924Board.org

Stu2j · Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2003 8:40 am Post subject:

OK Guys -

The car went to MAACO today (the 82 Champagne 924). I elected to use their 4th highest service level (4 year gloss warranty). No body work was necessary and they will strip only the roof of the car.

The only prep work that I did was to remove all emblems, decals, and side moldings. I have all of these and they will be replaced by me once the car is returned.

I can't wait to get the car back next week and let you all know how it went.
_________________
-Stu
924 owner since 1988
924S owner since 2002
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78porsche924 · Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2003 3:21 pm Post subject:

All i gotta say is you made a horible mistake. I wish i had seen this earlier, but i was not a memeber when this was first posted i don't believe. I have macco paint job. I am ready to kill the PO. My paint is all chipped(this was less then 6 months after it was done). If you look at it the color isn't even. If you want any work done with it, they will say sorry, paint sux too badly. I was going to clear coat mine but the paint is so thin, if they sand it it will go through to the primer. Far away it looks alright, get close and cringe.

Oh yeah i forgot to mention, this was the top notch paint job. Not the cheapo economy one.

Neil924 · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 4225 Location: Canada

MAACO?? Come on. It isn't worth the few bucks you're going to save. Save 100 or 200 now and repaint the car in a year? Bad math on that one. I hope it looks good for a while. Good luck.

Stu2j · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2003 10:56 am Post subject:

>>>All i gotta say is you made a horible mistake.

Yep. I heard that a lot when I bought the car. I heard it even more when I decided to restore it. I seem to hear that a lot.

>>>MAACO?? Come on. It isn't worth the few bucks you're going to save.

So many horror stories and yet the shop where I took my car has a spotless reputation, provides a nice warranty, is qualified to do all insurance work, and was more than happy to provide as many references as I liked (imagine that, some satisfied customers).

The simple fact is that I was not going to put a $2,000 paint job on a twenty year old car and MAACO offered the exact level of service that I needed for this car at this time to fit within my budget.

When I get the car back, I will post photos and give ya'll a report.
_________________
-Stu
924 owner since 1988
924S owner since 2002
Click here to view them:

1982Porsche924 · Joined: 14 Nov 2002 Posts: 679 Location: Cupertino, CA

I had a friend who took his Corrado to Maaco, to get it repainted in red. When he got the car back, there were black spots on the side of the car, because they were painting a black car next to his.
_________________
1979 Porsche 924 "S"
Engine: Euro pistons, Light Flywheel, Weber TB, Bursch Header, Cam Wheel
Suspension: Front coil-overs, adj sways, Solid bush. Thicker tors. bars, 5-bolt, BBS rims
Body: Fiberglass widebody kit, 931 Nose

Stu2j · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2003 1:11 pm Post subject:

Apparently, everyone has a "friend" that had a bad experience with MAACO but nobody has actually used them. Hmmmm..

Well, I actually used them. I'll give you an honest report on the job they do complete with photos if possible. The fact is that they can't possibly make the car look any worse and I have a limited amount I am willing to spend on this restoration project.
_________________
-Stu
924 owner since 1988
924S owner since 2002
Click here to view them:

Joes924Racer · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2003 1:33 pm Post subject:

yea and that "friend" was dropped on his head by his mother at a young age and since has gone through life as being known as "special" &
one day that special friend is gonna clobber his best friend in the head with a brick then they both will be special...Heard that on the comedy channel anyway good luck with macco you might warn em you heard about shifty lousy paint shops and see what thay say...hopefully you picked a winner!
_________________
1979 porsche 924 Na
1980 porsche Turbo 931GT Replica
Have u ever driven a turbo.

Stu2j · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 2:55 am Post subject:

MAACO just called and I can pick up the car this evening (just in time since I was beginning to experience some serious 924 withdrawl symptons).

Can't wait to check it out and give ya'll a full report. The lady on the phone said it came out really nice (I know, what else is she going to say but it was still nice to hear).
_________________
-Stu
924 owner since 1988
924S owner since 2002
Click here to view them:

81turbo · Joined: 03 Nov 2002 Posts: 1065 Location: Oakland, CA

Just so we know how much did they charge for the full re-spray?

Stu2j · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 4:53 am Post subject:

Joes924Racer · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 4:56 am Post subject:

Hey turbo ..odds are they painted the sun roof seal..
why didnt he remove it. Does that count as a strike .

_________________
1979 porsche 924 Na
1980 porsche Turbo 931GT Replica
Have u ever driven a turbo.

78porsche924 · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 5:59 am Post subject:

Yeah my bumpers and stone guards and stuff were blue around the edges. Half my lights were missing when i got the car so i didn't have that problem. Oh yeah, i hope you love taking a razor to all fo your windows to get all the overspray off. Not to mention how you will now have a nice painted hatch seal. There was actually a film of paint about a foot up the back of the rear hatch on mine too. On a related note, anyone know where i can get a rear window defogger patch kit?

Paul · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 6:17 am Post subject:

I used Maaco in Mechanicsburg, PA years ago to paint a 78 NA. I bought their best clear coat service at 50% off during the winter.

It came back the wrong shade of brown, all the weather stripping had been hand painted black, and it had some overspray under the hood.

Everyone that saw the car thought it looked great. I sold the car five years later and you could still read a watch in its reflection.

wdb · Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Posts: 2024

for anyone considering painting thier own car , there is another option . an air brush . you can get a cheap airbrush compressor and a quaility airbrush for under $200 . there are many types of airbrushes ,from very fine for shading and fine lines to larger brushes for painting large areas . buy it for the wife and kids to play with . make it a christmas or birthday present, and get 2 birds with 1 stone

you can buy poster paint buy the gallon to practice with . here's a few links

how to :
http://www.howtoairbrush.com/Lindex.htm

http://www.automist2000.com/TYPES.html

a few examples of price
http://www.aoeartworld.com/airbrush.html

http://www.dickblick.com/vendors/badger/

Stu2j · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 10:12 am Post subject:

OK folks, the car is back and I have gone every every inch of it. Here is the rundown and then I will be happy to take your questions.

First, the base price of the job was $349.95. I had a coupon so I got the ULTRA with the four year warranty for the Supreme price. As previously stated, I paid extra for the roof which brought the total cost to $474.95.

Let's start by stating the obvious: If this were a $2000.00 paint job, would I be happy? No. There are many minor defects etc that I would not have expected with an expensive job. Am I happy with the $500 paint job. YOU BETCHA!.

Maybe my MAACO expectations were lowered to such a degree that my judgement is somewhat clouded, but the fact is the overall car looks great and at least 10 years younger

THE GOOD:

The job done on the nose panel and front valance are nothing short of a miracle. If I didn't know better, I would swear that they simply replaced them. The top of the car is where they really excelled and the paint is nearly flawless (it was worth the extra buck and a quarter).

There is no overspray on any glass or lens and this was a relief. No overspray on the bumper guards, spoiler, or door rubber. They completely sprayed the black grill in the valance and I list this under good because I actually like it

Except for some dust on the drivers side door panel, the interior of the car was left clean and except for the radio being tuned to a country music station, the car was returned as it went in.

THE BAD:

The painted surface around the door windows has the "orange peel" texture and they missed a spot (it looks like where it was masked) and I have to decide whether or not I want to take it back for this.

There is overspray on the edges of the stone guards. My feeling was right and I should have removed these. There is overspray on the top edge of the rear hatch (gold on black is pretty easy to pick up). There is some overspray in the engine compartment but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It is really only noticeable on the black cone air intake.

THE UGLY:

It appears that they tagged the top edge of the rear hatch with the sander and took some black off (this item bothered me more than any other).

While they did a pretty good job with the transition from new paint to old in the door jams, no such effort was made in the rear hatch area and this was a disappointment. (i.e. opening the rear hatch is the only area where it would be obvious that the car had been painted).

Remember that old trailer hitch I had? I was curious what they would do and sure enough they just sprayed over the area. I don't expect the paint to hold up well in that area but just as before, it won't show.

CONCLUSION

Given the level of service that I selected and price I paid, it is hard not to be pleased. Would I prefer a showroom finish? Certainly. However, given the value of the car it just didn't make any sense.

I will put photos up as soon as I get a chance to get the moldings, decals, etc back on car.

Any questions?
_________________
-Stu
924 owner since 1988
924S owner since 2002
Click here to view them: