Paint question

Yeah. $8,000 can do a lot, but it can also be way short.... Sadly, everyone out here wants Maaco pricing.. I've had customers call and want to bitch me out because they want a price over the phone for a complete repaint and I said I needed to see the car to give them a price and they tell me "Maaco toll' me fohundedallah!" and then ask me to give them a rough idea.. so I tell them "Figure a MINIMUM of $2,000 and it goes up from there. It all depends on the condition of the car and what work you want done and what needs to be done to make it happen."

They get all SORTS of angry and tell me I charge too much. I hope they're happy with their Maaco paint job..


Hell, I had one guy who we charged $2,500 to respray his Cutlass.. Did a good job on it. He specifically said "I don't want a show car paint job, I just want it to be clean and look good going down the road." He also told us to take our time with it because he was in no hurry and only wanted it back before this winter so he could finish the interior and get it out this spring completely finished. I told him "No problem, I'd rather take my time and do it right.."

-- He started calling every 2-3 days asking if it was done and what was taking so long......

He also brought it too us after HE put a new frame underneath it and also asked us to line up the body panels, which I did at no extra cost, but found the frame he purchased used was bent and needed to be pulled on the frame rack to straighten it out. He didn't believe us. So we sent it to some RIVAL shops who agreed with us that the frame was bent. We ended up throwing it on the frame rack and straightening it for free.... why? I told him we'd line up the body panels.....

Got it done, it was a great looking paint job.. A couple pieces of dirt that we wheeled out and we put the trim on the car for him, washed it up.. He came in and just started insisting he was completely unhappy with it and that for $2500 he should have got a "better job" and that nothing lined up and he expected way more for what he got... Never mind what the estimate in his hands said.. Even though we went above and beyond with the work we did.




So anyways, I completely agree. $8,000 goes QUICK, but it should have bought him WAY better quality work than what he got. Looks like someone rushed the prep work and didn't give a fuck when they were spraying.
 
The only reason the OP paid 8k is because that's what was quoted to do the type of job he wanted. Had the quote been 10 or 12k it sounds like he would have paid that also. Price doesn't seem to be an option with him where as the level of quality is.
 
orangejuiced86 said:
The only reason the OP paid 8k is because that's what was quoted to do the type of job he wanted. Had the quote been 10 or 12k it sounds like he would have paid that also. Price doesn't seem to be an option with him where as the level of quality is.
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That was understood. But the addage that if it's too good to be true, it usually is. I question if the shop did ANY prep work. It truely is a horrible job, even if quoted $2500. I wouldn't have accepted that from Maaco.
 
orangejuiced86 said:
The only reason the OP paid 8k is because that's what was quoted to do the type of job he wanted. Had the quote been 10 or 12k it sounds like he would have paid that also. Price doesn't seem to be an option with him where as the level of quality is.
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I'm just surprised the OP agreed to acrylic enamel
 
smooth said:
I'm just surprised the OP agreed to acrylic enamel
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If I'm building a race car, there is nothing wrong with acrylic enamel. It's cheaper, and cheaper to fix when you wreck it (all race cars end up with some form of damage at some point) and the paint job weighs less. I did my SCCA with enamel for just these reasons. Heck, if it would have been cheaper, I would have painted the car with lacquer, I would have.
 
They painted cars with AE for 30+ years. It is good paint. It's just not as durable. That was just a miserable paint job.
 
Swifster said:
If I'm building a race car, there is nothing wrong with acrylic enamel. It's cheaper, and cheaper to fix when you wreck it (all race cars end up with some form of damage at some point) and the paint job weighs less. I did my SCCA with enamel for just these reasons. Heck, if it would have been cheaper, I would have painted the car with lacquer, I would have.
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Swifster said:
They painted cars with AE for 30+ years. It is good paint. It's just not as durable. That was just a miserable paint job.
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Well I'm an OEM & refinish coatings chemist and I can guarantee you it's not good paint, they painted cars for 30 years with it because they didn't have the resin technology they do today and the durability sucks because the lack of UVA absorbers, any finish that has pigment in the surface will eventually delaminate
 
smooth said:
Well I'm an OEM & refinish coatings chemist and I can guarantee you it's not good paint, they painted cars for 30 years with it because they didn't have the resin technology they do today and the durability sucks because the lack of UVA absorbers, any finish that has pigment in the surface will eventually delaminate
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Not arguing that. But a lot of guys respray their vintage cars with the same paint the car came with to keep it 'original'. I've seen a lot of nice paint jobs with the stuff. It also depends on how it's cared for. I've seen cars spray with AE that has last 30 years and still look great. Do I plan on using AE on my car? Nope. Probably water based. If I build another SCCA car, it gets the cheapest paint I can buy.
 
orangejuiced86 said:
The only reason the OP paid 8k is because that's what was quoted to do the type of job he wanted. Had the quote been 10 or 12k it sounds like he would have paid that also. Price doesn't seem to be an option with him where as the level of quality is.
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Ding Ding Ding, Cost was not a factor but QUALITY is what I stress everytime I got it quoted. This was one of the higher quotes I got also. I felt most comfortable with this painter as they supposedly do alot of blasted jobs and have 2 or 3 in the shop while mine was there.
Now getting other quotes as I'm not to sure I want him finishing/fixing this now
 
chief said:
Ding Ding Ding, Cost was not a factor but QUALITY is what I stress everytime I got it quoted. This was one of the higher quotes I got also. I felt most comfortable with this painter as they supposedly do alot of blasted jobs and have 2 or 3 in the shop while mine was there.
Now getting other quotes as I'm not to sure I want him finishing/fixing this now
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well here is my biggest question, were you aware of the products being used? Did you agree to them using acrylic enamel?
 
I'd file a lawsuit, but then again, I do that everyday so it is no big deal anymore to me.

It will cost you more than $8k next time as SOMEONE will have to take this back to metal and start all over again.
 
smooth said:
well here is my biggest question, were you aware of the products being used? Did you agree to them using acrylic enamel?
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base clear was suppose to be used and SHOW QUALITY was the exact words used. This coming from my buddy who was in the shop when the painter was here quoting the job and looking it all over.
 
chief said:
base clear was suppose to be used and SHOW QUALITY was the exact words used. This coming from my buddy who was in the shop when the painter was here quoting the job and looking it all over.
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i'd be raising ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL sorts of fucking hell then. Lawsuit ready even if they weren't willing to make it right or refund your money completely + cost to fix their fuck up.
 
If he isnt using the materials that were agreed upon then you should def call him out on that. The engine bay doesnt look bad, but this guy sure fell short on quality in the areas he thought nobody would look.
 
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