average paint job.

[RubberFloorMat]

im looking to paint my 91 Blazer, its faded red, needs minimal bodywork, absolutley NO rust, just a few dings and minor dents.

how much should i expect to spend for a factory quality paint job, base/clear.

ive got 800 bucks saved up.

should i save up more?, maaco quoted me 740 bucks and swore itd look like brand new.

they had a 89 Burb there that looked like factory, shiney as hell and no waves.

or should i find someone else.

 

[skidpan]

if they will gaurentee the quality of work and your not changing the color, then i say go for it.. are you changing color? and will they paint under hood, door jambs? its not going to look show quality, but from 10 feet it will look nice!!!

 

[RubberFloorMat]

well its staying red, the paint isnt that bad but the clearcoat is trashed cause the old man that owned it before me didnt belive in wax and let it sit outside in the sun/rain/snow etc.

i think GM had clearcoat issues in those years anyway.

the door jambs and underhood are fine, the interior and underhood look almost new.

the burb they painted looked damn good, the guy at Maaco said it was about the same as mine before, also the same color.

ive got new grills, bumpers, tailights, and new mirrors to go on it too.

 

[1985_K5_Silverado]

If you're on a limited budget, then try and do as much of the prep as you are able to yourself.

Talk to the shop, and see what sort of thing (yanking the bumpers and lights, trim removal, weatherstrip removal, glass removal, etc.) would save you labor costs on prep, require that they spend less time masking around this and that trim item (because you've yanked it and will reinstall it after the paint job is on and cured). Make as much of that limited budget as possible go into painting instead of into prep work that you might do yourself.

A friend of mine got a pretty good paint job from Maaco for $400 (many years back, in the early 80s) and he stripped his Camaro down to the bone before he towed it to the body shop on a trailer. Installed the glass and inetrior back in later, along with new weatherstripping and that kind of stuff. Lots and lots of work, but unless a guy has lots and lots of money to pay someone else to do all the work...

 

[JK5]

im looking to paint my 91 Blazer, its faded red, needs minimal bodywork, absolutley NO rust, just a few dings and minor dents.

how much should i expect to spend for a factory quality paint job, base/clear.

ive got 800 bucks saved up.

should i save up more?, maaco quoted me 740 bucks and swore itd look like brand new.

they had a 89 Burb there that looked like factory, shiney as hell and no waves.

or should i find someone else.

I'd charge $2500. That would include paint stripping, epoxy primer, base/clearcoat PPG and rub-out. Show quality rub-out add $500.

In reality $800 is enough for material only. A gallon of red can cost up to $500...due to the cost of red tints.

Maaco uses Western paints...they ARE much cheaper in cost. But they don't have the durablity and the UV protection of PPG, Sherwin Williams, Dupont, etc.

 

[89K5guy]

I don't know which maaco you deal with but the one where i live has the entire Dupont paint system.They stopped using western paints over a year ago
In fact my 89 is there right now getting painted and my friend is getting it done for $300.This is the top of the line paint option by the way.It normally runs $1099 with a 5 year shine guarantee. I can't wait to get it back thursday!

 

[NYDIESELDAVE]

I'd say JK5 is about right in the price range for what you should expect for a pretty descent looking paint job. If you are doing alot of the prep work you will keep alot of the cost down. Also, the brand of paint the shop is going to use will make a huge difference in my option. For example, at my shop we use Sikkens brand paint and to paint an entire truck could cost you $3000 depending on what color/so on. It is kinda expense but looks great. The paint can be show quality, however without the proper prep work ieven the best quality will look like crap.

The one other thing that I have kinda changed my school of thought on is, what will the truck finish be going through. In my mind I really wouldn't want to put two to three grand into a killer paint job for a rock rig (unless I had everything else on it I wanted). A single stage enamels may be a better choice if you are looking for durability and easy of repairablity. I decided on single stage white for my rig since I can dent it and scratch it with out feeling bad. All I have to do is repair, prep, and paint. Fast and cheap.

By the way I do believe 89K5guy may be right. I think that Maaco has gone to Dupont paint. However for $300.00 I wonder what exactly was done. Not sure what they were using before. I'm sure that if you wanted to pay for a more expensive paint they would be more than happy to sell it to you.

 

[ryoken]

heck, i just painted a guys Heep hood today and charged him $475....

i don't know what the heck kinda job you can get for 300... even if they're buying product in bulk, material has got to be 1/2 that at a minimum..

i guess you can get a decent job from Maaco, i guess... i've personally heard mostly horror stories tho.. from 1 yr failures to runs to painted license plates...

my train of thought is solid colors are usually fine single stage, but can certainly benefit from some clear... metallics are a definite base/clear.. i refuse to spray single stage metallics anymore....

 

[89K5guy]

The $300 price is because my friend's friend is the owner of this particular Maaco.Believe me,i have seen the paint jobs this maaco does and if the vehicle is PREPPED PROPERLY it will come out looking awesome.I just have to laugh when i hear people say that they have "heard" about horrific paint jobs but yet no one has pics to back it.Kinda like the lochness monster!Maybe they should put Maaco on MYTH BUSTERS!

 

[painterbccc]

I've seen maaco paint work All I can say is they are the only ones to mess up white. Friend of mine has car lot took 79 S.W.B.Chevy to them and ouch is all I can say. There is pictures. But it was shiney. If you got clear that is cracking. There will be a lifting problem. In 3-6 months you will see lines where the paint has soaked. I had a friend who painted for Maaco for 1 1 /2 years. He said it was something what they got away with. But they must pay pretty good. He saved up enough to open his own shop. Here is a thought a boy was charging $1200.oo for complete paint jobs taken them to maaco paying $600.oo bringing them home and buffing out the runs and collecting his cash.

 

[ryoken]

I just have to laugh when i hear people say that they have "heard" about horrific paint jobs but yet no one has pics to back it.Kinda like the lochness monster!Maybe they should put Maaco on MYTH BUSTERS!

doubt me all ya want.. i've painted thousands of cars and have had quite a few redo's on Maaco stuff...

your local one may be the exception to the rule... but the rumors are not unfounded...

 

[89K5guy]

Well i guess it is a good thing that the Maaco where i live uses a Dupont paint system and turns out exceptional work.Bang for the buck you can't top it.Besides ,i bought my K5 to drive not to look at.If i wanted a "trailer queen"
i would not have bought a 4x4.Thanks for all the input,it already makes me enjoy the new paint job.

 

[RubberFloorMat]

dont get me wrong fellas. 300 buck paintjob looks like a 300 buck paintjob.

im talking 700-1000 bucks, they seem to be able to turn out good work.

i could paint it myself, but i dont have the time or a booth

 

[JK5]

doubt me all ya want.. i've painted thousands of cars and have had quite a few redo's on Maaco stuff...

your local one may be the exception to the rule... but the rumors are not unfounded...

I hear yah...if they had a show called "Butcher Busters"...they'd be a
regular.

There are a handfull of Maaco's that produce quality work...
In the Cleveland/Akron area...there's only one outta 5 that are worth a crap.

The Manurva, Ohio Maaco painted a buddies Jeep...they painted the radiator for free. What a deal!!!!

 

[87GreyGhost]

I had my 87 painted in 98 for about $500 or so... Two-tone Grey and Black original colors with red pen stripe. The most not have prept very good also they only painted one coat and no primer. The paint on the right side started to chip of within a year, so i pulled the chipp and noticed metal no primer. owever the driver side is OK, but what do expect for 500.

 

[absolute]

F*#K MACCO... If ya want pictures I can post them up... We just had a truck painted there for a quick sell kinda deal and the Dumb Shyts messed it up, I could have done a better job with my eyes closed. We even paid for their $1000 deal and the runs are horrific! Then it went back for that to be fixed and they didn’t even get close to getting the paint code right.

 

[painterbccc]

They don't care. If I tried to pull some of there crap I'd get shot. They say the use Dupont. To me that don't mean anything. I hate Dupont paint. Don't use it won't use it. It is good for starting a fire on a cold morning. About only use I found for it.