Paint jobs
02-11-07, 09:48 PM
#2
Damn, it did start!
yes, earl painted all the trim red. they taped the windows and went to town.
02-11-07, 11:11 PM
#4
to be honest ... these "shitty" companies are getting better and better i think .. . you have to remember that people also usually go with the cheapest stuff because they think that they're not going for show quality which is true but doesn't last as long ... I've seen some pretty good work done at maaco ... especially now that I see them advertise more and more, Few thing to look for in a good paint job:
Urethane Primer
Block sanding (Makes the car body lines crisp and not wayvi looking ... this is what really makes the biggest difference and this is what doesn't get done at most cheap places)
Trusted name Base and clear coats
Make sure they do more than one coat of clear too ...
Urethane Primer
Block sanding (Makes the car body lines crisp and not wayvi looking ... this is what really makes the biggest difference and this is what doesn't get done at most cheap places)
Trusted name Base and clear coats
Make sure they do more than one coat of clear too ...
02-12-07, 12:21 AM
#5
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Maaco *can* be good if you find the right one. Check with folks that have had their car done at your local Maaco, to find out if they're one of the good ones. You're not going to get it block sanded there, but DO make sure they use base-clear & enough clear so that you can sand & buff it. Also, either check (cars they have in progress) to see that they do a good job of sanding, or sand it yourself first. Pull everything off of the car that you can: moldings, lights, trim, doorhandles - anything that needs to be painted under or right up to.
Never seen anything good from scheib.
HTH.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"
Not sure where we're going, but no sense in being late!
Never seen anything good from scheib.
HTH.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"
Not sure where we're going, but no sense in being late!
02-12-07, 03:20 AM
#6
WWW.SUPERCHARGED-RX7.COM
+1 on what "The driver" said. Their cheap paint job consists of a crappy tape job, a quick buff, and a 1 stage paint. Any thing else is all extra. I've seen show quality paint jobs come out of maaco, but it was either shot by an employee on his own car or the customer paid alot for extras.
Do some research, if funds are the reason you are even considering to take it there, do as much as you can to your car before you take it. There is nothing worse than a paint job on a car that has not been prepped. I have painted cars before and here are some things you can do on your own to get a decent paint job from these guys if your funds are an issue.
Remove all moldings to avoid anything but the glass being taped. If you can get it towed overthere even better, that way you can remove the lights, trim, locks, etc.
And you can cover anything you don't want spraymist to get into like the engine parts and exhaust.
Try and stay with a color that is close to what you have now. Nothing worse than opening a door or hood on a black car to reveal that it was once white. That's horrid, and the cost of trying to do a whole color change is very pricey.
Block sand your car. A cheap way of doing it is to get a variety of sand paper, a bucket, a sponge, and some paint stirring sticks. Let your sand paper soak in the bucket of water. Wrap it around the stirring stick and sand the whole car. Put some soap in the water too. Paint will not cover any defects on the body, it will only amplify them, so make sure you don't leave deep sand marks. Finish with fine sand paper. You only want to do enough to scuff, not remove paint. This is even more important since they will not prime your car unless you pay extra. If you do pay extra to prime, primer always needs to be block sanded also.
This is a good time to take care of any deep scratches or chips. Get some high build primer in a can, some putty, and a couple of those cheap plastic filler spreaders. Sand the area, clean, spread some putty, let dry, block sand smooth, clean, spray primer, let dry, block sand with water. A good tip also is to buy a can of a contrasting color of primer to use as a guide coat. Since your car is dull, it is hard to see any high or low spots. To do this you will spray the contrasting color on flat panels. It doesn't have to be a thick coat, just a mist to change the color. You let that dry and then block sand the primer you just sprayed. Now you will be able to see any high or low spots.
You wont get a show quality paint job by doing those steps, but it will come out 3 times better than just dropping of your car as is. But once you get the car back depending on how cheap the spray was you will probably see it looking great from 15 feet away. But once you get closer you will see any defects and probably alot of orange peel, drips, and fish eyes.
The 1 stage paint that they use has the clear mixed in with the base. You can color sand that. If you never wet sanded and buffed before I say leave it as is. You will have to invest money on chemicals, more sandpaper, tools for the job, and not to mention the time needed. It takes alot out of you and if you screw up you can burn the paint or even worse sand or buff down to the previous color.
I like a clean smooth shinny paint job. So I always wet sand and buff. Being a 1 stage or clear coat base coat, depending on how bad it is I usually start blocking with 1500 grit. Sometimes I use 1000 grit, but very very carefully and I do not recommend 1000 or even 1500 for beginners. I only wet sand big flat panels. I do not sand sharp lines or edges because the paint is normally thinner in these areas. I usually tape the areas I do not want to sand with masking tape. I wet sand 1 panel at a time starting with the top and working down. Here's a pic of our 442 we painted on it's wetsand stage:
You want to use soapy water and use a block, never wet sand with just the sandpaper in your hands, use a long block or a long flat stick. The purpose of block sanding is to flatten and level the paint or clear coat by removing a top layer. Our hands and fingers are not flat. Clean the area and dry. You know when you are done when the panel is dull and smooth with no shinny spots.
Once i'm satisfied, I will bust out the buffer. I use 4 pads, one for the rubbing compound, one for the glaze, one for the swirl remover, and 1 for the polish.
The first one is a wool like material. I use 3m's microfinishing compond, it works fast and I love it. I've used other compounds like the meguiars medium and fine cut compunds and they don't compare. This one is just right and is used by top auto paint refinishers. But like all the rubbing compounds out there, you have to be carefull and pay lots of attention because you will rub all the way passed the paint if you are not. What this does is cut yet another layer of clear to smooth out the very fine scratch marks left from wet sanding. I do one panel at a time and I buff it until the shine comes out. I keep the buffer moving and I never stop or start it while on the panel. I start smooth and while moving I put enough pressure to get the job done. Too much pressure will ruin your day. Once satisfied, I clean the pad and move on to my next panel. Once all panels are done I clean them and switch to my other pad. The next 3 pads I use are foam pads. I've had great luck using the meguiars glaze, swirl remover and show car polish. The polish you can do by hand.
You never ever ever want to wax a freshly painted car. I don't care how dry it looks. Wait a month after the car has been painted before you wax. Leaving it outside under the sun will help it cure faster. If you wax, you will trap any solvents that have not had time to evaporate. This is very important also on base coat clear coat finishes. Wax seals, and the end results will be a cloudy paint job because the solvents cannot excape needing a re-coat of clear.
Ohh BTW, here's a pic of our old 442 after wetsand and buff:
Look at that shine! That was a garage paint job with primer, base coat, clear coat, wet sanded and buff. Next up is my RX-7 and I will post a complete thread start to finish.
Holy **** I typed all that!^^
Sorry
Do some research, if funds are the reason you are even considering to take it there, do as much as you can to your car before you take it. There is nothing worse than a paint job on a car that has not been prepped. I have painted cars before and here are some things you can do on your own to get a decent paint job from these guys if your funds are an issue.
Remove all moldings to avoid anything but the glass being taped. If you can get it towed overthere even better, that way you can remove the lights, trim, locks, etc.
And you can cover anything you don't want spraymist to get into like the engine parts and exhaust.
Try and stay with a color that is close to what you have now. Nothing worse than opening a door or hood on a black car to reveal that it was once white. That's horrid, and the cost of trying to do a whole color change is very pricey.
Block sand your car. A cheap way of doing it is to get a variety of sand paper, a bucket, a sponge, and some paint stirring sticks. Let your sand paper soak in the bucket of water. Wrap it around the stirring stick and sand the whole car. Put some soap in the water too. Paint will not cover any defects on the body, it will only amplify them, so make sure you don't leave deep sand marks. Finish with fine sand paper. You only want to do enough to scuff, not remove paint. This is even more important since they will not prime your car unless you pay extra. If you do pay extra to prime, primer always needs to be block sanded also.
This is a good time to take care of any deep scratches or chips. Get some high build primer in a can, some putty, and a couple of those cheap plastic filler spreaders. Sand the area, clean, spread some putty, let dry, block sand smooth, clean, spray primer, let dry, block sand with water. A good tip also is to buy a can of a contrasting color of primer to use as a guide coat. Since your car is dull, it is hard to see any high or low spots. To do this you will spray the contrasting color on flat panels. It doesn't have to be a thick coat, just a mist to change the color. You let that dry and then block sand the primer you just sprayed. Now you will be able to see any high or low spots.
You wont get a show quality paint job by doing those steps, but it will come out 3 times better than just dropping of your car as is. But once you get the car back depending on how cheap the spray was you will probably see it looking great from 15 feet away. But once you get closer you will see any defects and probably alot of orange peel, drips, and fish eyes.
The 1 stage paint that they use has the clear mixed in with the base. You can color sand that. If you never wet sanded and buffed before I say leave it as is. You will have to invest money on chemicals, more sandpaper, tools for the job, and not to mention the time needed. It takes alot out of you and if you screw up you can burn the paint or even worse sand or buff down to the previous color.
I like a clean smooth shinny paint job. So I always wet sand and buff. Being a 1 stage or clear coat base coat, depending on how bad it is I usually start blocking with 1500 grit. Sometimes I use 1000 grit, but very very carefully and I do not recommend 1000 or even 1500 for beginners. I only wet sand big flat panels. I do not sand sharp lines or edges because the paint is normally thinner in these areas. I usually tape the areas I do not want to sand with masking tape. I wet sand 1 panel at a time starting with the top and working down. Here's a pic of our 442 we painted on it's wetsand stage:
You want to use soapy water and use a block, never wet sand with just the sandpaper in your hands, use a long block or a long flat stick. The purpose of block sanding is to flatten and level the paint or clear coat by removing a top layer. Our hands and fingers are not flat. Clean the area and dry. You know when you are done when the panel is dull and smooth with no shinny spots.
Once i'm satisfied, I will bust out the buffer. I use 4 pads, one for the rubbing compound, one for the glaze, one for the swirl remover, and 1 for the polish.
The first one is a wool like material. I use 3m's microfinishing compond, it works fast and I love it. I've used other compounds like the meguiars medium and fine cut compunds and they don't compare. This one is just right and is used by top auto paint refinishers. But like all the rubbing compounds out there, you have to be carefull and pay lots of attention because you will rub all the way passed the paint if you are not. What this does is cut yet another layer of clear to smooth out the very fine scratch marks left from wet sanding. I do one panel at a time and I buff it until the shine comes out. I keep the buffer moving and I never stop or start it while on the panel. I start smooth and while moving I put enough pressure to get the job done. Too much pressure will ruin your day. Once satisfied, I clean the pad and move on to my next panel. Once all panels are done I clean them and switch to my other pad. The next 3 pads I use are foam pads. I've had great luck using the meguiars glaze, swirl remover and show car polish. The polish you can do by hand.
You never ever ever want to wax a freshly painted car. I don't care how dry it looks. Wait a month after the car has been painted before you wax. Leaving it outside under the sun will help it cure faster. If you wax, you will trap any solvents that have not had time to evaporate. This is very important also on base coat clear coat finishes. Wax seals, and the end results will be a cloudy paint job because the solvents cannot excape needing a re-coat of clear.
Ohh BTW, here's a pic of our old 442 after wetsand and buff:
Look at that shine! That was a garage paint job with primer, base coat, clear coat, wet sanded and buff. Next up is my RX-7 and I will post a complete thread start to finish.
Holy **** I typed all that!^^
Sorry
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02-19-07, 02:30 PM
#9
I've seen decent work from macco. The secret to the one here in my town is to get at least the level above the cheapest. The ones I've seen have been 80's cars and they did get the black trim and moldings.
02-19-07, 06:26 PM
#13
Everything that Kim said but sorry I didn't read it all. I'm old and my eyes can't stare at small print for long,lol.
What you have to remember on our cars was that originally we had lacquer paint. If your 7 has not been repainted and still has lacquer paint than the only way to get a good lasting finish is to strip it to bare metal and start over. Lacquer paint was prone to checkering, the small little cracks you see under the clear.
On my 1st Se that took me 2 years to find before it was an acceptable starting car(yes, at that time I had always wanted an SE). Before I took it into a guy to have the small body work and paint done I removed everything I could. Meaning removed the trim/windows/taillight lenses/headlamps/markers,etc... I was also having a color change so I removed the door panels and everything else I could.
I then took paint stripper and used a pressure washer and took the whole car down to bare metal. I even disconnected the front and rear bumpers so that the only thing he had to do was slide them out and do them off of the car. I also had the windshield removed because I was replacing it and had all of the trim pieces off to be painted off of the car also.
I would have to say that to get the best results is that prep is 90% of the task. And it still takes someone with a good paint hand to finish it up.
What you have to remember on our cars was that originally we had lacquer paint. If your 7 has not been repainted and still has lacquer paint than the only way to get a good lasting finish is to strip it to bare metal and start over. Lacquer paint was prone to checkering, the small little cracks you see under the clear.
On my 1st Se that took me 2 years to find before it was an acceptable starting car(yes, at that time I had always wanted an SE). Before I took it into a guy to have the small body work and paint done I removed everything I could. Meaning removed the trim/windows/taillight lenses/headlamps/markers,etc... I was also having a color change so I removed the door panels and everything else I could.
I then took paint stripper and used a pressure washer and took the whole car down to bare metal. I even disconnected the front and rear bumpers so that the only thing he had to do was slide them out and do them off of the car. I also had the windshield removed because I was replacing it and had all of the trim pieces off to be painted off of the car also.
I would have to say that to get the best results is that prep is 90% of the task. And it still takes someone with a good paint hand to finish it up.
02-19-07, 09:31 PM
#14
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Earl Sheib did my 90 Sable for $300 and it looked good from 20 feet, but rippled hood from the drivers seat. Good enough for that car.
Maaco did an excellent silver job on my 85SE this spring, but it's not an exact match for the original K3. $1700 for single-layer paint plus LF fender, de-dinged panels, bumpers, rubbed-out oxidation and checking, etc. I was very pleased, even tho there were a couple defects left. The finish was so deteriorated on this car I figured the paintjob would just highlight the other defects, but it's plenty good as-is.
I've painted cars in my backyard (outdoors!) with just a plastic canopy, $30 from Rite-Aid chain pharmacy. 17 spray cans of Apple Red from HD. Block sanding is good, and I've used a 1/4 sheet palm sander from HD, as well as 1/3 sheet sander for better consistency. When wet-sanding use the sheen from water spray to highlight defects. Back in The Old Days I'd use lead to fill, but now I use Bondo (the sun-curing stuff is good in the summer; no need to mix 2-part stuff).
Maaco did an excellent silver job on my 85SE this spring, but it's not an exact match for the original K3. $1700 for single-layer paint plus LF fender, de-dinged panels, bumpers, rubbed-out oxidation and checking, etc. I was very pleased, even tho there were a couple defects left. The finish was so deteriorated on this car I figured the paintjob would just highlight the other defects, but it's plenty good as-is.
I've painted cars in my backyard (outdoors!) with just a plastic canopy, $30 from Rite-Aid chain pharmacy. 17 spray cans of Apple Red from HD. Block sanding is good, and I've used a 1/4 sheet palm sander from HD, as well as 1/3 sheet sander for better consistency. When wet-sanding use the sheen from water spray to highlight defects. Back in The Old Days I'd use lead to fill, but now I use Bondo (the sun-curing stuff is good in the summer; no need to mix 2-part stuff).
02-27-07, 01:12 AM
#16
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Maaco in pomona california did the worst job ever on my 97 eclipse the paint is cracking and bublen up, and i got the most expensive service they had..... At least do not go to that maaco.
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