# Possible to Get a Decent paintjob (Auto) at MAACO? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229 "2010-05-29T21:41:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/1 "2010-05-29T21:41:54Z")
I see ads for MAACO’s auto painting service-$349.99 (which includes some minimal bodywork). Can you actually get a decent paint job for such a price? My question: suppose you were to remove all the trim (by youself), fix and prime any rust spots, and fill any dents with bondo. You then take your car to MAACO-would you wind up with a decent paint job? I cannot imagine that they use top grade paint (for this price), nor do they spray clearcost on, over the paint. Has anyone tried these “el cheapo” paints? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/2 "2010-05-29T21:46:34Z")
It’ll look good for a little while. It will be some cheap one-coat process. The quality of the application depends HUGELY on the shooter - so make sure you see his work first. The cheap paint will start looking bad pretty quickly, but you gotta decide for yourself if it is worth it, as a decent paint job would probably start around $3k. Good enough for a beater, but probably not what I’d want on a car I cared about. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/3 "2010-05-29T22:44:26Z")
A family friend (used care dealer) used them… but he had his employees do prep work. Otherwise, he claimed they would paint over bugs, mud and tar. For the low prices advertised, you don’t get much prep work - but in his experience, the shooters were usually good. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/4 "2010-05-29T22:54:15Z")
The guys at Macco can lay paint. They paint so many cars, they have lots of practice. Where this type of place falls down is they use the cheapest paint, and their prep work is terrible. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/5 "2010-05-29T23:45:37Z")
I would sandpaper the existing paint, to degloss it, stem to stern, with wet 400 silicon carbide paper after removing the trim. Don’t take the existing paint OFF, just scuff it good. That will make the cheap paint stick to it a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/6 "2010-05-29T23:49:59Z")
I haven’t seen any that looked good from folks that actually CLAIMED it was a Maaco paint job. Now, you could say, logically, that there would be people out there that DID get a good paintjob from them and are just being quiet about it, but…well. You get what you pay for. Always. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/7 "2010-05-30T04:37:32Z")
MAACO does the jobs that you’ll look at and think “Huh, they did really dang good for a can of Krylon” In other words, not a lot of runs, not a lot of overspray, but the overall “gestalt” of the paint job is “Ehhh…” ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/8 "2010-05-30T05:07:16Z")
Click and Clack talked about these cheap paint jobs with a caller who was torn between MAACO and the nice $5,000 job. They pointed out that for the price of a MAACO paint job you could get your car painted every year for 10 years and still be money ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/9 "2010-05-30T12:40:56Z")
Yeah, but there’s a LOT of leeway between $400 and $5000, and for 10 years, you a) have a Maaco paintjob, and b) would have the hassle of getting it painted every year. So, it’s a slightly flawed analogy. You could get a $600 Maaco paintjob, a $5000 showcar paintjob, or a $2000 paintjob that was 98% of the $5k one. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/10 "2010-05-31T05:44:53Z")
I just threw that out as an idea. If it were my car, I would get the best paint job I could afford. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-get-a-decent-paintjob-auto-at-maaco/541229/11 "2010-05-31T14:36:19Z")
I had a Maaco paint job on my old Cougar (car, that is). It the cheapest thing I could get, for the sole purpose of protecting the sheet metal (it was a car that I brought from Texas to Illinois, I’d already done the body work, and it was completely primered, but needed some paint!). It didn’t look half bad. Now that’s not to say that it was a great paint job; it wasn’t. But it looked decent, and was dirt cheap, and protected the car. Consider, too, that Maaco offers different levels of service. My cheapest paint job offered “minimal” surface preparation, but they certainly do have all kinds of higher-end packages, and if you’re willing to pay for it, will give you the same quality as any decent body paint shop.