Time to start thing about paint...help

slowmark95

slowmark95

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Spring is almost here so It's time for me to think about what I will be doing with my cars paint. I have looked into my options and I can't afford a paint job from local shops(college student = broke), and I don't want to settle with a maaco paint job.
So, I would like to know if someone on here can do a decent paint job but is affordable to.
I have all the bodywork done primer laid down and blocked, all that is left is for a single stage black paint to be laid down.
Suggestions are welcome too;)
 
Do they have classes at your college where students paint cars? Single stage black would be easy to do. Let them paint it and you do all the wet sanding after it's all finished. If you can work out all the orange peel by wet sanding and then buffing it out to a nice shine, you should just be into it for the paint cost, sand paper, a couple of different waxes and microfiber rags.
 
NoLimit95 said:
Do they have classes at your college where students paint cars? Single stage black would be easy to do. Let them paint it and you do all the wet sanding after it's all finished. If you can work out all the orange peel by wet sanding and then buffing it out to a nice shine, you should just be into it for the paint cost, sand paper, a couple of different waxes and microfiber rags.
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+1

or find a local High school that does it, but you will be out of your car for i while. i have a paint shop at my high school and all you have to do is pay for the paint.
 
Yeah, sometimes it can take them a while but if he already has most of the prep done, maybe they could get in and out within a week. I guess it all depends on how many they have, his school and the way they do things. There is a community college in my area that will paint a car but you're looking at 6 weeks without lol. That includes all prep work and everything. Material cost is on you.

Honestly, the only reason I would consider letting a school do it is if money was tight and in his case, being a student, money probably is tight.

I would find out about it though and maybe have it setup so that it could be painted on a certain day so that you could drive it out and back home the same day or at least by the next day. Let them do some prep on it also. Unless you have already wet sanded your primer and a few other things, it's not ready yet. The teacher has to teach something. Single stage black is easy to paint but prepping for that color is a must or extreme little things will show. Prepping is probably the most important part of the job, especially with black.
 
damn good call guys. NADC is right down the street from me, i have had all the stuff to paint it just no space.
 
That is a great idea! Hopefully i can make it happen. I will do some calling around.
 
Try to catch it before the pollen starts to fall. That stuff is a mess and you need it finished and cured out and buffed before it starts coming down. Even if it is garage kept, pollen can still get inside the garage. It's not as bad but it does make it's way in there. You wouldn't wanna be rubbing that in to your new paint. You would be ok with wet sanding the orange peel, if they even leave any. Just remember, that stuff is coming soon and I have had two black on blacks and it turns it yellow before you know it. I hate pollen...

Good luck on your calls and I hope they can make it happen for you.
 
If you have done all the prep work then why not take it to maaco laying the paint is the easy part.

They will be less likely to get runs than a student then you can also get 2 stage.
 
slowmkviii said:
If you have done all the prep work then why not take it to maaco laying the paint is the easy part.

They will be less likely to get runs than a student then you can also get 2 stage.
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That would be my route too being that it's single stage black but his money is tight. He can possibly get it done for paint cost only and maybe a few other materials unless the school will supply them.
 
slowmkviii said:
If you have done all the prep work then why not take it to maaco laying the paint is the easy part.

They will be less likely to get runs than a student then you can also get 2 stage.
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The first i went to maaco me and a friend were sitting down waiting to get an estimate for his car. I looked at a few customers cars there and the orange peel was so bad It looked like they were using textured paint. Not to mention an unhappy Gangbanger customer came in threatening to shoot the place up:eek: Fortunately police arrived and took him away before anything to severe happened.
So a combination of the environment and quality of work(lack of),is why I will not be going to maaco again.
 
My suggestion is paint it yourself. You'll learn how to do it, and you can do ALOT more custom wise for the $$. I wont have someone else paint mine, save money, gives me something to do, and you know it's done rite. If you don't have a compressor i'm sure you can find someone who does, paint guns arn't that much, and i'd check with your school like the other guys said. IT'S EASY!! Good Luck!!
 
If you go that rout Shop Line carries a clear coat kit for $120 That I never had any problems with, and if you have the body work done, primed and sealed, the hard parts done!!
 
quentinj92 said:
Spring is almost here so It's time for me to think about what I will be doing with my cars paint. I have looked into my options and I can't afford a paint job from local shops(college student = broke), and I don't want to settle with a maaco paint job.
So, I would like to know if someone on here can do a decent paint job but is affordable to.
I have all the bodywork done primer laid down and blocked, all that is left is for a single stage black paint to be laid down.
Suggestions are welcome too;)
Click to expand...

It really depends on which maaco you go to, Ive had several experiences with maaco with a few of my friend's cars in the past..and it really depends who's laying the paint and how much prep work you (or they) do. When I was in high school my friend had an 88 mustang that he took to maaco and had it sprayed black enamel..we block sanders the hell out of that thing and got all the old loose flaky paint off and it actually turned out pretty decent..another friend of mine had one of his "beaters" spot painted after a minor accident that messed up the front bumper and they actually did a really good job matching it with a nice finish and no runs and orange peel..but I have seen some nasty looking paint jobs come out of maaco, so you have to talk to the guy who's actually spraying it and be picky and specific of what you want to get a good end result. I see you're from rockford..so ill ask my friend which one he went to and get the managers name for ya..it was somewhere in the southern subs of Chicago..can't remember exactly.
 
My understanding is that Maaco is a franchise operation. So if a shop gets opened by a meticulous and skilled painter, the results will reflect that.
 
slowmkviii said:
If you have done all the prep work then why not take it to maaco laying the paint is the easy part.

They will be less likely to get runs than a student then you can also get 2 stage.
Click to expand...

NoLimit95 said:
That would be my route too being that it's single stage black but his money is tight. He can possibly get it done for paint cost only and maybe a few other materials unless the school will supply them.
Click to expand...

custom97'Mark said:
My suggestion is paint it yourself. You'll learn how to do it, and you can do ALOT more custom wise for the $$. I wont have someone else paint mine, save money, gives me something to do, and you know it's done rite. If you don't have a compressor i'm sure you can find someone who does, paint guns arn't that much, and i'd check with your school like the other guys said. IT'S EASY!! Good Luck!!
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yes not all maaco are the same.and if your only going with an enamel do it yourself, plus money is tight single stage at maaco is 199 here, but if youre going to sand it anyways i painted my 74 impala in my driveway with 15 cans of electric blue enamel and wet sanded and buffed it and it was nearly showroom quality i was amazed myself, its not that hard.
 
Yes maaco's are independently owned so results will depend on that also
Macco keeps comeback records I have a macco near me that is a top 10 store in the country.
I have personally have good and bad experiences with Maaco and it was all up to how the owner ran the store.
 
custom97'Mark said:
My suggestion is paint it yourself. You'll learn how to do it, and you can do ALOT more custom wise for the $$. I wont have someone else paint mine, save money, gives me something to do, and you know it's done rite. If you don't have a compressor i'm sure you can find someone who does, paint guns arn't that much, and i'd check with your school like the other guys said. IT'S EASY!! Good Luck!!
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I have a compressor, hvlp gun, and some knowledge but not much.
I have no place to paint it at.
 
quentinj92 said:
2K Urethane
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Very nice, some will use regular primer and take the car out in the weather without sealing it not knowing normal primer isn't a waterproof barrier; then wonder why the paint job goes to hell a year later.
 
Yeah I mean It's held up pretty well except for on the corner of the bumpers where it has chipped off. I think I didn't sand the old paint enough, also some rust is appearing ahh. Annoying but oh well nothing a little time can't fix.
I have not had much luck with colleges accepting public peoples cars to paint, not yet atleast.
 
I'm about to bite the bullet and get my car painted. If you are going for an acceptable paint job and a good price, hit Maaco. They will do it fast and it will look good for 5 years. Mine is going to be alot more expensive. Base and heavy clear by one of the best in the area. :cool:
 
It seems the only thing holding you back from painting it yourself is lack of space. If you have a yard simply buy some very thin painting drop-plastic and hang it from trees and tarp the bottom... then use the compressor to blow out the area and put a fan in there to create positive pressure (with a filter). Or you can build a pvc-pipe enclosure... which I've seen also.

I painted mine myself... there's a thread here with all the details somewhere. Painted it in a garage. I had 1 bit of dust I think on the entire car. I've painted GMAN's hood, front clip outside and it came out fine.

The most important thing is temperature and moisture. If you'd like more opinions give me an email/pm and I'll pm you my number so you can give me a call.
 
micahs97m8 said:
I'm about to bite the bullet and get my car painted. If you are going for an acceptable paint job and a good price, hit Maaco. They will do it fast and it will look good for 5 years. Mine is going to be alot more expensive. Base and heavy clear by one of the best in the area. :cool:
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It's been said in this thread before but I'd fallow up this statement with "do a search on the maaco's around you first toe find the best one".

;-)
 
I drove about an hour west to a community college today. The Auto collision professor liked the work he saw on my car, so i will be dropping the car off later this week.
$150 for paint I will pay upfront, then about $250 (how ever much the supplies cost) when i pick up the car. One week to ten days it will be complete. He said they will correct all the mistakes I made, and get it perfect.

I hope the teacher doesn't back out.
I'm going to call him tomorrow to finalize things and see if I can drop my car off on Thursday.

If things fallow through as planned, I will post some before and after pictures.
 
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