I wouldnt use maaco but that's just me...

Painting is all about the prep work. If you paint was allready in iffy condition and you wheel a lot then Id maybe consider it, but not for a "normal" truck of relatively new age...

 

Used hood in another factory color, or new hood in prime?

 

used hood in "radiant red" going to be painted "super white"

 

If it is a color change, I would stress that they spend the time to do it correctly if you don't want to see red showing through where the hood makes contact with the rubber bumpers and between the inner and outer sheetmetal.

 

I took a car there once. They did a shitty job and I took the car back 4 times to try and get fixed. They did NO prep work, left an open can of paint on the floor, got paint all over the seats and steering wheel, pin holes all over, you could still clearly see all the rock chips underneath. It still looked like crap after.

I guess I should of had a hint. When we dropped of the car there was an irate customer in the office yelling at the manager, on my third and fourth visit, that was me yelling at the manager...

 

Every paint job I've ever seen by "Maaco" has been less than acceptable... I would HIGHLY recomend looking around your area for a reputable paint shop. They're idea of prep is very light sanding and the same in between clear coats. If you like runs, blemishes and bugs in your finish it's worth the 175 $ they quoted you. Could just be the shops around here but I would expect closer to 500 depending on your paint costs for a good quality spray job... just my 2 cents, good luck to ya'!

 

Just out of high school, I worked at 1 day paint and body in Sacto. Their quality wasn't much different than Maaco (you can pretty much lump all of those "cheap" paint shops together). They're fine if you want to get a vehicle painted before selling it, but if it's for you then expect it to peel.

Also, if you're painting the white over a red hood, don't expect the hood to match if you just have them paint that. I used to live next door to an auto painter and he had a blue Tacoma (similar to the speedway blue) and whenever he had to paint over his scratches from places like the Rubicon Trail, it frequently came out a little different than other areas. He said it was because of using a different color primer underneath the paint (and he really didn't care because he was just going to scratch it up again later...of course he totaled it once when he rolled it on the Rubicon). Using a different color primer will cause the shade of the paint to be slightly off. Therefore, using a radiant red hood and painting it white...well, you're likely to see a different shade of white on that hood compared to everything else.

Go to a "quality" paint shop and get an estimate and ask them about the color matching to confirm what my neighbor said. I'd hate to see you spend money to have it painted and it not match. Maybe they'll recommend stripping the old paint off instead of just sanding it down.

 

Like all the others have said prep is key you can spray a car in krylon if the prep is good it can look good for a while. Or you can spend a fortune and if the prep was rushed the results will look shitty. My dad and I painted many cars over the past couple of years. All of them were never set in color unless the prep was perfect. Usually after that we also had no fingerprints, why we never robbed any banks ill never understand.:headbang:

 

maacco is for a quick clean me up paint job. if u want factory look and high quality u go to a real body shop. i am a ppg certified painter myself. there is not need to strip the hood down to change the color they are just selling u an extra step to get u to spend more. also the mostly spray in single stage using cheap paint. if u want a base coat- clear coat paint job like factory they charge more for hat as well.

 

maacco is for a quick clean me up paint job. if u want factory look and high quality u go to a real body shop. i am a ppg certified painter myself. there is not need to strip the hood down to change the color they are just selling u an extra step to get u to spend more. also the mostly spray in single stage using cheap paint. if u want a base coat- clear coat paint job like factory they charge more for hat as well.

thanks, I definently want the 2-step paint (base + clear)

a couple of body shops have quoted around $300, I'll most likely spend the extra money and get it done right

 

I went to Maaco once, never again. You would probably get a better job by a student in a trade school. They want to do a great job because they're being graded on it. The only thing that you'll need an abundance of is time.

 

..

There will always be a price / quality factor. I used them to paint an old truck that I use on my deer lease. The paint was peeling because a bonehead buddy of mine spilled brake fluid on the hood. I did not want it rust. Took the truck to Maaco for a "decent" quality paint job. I was happy knowing that I got what I paid for.

I am sure you know this but you can't expect the best results for the cheapest price.

Maaco been around a long time. Most peeps will only hear the negative becuase no one ever takes time to post about a good experience. Plus everyone only focuses on the bad.

Just look at the news. Is it ever good news? Nope always bad.

 

They fit right in with all the other cheapo and discount places in the automotive field. You get what you pay for, which is usually bottom of the line parts and a kid who doesnt have a clue what hes doing.

 

Dude I got hit, paid out my own pocke to get it fixed. I should have looked in to it but i didnt and used Maaco. Needless to say the job was shitty. I have to take it back in a week to get it fixed. DON'T DO IT.

 

Macco sucks

Macco :thumbsdow didn't even sanded my Ranger when I used them back in 2000, paint peeled, blistered and faded in less than 6 months, every rock chip dent and scratch was visible after the job, they also painted all door handles, key slots, and glass trim parts, found at least 3 drips on the truck and they charged me $1,200.00 for the job, I took it back twice before the 1 yr warranty was over and they allways wanted to postpone the warranty work for 2 or 3 weeks. Finally after some yelling at the manager I gave up after the 1 yr warranty expired.
People told me, but I wanted to save a buck and got screwed in the process, one yr later I was $1,200.00 down and back in the same spot I was before and many days of down time in my truck due to it being at the shop.

The moral is DON'T DO IT or I'll tell you I told you.:thumbsdow

 

My grandfather's got an old dodge ram that was abused and neglected. I managed to nurse it back to good running condition for him, but the paint on the hood, top, and bed was shot and he wanted it painted to keep it from rusting any further. He backed out real quick when our local Maaco told him they would just paint over the rust so it would be cheaper.

We ended up taking the surface rust off ourselves and hitting it with some duplicolor. It looks like shit, but it's worth nothing and it is just used as a work truck so cheap and dirty is fine.

 

I almost feel bad defending MACCO on this thread but feel like I must. I have had two cars painted there for my son. I had a 1991 Nissan pickup painted there and they did a pretty good job. I did all the body work and some of the prep and they sprayed it. It wasn't a color change (white over white) or anything too awful challenging but it came out pretty good. He decided that he needed something faster and bought a Mitsubishi Eclipse (yuck) that is black and came from Arizona. The hot sun took it's toll there and the paint was faded pretty bad. My local Macco (Nashua, NH) painted that as well and it looks excellent. I know black is tough to make look good but, for the $450.00 that he invested, it looks excellent. Just my 2-cents.

 

It's bad to generalize about Macco or any other chain - some give you exactly what you pay for, like you said, and some, like my local one, are no smarter than the air in your tires. We were ready to give them a chance, but they blew it with one outrageously stupid comment.