Camry & Solara LoungeDiscussion area for every generation of Toyota's family car, the Toyota Camry. Lexus ES250/300 owners welcome! Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance and more.
Many of the owners on TN have paintjobs on their car, including swegyptian (orange and black), theamazingnate (blue), ufoz (black... for now), just to name a few. Paint jobs can run in the hundreds for a cheapo job from Maaco up to thousands (I think swegyptian's cost around 6k) for a good paintjob. From the sound of your post, you fall into the category of regular everyday camry owner who's concerned about money, not one who would be willing to easily drop cash on modifying their car. In which case, I would recommend that unless your current paintjob is horrendous and peeling all over, just keep what you've got. You can go cheapo and get some Maaco, but it'll be a piece of crap. I tend to only do something if it's done right, not half-assed which will cause me more problems down the road, but that's just me.
Find someone local who has a really good rep. My Vette's paint job was a full stripdown and repaint and is excellent. You get what you pay for.
I have two cars that have been repainted, and the quality between the two jobs is quite the gap:
Vette:
Triumph:
The Triumph was a garage repaint in the mid 1980's. There was overspray that I spent forever removing, then I wetsanded, buffed polished then waxed. It looks okay, but has flaws.
The Vette is exceptional, and I have no problems with it's paint. There was a spot near the license plate where the clearcoat had a little spot, but wetsanding took care of that. I like their work so much, they are who we're probably gonna get the Camry painted by.
GT6
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==== Toys - 1973 Honda ST90; 1983 Honda V45 Magna; 1987 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible Daily Stuff - 1991 Lincoln Town Car; 1996 Saturn SL1 (Traded 98 Camry to my Mom for this)
Last edited by TriumphGT6; 05-17-2006 at 03:51 PM.
Those are things of beauty. Of course they are also classic cars. Do you think a 96 camry falls into that kind of category? Oh.. to add on another note, the car was purchased from my parents after my sister had got in a fender bender in the front and rear. The engine was unscaved just the hood and rear were replaced.
Now after 5 years, the paint in the front and rear has faded and peeled away. The original paint on the car has turned from beige to silver. There are multiple hail damage spots on the hood and trunk and a few small dents on either side of the doors from careless people. Lately I have been learning how to properly care for the car's paint of whatever is left of it. I invested in some cleaner wax products, clay bar applications and even a porter-cable buffer. If you were to look at the car from the side, it looks beautiful but if you looked from the rear and front, it's horrible. Quite comical when you look at it.
Nobody ask if my 05 Lancer is new. Everyone ask if my 90 Celica is new.
New paint make a different but if you're painting to sell, it may not payoff.
Most people spend $200 for new paint to cover up rust and dent so most buyer will avoid it.
I have heard horror stories from Maaco. Do you guys do your own prep work? What about those dents? Is it necessary to remove them first before painting? I am planning on keeping the camry with no intention to sell it.
Get a shop to do it. I went for cheap so the paint job wasn't perfect but still not really bad.
If you know how to do body work then clean it up and sent it out for paint, it'll be cheaper. Check out non-stock color. There many great color in production cars. Go to dealership and check out paint under the sun. Find out which one you like and tell the bodyshop.
I've paid only 200 dollars for a paint job in the past and although it only lasted a couple of years, it was WELL worth it. You can go with the rat rod look if you like, but I prefer glossy!
I have heard horror stories from Maaco. Do you guys do your own prep work? What about those dents? Is it necessary to remove them first before painting? I am planning on keeping the camry with no intention to sell it.
I got my 92 camry painted at Maaco and I'm very satisfied. It cost about $500. I looked at the work from different locations and decided on the 3rd one I looked at. My paint (or lack of) was all gone from the hood, top, & trunck; but I had no dents. It all depends on the shop on how your car is gonna turn out. So if $$ is an issue; take a look around and check the cars they just painted and decide for yourself. I decided to spend the money I saved on a new springs, struts, wheels & tires! One thing for sure is that you should NOT let masco do any body work at all. I couldn't find one decent job they did body work on that didn't stand out. They all looked wavy and bumpy.
I got my 92 camry painted at Maaco and I'm very satisfied. It cost about $500. I looked at the work from different locations and decided on the 3rd one I looked at. My paint (or lack of) was all gone from the hood, top, & trunck; but I had no dents. It all depends on the shop on how your car is gonna turn out. So if $$ is an issue; take a look around and check the cars they just painted and decide for yourself. I decided to spend the money I saved on a new springs, struts, wheels & tires! One thing for sure is that you should NOT let masco do any body work at all. I couldn't find one decent job they did body work on that didn't stand out. They all looked wavy and bumpy.
Just curious, Maaco has 3 levels of paint services, which level did you got?
Just curious, Maaco has 3 levels of paint services, which level did you got?
I got the middle one. I think the prices are 249, 499, and 999. The $499 one I got came with a integrated clear coat with UV protection and a 3 year (or 4, not sure) warranty. The first 2 years are 100% coverage for pealing or fading. The rest of the warranty is pro-rated.
I'm not saying they did a perfect job, but there are a few imperfections. You only notice them if your like a foot away looking for them. I'm happy with the outcome and I'll post some pics in a few days.
Here's some pics of the before & after of my 92 camry LE. In the last 2 months I got it repainted by maaco, H&R 1.25 drop springs, KYB G2 struts, 17" rims, new tires, replaced all lights (except the trunk center piece.. got to shop around for a good deal).
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New Paint Job - Worth it?
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