Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

[Ryan L.]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

And if it scratches easily, then the paint is soft.

WOOOO...I totally disagree with that statement. I would have to say that the paint on our 2004 Liberty is very hard, it took 3 passes of M83 to even begin to make progress, on a Rotary Buffer. But after the first time I washed it after words, there are little tiny swirls. And yes I do use all the right techniques and I think people on the forum will vouch for me, but the paint on it scratches very easily.

Ryan

[TXShine]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

I understand it’s all about what you can/can’t afford, but I can’t imagine having a car with the potential of the 62 Ford Thunderbird painted at second rate paint facility. Try to look at the big picture here, someday you could have a real show piece. It sometimes takes people many years to fix up or restore old cars. Don’t let impatience ruin something that could be special to you in the long run. Just my two cents.


EXAMPLE:

[roushstage2]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

Paint is exceptionally thin, no matter who painted it. And if it scratches easily, then the paint is soft. It doesn't mean that it's bad, though. It just means it's more work.

For the most part, OEM finish is superior to aftermarket.

I understand it is thin. On my paint, a leaf could scratch it. I do have to use M83 and a polishing pad to get that tiny little scratch out though, so I don't think the paint is too soft.

I am more curious as to an explanation of this though:

For the most part, OEM finish is superior to aftermarket.

How? Why?

[Holden_Caulfield04]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

I understand it is thin. On my paint, a leaf could scratch it. I do have to use M83 and a polishing pad to get that tiny little scratch out though, so I don't think the paint is too soft.

I am more curious as to an explanation of this though: How? Why?

Well, for a number of reasons:

1) Cost. An aftermarket shop makes more money by doing a job quickly than they do by doing a job well. As a result, quality tends to be poor at times.

2) Ineffective Training. Most bodymen learn the trade from experienced painters who have been taught one specific method for doing the job. They tend to learn rather slowly from new people and don't accept superior methods because they don't recognize them that way.

As a result, they only use products found at their local body shop.

3) Working conditions. In the factory, the paint booth is operated by machine giving a uniform finish without concern for overspray. A superior finish can be done by hand, but only in the rare case of something like a Bugatti Veyron which receives 15 even coats.

In the body shop, things have to be masked and it cuts down on the amount of time and space required to paint.

[Ryan L.]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

Way too many generalizations here again....there are plenty of body shops that do top notch work, if not, nobody would be in business. And you honestly can't bring the Veyron into this, were talking about a $1.4 million car vs. a 1962 Ford Thunderbird. Not that the Thunderbird isn't nice, but I think you can clearly see the difference.

Ryan

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

Also, the factory will bake on the paint.

The quality of a paint job differs from shop to shop. I've seen some really lousy quality repairs and other repairs that are impossible to see the difference.

Again, the quality and durability of a paint job will differ from shop to shop.

[Holden_Caulfield04]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

Way too many generalizations here again....there are plenty of body shops that do top notch work, if not, nobody would be in business. And you honestly can't bring the Veyron into this, were talking about a $1.4 million car vs. a 1962 Ford Thunderbird. Not that the Thunderbird isn't nice, but I think you can clearly see the difference.

Ryan

Well, why not take a tour of your local body shops and tell me what you think? I have and I report what I've seen. I have certainly seen some pretty bad things. I'm not saying every body shop is bad, though. I've just seen enough to be cynical.

[Holden_Caulfield04]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

Also, the factory will bake on the paint.

The quality of a paint job differs from shop to shop. I've seen some really lousy quality repairs and other repairs that are impossible to see the difference.

Again, the quality and durability of a paint job will differ from shop to shop.

Exactly. It can also vary on the job, too.

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

But, you can't make a generalization that all body shops are bad. You simply haven't visited every one!

[Ryan L.]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

Well, why not take a tour of your local body shops and tell me what you think? I have and I report what I've seen. I have certainly seen some pretty bad things. I'm not saying every body shop is bad, though. I've just seen enough to be cynical.

I friend who got his entire car repainted by a local shop and it looks better than it did when it was new. Its flawless, no orange peel, no defects (swirls, scratches, etc) and it has amazing clarity and depth and its silver. And it was under insurance work and generally thats not very good because insurance isn't willing to pay that much.

When you report what you see you have to take into consideration that you are one opinion taking only a sample of shops....

Ryan

[Ryan L.]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

But, you can't make a generalization that all body shops are bad. You simply haven't visited every one!

Exactly my point...and I think a lot of others as well.

Ryan

[Holden_Caulfield04]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

But, you can't make a generalization that all body shops are bad. You simply haven't visited every one!

I'm not saying every body shop is bad, though. I've just seen enough to be cynical.

[cafemoc]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

Paint is exceptionally thin, no matter who painted it. And if it scratches easily, then the paint is soft. It doesn't mean that it's bad, though. It just means it's more work.

For the most part, OEM finish is superior to aftermarket.

Your claims are not true.
You should learn from Mike Phillips and other forum members.

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

You get what you pay for, basically. Maaco generally hires people for as little as possible, sometimes $10.00/hr. Then they use worst-case scenario practices (i.e. dirty shop etc.) and use the lowest quality products. It isn't worth it, in my opinion. Especially given the fact that aftermarket paint jobs are almost uniformly inferior to an OEM finish.

It is time for me to step in....

One last reminder, MOL is a family friendly site where conflict does not happen. Moreover, your comment above is bashing of a company which clearly violates the Forum Rules which Mike has posted in your threads previously for you to view.

Please note Forum Rule:

4. No bashing any company or their products. No bashing other people. If you can't say anything nice about someone, then don't say anything at all.

This will be the last reminder....please adhere to the Forum Rules.

Thank You

Tim

[03mach1]

Re: Has anybody had their car or truck painted by Maaco

After I have read all the discussion that is going on it brought something to my attention that it would be worth it to get it painted by a professional which i do have a professional in my area. He restores cars for the public that have classic cars and for the Concourse Delagance in Monterey where his cars do very well. He is a friend of my dad and he said he would love to take a look at my car and he has a paint booth and maybe I will pay him to paint my Thunderbird.