Painting my car

[thetony7g]

Going to paint my ride when spring comes around again but I just want some ideas of places that are trustworthy. I heard Macco wasn't that great so I'm pretty much ruling them out. I live in Chicago so any Chicagoans with knowledge will help. I'm going to do the sanding and prep work with a friend so I don't have to spend so much money.

[Rodriguez]

Going to paint my ride when spring comes around again but I just want some ideas of places that are trustworthy. I heard Macco wasn't that great so I'm pretty much ruling them out. I live in Chicago so any Chicagoans with knowledge will help. I'm going to do the sanding and prep work with a friend so I don't have to spend so much money.

I got a macco job and it came out great, but I wouldn't recommend it for everyone because they can be so inconsistent.

[thetony7g]

Right. I'm going to have to do some good research.

[E_Emerson88]

i got mine done at One Day Paint, so has a friend of mine. Pretty happy with how it came out and not that expensive. PM me if you have any questions

[quagmire]

A good paint job is expensive but sometimes its worth spending the extra cash for a better paint job ,I've seen macco jobs where they just cover the glass and paint everything but that's in ny

[thetony7g]

A good paint job is expensive but sometimes its worth spending the extra cash for a better paint job ,I've seen macco jobs where they just cover the glass and paint everything but that's in ny

Another negative Macco review. I wouldn't mind dishing aout a few more shells for a good paint job and a carefully done one.

[quagmire]

I'm not saying macco is a bad place to get your car painted but its more of a spray it and ship it kinda place

[carl3g]

To be fair, not all MAACOs are bad. Only reason I say that is because my buddy manages one and he's does a quality job. I've seen trophy winners he painted in person. So it just matters where you go and their reputation.

Go in to the actual place where you might get work and talk to someone. They might show you the car they are currently working on and then you could judge the work they do yourself.

[Blue8g]

A lot of issue with most MACCO jobs is the prep, a decent prep job will make even a macco job look pretty good.

[tamim13]

Like carl3g said, it depends on the local Maaco near you, as they are independently owned and operated. And as Blue8g said, if you are doing the prep work yourself, their paint is pretty good quality and they do a decent job spraying. On a budget, it's worth it, but expect over spray and orange peel, but they do give you a 5 year warranty to cover fading/peeling and cracking.

I've had a Maaco job for the last 4 years and spent about a week getting overspray off the windows with nailpolish remover and elbow grease. The paint and clear coat have held up ok over this time, and I park my car outside. Just make sure you wash and wax the car regularly. Also, always go for the highest package(I think it's the presidential) they offer, not the $250-$750 packages, as they are not good. I believe they used to use Dupont back in the day, but now they use Sherwin-Williams. If you're going for spot painting or other body work, their color matching is not that good. Do not use them for color changing, you will still see the old color here and there.

Maaco makes money by volume, not precision or details. They are the Walmart of paint shops, so expect the same. Their concept is to get the car out with the least amount of man-hours in labor. So everything is just covered up and sprayed, if you can remove your lights, emblems etc before taking it in, then you can get a good job done.