Paint options?

[solutionzero]

Alright well everyone gets a really nice paint job and they say it's like $3500 or $3000. I can't afford that for a paint job but I do need one that is good and will last, so no Maaco. How much is a good paint job usually and if it is $3500 or $3000 what could I do to get a cheaper one but of good quality? Is there a way to get it repainted an OEM Honda color and it be cheaper but of the same of close to quality? Any input is appreciated, thanks.

[accordzoom]

dayyumn. 3500 like a show job isnt it?
hmm and maybe if u get maaco's top of the line job...

but u dont got any small family shops that would u hook u up wit a nice one for an alright price?

[uncle_el]

get what you can get, afford what you can afford, but quality is always best. not sure if that makes sense...

i've heard horror stories of maaco paint jobs (or earl schieb for the cali folks), but i've also heard horror stories with paint jobs from top notch show quality places. as long as you feel comfortable with the work that they've done in the past, it should be ok.

other than the cheap $299 (or is it $199) job at maaco, i do believe that they offer higher priced/higher quality paint jobs.

as accordzoom stated, you may want to find a smaller family owned/run shop to do the work, as it may be cheaper.

also, if there is a honda dealership in your area, call them and ask what body shop they use. the price may be reasonable there as well.

here in atlanta, there is a place called spray-glo. they do low end priced paint jobs, but they also do reasonably priced paint jobs with good quality. they are not as pricey as some of the other places here known to do show quality work, but a few cars they have painted have won shows.

check around your area, make sure to look at pics of cars they have done, and ask for references. go with the place you feel comfortable with.

*many pics to follow*

[uncle_el]

believe it or not, this car was done by maaco (one here in the atlanta area):

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid62/p9c6f26481209e4937e34f91f9fd40f4a/fc1fe6a0.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid62/p54bf33e67a4780020d14dfdb82d55cc4/fc1fe6a9.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid71/pd414fd71367f187256b5e786af82b763/fb95b72e.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid71/p2044bf4535af071413dc5781bc56c76a/fb95b6e9.jpg

[uncle_el]

pics of a car done by sprayglo (probably above maaco in terms of perception, but not regarded as a place for flawless show quality day in and out). fyi, i was informed by the guy who runs the sprayglo location that this car was done at, and the cost was five hundred dollars ($500)

http://crew.autoshowoff.net/honda530/pics/1.jpg

http://crew.autoshowoff.net/honda530/pics/2.jpg

http://crew.autoshowoff.net/honda530/pics/3.jpg

http://crew.autoshowoff.net/honda530/pics/4.jpg

http://crew.autoshowoff.net/honda530/pics/5.jpg

http://crew.autoshowoff.net/honda530/pics/6.jpg

http://crew.autoshowoff.net/honda530/pics/7.jpg

[uncle_el]

done by auto fitness center (again, in the atlanta area). they have done some show quality cars. this particular car is owned by an acquaintance of mine... it has an orange pearl in the stock (marron?) color.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid92/pe21bab650042993c6c5db9249ed29375/fa599689.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid92/p7c23487f6b59d9a7132b373ccd7b4ee8/fa52f43a.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid92/pa43ec27a01a2ad0460d08664c9d90a50/fa599640.jpg

[uncle_el]

another from auto fitness center:

http://importsouth.com/images/memberpics/27/12700051933e8858c43a52c.jpg

http://importsouth.com/images/memberpics/27/2634629553e8858ccf3dee.jpg

http://importsouth.com/images/memberpics/27/8637957363e8858b9b6d5a.jpg

http://importsouth.com/images/memberpics/27/17400331393e8858aabe28d.jpg

[solutionzero]

Damn, they all look real sharp. Yeah my Uncle lives in Kennesaw and I hear a lot of good things about southern shops like in Atlanta and Florida so if I had the time I might just send my accord down there and drive my mazda 5spd beater truck until it comes back. Is that first one a Acura Legend? I want...:(

[uncle_el]

yes, the 1st car is an acura legend.

i just posted all of those pics to show you (and anyone else interested in the topic now, or in the future), that a decent to great paint job can be had almost anywhere. it doesn't necessarily have to cost an arm and a leg.

[phatdoughnut]

so cheap places dont tell you that they sand and paint in the same room... thats the part that fucks shit up... :nono:

[HondaFan81]

i got quoted for $4000 from a family business to change my color completely including inside doors after a $2981 quote for complete bodywork to remove all rust & fix bad rust spots. Shii is expensive.

I'm getting the bodywork done sometime Spring/Summer 2004, but I'm looking for another place to change my color

seattle siliver (gold) to a silver w/charcoal metallic

[akkordlayinkit]

Originally posted by phatdoughnut
so cheap places dont tell you that they sand and paint in the same room

Thats a really good point...also the prices depend on the color(any pearls, kandy, etc.), the brand(house of color, dupont, etc.), if you want it trimmed out or not(door-trunkjams, engine compartment, etc.). If you go with a color change it will be alot more $$$ than would if you go for the original color. My opinion on a paint job (since I do bodywork in the summer) is you get what you pay for. No joke. Im not saying that you cant get a good paint job cheap, but most cheaper places will probably either rush the processes, not clean their guns properly (which could have water in them...yes it happened to my buddies CivHB), not get even coats, put only one clear coat, sand properly, or a bunch of other little things and can cause imperfections to the overall paint job. But like stated before, get pics of former car, or even better look at some cars in person, and also ask about their guarantee. Hope this helped a little.
Jay

[HondaFan81]

^ thanks for the advice, yea the person at the shop did mention it's more expensive for color change, even if mine is from gold to silver...not drastic

[HondaFan81]

BTW that Legend is sharp! Gonna hurt somebody

[red_gto]

Here's an example of the $199 Maaco paintjob, you can tell what a crappy job they did ;) :

[uncle_el]

red_gto if i had known your car was done at maaco, i would have posted it.

fellas (and ladies), i've seen that car in person (though i was about 30 feet away) and it looks good. a very vibrant blue.

[red_gto]

Yeah, it's a very pretty blue, a little purple under the right light, although the pearl in it is a silver-gold hue. It's especially nice in "show car" mode, when I've just waxed it a zillion times!!! ;)

Uncle_El, when we gonna get together so you can see the car up close in person? And we can trade headlights!!! Mmmm, blackhoused 92-93 lights with JDM-style ambers!!!! :D

[Accord R33]

I was one of those people who paid $3000 for my paint job...and yes it is about "show quality" A lot of people think i spent to much money on it. But pictures can not give the paint justice...

http://home.comcast.net/~ndd3d/wheelshot.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~ndd3d/sideshot.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~ndd3d/angle.jpg

[red_gto]

Wow! That's amazing! Look at the reflection of the yard in his doors! How long did it take to prep, paint, and dry the whole car???

[Accord R33]

it took 2 weeks to paint and mount the body kit...it was actually in the shop for 3 weeks but thats because my rear bumper didnt fit and i got a new one

[deevergote.]

92accordDX has the cheapest Maaco job on his car. It's 2 years old, parked outside uncovered, and it still looks damn good. I think the only flaws in the paint are ones he made himself. After seeig his car, I went straight to Maaco to get an estimate... $620 (or $580, according to what I got in the mail today) for all my body work, and the Presidential paint job (one step above the cheapie).

That wasn't said already, was it? I just kinda skimmed a little, since the pics slowed down my comp so much...

[Accord R33]

Originally posted by Deevergote
92accordDX has the cheapest Maaco job on his car. It's 2 years old, parked outside uncovered, and it still looks damn good. I think the only flaws in the paint are ones he made himself. After seeig his car, I went straight to Maaco to get an estimate... $620 (or $580, according to what I got in the mail today) for all my body work, and the Presidential paint job (one step above the cheapie).

That wasn't said already, was it? I just kinda skimmed a little, since the pics slowed down my comp so much...

Maaco's are independently owned...some are good, most are bad. but sometimes you can get lucky and actually get away with a decent paint job for dirt cheap.

[deevergote.]

Yeah, that's what Jay (92accordDX) said. I think he went to a different one first, and they screwed him. What he has now is really nice though.

If you check out the cheap places like Maaco, and ask to see their work (at the level you'll be paying for) you should be able to get an idea of what you'll get.

[92accordDx]

i have a macco job like mike (deevergote) was saying. this is the second one i had the first one came out like shit which i paid more for at another place but the second one nobody can even tell until i say something. All maccos are independintly owned like accord r33 said but you can get some decent paint jobs for real cheep. They all use different kind of paint some use better then other which i learned threw experiance. it also depends on the painter they have there. it is always a good idea to check out some of the cars that have been painted there to see the the kind of quality. I know my paint job isnt that nice it has some orange peal but its not worth it right know too go out and spend 1500 dollars on a paint job and have it messed by all the idiots and stupid ass people out their.

[solutionzero]

Point well said. That's kind of my take on it. I could go get a $3000 paint job but little dings and shit can always happen and when you pay that much it would suck if it got even slightly messed up ya know. I think I'll look for some Maacos and get the top of line...(no more than $1500) though. I like the way your car looks DX with the grey, good stuff. What'd you pay for that one?

[deevergote.]

Originally posted by solutionzero
Point well said. That's kind of my take on it. I could go get a $3000 paint job but little dings and shit can always happen and when you pay that much it would suck if it got even slightly messed up ya know. I think I'll look for some Maacos and get the top of line...(no more than $1500) though. I like the way your car looks DX with the grey, good stuff. What'd you pay for that one?

That's the cheap-o job... 2 years old, $200, stock color (it's way more to change the color)

[solutionzero]

yo whats the job at maaco? how much?

[solutionzero]

the TOP OF THE LINE job*

[92accordDx]

the job deever gote is getting is like the 400 dollar job for 250 its on sale this month

[deevergote.]

The $500 job is what I'll be getting :D It's just better prep and more clearcoat, I think.

Anyway, the top of the line job, in the packages they offer, is like $1000 I think. I'm sure you could get any number of options and make it as good as you want (and as expensive as you want).

After seeing 92accordDX's paint, and talking to Tony at Maaco, I'm convinced that they're as good as any place (depending on who does the work). You just get what you pay for!

[uncle_el]

there has been some recent interest in paint jobs, so here's a bump in this thread.

[93akorddse]

i used to work at a detail shop around my hometown and they used to get car from all kinds of used car shops that sent the cars to maaco and just about all of them had way too much over spray on them..... However they did the paint jobs very quickly and thats just one of the many maaco shops around here

Damn r33 paint job is blingin', i think i saw mr clean in that door panel. I even heard a *ting*!

[HondaFan81]

Sweet. you guys made me reconsider Maaco. There is one 45 min away and the guy was very nice on the phone. They have the color I was looking for and he seemed easy to work with. So I guess it's a matter of checking out some previous jobs they have done first-hand. Thanks for the info. Never knew they independently owned and can vary so much.

[Accord R33]

Originally posted by 93akorddse
i used to work at a detail shop around my hometown and they used to get car from all kinds of used car shops that sent the cars to maaco and just about all of them had way too much over spray on them..... However they did the paint jobs very quickly and thats just one of the many maaco shops around here

Damn r33 paint job is blingin', i think i saw mr clean in that door panel. I even heard a *ting*!

haha thats funny. i like this pic the best..

http://www.tehrabbithole.com/pics/Picture018.jpg

thats definitly not a $400 macco jober :D