in the booth and they shoot it. After a while the guy has to get pretty decent at it.

My second point is this I just let him shoot my personal 92 RS and is it dealership body shop quality? No. But does it look damn good and shine like a brass tack in a monkey's ***, yeah. We are all talking about in reality $3000-$5000 cars here (yes there are the excpetions) and I can't justify putting a $1500-$2000 paint job that when you wreck the insurance company is going to say 'Aww how nice'. I do keep mine in the garage but if it looks dead in 2-3 years I'll wheel back down there and give Kerry anothr $300 and BAAM back in business. I do agree that you get what you pay for but I also think if you prep the car first you can definatly get a decent job on a daily driver for way cheap.

And lastly u take your car to a normal shop and it is going to run you about $2K to get a complete color change if you want your door jambs, trunk, hood, etc to match the car and not look like monkey do-do.

90formula5spd

gg cnc, i totally agree, if it aint a show car and it is a daily driver dont give others the chance to put 2k down the drain just by hitting ur car with their door or sum other unlucky bs to happen to ur 2k paint... but hey its ur money

kandied91z

you guys are getting some quality paint there. for 2k i couldn't get the supplies alone to paint my car for anywhere near what your quoting. 300 for a paint job is rediculously cheap.

i'd say anywhere from 2-4000 depending on how in depth the color change is. you can save yourself a fortune by tearing apart the car as much as you can. anytime that isn't wasted on that area is more money in your pocket.

macco typically isn't a good place to go because they are based on some of the worse scenarios. each macco is different just as every painter is different. if you talk with them and explain what you want to do you can have a good chance at a nice job but it will run you more.

assuming the color your talking about is a tri-stage paint which it should be to do it right and respectable you should expect to pay at least 8-1200 in just materials at dealer cost. you might talk with your painter and ask what product they are using as there could be a price fluctuation between the variants. i'm not sure what maccos main line is but i'm certain they aren't using the finer paints like ppg, dupont, etc in their 300 jobs. this will make a big difference down the road in durability.

i agree spending outrageous amounts on paint isn't always the best idea, especially if the car is your daily driver or you may not plan to keep it but if your going to paint it and do a repaint at that you should do it right. there are plenty of things you can do yourself to really cut costs down so the right job will be affordable.

CNCREG

Kandied I 100% respect your opinion on this but to me it sounds like you are talking a show quality paint job. I grew up on a body shop and my dad still owns it (In FLA). They are your typical higher volume dealer repaints, insurance certified etc. Certainly no macco that frist used dupont then switched lines to PPG. And to be honest I don't know what paints you are buying but 1000-1200 just for materials has to be a show car type paint and system. If material cost was that high for his shop he'd never paint anything. A complete (not changing colors) repaint with no or minor body work with a 2 stage base clear PPG system or even dupont with chromaclear (great stuff but man does it get hardddd) will usually run around $2000 with material costing around $600-800 depending on color. Anyway not to belabor this topic I only reccomend macco or a similar type place if you do your own prep work up front. Again I would consider this more than sufficient for a daily driver that at worst case you get a 300 reapint every 4 years or so. If you have a show car or a super low mileage origional in need of paint, sure spend the 2 grand and get a factory level paint job. Other wise spend that extra cash on go fast goodies heeh

slayer6x6

Kandied, where did you get your strut mounts from? They look sweet. And how much did you spend when you chromed your factory rims? Im looking to get mine done.

kandied91z

paint: 7500 on discount doing a majority of the labor.

chrome 91's: 1500 for tripple plate

polished strut mounts: 340

no longer any money in the bank.........well you know.


i'm certainly not trying to argue any of the things anyone has stated. all i'm saying is a 300 paint job somone is using run of the mil paint to do a complete car in the way it should be. you don't have to spend 5 figures to make a car show worthy just as its insane on a daily driver but the greatest painter in the world couldn't do a repaint for 300 and make it look decent from even 10'.

maybe half a car.

CNCREG

WOW $7500 for a paint job. Your car looks extremely nice but DAMN $7500 for a 'discounted with you doing a lot of the labor'. Unreal. And when it's all said and done you've got a vehicle that you would have to find the right person with a wad of cash (couldn't get it financed) to give you around 10K for your car. Oh I hear it now I wouldn't take that for it. Total that baby and see what the insurance company gives you for it.

Like I said you do have a very sweet ride but just because you think it requires (in Forest Gump terms) a gazillion dollars for a paint job is the only decent one your nuts. You say a great painter couldn't make a decent job for $300 at 10 feet. Again you've not seen my car and are talking out your ****. My car looks decent from right next to it. Can I pick it to death? You bet your sweet petunia's. Could I pick your car to death? Same answer. Part of my work growing up in a body shop was classic and antique restoration. When a customer pays $18K to have a 50 Merc rodded or $20K for a 68 GT 500 KR frame off restoration it had better be perfect when it's done. Not just right but Perfect. Even then we found flaws that the average joe wouldn't see.

Bottom line is you have a nice car but your opinion is, well, wrong. As I stated in my orgional post I 100% believe that you get what you pay for. Along that same line I also KNOW, not think, that you can get a decent paint job for a lot cheaper on a daily driver so when a rock does chip it or a door gets dinged into it your not ****ting your pants and in a rage.

kandied91z

your really have quite the words to say don't you...7500 is cheap for a full candy paintjob, especially a full on repaint. everyone is entitled to their opinions but go out and try to get one and you'll see. all of which truly has no relevance since we are talking about standard repaints and my disconcern was with how cheap you say you can paint a car and make it look anywhere remotely decent.

you say i'd be lucky to get 10k for my car alone......that's a good one. if i were to ever sell the car which i will not that's what classic insurance is for, if you knew as much as you claim you should know that cars much like my own have to have specialty insurance. which means to total the car out wouldn't be a big deal. hell the bluebook value on my car doesn't even cover the cost of the rims without the tires, a knowledgable body/paint guy knows that much. what my car is appraised for and what you think the value might be is of no concern or relevance to this thread and should have been left out.

you may work around cars and you may know how to get a car by on the cheapest paint possible, but if you really knew cars and high quality setups you would at least know the above. i'm not saying that all prices are fair and alot of things are inflated badly but there is no way you can park a 300 paintjob next to even a factory paint job and say it looks decent and everyone knows how lovely those jobs are.

i do have one question out of everything you said though. where in the hell can you get a frame off restoration on a gt500 for 20k and not be emotionally attached to the worker? obviously it won't win any concours d'elegance shows but even still i'll gladly send you a rolling chassis