prep word tips for pre-maaco paintjob?

[Akiros]

Im thinking of getting a temporary Maaco job to last me until I can afford a real paintjob, and I was wondering if anyone had tips, whats needed, materials, whats needed to do, etc and which Maaco job that looks decent, Ive heard about how it differs from each Maaco store, but anyways, I suppose im looking for prepword tips rather than maaco tips...

[sLiDewAys]

i have seen some real nice work come out of the maaco and earl schieb shops. honeslt you get what u pay for. so dont expect to pay for pro 1 270.00 and get a 2,000 super high quality BONAFACIO paint jobb you know?

i thought about pro 3 from earl schieb. goes for arround 500. look into it.

[/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/]

If its temporary just let them take care of it. They scuff the paint,c clean, then spray. They actually wanted to charge my friend more $$ when we prepped his car for paint by sanding, fixing dents, filling holes, and priming. You should probably just fix whatever dents you have, fill holes, and take it to them and let them do what they do. The paint will look good for about 2 years.

[Akiros]

should I consider doing a color change or should I leave it the same color? also, do they usually do good bodywork? I have a decent size dent from when someone doorswiped me a few months ago on my driver door.

[projectRDM]

If you don't want paint on trim/lights, remove them. Seriously, take off every single part you possibly can, otherwise they'll edge or overspray all over it.

[s14xman]

yea take off stuff u dont wanted painted over or mask it your self. Don't primer it your self because they will still want to primer it, any painter knows that primer is the glue and will need to be FRESH or reactivated.

[SR240DET]

go to your local automotive paint store... buy some wax & grease remover.. apply... take it to them have them scuff the paint and spray.... if you scuff the paint.. it force wax and stuff into the scratches which will make paint hard to adhere.. thats the purpose of wax & grease remover...

[mr_240sx]

Originally Posted by Akiros

should I consider doing a color change or should I leave it the same color? also, do they usually do good bodywork? I have a decent size dent from when someone doorswiped me a few months ago on my driver door.

I wouldnt because if your not paying much then youll be able to tell which colour the car originally was. Unless you dig that?

[Brian]

wetsand 400 grit
get ALL the clear off
mask or take off everything you dont want painted
grease wax remover before paint. gets all the shit off.

[mr_240sx]

Originally Posted by Brian

wetsand 400 grit
get ALL the clear off
mask or take off everything you dont want painted
grease wax remover before paint. gets all the shit off.

why wet sand? just use 400 grit then mask then de-grease and then prime and paint

[Brian]

Because I felt like doing wetsand.
It was easier in my opinion.

[Irukandji]

I took my car to earl schieb and got the pro 3 package and I have to say, the paint turned out MUCH better than I expected.

Before paint:

Bondo dents
SAND smooth <--- very important
SAND some more
SAND until your arm falls off
close your eyes and run your hand over your bondo... if you can tell where it is, you need to sand more.

hmm after that... I just did a couple thigns like take off emblems and pinstripe, but earl schieb told me that i didnt need to.

hope that helps

[Irukandji]

Originally Posted by Brian

wetsand 400 grit
get ALL the clear off
mask or take off everything you dont want painted
grease wax remover before paint. gets all the shit off.

earl schieb will do all of that in all their packages

[m0rex]

Im also kinda interested in this. The earl schieb pro 3 package is sounding pretty good. Any more details on it.

So far i got this off their site. But i want opinions on it though.

* Chemically clean & dewax
* Dual-action sanding for adhesion
* Careful masking & taping
* Air-blown dust removal
* Tack cloth cleaning
* Paint coats #1 and #2
* Masking & tape removal
* Infrared Quartz Finish drying
* Final cleaning
* Many additional colors
* Paint coat #3 (base coat) for a uniform finish
* Bumper & Tire Conditioner
* Additional sanding & preparation for adhesion
* Integrated clear coat
* "Starfire Colors"
* Extra final cleaning
* Our BEST Warranty . .

[zenkiDori]

contrary to popular belief, maaco does in fact sand it down before they paint it. If you are going to go thru the trouble of prepping it yourself, just paint it yourself. prep is the hardest part.<(painter)

[go240]

and if you don't take care of the dents yourself, really clarify to maaco what you want done - get it in writing because they forgot to take a large-ish dent out of a friend's car

[HyperTek]

so why do maaco and earl schieb cars paint not reflect a clear image?? I can tell when a car is painted by them, and dark colors look horrible.. They get orange peal effect.

I know one guy who prepped his car first, and had maaco do a pearl white on his s14 and it looked super clean tho...

[zenkiDori]

most people get the cheap paint from them which is a single stage, no basecoat, topcoat and cleacoat. they have that kind of job available, and it comes out looking factory, but it's just as expensive as anywhere else. the cheap jobs are a single stage that has a clear mixed in with it. it's cheaper paint and doesn't look as good. also, a lot of time the n00bs will paint the cheap jobs, so they make have the gun setup wrong or reduced it wrong, if this is the case you can ask them to respray it and they will.

[DrtyRat]

not to thread jack...but does supplying the paint, clear coat, primer help bring down the cost significantly(sp?)

[-E-]

bad idea just keep saving for a real paint job, its well worth the wait

[kevincao]

went through the process and they said my primer wouldnt stick. let them do the work. not showroom paintjob but still professionals. they know what theyre doing

[Ghettokracker71]

Originally Posted by EONE914

bad idea just keep saving for a real paint job, its well worth the wait

I was wondering if I was the only one thinking this. why get a temporary paint job? Isn't that just a waste of money AND time? Just make sure theres no bare metal on the car,and fucking drive it until you can get a real paint job. Save your maaco money or spend it on something that will make your car faster,not something temporary and overall will proble look like shit,and just caus more work when its time to get a REAL paintjob.

[Akiros]

See, the thing is, I know I wont have enough money to get a real paint job for a very long time.. I just dont want my car looking like shit, I want it to look decent, to me, itd be more sensible to spend $500-700 on a job that looks decent for a few years and spend the money I would have spend on a "real paintjob" elsewhere. Performance over comfort all the way, but I dont want a rattlecan / flat black job, just something decent.

[Ghettokracker71]

I wish I had an extra 500-700 to throw down on my car!

[breakindrifts]

Paint job for 20 bucks:
1. Go to walmart's paint section.
2. Get 10 cans of your favorite color in their .98 cent can selection.
3. Spend left over 10 bucks on sand paper.
4. Wash Sand and paint.

[mr_240sx]

Originally Posted by breakindrifts

Paint job for 20 bucks:
1. Go to walmart's paint section.
2. Get 10 cans of your favorite color in their .98 cent can selection.
3. Spend left over 10 bucks on sand paper.
4. Wash Sand and paint.

did you forget primer??? and maybe puddy to fix dents and major chips/cracks?

[theicecreamdan]

you dont necesarily need primer if you're going on top of other paint that is scuffed.

[blue109]

my friend paints for maaco. the main complaint i see is overspray from bad mask jobs. if you can, pull your turn signals and things like that, and mask your emblems/mouldings. people dont realize they really arent allowed to paint well for 200 bux. my friend has gotten in trouble for it. it sounds kinda shady, but try to find out who will be painting your car, and throw him an extra 50. it will make a world of difference.

[zenkiDori]

Originally Posted by DrtyRat

not to thread jack...but does supplying the paint, clear coat, primer help bring down the cost significantly(sp?)

you need to negotiate that, but usually they won't use your stuff.

Honestly, if you have the time and space to fill, sand, and prime your car, just paint it your damn self.

[!Zar!]

I primed, and prepped my car. The shop loved that it was ready. Not only was the price cheaper but it would be out the shop faster. But some city officials came over and bitched at me for priming and doing bondo in my drive way. But also according to the official I couldn't even install anything on my car either. Because it's an eye sore. Wtf?