Paint job
#18
For what it's worth, I got a bumper-to-bumper paint job done at the local Maaco, and I'm very happy with the job they did. Including all the touch-ups, plus painting inside the doors and trunk, it cost me about $850. The color paint I had them use is called "black silver metallic", which I personally think looks sharp on a 4th gen. Is it a show quality paint job? No... But it's worlds away from what it looked like when I bought it. From the stories about Maaco that I've read here and elsewhere, it really seems they're hit and miss. I think I got lucky.
Here's what it looked like before the Maaco paint job:
And here's what it looks like now:
Here's what it looked like before the Maaco paint job:
And here's what it looks like now:
Last edited by wiskow; 05-05-2010 at 10:11 PM. Reason: added photos
#19
Had a Maaco paint job done on my '71 Camaro back in 1980's. The paint work and paint was great. The bodywork that they charged me to fix was less than perfect. It looked OK from 10-15 ft. away, but not when you started looking down the body lines. I will say that the paint held up great for almost 25 yrs, and still had not oxidized or peeled. The shine was as good as it was new, but definitely not show quality.
I went back to Maaco last fall to get a quote on bodywprk and paint and it came to $1900. The guy said he was the "only Maaco in the USA that used only PPG paints. I didn't use him because he put a disclaimer on the estimate stating, "some minor imperfections may show". I refuse to pay anyone who leaves themself an out before they even start the work.
I found a guy 5 blocks away who did absolutely gorgeous paint and bodywork on my car for $2200. He stripped it down, did the bodywork, pulled the doors, trunk lid, and hood. Painted everything inside and out with 3-4 coats of stealth gray metallic pearl base, then cleared it with another 3-4 coats of clear. Plus laying out and painting the SS stripes. Cut and buffed, and reassembled. I had to remove all the chrome and reinstall it later, but I wanted to do that myself anyway. He guaranteed the paint for 20 yrs. if it was garaged when not driven, and 12 yrs. if it set outside.
I couldn't be happier with the results:
I went back to Maaco last fall to get a quote on bodywprk and paint and it came to $1900. The guy said he was the "only Maaco in the USA that used only PPG paints. I didn't use him because he put a disclaimer on the estimate stating, "some minor imperfections may show". I refuse to pay anyone who leaves themself an out before they even start the work.
I found a guy 5 blocks away who did absolutely gorgeous paint and bodywork on my car for $2200. He stripped it down, did the bodywork, pulled the doors, trunk lid, and hood. Painted everything inside and out with 3-4 coats of stealth gray metallic pearl base, then cleared it with another 3-4 coats of clear. Plus laying out and painting the SS stripes. Cut and buffed, and reassembled. I had to remove all the chrome and reinstall it later, but I wanted to do that myself anyway. He guaranteed the paint for 20 yrs. if it was garaged when not driven, and 12 yrs. if it set outside.
I couldn't be happier with the results: